more delightful surprises!

I know I had promised to have the pictures and info on how we refinished our floors, but we're still working away at them, so I think I'll wait till we're completely finished. We just stained them yesterday, then we're going to put the first coat of finish on today (hopefully) then we'll probably have to wait till Saturday to lightly sand so we can do another coat of finish. So it will be awhile.

In the meantime, we've been packing a lot (we have to be out of our apartment by this Friday! EEK!) so I'm pretty exhausted and don't have a lot to report here. If you're wondering where we're going to put our stuff while we finish the floors, well, we are too. haha, no, just kidding. The hardwood is only in the front part of the house, so it's not including the kitchen, a pretty big room and utility room (with a shower, thank goodness) so it's kind of like it's own little apartment, which we're used to, so we'll just be really tight for awhile. All of our stuff fits into this one room, that's how small our apartment was!

But anyways.... the delightful surprise was that the previous owner left us the washer and dryer! This is great because we don't own one and weren't sure when we could get one, so that's a blessing! This whole house is a blessing! Josh and I are so thankful that God would allow us to have such nice things so early in our marriage, and we've managed to acquire them all without credit cards! Amazing! So I guess some advice to others is, if possible don't get credit cards, because there are other ways to build your good credit, and the government right now is trying to stimulate the economy so we managed to get a full financed home loan at a fixed rate, plus we get that $8,000 to use however we want because we're first time home buyers (it's only til like nov. 1st or something though!) so don't think you can't get a house because you don't have 20% saved up yet, check into it. But be wise, and make sure you're ready and can afford the payments!

- The Maxwell's -

home is where the heart is....

What is HOME? It's a place to call your own, an adventure.

What does home mean to you?

We decided to write a blog so that our friends and family could watch how our first house changed, and also decided it would be a good resource for first time home buyers, do-it-yourself-ers and just anyone interested in home improvement, plus let's face it, everyone loves before and after pictures!

The process of getting our house has taken all summer, so it has been frustrating at times, but we're happy to have spent it getting our first home together. We have some advice already and we hope it helps you...

1.) Be patient and flexible, the process takes time.

2.) Don't settle on just any house because you think you won't find another one. Or the opposite, don't have such high standards, that nothing will do. Kind of like a relationship (haha).

3.) Find a realtor with good communication skills (ie. calls you back, keeps you informed, explains big words and how things work) and remember their job is to help you, so if they're not, you might try finding a different one.

4.) Inspect the house really well. You don't want to just glance at it a few times and say "oh, well we can just fix that later". Even though small repairs don't cost a whole lot, a lot of small repairs can add up pretty quick.

5.) Look past the previous owners bad taste (ugly wallpaper, colors, fixtures, etc...) because there can be a real gem under those bad decisions. For example, when we first looked at our house, it had icky, smelly carpet with lots of stains, we peeked under it in one of the closets to discover original hardwood oak floors, an instant value increase.

6.) Be creative! Just because it might not be that really cute, really old craftsman house you like, use elements from that style in your house like colors, fixtures, hardware and furniture. Just be sure not to stray too far from your houses style, or it won't feel cohesive.

7.) Have fun. Too many times I would get upset over a small issue, only now to look back and realize how silly it was to care. My time would have been better spent having fun and enjoying the process and learning that takes place when getting a house.

Stay tunned for how we refinished our floors and pictures!

- The Maxwell's -