All is well

It's unbelievable how smoothly this whole home buying process has gone for us. We haven't had to deal with any of the headaches that you always hear about with crazy builders/lenders/realtors/appraisals. In fact, we've been really happy with everyone we've worked with. By the way, if any of you need a great lender, let us know.

We just got our appraisal back, and everything was perfect! And they just put in the grass in our front yard! And more trees! I really love this little house. Eric and I both cannot wait to move in. In fact, we're in the process of trying to move up our closing date right now. It could be as soon as next Wed.!

Here's my first finished project for our new home (for my office...I can't believe I'm actually going to have an office!) - a framed 2010 calendar (20 x 20").

Come visit us! :)

Lately...

A few random moments from the past couple months...
My brother, Cortland, with 16 y/o daughter Cami & 10 y/o daughter Faith. Just a Sunday at home. Believe it or not, this wasn't staged! Although, they did have to freeze their "natural pose" while I ran to get my camera.
"And here we have Idaho..."	Eric, squeezing comfortably into Women's snow pants.
Ice Festival - McCall, Idaho
Note the space between their bums and the sled.
Future ladies man. Poor Braden. This was right after he crashed HARD but was being very brave.
The biggest cinnamon roll EVER. From the Pancake House in McCall. That's almost a whole cube of butter! And an icing moat.	And these last 2 pix are for Amy & Gregor...
We finally got to use our Chandler's gift card last night! And thank goodness b/c that place was spendy! But nice, and the food was delicious. You know it's a fancy restaurant when the WAITRESS gives you a long-stemmed rose after the meal. We were celebrating 2 things - Valentine's and (near) homeownership. Our closing date is March 5. We can't wait. I haven't gotten much sleep in the past few days.

Revision to La Casa post

Ok, so here's the actual townhome we're considering (#4 from previous post). They just posted brand new photos today. Fortunately, and unfortunately, it's the model home which means it has all of the upgrades (trim, lighting, granite counter tops, etc.) Obviously, we love all of those things, but it bumps the price a little bit. I'm just going to stop kidding myself and confess that this is definitely my favorite. *Update: We put an offer on today! and should know by tomorrow or Wed. if the owner accepts or counters. We've had a crazy day meeting with lenders, builders & realtors, but we're very excited! We recently took some family to check out the place and they really liked it so that's reassuring. We even did a sound test. It's always a risk living in a townhome, but my brother, Jason, went to the house next door and yelled his loudest and banged on the walls, and we literally heard nothing! A few more fun details about the house: It's pottery-barn inspired (which I love). Nice views from the back (from the master bedroom/balcony) of the mountains and trees. There is an I-pod docking station with surround sound. A 2-car garage, which will be heavenly (no more storage units and living out of a suitcase)! You know it's a winner when even your little neices and nephews love it. They were running around like crazy - finding all of the best hiding spots, etc. My nephew, Braden said, "This place is awesome! You've got to get it. It's got like 5 bathrooms!" *Update #2: We got it! They countered with a slightly higher asking price than our first offer, but they've agreed to all of our contingencies (closing costs, fridge, W/D, etc.).
Click to enlarge.

La Casa?

Ok, so it's no secret that I'm excited to jump into the next phase in life. Eric and I have been married for 6.5 yrs, and I think we're finally ready to consider buying our first home (more likely a townhome). Thank you Obama for easing us into this decision with the $8k First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit. We don't even know if we qualify for anything yet, but these are the things I like to daydream about. I need your help though, which of these 4 options below is your favorite?

Option 1:
2 BR, 1 Bath - Downtown Boise! Same street as Eric's new job - just a few blocks away. I think it would be a blast to live downtown. (Random fact: I'm a sucker for little details like doors...)

Option 2: 3 BR, 3 Bath - Cute place, community pool, good location, but really close to a loud, busy street.
Option 3: 3 BR, 2.5 Bath - Huge! (for us anyway) Decent location. Cheapest. Least amount of character.
Option 4: 3 BR, 2.5 Bath - Our favorite! High quality, charming, smart everything! Unfortunately, it's also the most expensive. But still very reasonable if you ask me. By the way, this isn't the exact one we would buy. (different colors, lighting, finishes, etc.) And if we want, we can also customize one. That just means we'd really be pushing it for the tax credit AND we'd have to wait another 3-4 months for it to be built. :( Am I that patient?
Watchoo think?

He got the job!

Eric is now the newest First-Year Associate at a downtown Boise law firm. We're so excited. Eric can already tell that he's going to really enjoy the work environment there - which is a rare thing when it comes to firms. It may not carry as much name-recognition as some of the larger firms that Eric has been talking to, but the fact that it's a smaller boutique firm is also what appeals to us (it's not a "sweatshop firm"). We've heard nothing but great things about this firm. e.g. "One of the best to work for in Boise", great mentoring, reasonable hours, etc.