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.

Not ANOTHER thing

Lately, I've been a little overwhelmed with all of the stuff I do that involves a computer - work, email, blog, FB, Picasa, scrapbooking, etc. But, my lovely friend Melissa Wheeler has introduced me to yet another thing. This is a cool thing though. And, for me, it's going to serve more of a selfish purpose.

I often come across little nuggets online that look like fun projects or creative inspirations, but that's all they are - someone else's project that I quickly forget. Or, quickly forget where I found it. Well, this blog is the solution. It's basically a spot where I can store these creative ideas and, hopefully, draw on them someday.

We'll miss you Coco

I thought this was pretty classy of Conan. Jump ahead to his farewell speech at about 30:00 (the last dot). Or, just watch 35:00-36:00. I didn't realize it until then, but Conan is one of the few comedians out there who isn't a cynic, and it's refreshing. You may be quirky, but I'll miss you Conan.
(P.S. This is the Hulu video so, hopefully, NBC won't cut it like they've cut all of the YouTube vids)

Holiday Travels

It's Jan 13th, and I'm finally getting to the holiday post. Maybe, for everyone's sake, I'll keep this one brief. Although, I'm not really sure how to do that. I could just say 2 wks, 7 states, McDonalds, Makechnies, many Nelsons & many laughs. Ok, there's the abridged version. Now, the unabridged version for those of you who might care (Mom?). We started in Utah Christmas Eve through Christmas morning. Actually, rewind even before that. We almost didn't go anywhere for the holidays b/c we had to rescind the deal on our recently purchased Lexus - the day before we were to drive to SLC, and a couple of days before our flight out of SLC to New Hampshire.

Why, you ask - Well, the nice Russian mobsters who sold us the car had turned back the odometer without our knowledge (an 80k mile deception). Fortunately, Eric was able to pull the lawyer card, and we got our money back. We just didn't have a car. So, we rented one - a suprisingly nice Ford. And, in case you were wondering, this time we listened to The Innocent Man on CD. On Christmas Day we flew to New Hampshire to spend time with Amy's family (Eric's sister). We hadn't seen them in 3 1/2 yrs. Well over-due. We spent a decent amount of time in the car travelling to different destinations, but it was a nice excuse to chat. Our first trip was to Vermont to see Joseph Smith's birthplace. Vermont also happens to be Ben & Jerry's birthplace. A wonderful place indeed. Next, we drove to Boston, Mass - a cool little city, but Fa-reezing cold. It didn't help that I was trying to tough out a stomach flu that had made its way through the whole family. Nausea + long road trip + spectators = not a pretty sight. Luckily, it only lasted 24 hrs, and I was over it for our final adventure to NYC. We have a bro & sis-in-law who live there (oral surgery internship) so we thought, why not! It was cool to feel the energy and be a part of the mayhem on New Year's Eve. We woke up at 4:30am to see the Today Show. We were at Rockefeller Square during a picturesque fluffy white snowfall. We walked around Times Square & Central Park. We went inside the Manhattan temple (a high-rise right near downtown), we dined at The Eatery (so yummy). And for the big countdown, we thought we were clever in taking the (free) Staten Island ferry. We thought for sure we'd get to see some amazing fireworks on the water on our way back. No such luck! But it was cool to see the Statue of Liberty up close and the skyline at night. I certainly don't regret not standing in the cold and chaos for 12 hours waiting for the Ball Drop (sorry for the double negative). When it was time to leave New York, we decided to kidnap our sis-in-law Allison and take her back to New Hampshire with us for a couple of days. While in New Hampshire, we had a nice routine of hitting the gym, playing games, eating Gregor's delicious meals, & ending the night with Gilmore Girls & chocolate ice cream. Yes, even the boys watched. Thanks Amy & Gregor - for keeping us well-fed & well-entertained! Click here for pictures. P.S. After flying back to SLC we still didn't have a car so we had the brilliant idea of buying one in SLC before returning to Boise. Unfortunately, what we thought would be a quick purchase turned into a 3-day headache with shady used car salesmen, and believe it or not, more Russians and more swapped odometers. In the end, we did find a car. The same as the last one but 2 yrs newer. Apparently, we're hooked. Thanks Patrick and Natalie for letting us sleep on your floor for those extra nights.

Watcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you?!

My husband...what can I say?...

This is just one of many masterful impersonations

Dear Santa

My ridiculous and unrealistic Christmas Wish List (for Eric to reference in a couple of yrs - when money is no longer an object)

1. A dog
   
2. A Nikon D-40 (or some such SLR)
   
3. TRA Action Set(s)
   
4. A place to call home
   
5. Pretty shoes
   
6. A Kindle
   
7. A MacBook Pro
   
8. A fancy smart phone to match the hubster's
   
9. A trip to New Zealand
   
10. An Alaskan or Mediterranean cruise
    
11. Tickets to Wicked when we're in NY for New Yrs
    
12. Tickets to the Fiesta Bowl

So, this is my material...list. The other day someone asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I couldn't think of anything. Nothing I needed anyway, but I'm sure we all have things we want. There's no harm in "window shopping", right?

What's on YOUR (if-money-was-no-object) list?

Christmas Project

My one and only Christmas project this year - a 14 x 14" calendar for Mom:

And this, ahem, is what I hope to make next year... (Pottery Barn Advent Calendar, sells for $149 - yikes!)

TDay+

We had a modest group this Thanksgiving - about 14 of us. That didn't stop us from preparing enough food for the masses. I don't know what possesed me to make 35 potatoes, but I did, and now everyone's had to suffer through mashed potatoes for every meal since. Actually, I think all I've had to eat this week is dutch apple pie & crackers/cheeseball. Not a bad diet. After Thanksgiving, we drove down to SLC to visit Eric's sister, Andrea's, family. We rarely get to see them. Their kids are so warm and cuddly. Andrea spoiled us with her yummy, healthy meals. Eric and I both like eating healthy foods, but we're not always willing to take the extra effort to prepare it. If only we all could have an Andrea! On Saturday, we all showed off our grace on the Olympic Oval. By the way, we also got to see Patalie & Ava. Patrick abandoned us Saturday to go watch the BYU-UT game, but we've forgiven him. On the 20th, a group of us hit the midnight showing of New Moon. We got there a few hours early b/c we weren't sure how insane it would be, but it was fun to sit and chat with everyone. It always ends up being more about the experience than the movie.
Ava was so darn cute on the ice. She loved it.