On The Market

Well, its official.  Our journey here in Chicago is one step closer to coming to an end.  We met with our Realtor yesterday and signed all of the paperwork to have our house be actively listed starting tomorrow.  While this is what we want- Chicago never felt like "home"- it will be a bit bittersweet to see the sign go in.  We have devoted so much time and effort and money (every extra penny we had, to be exact) into this little house that it will be sad to walk away from it so soon.  This house was our honeymoon!  I just hope that some nice young family will love it, and adore it, and appreciate the fact that there are countertops in the kitchen, and functioning windows (looking back, the windows should probably have been addressed before we moved in... what if we had a fire?!  We would have been stuck inside!). 

And, thank heavens we are moving from here to MN because the market here took a bit of a dip recently and we aren't listing it for what we originally thought that we would.  It was a bit disappointing to hear our Realtor drop the bombshell, but we appreciate the fact that she was honest and was ultimately looking out for our best interest.  Listing it at what we thought we could 6 months ago would mean that we would get no traffic in the door and would sit on it for months.  We are looking to the bright side and reminding ourselves that we are not in an upside-down situation- unlike 90% of sellers right now, we will make money.  Just keep your fingers crossed that it is enough for us to put 20% down on our next house that we so desperately want to buy (no offense Mom and Dad, but moving in with you both isn't the top of our list... Although, the food would certainly be better at your house than it would be at mine!). 

Wish us luck!

A Weekend Away!

Thank you to my cousin, Tommy for marrying his love, Tari this weekend so that I can get out of Chicago and spend some time not working on the house!  As much as I love our cute little house now, I am ready to get away from the smell of paint and the reminder that we are so close to being done- even if it is just for 2 days.  Oh, and lets not even get into discussing how excited I am to get out of the heat!  I have never been more ready for Fall in my life.  Staying at a hotel and cranking up the AC has never sounded so good! 

Not much has happened in our lives since we wrapped up the whirlwind of the bathroom re-do.  Tom is coming back down to Chicago next weekend to help me fininsh up the house and meet with the Realtor.  I have to finish painting some trim but I can't do that until he is here to help me move furniture... I threatened to do it myself, but my family strongly encouraged me to wait until he gets here so that I don't tip the china cabinet over onto myself- I guess it makes sense.  It is crazy to think that our house might be on the market in a week... didn't we just move in?!  I am really looking forward to hearing our Realtor's thoughts on all the work we did.  She was very impressed before the kitchen was 100% completed and before we even had walls back up in the bathroom.  So, keep your fingers crossed that she still loves it and that she thinks we should list it at $1,000,000,000.

Stay cool this weekend!!

New Bathroom

Oh. My. Goodness.  What a crazy 10 days it was!  I am happy to report that all major projects on the house have been completed!  All that I have left is to paint in the bathroom and our bedroom.  I can't even believe it.  We had our fair share of problems that kept popping up- the vanities didn't fit, the drywall had to be ripped down after mudding to fix a leak, the walls wouldn't dry because of our high humidity...  But, somehow it all came together for a completed house!  Even the kitchen is 100% done. 

I might have the best family in the entire world.  No lie.  My parents willingly spent their vacation helping Tom and I on our house.  Mike Rooney spent two of his weekends pitching in.  Then, Emily came down and spent a few days caulking and priming the walls.  And, Carrie and Jason will be down here this weekend and have offered to help me finish painting. Who else in the world has such an awesome family?! 

Oh ugly yellow and blue bathroom... how I will not miss you...

Tom wanted a blue bathroom, and blue he got!

There was tile on the wall before?  Could have fooled me!

All that is missing next to that vase is my coffee maker and a wall clock

We had some vanity troubles... but I think it all worked out great in the end!

I am going to LOVE getting ready for work in the mornings now!

Tom is staying put this weekend to celebrate Kyle Walker's Birthday, so I am a bachelorette...  Pretty convenient that there is tons of painting to do and he is gone, don't ya think?   ;)