My Valentine's Day Gift

Was given to me by a neighbor and fellow blogger.  It is simply the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.  I am totally in love!

There is still some work to be done but I am more than excited to have numbers on my garage and a mailbox.  Yes I am excited about a mailbox!  

Another PM Update

My PM's updates seem to come every two weeks- which is okay.  The PM for this community is a very busy man with all  houses that are breaking ground on a weekly basis. There are about 3 homes scheduled to close in March.

So here is the scoop- my lot has been graded and the topsoil added.  He also said that my driveway will be repaired, no more lumps and bumps.  If I heard him correctly, the driveway will have to be moved over a little, for what reason I don't know.  My walkways from the driveway to the home have also been laid.  Carpets have been installed and my steps and railings will be stained this weekend. They also replaced my damaged kitchen cabinet.   I wonder did they also repair this:

see that huge scratch?  Do not paint over this- replace it

The only hiccup is that the railings for my portico have been delayed.

Incomplete

complete

I was told there may be a lot of tape so be careful where I go if I visit this weekend, and I will visit.  I forgot to ask him about my chair rail as that was not installed the last time I was in the home.  At first I thought it didn't come with trim package #3 but I re read my punch list and sure enough, its there in black and white.  Always check your punch list- this helps to ensure you are on top of ALL your standards and your options that are to be placed in your home, like my chair rail.

Closer than I thought!

My PM just answered a few questions that I had about my home construction and I actually got quite a shock.  Specifically I questioned what the timeline looked like for my home.  His reply?  "Looks like we are on track for a March 5th pre settlement date" WHAT?!  I should have known but I did not know we were so close!  So yes my house looks like its moving fast because it is.

I will note that there are a few things they will do after settlement because we are a winter build.  Things like painting my front door and regrading and seeding my lot.  In addition, they still need to plant that buffer of trees.  I also suspect they will have to repour my driveway.  The asphalt is really lumpy and bumpy.  But still- that date is SO close!

He also answered my question about those day glo "sold" signs in my windows.  It helps let potential buyers know that the home is sold and it is not a "spec" house. which is a home built without a contract in place.  Makes sense, but can we put a big "This belongs to......." sign in the window instead?   No? Sigh.

It's my home

I made my weekly trek to the new house and yes the busy little bees were hard at work again.  I stopped by the model house to get permission (oooh that kills me but I wanted them to know I am keeping watch).  They were entertaining quite a few perspective buyers- looks like our 70% (yes we are 70% sold out) may be reach 100% really soon.

The SRs were so busy in fact I was told I didn't need an escort.  Of course this may change next week but I have my permission papers for the day.

She has her other eyelash!

My stone facade is getting its finishing touches

Granite counter tops have been installed

Hardwoods all have been installed,  looks great with my counter tops

My kitchen the cabinets have installed but needs some finishing work

Fireplace mantle needs to be repainted but my surround looks gorgeous

There was a list of items taped to the kitchen cabinets that must be repaired or replaced.  I am glad because things like this should not happen

More Pics!

Crown Molding looks really nice in the study

When I walked into my master bathroom I literally squealed with delight

 I can't wait until they install the shower head

This is inlay is just beautiful

 I don't remember picking this for my shower floor but I like it, it has the look of travertine tile

 Great pic to see how the cabinets, counter top and tile look together

The hall bath is completed tiled and grouted, they still need to install the cabinets

As I was leaving I noticed that my porch columns  and coach lights were also in place

This image would look so much better without that dumpster in the way

Side note- I was so concerned about my laundry room door swinging in versus my preferred out, that I just had to check to see how "closed in" I would feel if I had to partially close the door to fold clothes on the counter.  With the door at a 45 degree angle, the space does not feel tight at all.  I can actually use all of the counter (reaching over a little of course) comfortably without any trouble.  In addition, the vinyl floor we choose for the laundry looks so much like ceramic tile, I don't think I will replace it right away.  

Funny Story:  As I was looking at my secondary bedrooms, I heard someone call out "Hello" from downstairs.  I didn't respond as I figured it was someone touring the home and I didn't want to scare them.  I attempted to slip out but the small group came around the corner just as I hit the bottom step.

"Oh," a well dressed woman said, "Someone else is looking at this house too"  I smiled and said "Actually, this is my home"   I think I gave her quite a shock as she had the designer hand bag, coat and heels and here I was in my traditional weekend attire: a hoodie, sweatpants and sneakers.  But boy did it feel good to say "My home."  Which reminds me:  I noticed several Ryan Homes posters with an orange "SOLD" sign in the windows.  I am curious as to why they would do this.  My lot sign with "sold" plastered on it is still out front (or is it?).   

Are they done yet?

No- but I am getting little batty waiting for my wonderful home to be completed.  And I thought the wait for them to break ground was bad!
In the mean time in my minds eye, I have been decorating the boys room.  Their rooms are simple- dark wood furniture and their favorite sports teams: Eagles and the Phillies.  On that note look at what I found at our local Target:

These canvas prints are just the thing at $40.  I still want to get one of these Fathead murals:

Still would have to figure out a good paint color for the walls- but I got a year to work on that, sigh.

I would love to have something like this for their beds.  The trundle bed feature would be great for when one of their friends wants to sleep over.  

I am also came across some other printed canvases that just brought out the tom boy in me

Maybe these can go in our basement.  I really like the look of the Spider and Captain America comic book cover.  

For the Interior Decorating Impaired

If you have been following this blog for a bit you know I have repeatedly said I am no good at interior decorating.   I know what appeals to my eye but how to put together myself well........

This is not my current home- just an example of what I usually accomplish 

Drab, bland with very little interest to the room.  And thus the reason for hiring someone to help me pull it together.  That's when I ran across this article from Houzz.  It does some great work of breaking down of where to begin  and how to set it all up.  By the way- join Houzz!  It's a great website and app for everything and anything for your home. 

If you still need help planning your space- get your iPad involved. 

This app is one of the best as you can adjust for YOUR floor plan.  Don't like this app- well just search for Interior Design and I am quite sure you will find something that fits your needs. 

What ever you do- don't feel like you have to rush to get that decorated model home look. Easier said than done.  Take your time- you are planning on living in this home for some time, why not enjoy the process? 

For those of you have this decorating thing done pat- any other tips or tricks you would like to share?  Help us non DIY, non decorating folk out!

Super Bowl Sunday and hard at work

Since all the good stuff is going on inside my home, I have restricted myself to going once a week, typically on a Sunday.  I figured all the workers would be home getting ready for the Super Bowl and their own personalized wing fest.  Nope.
Today I was a good girl and didn't sneak in.  Today I dutifully went down to the model home and politely asked if I could walk my home.  And the only reason why I did it today was because instead of the 1 or 2 workers I typically encounter there were  at least 8 today.  Yes 8 tradesmen and at least 1 trades woman hammering and gluing and tiling stuff in my home AND my house didn't in the least feel crowded.  SCORE!

I toured my home and took pics and marveled at all the things they accomplished in such a short time.  I commented to my husband that it may be early March vs mid March that we will close.  He seems to think that tomorrows threat of 9 inches of snow spurred them to get work done today. We will know soon enough.  On to what you really came here for:  PICS! Ignore the order of pics- blogger wouldn't let me rearrange them

My columns have been installed.

Kitchen cabinets being installed 

Kitchen cabinets

I wonder if he is wondering how fast he can get home 

Dining Room Chandelier


 It looks like they started painting and it will a slight off white color

 Metal balusters

Wainscoting installed!

French doors with transom window 

 Laundry Room- I like the shutter type door

 Column at the entrance of the master bedroom

 Light fixtures in bathroom

Tile in place, needs to be grouted 

Looking up to the second floor

Foyer Chandelier 

Hall Bath- floor tiled but needs grout

I finally remembered to ask about the percentages of the different models in the neighborhood.  As I figured there are few Ravennas as this is the decorated model.  But since my community periodically changes the model offerings we have quite a few of the other models in the area- Naples and Bainbridge are two of the models no longer offered- well at least for now.  He also reported that more people are now interested in the Courtland Gate.   Something that I had heard from my own SR.