At the Cost?

I am hesitant to show pictures of my new house.  I am proud of what we have accomplished in our lives at the ripe ages of 29 and 31, but there is a voice in my head that keeps telling me no or not too much. I don't want to have people who are stumbling over me. By that I mean, I don't want to be envied. I don't want to cause someone else to covet the things I have. Sure I'd like them to admire and want to aspire to achieve the goals I've set before myself but not at the cost of a sin.

I find myself doing such a thing when I find a blogger I admire. I begin to admire them a little too much and start wanting "things," that I don't need but want them because they have them or a lot of them or whatever the case may be. While I appreciate the things they're blogging about sometimes it's easy for me to get lost in it all. Now, not all the blogs I read are this way, and I often try to remove myself from those and step back. Some blogs I don't envy them and can just enjoy what they're talking about. (Like some DIY things I plan to do once we're completely finished - and saved up some money to do!)

Our new budget includes a 529 College plan through our state for the boy. Just thinking about the cost of college gives me nightmares, and I would like (Lord willing) 3 more (adopted) children. Eeek. There are also other goals I have for the homestead - gardening so much so that I'll have to give it away to family + friends, more animals - chickens (local non-GMO free range eggs are expensive! $3.50 a dozen), goats, eventually a cow or two (they need company) oh and more dogs of course. Then there is the decorating of our house - upgrades I would like to have as time goes on. A new King Size bed as everyone tends to sleep in our bed - the boy, a collie, me + the husband.  We'll need blinds and drapes on the multitude of windows I insisted upon. I can sew the drapes myself but the fabric could be expensive - then they'll be rods to add. A few rugs for the living room and playroom floors - oh and bedrooms. These are all "goals" as I say because they will most definitely not be happening at once or within the super near future.

I think when we begin in life as adults - married adults, there are certain things we think that we just simply deserve rather than have to work for.  I watch a lot of those shows on HGTV and DIY Network where people say what they want and then realize their heads are in the clouds, not even thinking about a starter home.

It's missing the backsplash that I thought was urgent and I chose something that wasn't what I wanted but out of the choices I had, it was the best. If I hate it, I'll just have to save up and change it. So there you have it.  My dream kitchen.

Specifics:

White Cabinets
Absolute Black Granite Countertops which I believe was $60.00 per square foot, a quote from the cabinet maker.
42 inches tall and going all the way to the ceiling.

Eventually I plan to add crown molding throughout the entire house but that's not super high on my list of important things to tackle. At this point I just want to get in the house itself and then we'll make a list of what needs to be done and the urgency of such things...like a large fence for three crazy dogs.

This weekend we'll be hosting my husband's 96 year old grandfather and taking him out and about. Hopefully a trip to get some ice cream! My birthday is at the end of the month - I'll be 30! I'm hoping to finally get my sewing machine replaced (a certain recent rescue dog destroyed it with a running spell under the table) and get back to quilting. Now I'll have my own space to do that and I am excited about what I can create, not to mention finishing - that quilt that I started on last year for my brother is still unfinished.

Updates

As much as I am looking forward to moving into our new house there are things that have me concerned. Am I going to really like my master bathroom? Will I want to change the layout? Will I be disappointed with the tile and paint I've chosen? There are so many decisions to make when building a house and then you have to factor in budget which honestly controls most of your decision making ability. The things I wanted, I can't quite afford, if I'd like the rest of the house. However there are many years ahead of me to make it what I want. We forget it's a process. We want things now. I know I'm guilty of it. If I want to change it I have to make the commitment to save up and then live through any remodeling.


What do you do when your son needs an allergy friendly birthday cake for his upcoming second birthday? You scour Pinterest, allergy friendly sites and then maybe make up something yourself. I have such a hard time giving him certain foods. I try to buy things that are whole, meaning nothing processed. The trouble is to make things allergy-friendly they're mostly processed unless you make your own and at this point I don't have the space to attempt such a feat - almond milk + is our saving grace to keep this boy stocked with extra protein since dairy is no longer an option. He is wheat, egg, and dairy free. These are his main allergies. Others are chicken, soy, peanuts, and not life-threatening, but uncomfortable on his digestive system.  Perhaps my husband will walk into a disaster filled kitchen this week.

Homefront

The tiles have been picked, the paint colors chosen, and today we met with the (custom!) cabinet maker. I never imagined I'd have a fancy house full of custom built cabinets, vanity and a desk. I asked to raise the top cabinets to the ceiling, totaling 42 inches tall with crown moulding at the top. In the future I have plans to add the moulding to the entire house but that will take some savings.  I also asked to raise the floor cabinets to 40 inches tall rather than the standard 36 inches but that 4 inches would cause me to shell out more money to pay for the electrician to re-do his boxes to a higher height, thus removing the sheetrock already in place and that's extra money I'd rather not spend. The addition to the cabinets did cost me a little bit over budget and our new appliances ( we found a deal for a 4 piece at our local H.H. Greg that we'll be purchasing sometime next week)

1.) Bauble Blue, 2.) Collonade Gray, 3.) Concord Buff, 4.) First Star 5.) Dovetail 6.) Sea Salt 7.) Wool Skein 8.) Florim Durango Silver 12x24 Porcelain Tile 9.)Dorian FTI 311 3x6 and 10.) CC Porcelain 2x2 black


Now that I see my bathroom floor tile (Durango Silver), wall tile (Dorian), and the shower floor tile (Black) I am questioning it. But I'm going for it. The walls will be white. My ultimate goal is something like this:

Contemporary Bathroom by Mamaroneck General Contractors Murphy Brothers Contracting



I'm really looking forward to sharing my future decorating endeavors and seeing what happens with small town second hand and vintage shopping combined with a relatively tight budget.  

Homefront

Things are moving along with the house at a nice speed, although I haven't been there in awhile. I'm looking into a few choices for the future. I am really liking this from Young House Love for my white kitchen, the color looks like it's white but it's called Nelson Blue by Benjamin Moore.

 

I'm also loving this Edgecomb Gray, beautiful blue door and the light fixture (but I don't think we'll have any light fixtures since we have recessed lighting/can lights rather than have to dust something like this.)

Color Inspiration:

Our New Home

Our new home is well on the way and my heart couldn't be more full. I am so thankful that it is almost half way complete and I am looking forward to many many happy years on our future little farm. I am often finding myself hesitant to post photos of my home for fear it will cause others to fall; by that I mean jealousy. I do not want to stir that inside someone else but I want to share what being faithful to the Lord has done for us. What saving has done and making smart decisions. Ryan and I both grew up in low-middle class family. His mother, a teacher, and his father a chef. My father is still self-employed and my mother worked full time too. Of course we had everything we needed and I would never consider us poor, although I remember my mother asking me often if we were. I always answered, no!

If i had been smarter I would have saved more in the beginning of our marriage. My, how much we would have put away and I was working then too. Well I still work now, home keeping is after all, a full-time job that I adore more than anything.

  

I am looking forward to many mornings on our wrap-around porch, taking in the view and drinking coffee with my wonderful husband, dogs laying, happily exhausted ( hopefully!) at our feet. Allowing me to bring more dogs in - my heart is set on adopting older and special needs dogs. I will have plenty of room.  My boy having fresh air and open skies to create little-boy adventures on with his cousins. My desire to fill this place with children and animals. 

Did I mention I'm saving up for a mini-van? Completely in cash. With watching our now small budget, yet being completely fulfilled with all that we need, I can do it!

Pinching Pennies and Making Memories.

We received news bout the building of our home. The plans which were slightly modified to my specifications ( I love when you can do that and get exactly what you've dreamed about) and good news is that it's not too far from our budget. Now comes the scary part - mortgage application. I'm gathering documents left and right and phoning in on Monday to speak with a local bank mortgage specialist to see what exactly is needed.  In the mean time I'm trying to control my spending and learn to live a bit leaner. This can be so difficult because I read all these lovely blogs with lovely homes seemingly to have it all together. But I think I'm looking at that wrong. The beauty is in having those things but acquiring them and putting a home together.

I believe we, as youngsters ( although not really that young, are we?) have a sense of self-entitlement. That we deserve everything now. Then I start to think about my parents, well really my grandparents. They worked hard all their life ( my papa up until nearly the day he passed away) and then were able to buy the things that they wanted. It took them years to gather these things for their homes. Their cars, furniture (lets face it, kids destroy all that. Seriously. Oh and dogs.) The more I think about long-term things the more I'm thinking back to when I was in my 20s, well I still am but early 20s. I wanted a new car and a career paying the big bucks, but retrospectively you think 30s is old and 40s is over the hill, at 50 you're ancient.

So until then I'll save for exactly what I'd want while pinching pennies and making memories. Also, I've come across a lovely blog, Inked in Colour.