Couch Potatoes

Yes, yes we are.

E & I watch TV in our Family Room almost constantly. We spend more time there than we do in our own beds. We also eat dinner on the couches.

For the past four years (how have I lasted that long?!) we have had hand-me-down couches from E's aunt. Her decor style is country. And these couches were purchased circa 1985. You can't even begin to imagine the sort of blue and white gingham and flower pattern that threw up all over this 1960's-style wing-back couch and loveseat. I wish I had a picture but, alas, the camera is afraid of these couches.

I have them covered with slipcovers. Currently, they sport a chocolate brown microsuede. They look unoffending, for about five seconds. Once you sit on them, you realize that the regular slip-covers don't fit wing-back couches and loveseats. And, no one makes slip covers for wing-back couches and loveseats. My guess is only two people in the world own wing-back couches and loveseats: us and E's aunt.

Anyway, the point. We recently went shopping for a new couch/loveseat set. We went to several places and ended up purchasing at Roomful Express. We bought this set:

We were told that the couches would be in our house between mid-to-late June. But the salesperson hinted that it was more likely to be there mid-June. Apparently she lied.

I got a call today that the couches would not be delivered until mid-July. Putting them at slightly over a month from the purchase! I was not OK with that. I had already had a goodbye party for the ugly couches and was fantasizing about the dog not having a slip-cover to tug on. So, I complained. Not angrily, just in a disappointed way. I mentioned that, had I known it was going to take over a month, I would have purchased from somewhere else. Less than a minute later, I was offered free delivery, meaning the delivery charge we paid for would be comped. Deal!

I will gladly spend an extra two weeks with the gingham and flowers (covered by brown microsuede, of course) in order to have any extra $110 in my bank account.

Now, it will be a different story if the couches take ANY longer than that!

Kitchen Upgrades- Part 1

We have a big kitchen. The room is roughly 11 x 14 with a lot of wall space. It feels roomy. And bright.

When we moved in, the kitchen only had one wall of cabinets, original to the house and painted white. Between the fridge, the sink and the dishwasher, the wall only had enough room for two over-head cabinets, two under-counter cabinets (one under the sink), one drawer, and one hard-to-reach over the fridge cupboard. Read: no storage.

The previous owners left a big bulky fake-wood cabinet that served as a pantry, and we brought in a kitchen cart that houses our microwave and pots and pans. Everything had a place as long as we kept all of our small appliances in the dining room, the dog food in the basement steps, and our baking items in a hard-to-reach cabinet obscured by pot lids. It was not efficient.

Last weekend, I packed up half of the kitchen and painted the walls a beautiful light grey color called Plantation Moss (Valspar matched into Behr). And moved the wood cabinet, with our canned goods, into the garage. What do you think of the progress so far?

Painted new-cabinet wall

Next chapter: assembling and installing extra cabinets and a counter top.

So much for the summer!

I cannot believe May is already gone! I have so many updates to post, please bear with me.

1. Running Update: I injured my knee after my awesome four mile run at the beginning of May and have been sidelined ever since! Every week I start off hopeful that I will get to run again, but then a short run with the puppy in the backyard has me limping... Maybe THIS is the week!

2. Rowing?!: Although I have not been able to run, I joined my work's corporate rowing team and am rowing every Wednesday until late July. I am so excited for this adventure! I had always wanted to try rowing, and now I actually get to do it for half the summer.

3. Puppy: Big Boss has been a joy to have in our house. He is a fantastic little pup and is learning fast. There have been a few hiccups along the way with his training, but he's getting there. And, he definitely is the sweetest pup around!

4. House updates: We have started purchasing furniture! Soon, I will blog about our bathroom re-caulking project that turned into a month-long saga rather than a weekend DIY. I also have to share a post about cutting down an unsightly dying tree in our front yard. I just need to take some after photos to share with you, otherwise the afters are not all that exciting.

Our first big update is coming up this weekend: the kitchen! Stay tuned for a few posts about the before, during and after of this mini-remodel. New cabinets are being delivered as I type! After the kitchen, we are tackling the dining room, then the living room, and finally adding a patio to our backyard.

We hope to be fully done by Labor Day weekend so we can throw a housewarming/wedding anniversary party and get to enjoy our house with our close friends.

Friendly Neighbors!

On Saturday, we headed to Ikea to buy this. It is going in our Master Bedroom to help hold E's clothes.

On Sunday, I spent all afternoon building the wardrobe. While I built it, E was unpacking our bathroom things and kicking the empty boxes down the stairs onto a heap.

Right after I finished, I heard the doorbell ring. I ran down the stairs to find a wall of empty boxes blocking my way to the front door. So, in the interest of time, I kicked them and they scattered all over the room into random piles and on-top of furniture. I opened the door breathless, in sweats and with no make-up. And there stood our next door neighbor in a suit and pearls.

She came in, and I was mortified! Our house looks like hoarders live there. With a pile of coats that covers the entire couch in the living room, extra furniture placed precariously where it doesn't go, and a random 3-D puzzle of the Black Pearl on the mantle. We are pure class!

Bless her heart, she brought us a basil plant (E already set it up, watered it and claimed it as his new pet) and a folder filled with delivery and take-out menus from the area, with special notes on places that only offer take-out. It is such an awesome and thoughtful gift. I will definitely file it away for future use. And now we have to invite them over once the house looks livable. Just so they don't think they have hoarders for neighbors.

And while we are in the topic of friendly neighbors, I got to talking with our neighbor from across the street. They have a puggle and I told her about our new pug, and she went into her garage and gave me a free crate! It is the perfect size and in awesome shape. Just needs a hose-down and a doggie bed.

I think we lucked out! We'll be sure to keep mowing our grass and tending our yard so our neighbors don't think we're the sorry people.

Morning Running

I knew I needed to get in another run before the weekend so I decided to run first thing this morning.

So I woke up at 7 am, got ready and headed out to the park. I hit the trail and ran the first quarter mile when I realized I had dropped my car keys. Frick! I found the keys and ended up running that same quarter mile three times in my search.

I ran the loop I had chosen with no major problems and made it back to my car after 2.25 miles and a new personal best on the mile (9:30). Lance Armstrong congratulated me and everything.

Then I looked in the mirror, and I saw how dehydrated I was. My face was super puffy, and my eyes looked like someone had punched me. And it was then that I discovered my issue with morning running. I don't drink enough water at night. Because I would pee the bed if I did.

During the day? I am a water-guzzling machine. And I also pee once an hour.

I vow to try morning running again soon, since it energized me and didn't cut into my schedule at all. But I need to figure out how to hydrate either before or during the run.

Running Update:
May- 6.25 miles ran, 33.75 miles to go
Year- 26.25 miles ran, 173.75 miles to go

May is National Runner's Month!

After a fantastic and exhilarating four-mile run yesterday, I have decided to set a 40-mile goal for the month of May in honor of Runner's Month.

Cheer me on as I strive to complete it!

Running Update:

May- 4 miles ran, 36 to go
Year- 24 miles ran, 176 to go

Growing into the house

Slowly, things are beginning to fall into place. The amount of boxes is diminishing, or maybe it is the same amount but my husband keeps hiding them in the basement. The amount of time we spend looking for an item is decreasing. And we have mastered the art of the recycling bin. Soon, we'll have a fully furnished home with no visible cardboard. That's the dream.

This weekend we had our first adventure into adding something special to our home. We went to meet this guy.

His name is yet to be determined. But he is a six-week-old black pug. We get to take him home in three weeks, once he's had his shots and all his papers come in. He is the runt of the litter. And his little mouth is curved into a smile. He'll join his big brother Mojito (a hairless guinea pig) in filling our house with love.

Who needs furniture when you have a perfect pup?

Kidding. Furniture is coming and, hopefully, the pup will be somewhat housebroken before we give him the chance to pee on the new couches!

Running Update

Ran another two miles around our neighborhood. Passed the ice cream truck twice. Not quite the best motivation tool!

180 miles to go!

After one week...

It's been a pretty pleasant first week in our house. Lots of unpacking and organizing and cleaning. Lots of shopping for house stuff. Lots of figuring out ways to get places.

We love our house. Mostly because it is all ours (and the bank's). However, we do not love moving and leaving behind some key items.

Tip for movers: take your plunger!

We (I) clogged the toilet on Sunday morning. No plunger. Left it in our old apartment. Crap!

Thankfully, we live just two minutes from a hardware store. The problem was fixed by a $1.69 plunger.

Running Update!

Two more miles! My feet have healed, and I am stomping around in a new park. First run was fun!

182 miles to go!

Shiny and New!

Whoa it's been busy! We moved last weekend and for the most part, all of our furniture is currently made out of boxes. We have gotten some semblance of real rooms in the Family Room and Master Bedroom, which are about 60% complete.

The Master Bedroom is missing a new bed (the current one is E's college bed), drapes, artwork and another dresser/wardrobe. And the Family Room is missing a dinette, sheers, and the artwork. We are waiting for our nice fat tax refund to buy all the new furniture, so I expect our house to sport the air of college-chic for a couple more months.

Even in progress, we LOVE our bedroom. We got some fantastic Dwell bedding for a steal on RueLaLa, and paired it with some pillowcases (hidden in the pic below) and some toss pillows from Target. Then I added a wall mural I bought on Etsy for some drama. I can't wait to finish the room with the new furniture and drapes. It will be our own little relaxing cove.

Oh, and we bought a new stove! Here she is right before we installed it. I was too hungry and forgot to take pics after it was set-up. We bought it from Daniel's Discount Appliance in South Park for about 20% under what it was listed for elsewhere.

Our first house fixes

We spent a busy weekend painting the new house and making a few small fixes.

First up: Mastering the Caulk
People often don't realize how easy it is to fix window trim and baseboards with a little bit of caulk. In a lot of older houses, the wood trim likes to separate from the wall, creating an ugly gap. A tube of caulk is just $3-4. It is also super easy to work with. Just make sure to buy paintable caulk if using it on trims and baseboards.

Before:

After:

Next: Painting
We painted our Family Room and our Master Bedroom, the two rooms we will use the most right away. We still have to do some touch-ups and we have to paint the trim in the FR. But both rooms are ready for us to move in!

FR Before:

FR After:

Bedroom Before:

Bedroom After:

Finally: Testing the New Lawn Mower

Our ILs gave us a nice lawn mower as a house-warming gift. Here is my husband taking it for a test run (note his shorts and boots).

And here is what our lawn looks like now since he decided not to finish the job. Our neighbors love us already!

Paints: Valspar Spa Pool, Olympic Applesauce Cake (matched into Valspar), Olympic Delicate White (for ceiling).

Running Update!

I have been slacking with updating my running progress.

Since I last posted, I have run an additional 12 miles.

I had a bit of a set-back last time and will be off running for about a week until I rest my feet. It is perfect timing to move though, so I won't feel like I am wasting precious running time on lugging boxes around.

Next time I run, it will be in South Park!

184 miles to go!

While we wait...

While we wait to start moving in and making renovations to the house, I thought I would blog about this awesome slow-cooker pork recipe I made yesterday (original recipe). It seriously was the best thing I have made in the crock pot so far.

3lb Pork Shoulder Roast
1 1/2 C Chicken Broth (I used water with a bouillon cube)
1 Yellow Onion
1 Package Green Maggi Sofrito (awesome product, also available at Giant Eagle in the Latin Foods section)
Adobo (I like Goya Adobo with Pepper, available at Giant Eagle as well)

Directions:
Brown the pork shoulder in a separate skillet.
Add chicken broth and chopped onion into the crockpot. Mix in sofrito.
Season the pork with Adobo (can also use salt, pepper, and garlic powder if no adobo is on hand).
Place pork in crock pot with skin/fat-side up.

Cook on Low for eight to ten hours.

After cooking, you can thicken the liquids with cornstarch to make a sauce, or serve them thin.
I served the pork over white rice with the pork liquids.

I also plan on using the pork leftovers to make some pork tacos tonight.

Note: If you ever want to cook Puerto-Rican food in Pittsburgh, the two products linked above are must-haves! If you promise to buy them, I will post my recipe for rice and beans.

We own a home!

The day finally came. We closed on our house yesterday. It is a little unbelievable that we are homeowners now.

I could hardly sleep on Sunday from the nerves and excitement. What if I forgot the checks? What if I didn't have my ID? What if the sellers trashed the house? All fears were unfounded. Of course.

We arrived at our house for the walk-through and did a quick scan of the house. Everything was in order and looked fine. We noticed how big the basement is, how old the kitchen is, and how nice the fireplace looks. We also noticed how dirty the house was left, how many things were not fixed to our standards, and how stained the caulk in the new bathroom was. It was wonderful to be in our house, but anxiety crept in as the list of fixes and projects grew exponentially.

We locked the house with our new keys and headed to the closing. A quick 30-minutes of signing, verifying names, numbers and addresses, and we were ready to roll. It was scary how easy the process to become official homeowners was. And how our mortgage will be paid off in 2040!!!

We then headed back to the house to make sure everything was locked up. And we baptized the house. By peeing in the toilet for the first time. Mazeltov!

No worries, we flushed.

Next up: home renovations!

Things you don't think about until you are at the bank...

E: (Calling from the bank) Who do we get the cashier's check made out to?

N: No clue. Call you back.

After three calls, one to the loan company, one to our REA and one to the closing company, I had the answer. The check draining most, if not all, of your savings goes to the closing company.

Also, you don't know the total until the day before, if you are lucky, or the day of closing.

We were lucky and heard our total funds for closing today, with 3 hours to spare in the business day. Even luckier, our total came in lower by a lot. Almost 15% lower.

As of COB today, we will be ready to close on Monday, followed closely by shopping for paint and buying a new stove.

So close...

Our closing got delayed. Sigh.

We had signed to close on March 31st originally. Then, the sellers asked to close on March 26 to allow them to use the funds to close on their new house. We accepted, but didn't sign anything new. We went ahead as if closing was the 26 and set up our insurance this way.

A few days ago I get a call from our REA. He says the sellers thought we were still closing on the 31st. Huh?

Turns out the seller's REA never informed them that we had agreed to this. So they planned their move for the 27 and couldn't close without having vacated first.

We are now closing on the 29. It is just three days, but we lose a weekend in between. Still... we are so close.

Delays... and Cancellations

The past few weeks have been crazy! E was out in the West Coast for business, and I flew to Puerto Rico for my niece's baptism. We were apart for a long two weeks. The longest we had been apart in four years.

After four days in PR, I was ready to come back and see E. Unfortunately, my connection flight home was canceled. The very-rude Continental check-in agent didn't originally tell me the flight had been canceled. I had to run back after I realized I was missing a Boarding Pass. She, reluctantly, put me on stand-by for the next flight (it was sold-out) and muttered that it was not the airline's responsibility since the cancellation had been due to weather conditions. I was appalled that she had been so mean, and that she had not even bothered to tell me my flight was canceled.

I arrived in my connecting city to see the flight had been delayed. I ran to the customer service desk where a nice agent, for a change, told me that all flights that day were sold out and that my chances of getting home were slim. And I broke down in tears. I was in a strange city, all alone and could not get home. I wanted to be home and see E, and I needed to get to work for a very important meeting the next day.

Thankfully, the cancellations and delays had cause some people to miss this flight and, five minutes before the plane was scheduled to depart, I was able to board and head home. I arrived over four hours later than expected. Drained. And sleepy. But I was home.

A Post for my Husband.

I love my husband. I've loved him for five years now. From the time he made me watch a scary movie in his college apartment and didn't laugh every time I covered my eyes. I've loved him ever since he held me upright as I slipped in ice.

It all started with a kiss. A single perfect kiss. The kiss of your dreams. Fully in-sync, matched in rhythm, perfectly together. It was amazing, and I couldn't wait to keep kissing him. For the rest of my life.

I love his kiss.

I love his eyes, because they twinkle bright green when he is happy. I love his smile because it is guarded, and unleashed only when he is truly happy. I love his laugh. His eyes twinkle when he laughs.

I love his arms. They are strong and defined and tanned. And his shoulders. And his back. And his newly-chiseled stomach. His hugs make me swoon. And I love his wispy beard.

I love how guarded and meticulous he is. Every decision made after much thought and deliberation. Never flying by the seat of his pants. I love how sure he is of everything he does. Of our future.

I love his sense of humor. There is laughter in our house every single day. Multiple times a day.

I love his drive and his loyalty. How hard he works and how passionate he is about his work. True devotion for everything he does.

I love that he likes all my Puerto Rican food and eats enough for two of him. I love that he loves to cook, and is not shy to experiment in the kitchen. Most of the time he is a good cook.

I love that he is traditional. And sentimental. And caring. I love that he indulges my need for compulsive planning. And embraces my "life plan". Even holds me to it.

I love how he goes out of his way to make others happy. To make them laugh. To make them comfortable.

I love that he loves me too.

Happy Birthday Husband. I am so lucky to have you.

Done and Done.

The appraisal came in...

...at $500 more than we are paying. And, there were no repairs needed for the FHA loan.

And... five minutes later we received our Loan Confirmation Letter. Which means...

...we are definitely officially buying a house!

Off to design change of address postcards!

Waiting for the appraisal...

... and waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

The appraisal is also the FHA Inspection, where they can bring up any other safety concerns they may have like hand rails, uneven pavement, chipping paint, etc. This is the last big hurdle for our purchase and, although we don't envision any issues, we are anxious to see the report.

Fingers crossed that it goes smoothly!

The roof, the roof, the roof is...

... in great condition!

As of this evening, we will be under contract. Out of the contingency stage and officially moving forward with the purchase. Woo-hoo!

I do want to give some more background on "roofgate", since I didn't know the full story when I wrote the previous blog post. Bear with me.

We are buying a house from a young couple that has lived there for only three years. They have to move by April 15, or else he will lose his job. This basically gives them 5 weeks to buy a house and move before our closing. They want to wait to be under contract before putting an offer in on a house.

Since they are in a hurry, they didn't want to delay the contingency any longer. They had just had the roof inspected three years ago and were confident that it is in sound condition.

Unfortunately, we didn't find out until almost 5 pm on Friday that they were not extending, and our inspector could not get to the house until Monday morning. We worried that this wasn't good enough and we would be forced to buy the house without having the roof inspected. Around 7 pm on Friday, we heard that they agreed to extend it until Monday at midnight, giving us enough time to get an inspector there and extra time for the snow to melt off the roof.

I have no clue what we would have done if the snow hadn't melted enough by now. We probably would have lost the house. No need to worry about that anymore, thank goodness!

When you buy a house during the snow storm...

Major Update: We got an extension until Monday at midnight! Our inspector was not able to see the roof on Saturday, but will be there first thing Monday morning to inspect it.

When your offer gets accepted, you have 15 days of contingency to get the house inspected and get the sellers to agree to make repairs. Sometimes, a seller will extend the contingency for an extra inspection or some additional negotiating time. That is not our case, and it might turn into a problem.

As I mentioned in Inspection- Part 1, our inspector was not able to check the roof of our house because it was covered with two-feet of snow. Unfortunately, although the sellers agreed to fix all of the issues found during the inspection, save for replacing the interior door from the kitchen to the garage (we were reaching with that one), they did not agree to extend the contingency period. This means that we don't have additional time to have an inspector check the roof. We have to decide by tomorrow whether to take the house without a proper roof inspection.

what our house looks like now

Yes, the roof is only 10 years old.

Yes, the inspector found no evidence of roof damage when he inspected it from the inside.

Yes, the sellers will fix any issues that arise from the snowmageddon snows.

Yes, our REA thinks the roof looks great.

But, can we really buy a house without having a professional give us the thumbs up?

Unfortunately we only have 12 hours to make that decision.

The Inspection- Part 2

This morning, our REA met a chimney inspector at the house to see what the damage was to the chimney. I was nervous thinking it would be upwards of $2,000 and end up being a deal-breaker. After just 15 minutes of looking at the fireplace, the chimney sweep determined that all the fireplace and chimney needed was a good cleaning and some mortar repointing. Total cost: $285. W00T!

We decided we are asking the sellers to:
-Make the repairs to the chimney & fireplace
-Have a plumber check the small gas leak (this was in the inspection report but was not mentioned to us during the inspection)
-Have a plumber replace the flexible copper gas line to the dryer
-Have a plumber check and reseal the bathtub fixtures
-Replace the door to the garage with a fire-rater door
-Have an HVAC repairman check the issues with the furnace (this should still be under warranty)

Our REA thinks these repairs will cost the sellers about $750-800 total. Not too bad!

Now lets hope the snow melts and allows our inspector to go back to look at the roof. And that, when the snow melts, it doesn't cause any leaks or cracks.

The Inspection - Part 1

This past Saturday was our home inspection. We woke up bright and early and headed out of our still-not-plowed street with our last shred of courage. Worst case scenarios danced in our heads as we pulled in to the flat and snow-cleared street (yay suburbs!).

We arrived late, as has become the norm when E & I travel together, and missed the pest inspector. Thankfully, he gave the house a thumbs up. No evidence or damage from pests. We were in the clear!

Basement

We headed to the basement to meet our inspector, Brian, and get the low-down of the electric, water heater, furnace and laundry area. Everything in the basement looked good. There was a tiny bit of dampness on the far corner of the basement, which Brian said would not be a problem at all when finishing the basement.

There was also a cubby hidden by a wood panel that was created by a basement window that got covered with the first-floor addition. Did that make sense? The owners had a piece of cardboard lining it. Brian recommended that we replace that cardboard with blue board, which is mold resistant.

There was a water stain inside the furnace, which Brian said was a small concern. It meant that the seal on the pump was not perfect, but it could be easily fixed by resealing it. He also mentioned that the gas pipe for the dryer was installed incorrectly with a flexible copper pipe. This type of gas line is not up to code, so it needs to be replaced with hard piping with a flexible extension.

First Floor

We then headed to the first floor and the garage. Brian noticed that the door leading to the garage is a hollow interior door, rather than a fire-grade door. To be up to code (and get an occupancy permit) the door needs to be replaced. There was a bit of water damage in the outside wall of the garage, which he was not concerned about. He also mentioned that the siding around the doors to the yard need to be sealed a little better to prevent water damage.

In the living room, Brian found that the fireplace had some mortar that was cracked or missing. He explained that if it is cracked all the way through, we can have hot ambers leak into the frame of our house and catch it on fire. Scary! He suggested we have the chimney cleaned and inspected by a professional who can let us know the condition of the fireplace. This, to us, was kind of a bigger issue. We'll have to see the full report from the inspector to see what he recommends.

Second Floor

Up in the second floor, we took a look at the bedrooms, attic, closets and bathroom. Brian found that two of the power outlets in the master bedroom were not grounded, but were perfectly safe for two-pronged power cables. He also found that some of the bathtub fixtures were a bit leaky and needed to be resealed, while the sink had a slow drain that could use some Drano.

Outside

Snowmageddon made it impossible to take a good look at the driveway and walkways, and cause Brian to be unable to inspect the roof. He did assure us that he had not seen anything inside that would indicate roof damage, and the roof is just 10 years old, but he plans to come back to inspect the roof and walkways once the snow has melted.

Brian took a look at all the windows, which are new; the AC, which is also new; and the outside of the house. He noticed a small crack in the brick facade, which is non-threatening, but he did recommend that we get it resealed to prevent water from finding its way to the inside of the house.

Overall

Overall, we thought it went pretty well. We expect the sellers to be relatively reasonable about making all of the small fixes. Most just require some caulk and some sealing. We hope that the new door leading to the garage will not be an issue, or that we at least will get an allowance to fix it.

Our only big concern is the fireplace and chimney. Do we go ahead and pay for a chimney inspection? Will the sellers even agree to fix any issues with it? Will the sellers at least agree to have it cleaned?

E and I are willing to find a middle ground with the chimney, but we just hope the sellers are willing to cover the smaller fixes as well.

House #28: The One (Part 2)

Here are the details on the house. Soon to be our house (fingers crossed).

Location: South Park

Stats: Colonial, two-story, 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1st floor FR, 1/4 acre

Pros: Nice size, good bedroom sizes, new bathroom, first floor family room, clean dry basement, long wide driveway, garage, large flat yard, next to South Park, flat road, quiet street, hardwood floors, new windows, new furnace, new HWT, updated roof and electric.

Cons: Only one bathroom, does not come with a stove.

This house is great! The layout is nice and open with large rooms and big windows. Everything is in good condition with no updates needed to move in. The house has plenty of room for us to expand, but it is exactly what we need now. We could not do any improvements for 5 years and still have plenty of house to go around.

The location is ideal: a quiet street close to main roads and next to a park. Since our street sits accross from a park, the area will likely never turn into a commercial artery or a run-down neighborhood. Plus, it is a dead-end street in what was originally built as a custom-home plan (in the 50's). The schools are all relatively new and in a fantastic school district. We can't wait to have little ones to send to the schools.

Verdict: Love it!

Major conclusion: We found it!

I think all along we were looking for a house that did not need major cosmetic updates (like The Ranch did) but that had potential for an addition or for building extra space (like The Colonial). We are excited to add square-footage to the home by finishing the basement or expanding the addition in the next few years. We plan to add a bathroom to the first floor, and possibly a powder room in the basement, eventually moving E's home office down from the third bedroom.

Shortly after moving we want to add some extra cabinets to the kitchen, maybe even creating a breakfast bar in there; and we want to add a small patio to the back yard using some paving stones. Eventually we will build a large deck after we decide the fate of the addition.

Let's hope the inspection goes well this weekend, that the appraisal goes as planned, and that we don't have any snags with the loan process. Fingers crossed that it is all smooth sailing. Thank goodness we made it before we hit 30 houses!

House #28

Sorry I have not posted this, but it all happened really fast and we were scared it wasn't actually real. Or that we would jinx ourselves. We are still scared we'll jinx it, but we are too excited to hold the news in any longer.

We bought a house!

E and I went to see a house last Tuesday. We knew it had potential. It was the right price, with the right size yard, everything we wanted, and in one of our top neighborhoods. We didn't want to wait until the weekend to see it (good thing too because of the snow!) and, since it was the only good house on our listings, we figured it would free up our weekend to see it during the week.


We arrived at 4:30 pm on a Tuesday after a relatively easy drive. E was in a good mood, which usually helps things, and I was excited knowing the house had potential. We spent about 30 minutes in the house and talked about all the pros, and a few of the (oh so insignificant) cons. As soon as we got in the car, E turned to me and said:

"We should put in an offer. How much?"

THUD. He is usually gun-shy and methodical. Needing to think things through for a while. He was so sure of this. It amazed me.

On the way home we chatted about the neighborhood. How much we liked it, how the schools were new and the streets flat, how we loved that the house was right next to a park and in a quiet street. By the time we hit the next street light, we were texting our REA to put in an offer. And we knew we had to move fast.

That evening, after discussing the price we were offering, we signed the papers for our first offer. The offer was presented the next day, and we waited an excruciating 24 hours to hear a response.

We got a counter. It was only $500 over our original offer, but required us to put more money towards closing costs. It was a difficult decision, deciding how much of our savings we were willing to part with at closing, but we knew we had to do it. We accepted the counter offer and have never been so sure of something in our lives. Well, other than when we got married.

The closing is set for March 31st, and we will take all of April to move in. The inspection is this weekend, then we have to go through the loan process and appraisal before we can pop the champagne. But for now, we got ourselves a house!

(House stats coming in Part 2)

In the City...

Have you heard of snowpocalipse? Snowmageddon?

It happened. It is real. And it is in Pittsburgh (among other places). The whole region was paralyzed for two days. However, if you happen to live in the city of Pittsburgh, you have been stuck at home for about 4 days.

For some reason, the city has done a terrible job with plowing and clearing roads, even some of the major ones. However in the suburbs, the snow removal has been a lot more reliable, allowing people to actually drive to work, the grocery store, etc.

It also doesn't help that we live on a hilly neighborhood. With cobblestone roads. With street parking (not anymore!).

E & I were stuck at home on Monday and I finally dug my way out on Tuesday (OK, so E was the one that shoveled. I tried, but I had no clue how to do it.). The roads are still terrible and more snow is coming. Six to ten inches more by Wednesday!

I have a feeling there will be piles of snow on our street until April. They'll be there until May if the city doesn't pick up the snow removal soon!

Competition

Another one gone. We took a long (over an hour!) look at The Ranch on Saturday. We talked about putting in an offer with our REA. We didn't even get to put the offer in to find out it was going to be too low. Our REA called the seller's agent and found that the house already had an offer that we couldn't beat. Even worse, the sellers were balking at that offer for being too low.

After a long talk with our REA, we realized that with the low inventory and the extra buyers trying to get the $8K it is not really a buyer's market anymore, and there are few deals to be had. New buyers keep creeping out of the woodwork, but there are no new listings out there.

E & I talked and figured that we were probably setting our expectations a little too high. Every house we have liked has been some sort of compromise for our "wants", and it still has sold. We decided to set our sights on this being our first home, and not necessarily our forever home. Below are the new criteria.

-Good school district. We want our children to be able to be in the same school district from Elementary to High School. Moving to one of our desired districts now will allow for that, even if we move houses.

-Good yard. We definitely want at least 1/4 acre, preferably flat. It makes a house feel more private, spacious and quiet.

-Space for an office. E needs a dedicated office area, whether that is in the basement or in an extra bedroom does not matter.

-Room to grow. We want to have the option to expand the living space in a house, whether it is adding a Family Room or finishing a Basement. We may never ever do this, but we want the option to do it.

-Newer furnace and A/C. Or at least some newer windows.

-All bedrooms on the same level.

There are other things we will look at, but overall we are going to be a bit more realistic about what is available in our price range. Maybe the market will pick up soon, but it still seems like there will be more buyers than sellers out there in the near future.

Who knows? Maybe with our new, less strict, criteria we will find a perfect house with a cute nickname.

A note about our house search

My previous post made me realize that we should share a peculiar thing we like to do with the houses. At least the ones we like. We give each of them a nickname. Usually only E & I know about this nickname, a detail that our REA finds incredibly confusing.

Here are the nicknames so far:

1. The Colonial: For the house in Bethel Park we liked so much, but sold before we made up our minds. It is a colonial.
2. The Rock House: For the house in South Park we put an offer in. The owner had a rock collection and traveled to craft and hobby shows to sell his rocks.
3. The Twilight House: For the Cape Cod in Pleasant Hills. One of the rooms was home to a teenage girl who was in love with Edward Cullen. This house also is known as Night Vision Goggles, since there was a pair of them in the boys' room (a souvenir from the Modern Warfare Collector's Edition).
4. The Ranch: Our current interest. It is a ranch.

I always think it is a good sign when we start referring to a house with a nickname. It means we like it.

Second Look

We are doing a repeat visit to "The Ranch" house tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed that E is not cranky and we can have a long look at the house. "The Ranch" needs a bit of work, all cosmetic. It needs a new bathroom, not because it is not functional, but because it is mind-numbingly ugly; it needs a new kitchen counter and floor, also because they are ugly; it needs wallpaper removed from the powder room (it has flamingos on it, maybe it's a sign!); it needs to have the wood panelling mud-coated and painted in the basement; and it needs new carpet in the game room and stairs.

I guess that is a long list, but it is not a terrifying list.

Even better, "The Ranch" does not need new windows; it doesn't need new appliances (all brand-new); doesn't need a new roof; doesn't need a new furnace or AC or hot water heater; doesn't need new hardwood floors (they are fantastic!); doesn't need new doors; doesn't need a repaved driveway or walkway; and doesn't need a security system installed (comes with one!).

In fact, the house has nothing that it absolutely needs rightthisverysecond. They are all projects we could tackle little by little.

Maybe we'll like it a lot after the second showing.

Running Challenge

Ran another two miles. 196 to go!

House Hunting Sunday

It was a marathon! We saw six houses in the span of 3 hours, all while E was in a terrible mood. Apologies if the details are fuzzy, they all tend to blend together.

House #1

Location: Pleasant Hills

Stats: Colonial, 4 bed, 1.5 baths

Pros: Nice size, enclosed porch converted into FR, nice traditional layout

Cons: Small tiered yard, one car garage, needs a bit of cosmetic work

This was a repeat visit to the house. We had ranked it very high on our original list and could not remember what we didn't like about it. We realized the yard was a deal-breaker.

Verdict: No.

Major Conclusion: A nice yard is non-negotiable for us.

House #2

Location: Bethel Park

Stats: Ranch, 3 beds, 1.5 baths, 2 car garage, 1/3 acre

Pros: Large common areas, enclosed porch (easy remake into FR), large finished basement, nice woodwork throughout the house (doors, floors, cabinets), fireplaces, nice bedroom sizes, enormous garage with workshop, beautiful yard, nice landscaping, cul de sac street, located with easy access to main roads. This house also includes a security system, brand new kitchen appliances (white), new HWT, newer furnace and roof.

Cons: Needs a lot of cosmetic work including a main bathroom remodel, new kitchen counter (or kitchen remodel), new kitchen floor, new carpeting in basement and two bedrooms. The deck off the kitchen is tiny, so it would need a new larger deck.

We liked this house, but it was almost like it grew on us. We didn't realize how much we liked it until we left it.

Verdict: A repeat visit is needed to know for sure.

Major conclusion: A ranch that is well layed-out can work.

House #3

Location: Upper Saint Clair

Stats: Cape Cod, 4 beds, 2 baths

Pros: School District, spacious

Cons: Layout, Location

This house was on a busier street, which we didn't like. It was also layed out so poorly that, even though it had a lot of square footage (1st floor FR, finished GR), a lot of the space was "weird". The DR was unusable, the kitchen was tucked away, the bedrooms were odd in shape. It made no sense.

Verdict: No

Major Conclusion: Just no

House #4

Location: Upper Saint Clair

Stats: Cape Cod, 3 beds, 1.5 baths

Pros: Had a 1st floor FR and a beautiful deck. All bedrooms were upstairs.

Cons: No garage, the yard was unusable hills, needed cosmetic work

E hated this house before we even walked in. I thought it was cute, but small.

Verdict: Not for us

Major Conclusion: None

House #5

Location: Bethel Park

Stats: Colonial, 4 beds, 1.5 baths, double lot

Pros: Huge eat-in kitchen, formal DR, 1st-floor FR, nice patio, wide driveways, new furnace, roof, HTH and plumbing.

Cons: Lots of cosmetic updates needed, yard was on a hill and unusable. The disclosure listed some items that made us think the yard was sliding. Did not care for the street.

This house had a lot of space and is priced very low, but it is a fixer upper. Had the yard been flat and the street nicer, we could have considered it.

Verdict: Nah

Major Conclusion: Although a yard is non-negotiable, cosmetic updates are something we can deal with.

House #6

Location: Pleasant Hills

Stats: Multi-level, 3 beds, 2 baths, 2-car garage

Pros: Curb Appeal.

Cons: Everything else! The house must have been built as a 70's bachelor pad with 70's wallpaper, old old old carpet, brick back splash in the kitchen, old old old appliances, a man cave in the basement (complete with shag and billiards table), and a Swiss Family Robinson yard.

The Yard: OMFG! The yard was basically a tree-house built in decking wood. From the kitchen, a spiral staircase led you down to the (basement-level) patio with an in-ground pool and slide. Then, there were three more levels of decking (all going down lower) with different balconies, water features, step ladders, spiral staircases, all leading to a gazebo and built-in grill at the lowest level. There was not a single inch of grass or dirt, not a single corner that wasn't covered by wood structures.

Verdict: Hell no!

Major Conclusion: Do I even have to say it? The yard!

My Running Challenge

In 2008 I ran a Half-Marathon the weekend we got engaged. In 2009, I ran three 5K races and was regularly running three to five miles at least three times a week. I was in good shape, and my Honeymoon photos are a testament to that! Now, not so much.

The last time I ran was a really rough 5K on Halloween with my friend L (she cooks!). My time was a full 2 minutes from my best race time, and 3 minutes from my best training run. I was losing it! After the wedding, I got lazy. There was no dress to fit into, no beaches that required bikinis, and no motivation to stay in shape. Now I am about 10 lbs from my wedding weight and out of shape, although my work slacks would like me to think it's more like 25 (they are tight!).

I cringe at New Year's resolutions about losing weight. These just send out of shape people into the gym to trot in the elliptical for 10 minutes with no resistance: not gonna cut it! I don't want my resolution to be to lose these pesky 10 lbs. It won't work, plus I'd have to stop making fun of the people at the gym that do this. Instead, my mission is to get back to running shape. More specifically, I have a mileage goal for 2010:

In 2010, I will run 200 miles.

It doesn't seem like a lot, but I want to start slow. This breaks down to under 5 miles each week, but when you consider holidays, vacations, work functions and Pittsburgh weather, it really ends up being 6 miles per week. I hope I hit 300 this year, but I'll be happy with 200 miles. Then we can dream about all the places I could have run to that are 200 or 300 miles away!

I'll keep a countdown (or up) here on the blog. Hope to not let you down!

Day 1: Ran 2 miles, 198 to go.

Another Bust!

Yesterday's viewing was another bust. Figures. Maybe some day they'll do something to keep agents from lying in their listings. This house promised a brand new kitchen, new flooring and various updates, none of which were true. A new kitchen does not contain flooring that is coming up, a non-working dishwasher, a fridge that doesn't match, ugly caulk stains on the counter top and a stove that is grease-stained.

This was house #21. Maybe we'll find the one before we hit house #30? #40? #50?!

Working Faster

After Saturday's visits, we decided to make an offer on House #3, the fixer upper. Before we could even write it out, we found out the owner's had accepted an offer Saturday evening just hours after we left the property. This is the second house that we have wanted that has been sold before we could make a move. We need a new tactic: move faster.

From now on, if there is a house I like, I don't want to wait five days to see it, then two more to make an offer. If I want something, I will go for it, quickly.

There is a house I have been scoping out for about a month. It was slightly over our budget and, although we could have afforded it, since we are asking for closing costs we would have been asking the owners to take a $14K hit on the asking price. This morning, an alert came through that the asking price had been lowered by $10K, so the house is right in our price range. Immediately, I contacted our REA and we are taking a look tomorrow evening.

The house is unique, with large rooms, vaulted (and beamed) ceilings and a lot of interesting wood work. But regardless of whether we like the wood work or beams, the house is large with a beautiful yard and is located in a nice street that borders South Park township. When I saw the listing before Christmas, I was immediately intrigued by this weird house. Now, I am jumping at the chance to see it. I would go right now if I could!

Wish us luck tomorrow. Maybe we'll love it, or maybe we won't. Whatever happens, we are aiming to move a little faster from now on.

House Hunting Saturday, Month #4

E and I went out yesterday and looked at four properties. All of them surprised us for different reasons. Here's the breakdown:

House 1

Location: Bethel Park
Stats: Ranch, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths (possible third), game room

Pros: Master Bathroom
Cons: Location was awful! The house was small with a cramped kitchen and a layout that felt everyone would be on top of each other.

This house was incredibly over-priced. It was small, on a super duper busy street with a hardly usable yard.

Verdict: A resounding NO!
Major conclusion: I still don't like ranches.

House 2

Location: Bethel Park
Stats: Multi-level, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths (with room to make it 2 full)

Pros: It is a nice street and a corner lot. The owners have done a fantastic job renovating with new floors, molding, etc. Nice room sizes and closet sizes.
Cons: The house is too small for us. It does not have a basement or a family room, so there is no room to put E's office unless we take one of the bedrooms. The yard is hilly.

Verdict: Very pretty, but doesn't fit our needs.
Major conclusion: It is amazing what good renovations can do!

House 3

Location: Bethel Park
Stats: Colonial, 4 bedrooms, 1 full and 2 half baths, 2-car garage.

Pros: The house is a great size with good bedroom sizes, decent closets, a PR off the MBR, a big living room and dining room, great hardwood floors, pretty tile in the kitchen and baths, a great garage, nice patio, beautiful large yard, and fantastic curb appeal.
Cons: The house needs work. The seller's are disclosing a leak from the first floor powder room, a basement backup (the pipes are open), and a leak during heavy rain in the second garage. We also observed an ivy problem, a few trees that need to be removed, a new fence is needed in the yard eventually, new windows eventually, and a few things that need to be repaired due to teenagers living in the house (doors with drawings, one wall with a fist-size hole). Also, the home-owners smoke, so the house needs a serious scrubbing!

The price is easily $40-50K under what it would sell for if it was in move-in condition. The neighborhood is fabulous with a playground and a walking-running trail accessible through neighbors' yards. The repairs are mostly ones that could be done throughout the years, since most of the house is in working condition. If we were to get the house back to move-in condition, it could easily sell for over $200K in five years, but it will require a lot of work.

Verdict: Although it needs work, it is a fantastic house in a gorgeous neighborhood.
Major conclusion: A little elbow grease can go a long way!

House 4

Location: Mount Lebanon
Stats: Row-house, 3 bedrooms (actually 2), 1.5 baths

Pros: This is a flipped house with new everything. The entryway is beautiful, the kitchen is gorgeous, the attic space is a plus.
Cons: The house is actually a two bedroom, since the third bedroom does not have a closet. The other two bedrooms have teeny closets where you probably can't fit even a shoe (depth). There is only parking for one car. The house sits on a hill up 30 steps. The basement has very obvious water damage, with no indication that it was fixed by the flippers. The attic, although a nice space, is not heated. The walls in most of the house could have used a skim coat before painting, as you can see old drips, glow in the dark stickers, etc. under the paint. The windows, aside from the first floor, are all old single-pane windows.

Verdict: Over-priced for a house that is actually a 2-bedroom.
Major conclusion: I'd rather do the repairs myself and be sure they are done to our standards.

This Warms My Heart

Aside from her weirdo fear of birds, this is an amazing story of two survivors of the Hudson River crash falling in love.

Sure beats my "we met at a bar" line. Although it will be five years in three weeks since E & I met. I'll blog the story, his cheesy line and all.

The TV Audit

E & I have a slight obsession with television. We watch a good amount of TV, even more since we got our DVR. Recently, my friend D completed a one-week no TV challenge and, although I don't think that's something I want to try, it inspired me to at least take a look at what we watch regularly on TV.

Since the financial audit season is in full swing at my office, I decided to do a TV-viewing audit for E & I. Hopefully this will help us cut some shows we no longer care about.

Daily:
N- KDKA News in the Morning/CBS Early Show

Monday:
N- The Bachelor
N & E- Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother
E- WWE Raw
On DVR- Secret Life of an American Teenager, House, Castle, Greek (coming soon)

Tuesday:
N- American Idol
N & E- Lost
On DVR- Scrubs

Wednesday:
N- American Idol, Glee
On DVR- Modern Family

Thursday:
N & E- Community, The Office
E- Jersey Shore
On DVR- Fringe, The Mentalist, Project Runway

Other shows on hiatus: Lie to Me (DVR), Top Chef (N)

It looks like other than Mondays, the TV schedule is fairly controlled. Why do all the good shows air on Mondays?
Perhaps a goal for this year is to trim the DVR'd shows down from 9 to 5. Or take one night a week to do something outside the house. And, perhaps, eat a few meals in our dining room (once we have a real one, that is). In the meantime, go read D's blog for her awesome no-TV experiment.

New kitchen trick!

I made my mom's amazing pollo guisado (chicken stew) last night to great raves from the hubster. I won't even attempt to post the recipe because it consists of a lot of this:

"A little bit of sauce. A bit of water. Taste it, add some more sauce. Maybe some salt. And taste again and adjust."

I couldn't reproduce it on paper if I tried.

However, I learned a really neat new trick for removing fat from liquids (stews, sauces, soups). There was no time for refrigeration and I do not own a gravy separator, and I had a bit of fat at the top of my stew from the chicken thighs. A quick search on google brought this invaluable nugget:

To remove fat from liquids, wait until the fat rises to the top, then take a paper towel, hold it at both ends, and lay on the fat.

Amazingly, the paper towel grabs/sucks up only the fat and leaves the nice flavorful broth behind. It took a few passes, about four paper towels, but 99% of the fat was gone. Hands down, a meal saver!

We interrupt this program...

I know it's been a while, but I have a good excuse: we've been traveling! We spent a lovely Christmas in Bel Air, Maryland with E's family where we ate too much yummy food, received practical (and somewhat strange) gifts, and were the hit of the family when we gifted E's parents with motion sensor stainless-steel trashcans (Costco FTW). A day after returning, we jetted off to Las Vegas to help our friends with an event they run every January. We spent almost a week in Vegas at the Flamingo enjoying great company, rowdy drunks, slinging stale beer and battling a case of food poisoning.
Note: Thanks to the food poisoning, I got a jump-start in losing my post-wedding weight.


We returned to the frozen tundra of Pittsburgh tired, jet-lagged and excited to be home for a long stretch. As for New Year's resolutions, I want to blog more. Even if no one reads it. E doesn't make resolutions, or he doesn't tell me.

Last night, we went to a friend's house-warming party. We were pleasantly surprised at how lovely his home was. A nice 3.5 or 4 bedroom (depends), 1.5 bath house with a semi-open layout and plenty of extra space for expansion. When we heard what he paid we almost fainted! Granted, his house is not in an area we would ever consider buying. I am just a teensy bit overly obsessed with school districts to buy in the city. But it was nice to see that our friend had gotten pretty much everything he wanted in a house, whereas E & I always seem to have at least one thing about each house we see that we don't like.


As we left the party, I asked E about our houses. Immediately he answered that he wanted to see more, so I went back to our listings this morning. That's when I found out "our" house had been sold. We were surprised it sold because we were "watching" the house, yet no call ever came asking us to put a competing offer in. After initial shock and sadness, it made me realize that the house selling meant we could take our time and look for the PERFECT house without feeling tied back to a lingering listing. There are five houses we are hoping to see next weekend, and hopefully none of them will be sold from under us.