Sun Dogs & Other Nature!

We are closing on our house soon!

I got the utilities, waste, and recycling set up this morning, and I left a message with the city for getting water and sewer set up. 

 Greg's Dad and Step-Mom, Karen, have offered us a lovely sturdy wood table with great grain and neat rounded edges.  I have been thinking about chairs to go with it and these are my favorites!

They are almost exactly like chairs in our home when I was growing up, and I always have a soft spot for cane/rattan.  Plus, the blue color is perfect!  These type of chairs are pretty comfy, too.

We also got our Minnesota driver's licenses and Clarabelle (our Nissan Kicks) got a Minnesota license plate and tags!  I keep thinking that this is all an extended dream and that I'll wake up back in Arizona sad!  I can not believe that God has been THIS GENEROUS to us and that we get to live in a beautiful place in a gorgeous home on a fabulous pond with trees and wildlife and our beloved FAMILIES nearby!   It's all a dream come true and it keeps getting better.

We've been on a few adventures lately.

I tried to find the trailhead for the walk along the stream I did on my birthday, but I didn't find the right place!  We still found a fun place to walk and enjoy the beauty of nature, though.

On our way out, we saw this bulletin board with lost items pinned on it!

Are you missing a glove?  Some ear muffs?

The marsh was pretty.

This walk is the one that made me realize I needed new boots.  I have a GREAT pair for snow things (playing in the snow), but my everyday fall and winter walking boots are not doing the trick anymore.  They are slightly too big and they're slip-on, so they're not adjustable.  That means they chafe and my socks sink down and off.  I have ordered some new ones - we'll see how they are and I'll report back.

I went for a walk by myself recently to escape heavy bass (our rental shares a wall with another family).  

I walked to a park nearby that has a little stream.

Thanks to this house along the way for constantly reminding me that I'm meant to be resisting evil!

Then I came home and tried out our new air fryer for the first time!  Turns out I love it!

The potato wedges turned out delicious and it was quick!

The sunrises from my couch in the morning are beautiful (very different from clear hot Arizona sunrises), and I'm getting excited about our new house because the back of the house overlooking the pond faces east and I'll be able to watch the sun rise over the pond!

Yesterday I saw SUN DOGS!!!

They are like pieces of rainbows to either side of the sun (22 degrees).

Here is the other one.

I love that there's always something interesting and beautiful happening in nature!

Tune in next time to take a little mini-vacation with us!

New House Thoughts

We got to spend time at our new house chatting with the inspector and it was super extra duper fun to look around and get more comfortable there.  I've looked at the photos and the online listing so many times that the house is already starting to feel like our home.

There was a lot of good news about the house from the inspection report.
There aren't any huge issues, just some smaller maintenance and fix-it sort of issues.  Both the inspector and Greg's Dad said that the house is well-constructed and well-maintained.  We are relieved and happy!  Nothing stands in the way now between us and owning this beautiful home except a few more weeks (we close on February 8).

Now that we are waiting for the title company to get their work done so we can finally close on our new house (this is sadly still a month away!), I have been thinking about the first things I would like to do to add our personality and style.

The first thing that comes to mind is that I would like to have the inside walls on the upper two floors painted WHITE.  I like how white bounces the light around and makes rooms feel spacious, open, and clean.  We are planning to have this done before we move in.  The basement was recently finished and the paint, while not the color I would have chosen, is in great shape and looks clean and fresh.

At the same time, I would like to have the front door painted a shade of blue.  I'm still pondering the exact shade I'd like.  I'll pick out a few and let Greg vote and then see what's closest from the brand the professional painter uses.

This is the front door now.  I do like red front doors a LOT, but blue is better for us.

I'm thinking a cornflower or a sapphire blue.

Of course, the front entry way will need a nice big rug to prevent slush, snow, and rain from damaging our hardwood floors.  I really like this one.

My Mom mentioned that we might want something with darker colors due to the aforementioned slush, snow, and rain, so I'm also considering this one.  I like the colors and design of both of them, and I think my Mom is right about the darker color!

UPDATE:  Neither of these came in a 6-foot diameter, which is what the space needed, so we bought a different one altogether!

What a beautiful view from the main bedroom!

I will probably change the draperies fairly soon.  There are blinds, which I like, but we might also want drapes.  I assume we'll want blackout drapes and I found the perfect ones!  I really like the minimal gold designs in the fabric.

UPDATE:  The blinds and curtains in the main bedroom are really lovely and in great shape, so we have left them alone and are very happy!

Out our bathroom window (the little sticky note says that blinds have been ordered and will be installed before closing);

UPDATE:  The blinds that were installed in the main bathroom are VERY COOL!  They open from the top or the bottom, so we can have them open still while doing naked things in the bathroom.  Neato!

We're planning on getting a king bed soon instead of our queen, and I've found some comforter sets I like (I don't like duvets).

UPDATE:  We decided that we prefer a queen-sized bed, after all!

We did buy a new bed and mattress and comforter, but not any of the following!

Here's my favorite one.  I like that it's reversible!  I would use the darker side in the winter and the lighter side in the summer.

As far as the bed itself, I have some thoughts.

I want a wooden bed (not upholstered).  I would like a headboard but no footboard.

The wood needs to be pretty.

This one fits the bill!

Here's another option:

We also will need a 3 shower curtains, and I would like one for the main bathroom that has personality!

I like this one:

It would look nice with our dark blue towels AND our cornflower blue towels.

Here's the view from the downstairs great room.
We have outside furniture that will look great out there when the weather is more conducive for sitting outdoors!

Here's the view from the patio.

I can't get enough of the view!
I'm VERY GLAD we made a private back yard with a view a non-negotiable item on our list.

Here's the view from the downstairs seating area
(I think this will be a TV and lounging area but everything is still in flux!)

Here's the view from the dining room area.

It had just snowed quite a bit the night before, and the trees had their pretty dresses on!

We just learned today that this pond is a protected wetland.  We're proud to be its caretakers!

Moving on to the kitchen, I'm happy to say that it's pretty great, and I would just like to do some minimal style changes to make it feel like us.  The faucet is black and the other appliances are stainless steel or white (most of the appliances will be replaced within a couple of years, probably, because they are original to the house).  

I really like the backsplash - it's modern but rustic, which is right up my alley.

Look at the view I get while I cook and wash dishes (though there is a dishwasher!)

I would like to add gold knobs on the cabinet and drawers:

(find them here)

UPDATE:  We haven't replaced the knobs, at least yet.

I think black outlet covers would look good, but I'm open to stainless steel also.  We'll test before deciding.

Option #1:

(find them here)

Option #2:

(find them here)

UPDATE:  We prefer the stainless steel!

I want to add these bar stools and I like that they have blue (our favorite color!), black (to coordinate with some of the other things in the kitchen), and GOLD (which I'll be adding a bunch of to the house in general).

(find them here)

Here is the light I'm thinking about for over the sink:

(find it here)

I would like to replace the track lighting with something like this:

(find it here)

Eventually maybe the light over the dining table and the light in the entry way could be changed to match this style.

It would be fun to add these knobs on the pantry door!

As far as the pantry goes, I'm EXCITED to organize it and use it!

The two sides of it (it's kind of a triangle-shaped closet) come to a point, and I read that the best way to utilize that space is to put lazy susans in the corners!

UPDATE:  These are horrible.  Please don't buy them.  I have removed the link to them.  They are flimsy and don't spin well.

I would pick something like this over the sliding glass door in the dining room.  

I think they're really pretty.

That's pretty much all I would like to change at the beginning!  Just small things, but FUN things!

Also:

Greg took his Minnesota driver's license test yesterday and PASSED,

and last week I got Minnesota license plates and a Minnesota title for Clarabelle (my Nissan Kicks).  My driver's license test is scheduled for Monday.  My business has been "domesticated" so it's now a Minnesota-based small business.  

We're chugging right along getting ourselves situated here in our new home state!

Our New Home!

Welcome to our new home in Royal Pines Place!

We placed an offer on Monday the 27th of December (the same day we viewed it) and yesterday our offer was accepted!  

Our inspection is today and we get to go over there to poke around a bit and chat with the inspector after he's finished.

The entry way is very bright and open.

I don't love the paint colors throughout the house, but we'll take care of that soon enough.

This room is directly to your right as you walk in the front door.

These rooms are usually wasted spaces, but it won't be wasted when we live there! 

It's going to be our library!

From the front door, this is what you see ahead of you:

There's a coat closet (nice-sized)

The dining area is straight ahead.  You can see the kitchen, the stairs to the upstairs, and the living room is across from the kitchen to the left.

Straight ahead are the sliding glass doors and THIS VIEW OF OUR POND (shoveled for skating in the first photo!)

There's a deck under the snow in the backyard.

Here is the house from the street on the back of the pond (the gray one without a deck):

I saw a woodpecker and a cardinal while we were there viewing the house.

The house feels as if it's in a rural area, but it's not far from anything.  We are excited about the NATURE that will surround us and the fun we will have exploring!

Back to the inside, this is the living area.  It's a bit of an awkward shape, but I'm looking forward to playing around with the arrangement and finding just the right furniture.

There's a beautiful fireplace!  Thankfully it's a gas fireplace so all we have to do is flip a switch to turn it on because I don't want to have to chop wood, carry wood, and deal with ashes.

The bookcases are nice (though we won't probably put the TV there).

Here's a photo from the bookshelf area towards the kitchen.

It's a big area, it has a gorgeous view, and it will be wonderful for entertaining our friends and lots of family members!

Closer to the dining area:

Here's the kitchen!

Though I prefer white cabinets and white countertops, this kitchen is better than the one I appreciate and used heavily in Arizona!  There is a LOT more storage, there's a lovely island, there's a great stone backsplash, a tall faucet, a PANTRY, and lots of counter top.  It's also bright and cheerful and looks out on the pond and the trees!

The older white appliances will need to be replaced soon, but that's great because then we can choose exactly what we want!

This is the main floor powder room.  What a horrible color (to me - I hate dirt colors inside houses),

but it's a great bathroom!

There is also a bedroom on the main floor:

AND A LAUNDRY ROOM!

That thing to the right is a dog kennel which will be removed by the seller before we move in.  I'm planning to put a bench there with shoe/boot storage/drainage underneath.  I'm excited to have such a lovely laundry room and mud room.  We'll enter this room when coming in from the (3-car!) garage, so it's nice that there's a big coat closet, too.

Now we have moved up the stairs.

This is the first of three bedrooms upstairs.

We will not be leaving it purple.  The closet is pink inside, so I'm pretty sure a princess lived here.

There's also a light grey room (why oh why is grey such a popular color right now?!)

This is the first upstairs bathroom.  Again, lots of dirt colors that feel depressing to me,

but I'll cheer it right up!

This is the main bedroom - look at the fabulous view!!! 

I'll get to wake up and look out at the sun rising over the pond.

This is the main bedroom closet and it's nice and long!  I already have some baskets in my Amazon cart for on the shelves above, because I think we need some help keeping things neat.

Here's our main bathroom.  Jacuzzi tub, double sinks, good light, shower;

that's more than what we need!

Even a lovely view!

I don't normally take baths, but a nice bubbling jacuzzi might be nice after getting chilly outside.

This is the downstairs bathroom.

There is a nice heater in there so anyone showering there will be warm and toasty.

This is the downstairs back room.

We don't know yet how we're going to arrange the downstairs.  There's a lot of room down there and it could work in lots of different ways.  I'm thinking this could be the foosball room.  It could be a yoga/exercise room.  It could be a downstairs game room or family/TV room.  The white door is under-stairs storage (not very big).

This is the main part of the basement.

The flooring is nice, there are a LOT of lights, the paint is new.  Also the view is lovely!

This part might be a seating area maybe with a TV?

Or perhaps we will also use it for ping pong?

Or we could perhaps install a gas fireplace on that outside wall?

This is the basement bedroom.  We are planning for this to be my office.  It's lovely, with lots of closet space.  It will be good to store my toys and equipment in there!  I don't yet have a good desk; in fact, we will need to assemble furniture over a long time span.  I hope to thrift a good amount of it because it's interesting to have a mix of styles.

Then, of course, we must discuss the fact that there's a POND in the backyard!

It's gorgeous and it's a HUGE blessing after living so long in the desert!

Here are the floor plans, in case you're interested in that sort of thing.

All floors:

Upper floor:

Main floor:

Basement:

 

We are VERY HAPPY and overwhelmed with God's goodness to us.

I would never have dreamed that we would even be living here in Minnesota again, to say nothing about having a beautiful home like this that will suit us so well!

Thanks to Greg's Dad, Rick, for being at the walk-through with us and for being willing to help us adjust the small things the inspector noted!  We appreciate you!