We Have a House!...and Some Exciting News

Hurrah! After years and years of waiting, we finally bought our first house! The closing was last Friday and thankfully it went smoothly, although there is that death pledge thing that Brendan and I try not to think about :).

We love our new home and have already started a few renovations in the living and future toy room. Wood paneling was the first to go. It had coats of thick white paint on it which was starting to crack (the paint, not the wood). There were also traces of black smoke here and there from intense candle burning from the previous owner.

BEFORE:

Ugly right? Dirty walls with old carpet that leads to hideous laminate! Thankfully the floors are already up and will be covered in a beautiful carbonized stranded bamboo wood floor in a couple weeks. Although I'd prefer reclaimed wood floors, we just bought a house and well, as you can imagine that can set you back a few bucks.

DURING:

 

There's the hard-working husband taking down the paneling. Thanks to Brendan and my Papa (father-in-law), the walls were down as of Wednesday. Yesterday they took out all the old insulation (only 1/2 in thick) and today they're putting in newer thicker stuff. Apparently, if you try to pack new insulation on top of the old stuff, it's less effective. Good thing we took down the walls and saw how thin the insulation was because now we're going to spend a lot less money on heat!

What's next you ask? After the town building inspector comes to check out the new insulation job, our contractor will come in and put up sheetrock. Brendan and Papa will then start laying down bamboo in the kitchen and finish in the living and toy room after the sheetrock has dried. We're moving in once the kitchen is complete. Everything will finally be done when we put in the thresholds to the floor, add trim to the windows and doors, and prime and paint the walls. We're aiming to be done by mid-April. Hopefully for you I'll be posting the AFTER shots around that time. And hopefully for me the rooms will be done and decorated by the end of the month because we're expecting our second daughter in late June. Oh yes, the Lovely Beasts Family is growing! Thank goodness I finally get to nest!

Love the Beasts,

Emily