Today my husband and I have been married six years so naturally I fall back to talking to him about my home plans. He is so gracious to constantly listen to my dreams and ramblings; I know I talk a bit too much about my home dreams but I know all the hoping and planning will be worth it in the end.
As you can see, my blog underwent a minor transformation today and this is thanks to the brief conversation Thomas and I had this morning about my wishes for a Connor Home. I told him how much I really do think an investment like this would be worth it but I know the layout is a small source of contention. We would have the opportunity to make some changes as long as we don't go with their smallest options but I can discuss this all with you later on my new page, The Family Home. Right now, my two year is desiring me to go outside and play with her so she can watch her dad mow the lawn. Yes, exciting lives we have here. Haha.
Anyways, brief description of what might be our new options. We will work on having our first home in Gilbert in the next few years and that home will most likely be in the Morrison Ranch development. Our family home (and what I would like to be our second purchase) will be the Connor Homes option and we're considering their Living Barns or Carriage style homes possibly with a detached garage (we'll be exploring it all a bit more after we get our catalog mailed to us) and the third one, our dream home, will be several more years down the road but I'll already start sharing some ideas I have for all three as my schedule allows.
I know I keep you forever busy but I dream (as I talk) in tangents so bear with me. It will be a great journey in the years to come.
-Cheryl
p.s. I'll also try and get some pics of us up here too since we've already been on this journey awhile together. Have a great weekend everyone.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Constantly Searching for "The One"
Yes, let's bring my indecisiveness back to the forefront of my existence. I have found a company that could potentially be the one to build my dream home. Honestly, I only see two things standing in my way: my budget and my husband. I know we are nowhere near where I want to be with our dream home budget and I don't mind if that means more labor on my part; the likely course of action would be to purchase the land first, pay it off, and then work on building the home. The thing I cannot change is my husband. Not that I want to change him but I have some serious work to getting him on board with this potentially meeting our my needs and wants for a home.
My husband is (and always will be) the practical one of us in the relationship. He looks at cost and efficiency while I look at the prettier matters like exterior architecture, paint colors, and design features like cup pulls and Restoration Hardware light fixtures (certainly something I want to share with you all, but I think my love of light fixtures probably deserves its own post).
I find, more and more each day, that I really just want ONE home; we have considered buying a starter home and later renting it out (and possibly, two or three down the road) but I find my heart always goes back to just having one home. I know I want to relax at the end of the day; I don't know if I want to be bothered by a tenant's leaking pipes, faulty dryer, kids who draw on walls with Sharpie marker (thankfully, mine has never done so but the scene from "Gilmore Girls" where Gigi draws on the wood floors in Lorelai's house comes to mind).
Anyways, I want to feel giddy each time I walk into or look at my home. I want to smile when people compliment me on my home for how well-built it is; I want to know my home didn't require extensive amounts of materials going into landfills (these house are factory built so less on-site waste); I want to know that my home is built specifically for our needs now and in the future; and lastly, I want to live on a decent size plot of land where my neighbors' arguments aren't so easily heard. I don't like listening to other people's squabbles and even less so, loud arguments that I should not be privy to regardless of the situation.
Before I keep babbling on, let me introduce to you the company that has sparked my interest: Connor Homes. This Vermont based company makes new homes with historical details and ships the parts to your lot (whether it's here in the States or around the world). This company has several floor plans available but can also customize a design for you and based off their designs, I know we'd be able to do some of the work ourselves, which would not be possible if we went through a large developer home builder that handles all aspects of the home project because of liability and deadline issues (and I'm sure, the fact that they would lose money if we did things ourselves).
I am already so excited about this option that I ordered their catalog (less than $20) so I can check them out further. Hopefully, this small financial investment can give my husband a better sense of the company and down the road we can visit the company in person to determine whether this is a viable option for us. Wish us luck!
My husband is (and always will be) the practical one of us in the relationship. He looks at cost and efficiency while I look at the prettier matters like exterior architecture, paint colors, and design features like cup pulls and Restoration Hardware light fixtures (certainly something I want to share with you all, but I think my love of light fixtures probably deserves its own post).
I find, more and more each day, that I really just want ONE home; we have considered buying a starter home and later renting it out (and possibly, two or three down the road) but I find my heart always goes back to just having one home. I know I want to relax at the end of the day; I don't know if I want to be bothered by a tenant's leaking pipes, faulty dryer, kids who draw on walls with Sharpie marker (thankfully, mine has never done so but the scene from "Gilmore Girls" where Gigi draws on the wood floors in Lorelai's house comes to mind).
Anyways, I want to feel giddy each time I walk into or look at my home. I want to smile when people compliment me on my home for how well-built it is; I want to know my home didn't require extensive amounts of materials going into landfills (these house are factory built so less on-site waste); I want to know that my home is built specifically for our needs now and in the future; and lastly, I want to live on a decent size plot of land where my neighbors' arguments aren't so easily heard. I don't like listening to other people's squabbles and even less so, loud arguments that I should not be privy to regardless of the situation.
Before I keep babbling on, let me introduce to you the company that has sparked my interest: Connor Homes. This Vermont based company makes new homes with historical details and ships the parts to your lot (whether it's here in the States or around the world). This company has several floor plans available but can also customize a design for you and based off their designs, I know we'd be able to do some of the work ourselves, which would not be possible if we went through a large developer home builder that handles all aspects of the home project because of liability and deadline issues (and I'm sure, the fact that they would lose money if we did things ourselves).
I am already so excited about this option that I ordered their catalog (less than $20) so I can check them out further. Hopefully, this small financial investment can give my husband a better sense of the company and down the road we can visit the company in person to determine whether this is a viable option for us. Wish us luck!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Down and Personal
Let's just say post graduating college the job hunting really does suck. I've applied for 16 positions (off the top of my head) since late December and have gotten back nine "you're not good enough for us" responses and one position I declined because after I learned of some negative press about them, it was too much for me to want to work for that particular company.
Anyways, in the meantime of still being unemployed, I've had the opportunity to house hunt online A LOT and I've actually narrowed down a respectable development in Gilbert, Arizona called Morrison Ranch that I think will suit us nicely. It has tree lined streets, decent size lots, nice architectural exterior details, and is located in a good part of town.
I know I've been bouncing around ideas on where to live but I think I am ready to start focusing in on this area.
It is now almost a month out for our move down to Arizona and I am eager to get used to the change of pace for us. It is timed nicely too since this part of Wyoming gets flooded with tourists in the summer and all our favorite restaurants will be packed during the weekends.
I did want to share a blog with you that I found recently called Young House Love at http://www.younghouselove.com/ that is absolutely wonderful for inspiration. Now, we obviously don't want an old house for ourselves but I love the idea of taking the bones of a house and transforming it (in our case, from what will most likely be builder grade) into something really special.
I'll also be keeping ideas from This Old House (the show and the magazine) plus things from HGTV designers tucked away in my design notebook and my Pinterest account at http://pinterest.com/everydaydesigns/. It's nothing spectacular but it will give you a better sense of how I want to design the interior space of a home and the fun quirky things that make me 'me'.
Anyways, in the meantime of still being unemployed, I've had the opportunity to house hunt online A LOT and I've actually narrowed down a respectable development in Gilbert, Arizona called Morrison Ranch that I think will suit us nicely. It has tree lined streets, decent size lots, nice architectural exterior details, and is located in a good part of town.
I know I've been bouncing around ideas on where to live but I think I am ready to start focusing in on this area.
It is now almost a month out for our move down to Arizona and I am eager to get used to the change of pace for us. It is timed nicely too since this part of Wyoming gets flooded with tourists in the summer and all our favorite restaurants will be packed during the weekends.
I did want to share a blog with you that I found recently called Young House Love at http://www.younghouselove.com/ that is absolutely wonderful for inspiration. Now, we obviously don't want an old house for ourselves but I love the idea of taking the bones of a house and transforming it (in our case, from what will most likely be builder grade) into something really special.
I'll also be keeping ideas from This Old House (the show and the magazine) plus things from HGTV designers tucked away in my design notebook and my Pinterest account at http://pinterest.com/everydaydesigns/. It's nothing spectacular but it will give you a better sense of how I want to design the interior space of a home and the fun quirky things that make me 'me'.
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