Is this thing still on?

OK I did kind of vanish on everybody, except those following me on Facebook. It's been a very busy year and change.

Flashback to March 2013: we finally received approval to buy our dream house, yes, the one that sat empty for 4 years while the bank was making the short sale of the property a complete nightmare. 

We signed in April and after 6 weeks of getting the most urgent repairs taken care of (mold remediation, roof leak, and get the kitchen & one bathroom functional), we finally moved in. 

Since then we have been slowly turning the train wreck into our home. We are reclaiming the jungle surrounding it and turning it into a civilized yard. Our new neighbors welcomed us with glee and helped us along the way. 

Here is a list of what we've done so far:

- remodel 2 bathrooms 

- repaint 4 bedrooms and hang drapes

- repaint the front hall, living room, dining room

- remodel the master bedroom

- spruce up the kitchen

- demo the master bathroom

We still have a long road ahead but since we don't plan on moving any time soon, we are taking things a bit slower from now on. We still plan on finishing the  master bathroom renovation in the near future but the rest will wait!

I think there will be a few posts in the near future to show all the before and after pictures, what do you think?

Oh and on the plus side, I now have a HUGE studio. Really, really huge. 

Sooo forgive me?

2012, 2013 and that house thing

Back in June, when we put our townhouse on the market for sale, we never imagined that we wouldn't be in a new house for the holidays. We didn't even thing we wouldn't be in a new house for Halloween. But there it is, Halloween, Thanksgiving and CHristmas have come and gone and we still are camping in a small apartment. What happened ?? Well complications for sure. If you want to short story you can skip to the end of this post. 

Here is the long story. Back in May we started scouting the area for houses, we spotted a house we really liked, in a great neighborhood, with great schools. Unfortunately this house had been on the market since March 2009 years and unoccupied since May 2009 because it was a short sale, the bank holding the mortgage was making the process drag on and in the meantime, the house suffered some damage and with the repairs needed, the asking price was way over-stated. There had already been several offers on the house, some had been retracted due to the delays some still active, so we decided not pursue it. 

Early August, once the sale of the townhouse was finalized, we started seriously house hunting in the neighborhoods we had previously retained as possible and soon thereafter found a suitable match: a large split level house, with a pretty yard and room to grow. Our offer was accepted and we thought we would be moving in by the end of September. Everything seem to workout well until the bank ordered appraisal came back, way lower than the price previously agreed on. We tried to re-negotiate the price but to no avail. There we were, at the end of the summer, back to square one, house hunting again. 

Then in one of those crazy curve balls of life, that same house we had been eyeing back in may was back on the market, this time the asking price was well within our range, even factoring the inevitable repairs. So we decided to visit the house. After assessing the situation (not as bad as we had anticipated)  and discussing the other available options thoroughly, my hubby and I agreed this was THE house. Mid-september, we took the plunge and put an offer of that train wreck of an house that we had fallen in love with. And then waited, and waited, and waited for the bank to make its move. 

Early October, we moved again to another short-term rental. That's when things started to move again. Paperwork, then wait some, more paperwork, more waiting was the name of the game until the week before Christmas. And then just as we started to doubt anything would happen until New Year's, the news finally came in: the short sale has been approved by the bank. We have until the end of January to close.  Some seriously crazy Christmas present for us. There is still many a thing that can go wrong and prevent the sale to conclude, but the short sale red tape phase is over. 

If everything goes well in the next couple of days, we will have a new home at the end of January and move in by the end of march since there are some repairs that will have to be taken care of before the house is habitable. Are we crazy ? Certainly a little bit for embarking again in the fixer-upper boat. But the house is infinitely worth the trouble and the wait: it has all the features both my husband and  desired, the location is great,  we are getting a great bargain on the price and after a bit of TLC, the house will be fantastic.

So 2013 will be a busy year for sure, while we turn our train wreck into a dream boat.

Happy 2013 to all !!

A spooky little witch

This year, Bug wanted a spooky costume for the school Halloween parade. That was a change from princess the previous 2 hers so I went along.

I found the flocked satin at JoAnn's in the remnant bin, made a skirt adding a satin border and waistband then added some glittery spiders that were sold a table decorations.

Hot glued purple feathers to a regular witch had and added some more glitter spiders.

The top is a regular black long sleeve t-shirt to which I added a tulle ruffle and feather around the collar.

The final touch is a lace wrap with a purple border

 Abracadabra!! This whole getup cost me less than $15 :)

Puzzle Lake, ON

I never got a chance to share a few pictures of our vacation in Ontario

There was some canoeing

Fishing

Rowing

And... 

more fishing :)

All that happening with this fabulous background

Pristine water

Endless skies

Incredibly beautiful

 

Surrounded by marvels

And serenity

Oh and Bug fell off the dock in the lake ... Ooops

Crafting on hold - Or what happened this summer

I know it's been a while. We've had quite a summer I must say and the craziness is not over just yet. After working hard for a few weeks to get our house ready for sale, and selling it in 4 days, we went into a packing frenzy right upon returning from a short vacation week in Canada and moved temporarily in a tiny apartment the first week of August.

We then went house shopping and thought we were all set, having found a great house, in a great neighborhood, and a great school district. The contract was signed and we had started to make plans... and then the appraisal came back lower than the sellers had hoped. Much lower. And they would not budge. Well there we are, back to house shopping, and still camping in the same tiny apartment. Not fun. 

I did manage to set up a small crafting area in a corner of our bedroom. A desk large enough for my sewing machine and large drawers to store some fabrics. But all that extra stress really put me in a craft funk. I've had a hard time starting anything new, or even finishing anything at all. Some how I did get some sewing done still. Mostly baby quilts :). And finally I will be able to post about that. Finally ?? Yes during the big shuffle, my camera accessories  got misplaced, probably in our storage unit so I had no way to get photos out of my camera. Major bummer. Finally this week my hubby got me a new connector and YAY I was able to load some 800 pictures on my laptop - Not just craft stuff, a bunch of family photos and house shopping photos too :)

I will have a few new things to share in the next couple of days. Until we have found a new place and moved in, the posting will be scarce I'm afraid but I hope you will bear with me.

Goodbye House

Goodbye living  room

Goodbye kitchen

Goodbye bedroom

Goodbye studio

Goodbye house...

Now on to shopping for our new home

Day 4 - Contract signed

Our house was on the market for a grand total 4 days : Friday through Tuesday. 4 days!! Yikes we figured it would take a couple of weeks.  Now we have to move out by August 3rd??!!?? PANIC! So much to do, so little time. 

We had to scramble once again for the paperwork, inspections and moving arrangements. We are taking a short and well earned vacation and will be packing as soon as we return. Altogether it's not that bad: having found a short term lease, we will be camping in a small apartment while we shop for our new house. It'll be cramped but we are now able to wait out until the right house comes along and also to move out rapidly once we have found it. 

Looks like blogging will take the back seat for a little bit longer... Sorry !

In the mean time, as promised, here are some photos of our soon to be ex-house we took for the listing:

Front of the house

Living/Dining room combo

Deck

Kitchen

Front hall and powder room

Bug's bedroom

Office

Full bath

Master bathroom

Master bedroom

Guest bedroom

Basement

Oh I will miss you my beloved studio !!!

Back patio

Back of the house

House for sale

Sorry for my sudden disappearance without explanations but something really big happened: we decided to sell our fixer upper townhouse so we could buy a house with a yard for Bug, a garage for the hubs and a nice studio for me.

The past few weeks have been all about getting the townhouse ready for its debuts on the market. After long days at work, we worked late nights and whole weekends to get everything gleaming. Finally it's a done, the "For Sale" sign will be outside by the weekend, listing photos are done. We are tired but happy.

I haven't sewn a stitch for fun in eons and I miss it but I really don't know when I'll be able to get any sewing done since we are trying to keep everything ready for showings. Hopefully the house will sell fast and we will be settling in a new place by the end of the summer... in the meantime I will show you some pictures of the house in its showroom state if you are interested.

Missed blogging too !!

What have you been up to?

Hanukkah table runner

The workshop is also gearing up for Hanukkah. We have a sweet friend that really helped us greatly when were were struggling to get Bug all the help she needed before she was diagnosed with ADHD. She also gave me a set of vintage glasses that are to die for: green with a gilded embossed rim. This is only a small token of gratitude. And hopefully something that will embellish her table during the Festival of Lights that is starting today