[8/28/13]

[8/27/13]

[8/26/13]

[8/23/13]

[8/22/13]

The first thing we completed was our cabinet bid. I had actually bid the cabinets a year ago to find out what our allowance should be. When we changed builders, the new builder suggested another cabinet maker in town. I figured I would see what they had to offer and their price and go from there. Um. Hmm. Apparently if you are in your late 20’s and wearing jeans and a t-shirt on a Saturday morning, you can’t afford anything. Literally everything I said I wanted, the sales rep said, “well, that is more expensive” or, “are you sure you want white painted cabinets?”. Well, I will be the judge of that, thank-you-very-much! I knew I could get everything I wanted for our allowance since I had already done the leg work last year. I even asked him if he would bid a closet island for me and he acted like it was an inconvenience. It’s interesting because I have read a few other blogs where people have complained of the same thing happening to them. Owell, we met with the first cabinet maker again, and they were great. Bid came back in the same range as last year, so we are good to go.

Kitchen Wants:

– White painted cabinets (entire house will have white trim)

– Ceiling height cabinets

– Shaker style doors

– Marble look in Granite or Quartz

– Large island with slide in range in the middle

– Microwave/Oven combo in cabinets (2 ovens!)

Kitchen Inspiration:

Kitchen Design:

Just a quick timeline to show how we got to this point:

July 2010: Purchased land

June 2011: Started house plans

October 2011: Built steel building

January 2012: House plans complete

March 2012: Initial bid from builder friend

July 2012: Listed house on market

August 2012: Selected new builder

October 2012: Took house off market, re-financed

December 2012: First tenants moved in

January 2013: Re-finance was complete

February-March 2013- First bank appraisal

April 2013- Second bank appraisal

May 2013- Closed on construction loan

June 2013- Perk test, staked land

July 2013- Building permit

August 2013- Broke ground

[8.16.13] We went to the land to see what they were up to yesterday (day 3) and were surprised to see concrete! It is a lot of fun to see where everything is going to be.

[8/14/13] Imagine my surprise when I received the below picture from my husband

Relief. We have started. Anytime someone says “have you started building your house”? I won’t have to reply about banks, perk tests, the county, surveyors, excavators, etc. I can say “Yes.”. With a start date of 7/22, our completion date was 12/13. I am hoping we will still be around that same time frame. I am really hoping for before Christmas. Well, I was hoping for before Thanksgiving but beggars can’t be choosers right?

I called the builder on Tuesday (8/13/13) and he informed me that if all went well, we would be breaking ground the next day. We did not get our hopes up as who knew what crazy thing might hold us up this time, but it seemed like a good possibility.