Shopping (and waiting....and waiting....and waiting.....)

Although waiting fits into my budget way more than shopping....shopping is just so much more fun!!  Mostly I'll be moving in with the furniture that I already own, but I really wanted to pick up a sectional sofa for the family room. So I figured I'd take advantage of the waiting, and utilize this wonderful thing called 'lay-a-way'. I've got plenty of time to get this sofa paid for before August (which seems an eternity away).

Here's the sofa I'm leaning towards - got a chance to try it out, and it's quite comfy.

Minus all the pretty stuff around it, of course. Even though....I'm wondering if I can manage to snag some tables......and an area rug.....Dear God, where does it end????

And of course there are the window coverings. I'm thinking of using Home Depot (or Lowes...I forget which) that has the service where they will come hang blinds for $118.00. As much as I admire all the DIY'ers out there, I'm well aware of my limitations. And tools is one of them. :)

As much as I'd love to have pretty curtains for ALL my windows, I know it can't and won't happen. Just. Not. Possible.  But, if I play my budget right, I may be able to squeeze in the family room, since I'm getting the new sectional and all, right?

Here's where I'm torn...blue or green???  I think I'm leaning towards blue.

For SID...St Cecelia/Cherry Bordeaux/Saddle

Hi All!!

A fellow blogger commented about wanting to see a pic of the Santa Cecelia, Cherry Bordeaux and Saddle hardwood with wider planks....so I decided to try and post those pics. These are from a model home (the Jefferson Square) in Fort Washington, MD. The community is called Washington Overlook. Not my community, or my model, but isn't the color combo a beauty?  Sid - hope this helps!!!

 

Initial Loan Approval....Survey Says.....

APPROVED! Whoooo Hooooo! One less *current* thing to worry about. This initial approval came from an outside broker, and when it gets closer to settlement, I'll have to deal with the in-house NVR underwriting process. Praying that will all go smoothly. A girl can hope.....

Since I asked for the delayed build, I'm sure it will be forever before there's anymore activity for me. So I'll be living vicariously through everyone else!!

Happy Building :-)

Flooring Selections

My appointment with Creative Touch Interiors (CTI) was today....right at the end of my 30 day period of making any changes, so I had to be really sure about today's choices. This was a fun appointment, and not too difficult. I only had to choose carpet - all the ceramic and hardwood was selected at the model home design center.

A shout out to my fellow blogger C, who suggested taking some samples outside to see them in natural light....very helpful tip!! Also, my flooring center associate mentioned that colors will look 2 or 3 shades lighter when installed, due to the large area of installation - versus the smaller sample sizes. Equipped with these tips, and not wanting to go tooooo light on the flooring, here are my selections.....

For the family room, I selected Sand Swept to go with the Saddle hardwood (I upgraded all the hardwood to the wider planks).

Saddle and Sand Swept

And for the rest of the carpeted areas (basement, upstairs, living room, dining room), I chose Sahara Buff. I was torn on upgrading the padding, but my mom thought it would be a good idea...I may regret it later, as some bloggers mentioned not really being able to tell the difference. I went to 8lb pad....we'll see.

From left to right, top to bottom...Sand Swept, Saddle, Sahara Buff, guest bath tile, master bath tile

While I was there, I also was checking out the variations of the St. Cecelia granite. There are certainly some wild levels of variation. I noticed that to be true also of the Saddle coloring for the hardwood. One Saddle sample look a lot more red, as another appeared more brown. So here's hoping for the 'browner' saddle, and a nice light to medium St. Cecelia!!

Cue the Hold Music

For every person that signs on to take this journey, at some point, the order of the day is waiting. Waiting, waiting and more waiting. We wait for loan approvals, wait for building permits, wait for pre-construction meetings, wait to see how the floors look, wait to see how awesome the cabinets are, wait for the call to close, wait for a money tree harvest so we can decorate.......I say to those who have endured this process - Congrats! You are seasoned wait-ers. I long to be on your side.

When I sat down with my loan officer four weeks ago, I knew that I was in for my first stint of waiting. Waiting 101. My initial approval for my loan is coming from an outside broker instead of  "in house" NVR underwriting. At the time of my loan submission, my loan officer (whom I really, really like a lot!) says "oh, they usually get back to me in 2 or 3 days". Now I knew when she made this statement that it sounded impossible! An actual yay or nay in 2 or 3 days??? Sounded like a Guinness Book call would need to be placed. So I said in my mind....2 or 3 days = 2 or 3 weeks. That sounded more reasonable.

Well, now, at 4 weeks later, I've heard nada. I sent an email to my LO to see if she had any status update. She promptly emailed me back to say.....she's got nothing. I'm thinking....this is the longest 2 or 3 days EVER! Oh well. No news is better that a 'no', right? And what's the rush? We'll just be hurrying along to wait for something else.

Happy Building (and waiting) to All!!

nEiGhBoRhood Diversity

I was reading a Ryan building blog (no surprise there - it's my current addiction!) and someone was expressing some disappointment in how their neighborhood is turning out. I got the impression that they were one of the neighborhood pioneers, and got to watch as the neighborhood developed. But to their slight dismay, the street was beginning to look very cookie cutter - all the houses were looking extremely similar. And they were asking 'Doesn't Ryan try to avoid this?'

We all know about the rules...you can't choose the colors/elevations of your surrounding neighbors, and this is an effort to keep the neighborhoods from appearing too cookie cutter. But doesn't it seem like most neighborhoods have one really popular model, and everyone gets that one? Like in the post I'm referring to, I think everyone had this one model, and it was house after house after house of this one model!

So this made me wonder....what will my house be surrounded by? My house will be on a corner, with only one neighbor to my right, and a neighbor behind me (after you round the corner), and that 'behind' neighbor has one house next to it. And that's the end of the street. I asked my SR, 'What's the most popular model in the neighborhood?'. And I wasn't at all surprised when she said 'The Savoy.' Even though it's the smallest house in the neighborhood, it's the model home. The model home always makes an impression. After explaining my extreme nosiness, I asked her what models my neighbors have. Mind you, the neighbor to the right of me just went to settlement a couple of weeks ago, the neighbor behind me is in framing, and the neighbor next to him is at the POD stage (POD = patch of dirt), like me. Turns out my little corner is quite diverse. :-)

The folks on the right of me who just moved in - they have a Ravenna.

The folks behind me in framing - they have a Courtland; *not* a Courtland Gate. My SR says the Courtland Gate is the new Courtland - apparently Ryan has retired the Courtland in favor of the Courtland Gate. My SR says they are similar, but she likes the original. I'm curious to know the difference.

And the folks next to them - with the POD - have a Palermo.

For me, the diversity isn't a huge deal....I just find it interesting (probably because I'm nosey. lol)

How diverse is your Ryan community?


PS - I'm glad my tiny Savoy is in FRONT of the Courtland - otherwise, no one would ever see it. :-)

Who's Guarding Guardian?

So I met with the Guardian rep today. I think I've read every Ryan Homes building blog that exists,and everyone always talks about how the Guardian rep was soooo nice and not pushy....you know? Well I can't say the guy wasn't nice, he was just....blah. And I wouldn't use the word pushy....more like, passive aggressive. I don't know. He didn't make me feel comfortable. Not that this was an eHarmony hook up or anything, but I just felt like it was all business. No chatty banter. No nothing extra. Maybe it was just me. 

Anywho, and on to the more important matters of the cost - another thing I've read a lot from the eFamily is that Guardian will offer you anywhere from 3 to 6 months of monitoring for free. And haven't I read somewhere also that they will waive the $250 initial installation cost? Not my guy. He was straight lace. By the book. No freebies. No extras. And then, I tell him that I'm not too sure on the alarm system, so I wanted to think about it. He tells me, well we need to set it up NOW, as if you were getting it, because if you decide you want it, we have to have another meeting - it can't be set up over the phone. I mean, I felt like if we had to meet again, it would be a huge inconvenience (for him). Sigh. So, I did set up the system with him as if I was going to get it. Thirty minutes later, I was sure I wasn't going to get it. Oh, and plus...the guys throws me a total price for all Guardian stuff (I did get like 3 extra cable jacks and a TV wall mount prewire), and I ask for an itemized price...he says, yeah, I'll email it to you. Double sigh. And another thing - haven't I also read of some people getting to turn one of the phone jacks into a cable? I asked. It was a 'no' there as well. 

</soapbox>

Fortunately for me, I have a great relationship with my current alarm monitoring company, and since I've been a customer for some time, they are giving me a great rate. Yeah, it will be a wireless system, but ultimately, it's cheaper monthly, they'll contact me when something bad happens, and it'll deter the bad guys.  Color me satisfied.