Building: Final Walk Through

Well our final walk through was yesterday and it went well. Basically we met with our contractor at the house and he walked us through the operation of all the things in the house (furnace, hot water heaters, etc.) along with some care instructions for the first year. We also looked for any trouble spots in the house to be fixed in the next week before we close. There weren't very many things to take care of, a lose floor tile, some spots that needed touched up with paint, one of the windows needs replaced, plus we need the right stove. We also were informed about problems to watch out for and what to do/who to call. I really can't believe that we move into our house next Tuesday, it's crazy. I can't wait to share pictures after we move in!

Kitchen is done!

Good news our appliances were delivered yesterday, check it out:

Bad news, our stove is not the right one. At least we think it isn't the right one. As we understand it the models change frequently so the model number doesn't match the one that we picked 6 months ago. However, the original stove we upgraded to was suppose to be a five burner but this one is only a four burner. According to our contractor even if the models changed we should get a model similar to the one we picked out, meaning a five burner, which he is working on for us (thank goodness he is so awesome). Although this is kind of a pain, it worked in our favor for the fridge because we got a really awesome fridge instead of the original model we were suppose to get. I suppose we can handle the trade off.

Oh and P.S. We move in less than 2 weeks! Woot!

Guess what we did!

Yesterday Andy and I headed to Ikea to grab some stuff for the new house. We aren't in yet so we have to store it for now. We would have waited until we were in but they were having an awesome deal where they would give you a gift card worth 15% of the price of a couch. Since we needed a couch we decided to go for it, that way we could get some more stuff for free. Take a look:

Yeah those three carts are ours, plus that package that I'm standing next to had to get placed on a cart as well. Lucky for us we brought a little U-Haul trailer, otherwise we would have been in trouble. It feels kind of weird dropping a ton of money (for us) like that, but we have been saving for this couch since we started building, so we basically paid cash. Plus the gift card deal helped out tremendously, we got two chairs for free. I can't wait to get it in the new place and put it all together, it is going to be awesome. Only 2 more weeks y'all!

The only thing I'm seriously worried about is the house looking too Ikea. I mean I love Ikea, I'm a big fan of clean lines and a slightly modern feel, but I think too much of their stuff together can have that first apartment feel that I really want to avoid. We plan on having a nice mix of stuff that we are building ourselves and buying from other stores as well, it's just a concern that I have, but I'm not sure how do you furnish a house on a budget without a little bit of Ikea in there. Any ideas?

A Bartering Christmas

Obviously this year Christmas is tough for us, with a new house and the cost everything that comes with it we are on a tight budget. Imagine my delight when my genius sis-in-law suggested that perhaps this year we barter for Christmas. I think it's a fabulous idea. So in exchange for them helping us with the new house projects (painting, sewing, moving, etc.) we will babysit the kiddos, so they can have some date nights (or sleep). We decided we will still do something small so we all have something to open come Christmas, but still, much easier. I only wish I could get my family on board with this idea.

Even without my family bartering, I think we did a pretty bang up job for Christmas this year, watching the sales and knowing exactly what we wanted to get each person really helped. As for Andy and I, we also have a limited budget for each other and a challenge to only fill our stockings. It's going to be a little bit difficult but I think it's going to be a lot of fun to see what we each come up with and if there will be any "cheating" involved.

Anyone else having a budget type Christmas? What are you doing?