it's official!!

yesterday, b and i signed the paperwork...we sold our first home and bought our second house! 

we are so so excited! starting today...we have a little over 3 weeks until we move in! 

oh and demo starts tomorrow!!

i can. not.wait to get things started!

so what's the difference between the new house and the old house?

OLD HOUSE

first off...

our new house has a brick exterior..

something b and i have been wanting for a long time. i loved the way the siding looked on our old house but hated the wear and tear of it. 

second..

we will now have TWO stories...yup...we are moving on up...literally! ;)

third...

we will have two more bathrooms! i can't tell you how excited b and i are about having more bathrooms!! having one bathroom for the last 9 years has been really rough! 

b and i will have our own master bathroom, Oliver will get his that he will share with the guests and we will have a powder room on the first floor for everyone. 

really...i never thought i would be this excited about a bathroom...but i am!

 i can't wait to start fixing them up and adding our touch to them...that's in the near future. 

fourth...

we have a garage!! what?! yup...a garage! our poor cars have braved the Georgia heat, pollen and crazy rain for 9 years..it's about time they have a home of their own! ;)

fifth...

we have a fireplace...finally...a place to hang our stockings! no more wall hooks! 

sixth...

b will finally have a driveway where he can put a basketball rim! it's been his dream for years..and years! i have to admit..i am so excited for him. i don't shoot...but i can't wait to see him outside with O dreaming his dream! 

smile.

seventh..

we are in an awesome part of town that has the best schools, restaurants and shops! 

ok..so we had restaurants and shops by our old house...but the new house is within walking distance to all of the items above! that...rocks!

so the demo that starts tomorrow will be for the interior 

(yippee!!! i will share pictures of before, during and after of course!)

...really if we had a bigger budget (who doesn't wish this?)...

we would be tackling the exterior as well because we do like to have our touch on everything ya know? 

since our budget is not limitless...we will have to wait on the outside for a while but that doesn't stop us from planning and discussing changes!   

so do you wanna hear what we would like to do? 

okay...let's talk...

from afar...

up close..

don't mind us standing in the way...

as you can see the exterior does need some TLC...

first off...the grass...err..i mean weeds...needs to go. since the yard isn't that big (both front and back), we will plan to have it sodded. 

the walk up to the house needs to be cleaned up and eventually replaced with a paver of some sort.

oh and don't mind the unruly bushes...ugh they are killing me! 

i feel like they are attacking the front stairs. 

bushes can either make or break your exterior...left unkept and they make the whole house look dumpy...just a trim helps freshen up the overall feel of a house...

but these bushes are just plain wrong.

so they will all go! 

i haven't thought about what i want to replace them with but i do love hydrangeas and have always liked how they soften an exterior so we will see. 

there are so many choices out there..who knows what we will eventually pick.

the black wrought iron railing (that is being eaten by the bushes) needs to go...it doesn't work for me...so that will be replaced with a wood railing that works better with the front stoop.

the shutters...oh these shutters...how i have a love/hate relationship with shutters. 

as you might remember from my first house...we replaced our louvered shutters with a style that was more unique and had more of a cottage feel. 

i am thinking these shutters will either be replaced with a new design or just go bye bye all together. 

a new door will be in the near future...which i mentioned in my previous post. 

oh and we do plan to paint the brick. 

i admit...the brick isn't the worst of colors...but really it's not our favorite. 

yes..i know dad...it means we will be painting the exterior of the house for the remainder of the time we live here...so true...but i love the look of painted brick!

you can take a look at my exterior board on pinterest...it's filled with beautiful examples.

what a transformation it will be when we do get to work on the exterior...

until then...stay tuned to tons of interior before, during and after shots!