The ROCK.. or rather.... ROCKS

We have continued to stay busy on the home front!  

We have to be out of our current place by September 1... which leaves us approximately 31 days to work on Project House to Home.  The good news is, if we don't finish everything we want (to a level so that we can at least live there), my parents graciously said we could stay at their house (which is about .4 of a mile away).  It's nice to have an alternative so that we don't feel super rushed.  

Also, I go back to work in 2 weeks!!  Those first graders will be a-coming on August 22, so I must get my other "home" setup and ready to go!  All that being said, we are working hard on our new house and trying to get all the dirty work done so that we can install all the nice, new things!  

One project that has been on our minds since day one was our fireplace.  We actually have two fireplaces: a brick one and a rock one.  We decided to live with the brick for now and make it a "later" project.  I actually sort of like it... a little bit of "old" among all the "new" might look nice!

                     Obviously, it'll look better once the orange carpet is GONE!!

The rock fireplace on the other hand... it has to go.  There is nothing we can do to make it "cool".  Check it out for yourself:

Special, eh?  Well, the big day came this past weekend.  It was quite the project!  I think the boys secretly had a lot of fun hitting rocks with a sledgehammer.  Don't worry, I got video.  

Hey look, our own personal rock climbing wall!!  Good thing we got rid of this before having kids. I can already see my little "mini Nick's" climbing this.  

                                               Slow and steady wins the race.....

This isn't a bad quality picture... it's foggy because of all the DUST coming off the rocks and concrete!!  Masks were a must.

                                                  Look, a rockless WALL!!!  Yes!

                                                                       Strong.

                                                               The aftermath.  

Our next job.... removing and recycling those rocks.  I don't even want to know what that is going to cost us!  Debris removal is pricy!!

                   I'm not sure what this pose means... but I like it.  It's very fitting!

At last... a video of the action.  It's pretty short.  Listen to the last thing I tell Nick.  I love his reaction!!

Scraping, Sweating, Success

Hello Everyone!  I have a favor to ask you... If you haven't already, I think you should "Follow Me"! My goal is to have 25 official followers ;)  No big reason other than making me feeling special and knowing that someone enjoys my little blog!! (Click on the button to the right.. there are no emails involved... just lets me know who loves me and my blog!)  Thanks in advance!!

Anyhow, I thought I'd share some pictures of our first major workday with you!  We were blessed to have seven family members and friends come help us out.  We stripped wallpaper, scraped popcorn, and sweated A LOT!  Hard work, but fun work!  

(Sorry about some of the poor quality photos... sometimes all you have is an iphone and you have to capture the moment!)

Mom prepping the lovely gold walls for stripping. 

Unfortunately, it was more like scraping.. and scraping... and more scraping.  That ugly wallpaper was determined to not come off!  But we won the battle in the end!!  Don't I look happy??  Looking back on this day... I apparently didn't realize the messiness that would be involved judging by my WHITE shorts!  

The glorious bedroom wallpaper that peeled off.  We were so happy that we almost cried.  Okay, not really, but we were reallllly happy! 

Happy!!

My studly man removing the ugly fan.

The hardworking Seth Howland who proved to be a master at scraping popcorn!  He enjoyed it SO much, he is coming back to help with more this weekend. Yay!

Master bathroom TLC.  No more green and gold wallpaper!

Nick took out all his aggression on those horrid wooden beams.  So glad we were able to remove them!  The top middle one is gone now as well.

Next up... that lovely fireplace is coming down!! Those 70's rocks have got to GO!

And The Wall Came Tumbling Down

My husband is incredibly handy.  He knows how to fix pretty much everything... sinks, electronics, appliances... you name it.  When we started the home searching process, he assured me that we could handle a fixer-upper.  The whole concept of"fixer-upper" just really isn't in my nature.  I like pretty, nice, clean, and NEW.  

Here was the issue.  I like pretty, nice, clean, and new.... but I also had certain ideas of where I wanted to live and what type of area. I only wanted to live in the Bennett Valley area. I also wanted a good size yard and a safe, friendly neighborhood.  Bennett Valley doesn't have any new construction because it is a fairly established area.  My "wants" weren't all lining up. 

This is where my handy husband comes in.  As we hunted, he would explain what we could do to various houses to make them "new", and "pretty", and "lovely".   At first I was skeptical.  It wasn't that I didn't think he could do it, I just couldn't visualize it as easily as he could.

The first time we walked into the house that is now ours, I looked around and turned my nose up.  Orange carpets, gross.  Wallpaper and gold light fixtures, yuck.  Nick walked in and he saw something very different: POTENTIAL.  He saw: scrape popcorn, paint walls, new flooring, update kitchen/bathroom.... PERFECT.

We went home that night and talked and dreamed.  He drew pictures for me of what we could do to make it lovely.  The next time we went to see it again, I could visualize it.   Sometimes things just need a little love to make it how you want it.  In the process, you make it YOURS.  The best part is.... you do it the way you want it!  I fell in love with that idea!!

Thank the Lord for my husband's ability to see through the yuck and see potential instead.  

Last Friday, he had a half day at work.  He was excited to be off early so that he could start the process.  Here are some photos of what he did that day.  Pretty exciting to see the process moving forward!!  A more few weeks and it will all be our PERFECT!!

BEFORE: We wanted to take down this wall that separates the kitchen and formal dining room.  We like homes that feel open and spacious. 

Half day project!!  Nick tore down the sheet rock and starting planning the large opening in between the kitchen and dining room.

                                              Doesn't it already feel more open?! 

Parent Love

I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich.  

~Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford

Is that not the truth??  I have the best family in the world.  Of course, I've biased, but.. it's true!  I have always known that my family is special and amazing.  However, as I have gotten older I have come to the realization that a family like mine is rare and precious.  

We genuinely love each other.  We have each others' backs.  We all love the Lord and our faith bonds us together. We have ridiculous amounts of fun when we're together!  We love cooking and eating together.  If we don't talk on the phone as least every other day, it is unusual. 

This weekend I was filled with such a thankfulness for my family... in particular,  my parents.  We bought a house.  They just know we need loads of help.  It wasn't even a question of "Do you need us?" or "How can we help?"  They just know because they are our absolutely biggest cheerleaders and advocates.  They called and said, "Saturday is the day!  Let's get to work!"  What a blessing to be so deeply loved and cared for.  What I appreciate so much about my parents is that they just know, and they will do anything to help their children succeed to the fullest.  

I look forward to the day that Nick and I have our own children.  Although we don't know when that will be, I can already tell you that those children will be deeply loved and we will do anything and everything to give them the best!  

Thank you Mom and Dad for your exceptional love, support, and dedication to us!

                                                           World's Best Dad!!

                                                       My Incredible Mom!

                      Tired Mom and Dad after a long, productive day at the house!

Realtor Love

This post is a little belated and perhaps redundant.. but I just have to share these pictures because they make my heart happy!  

The night that we received the keys to our house, our realtor, Mary Haulfer, met us at the house.  She is the most amazing realtor!  If you need someone to help you buy or sell a house, I HIGHLY recommend her!  She was always honest with us, fought for the best deal for us, and has a high value for being ethical.  After spending six months together... we became friends too.  We have been having "Mary withdrawals" since we don't see her almost everyday anymore!!

Anyhow, the night we got our keys she met us at the house.  As we were driving up our street for the first time, she was snapping pictures.  Here are a few shots of the wonderful evening :) 

                         Driving down our street for the first time as "owners"!

                                                   Pulling into our driveway!

                                    Feeling the "awe" of knowing it's ALL ours!!

                                       Loving the fact that the SOLD sign is up! 

                                                                     YES!!!!!

                               Getting ready to unlock the door for the first time...

                                     Celebrating with the fabulous Mary Haulfer

                                                  Feeling happy and blessed!

Out With the Old

Hello everyone!  A few days ago, I gave stats about the house and all the lovely, original things that were part of it.  When I was there yesterday, I figured I should take some pictures of the original items for memory sake and in order to share with all of you!!  

So here you go!!  Mind you... most of them have been transported to a new home now... the dumpster.  I did consider putting a few on Craigs List for those vintage lovers :)

I love how the chain goes all the way to floor into a nice little clump.  My sister was disappointed I didn't gift this to her.... ;)

                   Dining room light fixture.  The gold matches the carpet!!

                             Beautiful ceiling fan adorned with TASSELS!!

 Another gorgeous fan... and fabulous wallpaper.  My friend Jaime Ives wants the wallpaper for her kitchen.  I'm feeling generous, so I'm going to give her the entire sheet!!

Master bath room light fixture!  Check out that hot wallpaper behind it!!  Green and gold striped!  Sorry about the terrible quality picture!

That's it for now folks!  I'll be sure to post more as we move along in the process :)

Feeling the Love

We have been so blessed the past couple days with fun house-warming gifts!!  Who knew?!  The first one was a lovely practical gift from our best friends Seth and Hope Howland.  Nick and Seth have been friends since they were wee lads.  Hope and I quickly developed a close friendship and I depend on her regularly for girl time!  It is a special thing when the husbands get along... and the wives get along... match made in heaven!  

Hope and Seth spent their ENTIRE Saturday helping us do "dirty work" in our new house.  More to come on that in the near future (lots of pictures and maybe a video or two!)  When they came over they brought us our first house-warming gift! 

It's a roving sprinkler for our back lawn!  We have sprinkler and a drip system in place in the front yard... but not in the back.  This nifty contraption will save us lots of time during the hot summer months.  Thank you Hope and Seth!

As we were leaving the house, we saw our neighbors out in their front yard.  They have lived in the neighborhood since 1973!  They kindly gave us a "welcome to the neighborhood" card and gift.  How blessed are we to live in a neighborhood with such kind people?!  Wow!

What is the best house-warming gift you ever received?

Dreaming Big

The last three days have been so fun and exciting.  We have been talking non-stop about OUR house and all the plans we have for it.  

Here are the stats: Our house is in Bennett Valley right next to the golf course (we can actually hear the music playing from Legends in the evening!)  Our street has no through traffic because it is a circle.  There are probably about 25-30 houses on the circle.  We love the fact that no one ever drives down the street.. unless visiting a friend!  Kids ride their bikes around the circle... and everyone knows everyone.

The house was built in 1971 by George Harris homes.  Back in the day, George Harris houses were known for their precision and well built structures.  That is one of the things that drew us to this house.  It feels strong and you can just tell that it has "good bones".  Nick has crawled under the house multiple time to "check it out" and is impressed with the complexity of the structure.  Glad he has that knowledge and skill base... you couldn't pay me enough to crawl under a house!! The previous owners loved it so much that they lived there 30+ years!  I love the fact that there hasn't been multiple owners.  

The previous owners were elderly and pretty much left everything in it's original state.  I'm talking ORIGINAL!! 

Some of the original highlights are as follows:

-Gold wallpaper in the entry way with a lovely gold light fixture (think 70's)

-Multiple hanging light fixtures with tassels and chains

-Original carpet from 1971 that is bright orange throughout the whole house (once was shag but has lost some of it's swagger over the years... also, certain parts have become discolored and are now a lovely yellowish-orange)

-Checkered linoleum in the kitchen

-Sparkly green wallpaper in the master bedroom (only on ONE wall... praise the Lord!)

-Wooden and metal gates to separate various rooms (i.e. kitchen to family room)

Here is the best part though... everything is cosmetic!! The bones are solid and sturdy and the house was kept in IMMACULATE condition.  Clean, clean, clean.  We get to modernize the house to our 2012 liking!  

We have a whole bunch of plans.  Some will take place now, some in six months... and some in a few years.  We want to enjoy the process and adventure together as a little family.  My dad gave us some great advice when we were in escrow.  It was something to the effect of: Don't feel that you have to get it all done right away.  Dream big.  Do weekend projects together.  Enjoy the PROCESS.  Create a home that you both LOVE.  Make memories.  Most importantly, have FUN!  

We have only just gotten started.  I know that there will be times when we probably drive each other nuts (trying to pick out a wood floor anyone?!?!) and get frustrated.  However, throughout the process we are going to try to have fun and dream big.  As my blog followers, feel free to remind me of this and encourage me when things feel overwhelming and big.  

I promise to show pictures of the inside of the house soon!  For the meantime, here is a picture of the outside!  This is only one side since we are on the corner lot.  The garage/driveway are on the other side :)  The for sale sign is now gone... yay!!

My happy husband washing his truck in the driveway!  After apartment/condo living... this is a luxury! 

A Warm Welcome

Just a quick update :)  Last night we were given the keys at 7:30 p.m!  It was so exciting to drive up to the house and say, "This is OUR house"!  I actually surprised myself and became a little emotional.  I think the long process just finally caught up with me and I realized that all that praying I'd done and waiting was finally HERE!  I really lost it when our realtor said, "Just think, this is the home you will bring your babies home from the hospital"... and the tears fell!!

When we opened the front door, we noticed a super sweet note posted above our doorbell.  I knew that we were moving into a very tight-knit neighborhood... but this just blew me away.

It was a a fabulous night.  We hung out with our realtor, partied with some yummy J champagne, fancy cheese, Joey's pizzas, Whole Foods fruit tarts... all in our house!  Our realtor then said it was time for her to go.  We walked her out and closed the door... it was exciting being alone in our house for the first time (when in escrow you are never alone.. either your realtor is there or the owner).  It was in the moment that we both realized... WE ARE THE OWNERS.  Surreal!  

 Nick locking the door as our realtor, Mary, is leaving.  (Don't you just love the antique light fixture and gorgeous wall paper..??!!  I'll update you on all the fun renovations soon!!)

The Good Life Indeed!

Hello and welcome to my blog "The Good Life"!  I am thrilled to finally have my very own blog! I actually have been thinking about starting a blog for the past two years (ever since Nick and I got hitched), but have put it off for several reasons.  First off, I didn't want to the pressure of "having to blog" regularly.  Secondly, I wasn't sure that my life as a new wife would be interesting enough to write about!  

Well... that all changed a few months ago (Nope... I'm not pregnant!!!!)  This past January, we started the exciting process of house hunting!  It has been a very educational, exciting, frustrating, lengthy, and wonderful process!  Yes, house hunting provokes many different emotions.  As we were going through the process, I thought about how fun it would be to blog about our experiences and thoughts.  

I am thrilled to announce that as of Wednesday, July 18, 2012, Nick and I became HOMEOWNERS!  We couldn't be more thrilled.  It has been something we have talked about since we have dated... and now it is here!  It has been a great growing experience for us to set a goal of saving, saving, saving for a house.   Sometimes, it meant sacrificing fun things or toys, but for an end goal that was SO worth it.  

For me, it goes back longer than the two years Nick and I have been married.  When I graduated from grad school at Pepperdine, my parents graciously said I could live at home while I started my teaching career.  Little did they know... I ended up living with them for three years!  If you knew my parents... you wouldn't blame me.  Not only are they fun and amazing... they eat delicious gourmet food nightly!!  Couldn't pass that up!!  Anyhow, during this time, I was able to live for free and save my money.  From the time I received my first teaching paycheck, my goal was to save for a HOUSE.  As you can see, this has been a long time dream and goal of mine.  

I have been pinching myself that it is all real.  Not only did we buy a house... we bought a house in my favorite part of Santa Rosa, an area called Bennett Valley.  It is the perfect family home; one that we won't grow out of anytime soon.  It has a lovely backyard, an indoor laundry room, and a huge kitchen!  I could go on and on!

Well, that is probably enough rambling for my first post.  This blog will be more of a "journal" for Nick and I to look back on so that we can see how our new house becomes our home.  I hope you check back often to read about our renovations, progress, and adventures!

 A very happy Ashley signing loan documents! Signing loan docs really wasn't as long and tedious as I was expecting... maybe my excitement helped :)

Nick signing loan docs!  We were laughing because even though we had to write the date on every page, he kept looking at his watch to get the date.  Funny how habits work!

                                              The happy, homeowner couple!!  Yay!!