so little time, too much to do....

I'm a horrible blogger. In general, I'm horrible at anything related to a computer (usually I leave that to my computer whiz husband), but even more so, I've always been awful at keeping up with things, diaries, journals, scrapbooking, etc... So I apologize that it's been more than a month that I've updated this blog.

A lot of it has to do with time, and money. Time in that I started school full time again this fall and most people don't understand how much FULL TIME being an art student means. There's barely anytime to eat, let alone paint (and that's on top of painting in class all day) but don't get me wrong, I love it, I'm just not really in a fix it up place right now, but we will be soon. And money in that because I'm in school full time, I've cut back on hours that I work, so thus we have less 'spend-however-your-heart-desires-money', and we have to focus on getting the bills payed.

The bright side to all of this is that it's giving me a lot of time to think about what I really want the house to look like later, and I've already changed my mind on ideas I had at the beginning, so that will be ultimately good in the end.

Josh and I are mainly trying to focus on fixing up our studio the most because it's where we are the big part of the day, and a lot of it isn't even costing us money. My grandmothers house is getting ready to be sold (she passed away in may) and so I get to have my grandfathers big work table from his shed, which I'm ecstatic about because I absolutely loved my papa, and I'll get to remember him every time I work on my art.

We're mainly trying to focus on things that don't cost money to fix up, like good old fashioned yard work (not my favorite) but still I like the end product.

Even though the house being in a stand still has got me a little down, I'm trying to keep a good attitude about it and remember that it's a process. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day :)

Till next time (which hopefully will not be a month later....)

- The Maxwell's -

new additions...

Isn't it funny how you acquire things?

Last Sunday, Josh and I went to the Tulsa Flea Market to look for fun finds for our new house when we found a little more than we expected. FREE KITTENS!!! Now, most of our friends know that we both love cats (I know a lot of people don't like them) and in general we're both animal lovers, so it was hard to pass this opportunity up. We weren't sure if taking "free" kittens from a flea market was a good idea, but we went with our gut and trusted the people trying to find homes for them. Turns out their very healthy and very spunky! We figured it would be better for us to take at least a couple, knowing we would take good care of them and they wouldn't end up being left in a dump. At first we were only going to get one, the calico, and then we walked off. We went back to the woman and asked if we could have another one so she wouldn't be lonely and I think she was a bit shocked that we wanted them so much. I've been waiting a long time to have a cat and two would make it even better! They are a blast!

We named the black one Houdini because 1.)He's an excellent escape artist 2.)Because he'll just appear and disappear instantly (mostly because he's dark and hard to see) and 3.)It's just a cool name. We're having a hard time thinking of a name for the calico one. I want a name equally odd and human like for her as Houdini's is. So far we have these in the running and are trying them out (feel free to make suggestions too!) 1.)Frida (like the artist, I love her work, and it's almost like she has a little uni brow like her too! haha) 2.)Phoebe 3.)Hazel and we're still thinking up some.

We're so thankful to have a house so that we can have pets again! They are a joy and a hilarity in life! I know this post isn't about our house per se, but in a way they are our little additions to our family, and that's what home is all about right? Josh and I have been really busy with moving stuff around and as of right now we don't have an internet connection, so I've been trying to find the time to write a new entry, hopefully soon we'll have our house orderly and connected! Till next time!

- The Maxwell's -

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 -