Things I've Learned From House Hunting

As most of our friends and family know, we have been searching for the right house for some time.  Some may say we are picky, I say we are meticulous.  I thought I would share some of the things I have learned about house hunting/selling a house.

1. Make sure your house smells good.  This is key.  We have walked into some pretty nasty smelling houses.  This could mean one of many things, you are dirty, smelly people, you have pets that you do not clean up after, you smoke or you have mold issues.  Making a home smell nice is inviting (Scentsy products do wonders to a home :) ).
2. Clean up.  It's unbelievable to me how messy some people are.  If you are selling your home, make sure it's appealing, first impressions are everything.  If nothing else, run a vacuum to make sure there are not dead bugs laying all over the place.
3. Price your home right.  It's been our experience, if the home is priced right, it sells quickly.  In our experience we find the ones that are overpriced for the market (or our budget :/) sit on the market longer and the seller becomes unwilling to negotiate.
4. Staging.  This goes back to cleaning up.  If the home is staged right, it gives the buyer an idea of what the home will look like with their stuff.  If you have too much or too little, sometimes it's hard for they buyer to get a feel for the size of the home.  *Side note: we have walked into homes that people clearly need to be nominated for the hoarders show. 
5. Information.  Realtors that leave disclosures, maps and neighborhood information for the potential buyers have a much better chance selling the home.  All of that information is helpful to the buyer, especially if they are new to the neighborhood.  Plus it shows that the seller is up front and honest about the condition of the home.

Clearly I am no expert, but I find these small things helpful.

Summer Reading

I always dreaded the summer reading assignments when I was in school. I was never a very strong reader and the books they chose were boring. Since I have graduated college though, I enjoy reading a lot more! I have been reading a lot this summer so I thought I would share some of the books I chose!

I started with Kisses from Katie.  I could hardly put the book down.  I think I finished it in just a few days.  Katie's heart for God and the children/people of Uganda is awe inspiring.  She says yes.  She says yes to some of the most devastating circumstances and God always provides.  It’s truly an amazing testament of God’s faithfulness and the power of love.  I strongly recommend this book.  You can read more about her journey on her blog.

The next book I started on was One Thousand Gifts.  I started this book but found it hard to finish.  I actually have not finished the book.  At first I really enjoyed her message and story, however I felt the book became repetitive.  I truly think I took some great insight into finding joy in the midst of chaos. 

Lastly, I've had a hard time finding things to read so I've resorted back to some books I have read previously.  I started cleaning out our guest bedroom, because I thought we would be moving soon and because the room is just full of junk, and found my collection of Stephanie Plum books.  It's been awhile since I read most of them and they are laugh out loud funny.  I am now on book six and get some funny looks when out at lunch reading because I can't stop laughing.  Stephanie is a bounty hunter and isn't very good at her job which winds up in some ridiculous situations.  It's a great, easy summer read! By the way, since I was reading the books again, I tried watching the movie, I had to turn it off.  It was terrible!


If you are looking for a great devotional everyday, you should follow along the She Reads Truth. 

On the go...

May and June have been somewhat of a whirlwind. Every month I have plans to blog more, to craft more, cook more and the list could go on and on. May and June every year seem to be our busiest months. Between both of our families we have seven birthdays, mother’s day, father’s day and then of course memorial day. Not to mention we are shopping for a house in our spare time, which isn’t going so well but that’s another story for another day. While all of these celebrations have been wonderful and time with family has been great it’s left little for anything else. I feel like I’m swimming in things I need to get done. But this past week has reminded me that none of those things are important.

Lainey and Wade were baptized on Father's Day.  It was a very special morning. My mom made Lainey's baptism dress and blanket, she looked like an angel! Later that night we received a call about my grandmother. 

My grandmother was admitted to the ICU Sunday afternoon with little to no chance of survival. She has a DNR and the doctors had done everything they could but because of the DNR they couldn’t do any more. Since it was 7pm on a Sunday night and there were no flights available our only option was to drive. We didn’t want to wait around for a flight the next day because we probably wouldn’t make it either way but at least we weren’t sitting around waiting. I truly believe us starting to drive is what helped my grandmother. She had not met my niece and told my aunt she wasn’t going anywhere until she met the baby. That truly gave us comfort to know that there was a small chance we could make it in time to say goodbye. Thankfully we got that chance, and thankfully we didn’t have to say our final goodbyes. She was able to meet Lainey and was able to go home. I thank God that we were able to have that moment with her, I know it’s a moment my family will treasure forever.

While it was very stressful being in Chicago away from work, away from home, worrying about my grandmother, it was also a breath of fresh air. I didn’t have deadlines to meet, I didn’t have to worry about whether the laundry was done, or the bathroom was clean or the list could go on and on. The only thing that mattered was being with family, enjoying each other. And it’s those moments that I treasure.

A Dream Home Wish List

With Ryan switching jobs, we had to put our house hunt on hold. I feel like every time we start looking for a house, there is always a reason we have to put it on hold. Hopefully now that Ryan is settled into a new job that we can see him being at for a while, we can really start our house hunt and have a house at the end of it.


Ryan’s new saying is “we are going to miss this” and I can honestly say I don’t think I will miss apartment living. I have been living in an apartment/dorm room for the last ten years and I'm ready to have a home!  I’ve started a mental checklist of a few of the things I would love to have.

So for my dream home wish list (in no particular order):

• A large sink. Our apartment was built in 1986 and has not been upgraded. So to wash a pan, a pot, a Crockpot, anything that is oddly shaped is near impossible. I usually end up spilling water all over the place because it doesn’t fit in the sink and is hard to rinse. There has been a time where I washed a dish in the bathtub (don’t judge).
• Cabinet space. We have very little cabinet space. Our dishes are too large to fit in the cabinet so they have to be put away at an angle, which means most of my dishes are in storage. 
• Counter top space. Are you sensing a theme? We need a bigger kitchen! There is very little to any countertop space and when you have nowhere to put a microwave but on top of the counter, well that means your space to cook is very limited.
• A working refrigerator. A few months ago our refrigerator quit working. It took the apartment complex two days to fix it, so I ended up throwing out about $100 worth of food. Since then our refrigerator has constantly dripped. We have called several times with no fix. The bottom drawer fills with water which means I have to throw out the food that sits in that drawer. We have cups inside the fridge to catch the water but it doesn’t always do the trick. 
• Neighbors that don’t smoke pot. If you follow me on twitter, you know that we come home to a very smelly apartment several times a week, especially on Fridays. It would be nice to have neighbors that don’t smoke pot, but if they do, a place where we won’t have to smell it.
• A basement! I have lovely Auburn pictures that my husband bought me for Christmas two years ago. We don’t currently have a place to hang them, so they are still sitting wrapped in the original brown paper until we can find a place for them. It would be nice to have a basement to have a sports themed room or a place for our future children to play in.
• More than two bedrooms or at least a place for an office/craft room. Right now our guest bedroom is a catch all. The dishes that I mentioned are stored in the closet, the crafts are stored in a bin in the corner. The dresser and chest of drawers (or as my husband calls it chester drawers) is filled with odds and ends. As much as I try to declutter, the stuff just accumulates. It would be nice to have a desk to sit at with the computer and or a room to organize craft supplies. 
• A fenced in yard. This one is huge. Our poor puppy sits in a kennel while we are at work. It would be nice for him to have a place to run around in after we get home. Right now he has to settle for a quick walk around the block and hanging out on our patio. Not to mention I could build my garden!
• Windows! Right now our apartment has two windows which are covered by thick curtains to keep the sun out. Unfortunately our apartment does not circulate air very well so if we leave the windows open the apartment heats up like a sauna, which means we live in a dungeon. My husband has so lovingly called me a vampire on more than one occasion. 
• A deck. I love to eat outside on patios but that can get a little expensive. I would love to have a deck or patio area that we can grill out, have a fire pit and hang out at night. A few of the homes we liked had a screened in porch as well as a deck. In a dream world I would love to have both!

I’m sure if I gave it a little more thought I could come up with several more items but alas I am out of time. I know these items don’t make a house a home, we can be happy anywhere, but they sure would be comfortable!