House Sneak Peek

I finally feel a little more "settled" in our new home.

It's still not completely organized the way I want it, and we still have a few more DIY projects to do.

But I've been getting a ton of people ask me for some pictures of the house.

I've been reluctant, because I was planning on doing one big blog post once our house was just the way I wanted it.

I realized this weekend that it'll be another few months before it's totally how I want it.

So I figured I'd give y'all a little tease.

When we started house hunting, I had a short list of "non negotiables".

Things that I ABSOLUTELY needed in a home, and if a house we looked at was missing any of these, it was automatically a "no go".

Although this is not our "forever home", this was the second home we have purchased together, and I wanted to make sure it was what I wanted to live in for the short 3 years we are here.

1. ONE STORY.

I never ever ever would buy a two story house, nor do I ever want to live in a two story house ever again (if we can help it). 

Our home that we rented in Massachusetts was a 2600 square foot, two story home, and I HATED IT.

The upstairs never got much love, and the laundry room was in the basement.

It was just inconvenient for me.

2. Open concept

I wanted a kitchen that opened up to the living room.

The last time we had a kitchen that was open to the living room was when we lived in our teeny tiny 800 square foot apartment in San Clemente (before we had kids).

After having kids, I wanted a kitchen that I could cook at while watching the family hang out in the living room.

3. Larger master bedroom/suite

We ended up with a huge master bedroom with a den (which is our office/moto room) attached to it separately.

It also has a nice little bathroom with his/her sinks, large soaking tub, a shower, and a walk in closet.

4. Indoor laundry room.

Our town house in California that we owned had the washer and dryer out in our garage...I hated it.

Our house in Massachusetts had the washer and dryer in the cold, scary basement...I hated it.

I needed a laundry room inside the house, and I finally got it!

5. Fenced backyard with lots of room for entertainment.

We scored with this.

We have a large backyard with a humongous new deck...perfect for entertaining!

So these were my 5 "non negotiables", and I'm so thankful that our realtor worked with us to find our perfect, temporary, Texas home.

Shameless plug goes to our awesome realtor Jason Handy with Andrea Peters Realtors (Keller Williams)

Here is a small sneak peek...

Remember that GORGEOUS Restoration Hardware knockoff table that Nick and I built together in Massachusetts??

Well that thing seats 8 people, and it didn't fit in our dining room, so Nick built me a new one!

The old one is currently sitting on our nice deck, and being used as a picnic table for outdoor BBQ's and entertaining!

This one seats 6.

I want two beautiful high back end chairs for it, but I haven't found the "perfect" ones yet.

The hunt continues.

Also, we are still in the process of finishing our "floating dry bar" (against the wall under the mirror in the pic).

We are planning on adding a wine rack underneath it, lifting the mirror up, and adding some shelves for "top shelf liquors".

While the kitchen is not very big, it is what "sold" me on this house.

It's so "quaint" and so "perfect" for me...for now.

It's open to the living room...

 It boasts GORGEOUS gray/white granite counter tops with subway tile back splash...

The cabinets are completely custom...

Big pantry...

Large, deep under mount kitchen sink without a divider....(seriously, if you've never owned a sink without that pesky divider, you should...it'll change your life...)

Oh, and check out that sweet gas stove with a DOUBLE OVEN!!!!

I've already gotten some use of that double oven feature.

It's seriously amazing to cook two things at the same time at different temperatures...

I'm I've already become spoiled...

 I have a little coffee bar next to the fridge.

And we purchased our new "smart" fridge...

The previous owners had a similar one, but they decided at the last minute, they wanted to take their fridge with them to their new home.

 bar area...

So there's a little tease for y'all!

As we finish up the rest of the house, I'll start posting more blogs about each room!!!