Closing In

We're close.

We're really really close.

The paperwork (100+ pages of it) has been signed and notarized. The wire transfer of closing costs has gone through. The final walkthrough has been done. We got another look at the place, our first time back in since early February when we decided to put in our offer.

The grass is a little longer and we need to buy a lawn mower. There are fruit trees in the back that need to be pruned (I'll need to learn how to do that!). First up on the to-do list is fencing. The front yard needs it for sure and there is also a two-tier yard that will need fencing so the baby doesn't fall off the retaining wall. He certainly won't be able to go in the yard without an adult in the current state.

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I like this look with the mix of blocks and wood.

The kitchen is even more lovely than I remember with soft-close drawers and enough room for all of us to dance in, if we so wanted to. There is so much more storage space than in our apartment and I can't wait to organize. I'm going to have Danny install a few cabinets with pull-out drawers so we can easily reach our pots and pans and not have to unload the entire cabinet to get to anything in the back.

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The lightswitch for the kitchen is in a weird place though (in the hallway by the front door!) so that might have to be rewired. Fortunately Danny's uncle is an electrician.

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Loving this color for the master bedroom, Benjamin Moore "Glass Slipper"

The bedrooms are tinier than I recall... not quite sure how we are going to comfortably arrange our master bedroom with our new dresser. I seriously doubt the boy's furniture is going to fit in their shared bedroom. I have a feeling their dresser is going to end up inside the closet! Unfortunately we still need the baby's changing table and the rocking chair for at least the rest of the year and they take up so much space. The Girl is getting the best end of the deal with a bedroom of her own.

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Thinking of painting their yucky oak dresser this pretty blue (Benjamin Moore's "Azores") for The Girl's new room

The only storage space in the bathrooms is under the sink. There isn't even a medicine cabinet. So I think we'll do over-the-toilet cabinets in both bathrooms to hold extra toilet paper, towels and soaps. I also hate loading up the bathroom counter with toiletries so perhaps a basket per person on the shelf with their toothbrush, personal hygiene stuff, etc?

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Nice storage space for over the toilet

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Perfect use of space, over the door shelving!

The hall closet is a nice size, but it has mirrored sliding doors, which I don't care for. I personally don't like sliders because no matter what, they will always fall off the track. And really, mirrors in the hall? That just seems weird. I'll have to figure out something to do with those, even accordian doors would be better. Also, there is only one shelf up high and one closet bar in there. This is going to be our main storage for linens, medicines and bath stuff since space is so limited in the bathrooms so shelving will be a must in here.

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Other than that, there is very little that needs to be "done" in the house. There are a few spots on the wall where the prior tenant's furniture scraped so that will be a quick fix and then I would like the living room walls painted. I am partial to Sherwin William's Comfort Gray which (accordingly to Pinterest and those I've been scoping out in "blogland") is a lovely gray with bluish-green tones. Perfect!

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And a rug for the living room too, as it's all tile that flows from kitchen into living space/dining area.

Love this golden one with the large pattern. It would go nicely with grayish/bluish/greenish walls, don't you think? I am sooooo looking forward to adding color. The apartment standard "Navajo White" just isn't my style.

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And of course some landscaping this summer, can't wait to give the front of the house some character with flowers.

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So, it's close enough that we can now say it will be within days. We'd actually been told "keys on Wednesday" by our agent but unfortunately the lender is still reviewing things, then they still have to complete the funding (probably tomorrow) and then record it all (probably Friday). Ugh. Honestly, I am a planner and all this willy-nilly-wait-till-the-last-moment jazz has me ready to yank my hair out by the roots. What this means is that IF everything runs as the agent believes with the above schedule, then we'd be moving everything on Saturday and cleaning the apartment on Easter Sunday. We have to be out of the apartment on Sunday because it's the last day of the month and I'll be darned if we have to pay another month of rent!
So, we're close. But not as close as I'd like!