Like...I LOVE our house. I'm really, really happy that we built with Ryan. And I'm so happy that it worked out for us to move into the neighborhood that we did. It is so beautiful and full of some really wonderful families!
So far the house has been chilly...but that's because my crazy husband keeps the heat at 63 freaking degrees in the dead of winter. No lie. We fight daily about it. A constant war of him turning it to 63 and me turning it to 68. Either way, heat bills have been good. So have the electric bills. And water.
I love my master bathroom with the closet in it. LOVE. Some people think its weird...I don't. I enjoy not leaving my bathroom until I am fully dressed and ready for the day!
I love my big a$$ kitchen. Is it the biggest kitchen in the world? Probably not? But its one of the biggest and most spacious kitchens I've ever known! I only wish I'd though to have gotten double ovens or something. I didn't realize I'd have the space for something that cool. But let's be honest. I'll probably never cook THAT much where it would be handy to have double ovens.
We are still waiting on our tub to be fixed. The person from the tub manufacturer is working on this in 2 steps. She's fairly certain that she'll be able to fix it completely. We'll see once step 2 in complete!
Our baby in the body cast is doing pretty well considering she's 16 months old and in a body cast. Her leg is healing very well and we're anxious to get that darn thing off! 15 more days. Not that I have a countdown or anything like that. If you'd like to follow her story and recovery (and just our family craziness in general!) click here.
There are only 2 lots left in the first phase of our street and WOW did Ryan slash the prices!! Holy cow. I'll be honest that for about 3 minutes I seriously considered putting my house up for sale (you know...the one we just built and moved into in October???) and building 4 lots down and upgrading the crap out of the new house. We'd end up paying the same amount! But that's just me being nutty. Don't worry Project Manager Mike and Sales Agent Mike!!! I won't do that to you guys :) Remember...I love my house!
In case anyone is curious...a few projects we have on our To-Do list for the house...some we'll get to this year. Some next year. Some a long time from now :) Some are things I wish we had done when we were building!!
- PAINT! I wish this had been an option when we were building. I hate painting! And I stink at picking out paint colors. I am so hiring someone.
- landscaping - this will be challenging. My hubby thinks we can do it ourselves. I'm a perfectionist and want it done right so I say no. I'll let you know who wins (and when!)
- deck or patio in the back - as much as I'd like one this summer, I think it might be next summer.
- fence (we're waiting to see what our new neighbors do first! they have a dog! maybe they'll put a fence up first!)
- finish the basement
- put some sort of stone or brick on the front of the house - I really wish we had done this during the building process just to jazz it up a little.
-distressed hardwood floors in the entryway
-tile floors in the upstairs bathrooms
- put in a storm door
- add AC (we are in the process of this right now. KILLER deal! $2000!!!)
- close off our formal living room and put in french doors (hoping to get this done soon within the year - this is something I really wish I had remembered to do when we were building!)
-change out the basic light fixtures that came with the house
-add ceiling fans in the bedrooms
- pool - eventually I'd like our backyard to look like some sort of oasis :)
We have a lot on our plates, huh? It never ends I guess - even when it is a brand new house! I'm willing to bet we'll have our hands full this summer getting our lawn in good shape as well!!
Just curious - would you mind sharing what your heating bills have been? We are building in PA and I am hoping are bills aren't too high. They are really high in our current house but it was built in the 70s.
ReplyDeleteWhy didnt AC come with your house? thats really weird
ReplyDelete@India we chose not to get AC because it was super expensive! We're saving so much money by not buying it through Ryan.
ReplyDelete@Jen our bills have been very low. I think our last one for the month of December was $118 and that is for 2800 sq ft house.
Oh ok..its not an add-on in our case..I wonder why that is...Its already included..
ReplyDeleteThanks, that is great!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your new house!
ReplyDeleteI have been reading every word you have written as my wife and I head down the same road. We are building a Ravenna as well but in central NY. We chose grey and blue as well. Another similarity is that our daughter broke her leg this past July when she was 11 months old.
Even though I have read your blog in it's entirety I still have many questions. Therefore,
if you get a chance I would like to "chat" off the blog about your experiences. My email is demelzer@yahoo.com
Best wishes to you and your family.
haha - you'd hate living with us then! We keep the house at 57 while sleeping and 59 when we're awake.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're enjoying your new digs :)
Hi kristine, happy to hear that you still love your new home :) the heating issue is so funny girll!!!!!bundle up :). Can't wait to enjoy our new home. I
ReplyDeleteSo happy to hear you like it so much! That's very reassuring. It's great that your neighborhood is so awesome. I hope the same is true of ours.
ReplyDeleteYour "to do" list is just about as long as ours! If only I had unlimited funding!
I thought of you when our ugly master bathroom vanity with one sink was installed the other day. Now I know what you meant about how ridiculous it looked! I think we'll be ordering another cabinet for under there.
I've been reading your blog about your daughter. What a trooper. Hope the next couple of weeks go quickly.
Brr your house is super cold..I would freeze. We keep ours at 69 downstairs and 70 upstairs during the day when we are home and 65 upstairs, 59 downstairs at night. SOmetimes even 69 feels cold to me. Our electric bill sure shows it though but oh well! Hoping it will go down a lot in spring/summer. I'm s ure it will be up during the hot months of August though. So glad you have a great neighborhood. We have yet to even meet any of our neighbors since it's just been so cold and everyone hibernates inside. Looking forward to the spring!
ReplyDelete@Duane I sent you an email.
ReplyDelete