For Rachel

Here is a photo of the finished outside of our house. Our unit is the end one that is the more reddish color, with the dark red door.

Also, I've decided that I'm going to lock our blog since we've now got things like photos of the house up. So if you want access please let me know.

Thank you!!

Flooring ... Check!

Kent and I went over to the house at lunch today to see our new floors! Here is a photo of the laminate wood that is throughout the second level. We also got to see our carpet, as they were getting ready to lay it when we were there.



Fun Fun! 11 days to closing ... and counting!

Oh, how do you like our paint?

Finally -- Pictures of the House!

I'm such a slacker with photos ... I know. And I apologize.

Here are some photos of our house. The exterior has since been painted, so it does look a little different but at least this gives you an idea.

This photo is a great picture of our end-unit. It is 3 stories, and our unit has 27 windows. Quite a change from our current 3 windows! We'll be putting up faux-wood blinds.


Here is the north side of the house. Our unit is the end unit on the left side of your screen (with the white van in front of it). The white van is where our patio is going to be. You can also see a door on the second floor, which leads to a balcony. That's where we'll put our grill. Kent said that's where he'll stand on Halloween night, and he'll lower a plastic pumpkin full of candy down to the trick-or-treaters. :)


This is the soaking tub in our master suite. We decided to upgrade the master bath with ceramic tile flooring, a matching tile mosaic backsplash for the tub, and granite counter-tops. HGTV tells us the best re-sale areas to fancy-up are the kitchen and master bath.


Last, but not least, the KITCHEN!!! We found this house just at the right time. They hadn't yet picked materials, so we got choose everything from the colors/style of the kitchen cabinets, to the countertops, light fixtures, paint colors, flooring, etc. It was pretty exciting, but pretty scary. As we see elements installed, we really like the scheme we chose. However, the flooring and countertops aren't in ... so we'll see how it all ties together!

We Have a Closing Date!!

Yay for exciting news! We will be closing on our house on my birthday, Friday, January 15.

SO great! We'll have a full 2 weeks to move out of our apartment until the contract expires.

VERY cool. Couldn't ask for a better birthday gift!

Schnorkie

I want a puppy.

Not just any puppy.

I want THIS puppy!



Say hello to a Schnorkie. Half yorkie, half schnauzer.

And I want to name him, "Mr. Smith".

But he's not allowed to wear tie-dye.

We are moving!

Kent and I are in the process of buying a 3 bed, 2-1/2 bath townhome in Salt Lake City. We are SO excited and just can't wait to get into our new place. The townhome is still under construction, but will be completed mid-January.

We swooped in at the right time; just in time to pick out all of the materials for our townhome, including flooring (laminate hardwood; tile; carpet), paint colors, granite countertops, cabinetry, light fixtures, hardware, etc. I'm so nervous to see how it all comes together!!

So, we are expecting to be moving in a month or less. Now that you have the background, here is a conversation Kent and I had over IM today (girls, I think you will laugh -- I was laughing; it was that or tell Kent that he gets to make dinner!):

Ginger: What do you want for dinner?

Kent: What do we have?

Ginger: Well, I'll be going to Smith's marketplace and can pick up ingredients.
We are pretty darn low on ingredients. We have 1 chicken breast, some shallots, some beans, eggs ... so what do you feel like?

Kent: We want to be low on ingredients; we're moving soon.

Ginger: I know dear, but we still need to eat ... for another month actually.

Kent: Right. Do we have anything we can eat at home already?

Ginger: Dear, we are scraping the bottom of the barrel. I'd rather be scraping the bottom of the barrel at the end of the month instead of right now.

Kent: So what's all the junk on our shelves? Should we just toss all that stuff?

Ginger:
No, but those are ingredients to a meal; not the makings of a meal. You can't make a meal out of a can of beans and honey.

The funny part about this is that I'm sure I could stir some beans and honey together for dinner and that would be just fine with Kent. However, I'm a little more high-maintenance. That's the difference between girls and boys. :)

Oh -- and I decided to make chicken fajitas. Fajitas will get rid of the beans in the cupboard, the tortillas and tomatoes in the fridge, and the lone chicken breast in the freezer. I still have to go to the store to get some peppers and lettuce.

Utah State Capitol Dome

Yesterday I had the opportunity to do an absolutely crazy thing ... I climbed through the bowels of the Utah State Capitol dome! It was amazing, and completely scary.

We climbed crazy steep stairs (probably 6 stories up or so), and after I was through it wasn't my legs that were shaky but my arms from holding on to the rails so tightly! Had I known what I was getting myself into, I may not have gone (for rational purposes knowing what a klutz I am - I should have fallen to my death).

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I'm so glad I had that rare opportunity.

Here are some pictures of the view. Enjoy!

Oh, and my name my or my not be now written on the inside of the Capitol dome...