UNDER CONTRACT

As of 4:oopm today....

We are UNDER CONTRACT! Pending our inspection... we are set to close on March 1, 2011.

We're so excited to have our very first home together!

2011 Update

Once again, I have let too much time go by before posting again on my blog. In my defense, I started this blog when life was pretty easy-- work was easy and I lived alone in Chicago... all I did was go to work, work out, and watch TV. I had plenty of extra time on my hands... but that has all changed now. Now I don't know where the time goes during the day. The hours seem to fly by and before I know it I'm exhausted and it's time for bed. Blogging was and still is the farthest thing down on my daily to-do list. But, I'm back for today, and that's all that matters.

Since moving back to Chicago, Todd and I are settling in as soon-to-be husband and wife. We have really enjoyed this time together as we were a long-distance couple pretty much the entire two years prior to me moving in to his condo. I have really taken it upon myself to make Todd's condo into our "home." I meant to take some before and after pictures to post on my blog, but as mentioned before, that never really happened. However, I can tell you all that I have done to the place... I've added curtains, accessories, and pictures to warm up the man cave... I've tried to give it a deep clean from floor to ceiling... I've purged and organized all of the junk that accumulated over the last 8 years he has lived there... etc. The condo has really turned into something special.

I had a wonderful Christmas with my family that did not involve much traveling this year. No ticking time clock in my head saying "it's time to go back to Chicago" which was really nice. My sisters and I spent Christmas Eve at my mom's in Atlanta and then left mid-morning to spend Christmas Day with my dad and step-mom in Chattanooga.









Crazy enough, we actually had a white Christmas for the first time in over 100 years! It was so nostalgic to experience a little bit of snow on such a special day, Christmas Day.


New Years Eve was a blast! Todd and I spent the evening with his best "married" friends at Brookfeild Country Club in Roswell, GA. We got all dressed up and enjoyed an open bar, free food, and a great band into the wee hours of the morning.
After the new year, Todd and I realize, "we're getting married this year!" With 2011 among us, wedding planning has kicked into high gear. We sent out our Save-the-Dates, we ordered the bridesmaids, mother of the bride, and mother of the groom dressed, I settled on a florist and the transportation, Todd and I went cake tasting, and now I am looking at invitations. Only 4 months and a few days to go... crazy!

This past weekend, my best friends and I threw our first baby shower for our friend Heather. She is due to have her first child, a little boy named Hudson, on March 1st. As you can imagine, I went all out for this shin-dig given that it was our very first baby shower of what I am sure will be more to come. We have a delicious menu of chicken salad sandwiches shaped like rocking horses, baby onesies, teddy bears, and baby bottles, fresh fruit kabobs, baked brie and crackers, and a veggie tray with hummus. We also ordered a beautiful two-tired blue and green cake topped off with a stork messenger birdie. We set-up one main activity where the guests were able to create that own onesies and we played one game-- both were a huge hit. I would say that our first baby shower was a major successful!

Now, in my opinion the biggest update of them all, Todd and I are currently in the negotiation phase of buying our first real "home" together. I am so excited I can hardly hold back from devolving all there is to know about the beautiful house at this point, but I am going to refrain from revealing too much about the house. Who knows what is going to happen from here, but I just wanted to give you a little insight to what is going on currently in my life. The house is located right up the road from where we currently live; however, its #1 a single family home, no more condo living. Second, it is SO charming. Built in 1955 when home building was a work of art and not a race against the clock. There are little details all around the home that make it so special... built in book cases, storage compartments galore (11 closets total), wood casings around every interior door, beautiful crown moldings, herringbone patterned hardwood floors, tons of windows that let in natural light... I could go on and on but I will spare you. Todd and I are praying that our offer (and counter offer) will be accepted today. I will keep you posted on the outcome. Here is the home :)

Well, I think that is enough for now... but I promise to be back soon enough!

Much love,
Mandy
xoxo