Whew it has been way to long- We've just been living the dream...

I apologize to all that we closed and left everyone hanging for the past month, but it has been CRAZY with all of our moving out the apartment, into our home, and prepping for the holidays. Despite all of the chaos, I loved every moment of it. We have both been living on a high from the joys of building and moving into our home. The first two weeks it almost felt as though we were living a dream, however every time I woke up I was still in it. Man such an amazing feeling it is to know you're living your dream! Please sit back and enjoy this long post mainly because of all the pictures.

We normally dress up the house really nice for the holidays, but this  year with all that was going on we didn't have the time nor energy. 

 

Who doesn't love a cute baby? This is a good friend's little man "Bray" that we had the honor of watching. As you can see we were torturing him by making him take pictures under our tree. He was such a good trooper.

The first 2 weeks we spent endless hours of attempting to unpack a portion of our life that were in what seemed like a million boxes and all throughout the house and garage. The hubs is so Type-A, and seriously had almost every necessity unpacked, every TV hooked up, and every other box in it's respective room within 5 days. Looking back I am grateful for his persistence, because it allowed us not to be stressed as we got closer to Christmas, being that I did sign us up to host Christmas dinner ;). For majority of our family, it was their first time visiting our new home. It was nice being able to have enough counter space for all of the food, outlets for all of the crock-pots, and space for all of  our family and friends. Having a loud entertainment system didn't hurt for those that wanted to enjoy whatever movie was playing either. We still have stuff to unpack and decorate, but that is mainly upstairs in the bedrooms loft area.

Part of Christmas dinner

Our fried turkey and some of the desserts

  

Our annual cookies that my niece Kenzie and I bake a day or 2 before Christmas

My sis-n-law and her man

Tequila and Crown royal shots before round 2 on the food 

Another sis-n-law and her hubby

The warranty guy for KB homes came out mid-December to go over our warranties, and schedule any outstanding issues. For the most part we haven't had many outstanding issues- only the flood light that the masons have to tear apart some of the brick on the garage and turn the light box the right way and then re-position the light properly. When the warranty guy came out we showed him that the sub-floor in the Master bedroom had some popping which made it unstable as well as in the upstairs hallway. I am not looking forward to having contractors in my house tearing up the carpet to fix the sub-floor however i'd rather have it fixed then worrying if me walking too hard is going to make something on our dressers fall. 

We are so grateful for all that God has blessed us with! Last year this time I never would have thought that we would be sitting in our brand new home, sipping coffee and listening to music as I shared my love for our home with others. 

Entryway/stairwell looking into the living area

Entryway/Stairwell, powder room, and office

Our powder room- I really love how the gray paint turned out

Kitchen, dinning, and living room

Upstairs loft. Pardon the unpacked boxes

Our Bedroom- that nightstand is on my diy project list for 2014 

 So close to our final walk-thru we noticed that the upgraded towel bars we paid for were not installed in the master bath and their was no mention of a refund or anything else. Actually as we looked around there was no room for any towel bars. What the f***? All of the loan documents had all be drawn, and if this item was removed at this  it would postpone our closing to another day. Uhm hell no. Long story short we negotiated another stagecoach light on our garage which would cost them more money then our upgrade cost plus interest for 30 years but I didn't care. This was their F up, not mine.They should have told us when they realized rather then thinking we wouldn't notice it. Either way they made good and added the extra light after closing. As a result of having no towel bars, hubby thought up the idea of having an extra tension rod a little lower that I could reach (don't laugh but i'm only 5'1) and we could hang our towels on. I would have preferred the towel bars, but this was definitely a genius substitute. He's so creative!!!

Our master bath. I should have pulled the shower curtain back so you can see how huge it is. 

Upstairs hallway outside of our bedroom

If you have a glass/ceramic top stove, you want this kit. I went to Home Depot after having some cooked on grease on our glass top that I could not get off. This product came highly recommended by a lady who said she used this on her stove and felt as though it was the best out there. I thought she was just trying to sell us a product but hell what did I have to lose besides $20? That was by far the best $20 ever spent on a cleaning product. This kit works wonders and restored our stove back to it's flawless, smudge free, shiny surface I once saw. 

I hope you enjoy our pictures and I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!! I promise we will be back sooner rather than later. 

With lots of love,

-The Alexander's

We've Closed!!!

Closing was not as smooth as we anticipated, but hey all that matters is we are proud homeowners. I  promise I will come back and share our closing stress sometime soon, just give me a week or two. Shortly after closing we dropped the paint off at the house, because the painters were coming that night to get started, and should be finished by sometime this evening. We went by this morning to get a sneak peek and it looks so damn good already! Our movers are scheduled for the 30th, but were going to start moving in the items we've purchased this weekend. Home Depot installs the blinds on Monday so after that we will start moving in our larger/ more expensive items.

I am such a bad blogger and didn't realize until we were at home last night- I forgot to take photos for the inside of the home, or them handing us our keys.

Here's one of us shortly after closing in front of our home.

The Alexander's

4 Days until closing!

Thursday we went by the house and the landscaping was complete as promised. I became pretty pissed after opening the kitchen cabinet under the sink and seeing a large hole in our cabinet floor. I also noticed that there were numerous, possibly little things, that have not been started let alone was there anyone there doing anything. I guess nobody else got the memo that we are supposed to close in less than a week.  As Hubby and I continued to walk around we saw that the dual thermostats had not been installed on either floor, nor had the breakers been completely repaired. What the hell?

After a frantic call to our PM he assured me that none of this would prevent us from closing on time and would all be resolved by Monday. He also scheduled our Pre-Settlement meeting for Monday at 10. We are both so excited!

Hubby drove by the house last night after work to get a picture of it all lit up.

 

Wish us luck on Monday and that there are no major findings. We're so ready to get out of this apartment and be in our home. 

Until Next Time,

-The Alexander's

Our House is 90% Complete!

Today marks Day 100/ Week 15 of our process, and so much has happened since our last post. This past Saturday the bottom half of the driveway was poured. Sunday there was no change. We were disappointed and thought nothing would happen being that the following day was Veterans Day so we assumed not much would change.

Yesterday (Day 99), the tile guys were back adding grout to the back splash that morning. We didn't want to be in the way so we decided to come back later that evening. We were both shocked to come back and see lots of carpenters and painters cutting up trim for the interior and adding finishing touches to the exterior as well. We didn't get out due to all of the men still working but we did notice the other 1/2 of the driveway was present.YAY! When I got home I then became convinced that they mistakenly painted the shutters the wrong color and the trim was not dark enough. Let's just say I was "straight tripping".

Can you see the ugly colored shutters?

Day 100- First thing we noticed was our perfectly color coordinated house in all the colors we remember picking! I am so happy I didn't send an email to the PM last night about the color anxiety I was having. He definitely would have thought I was crazy.  Once we got to the front door we noticed the house had electricity and had the permanent lock. I take it we will have to start visiting during business hours only for the next 7 days. When we walked in all doors had handles and door stops on majority of the doors. Wall dings were taped to be corrected and a bob cat was outside getting ready to start the grading. All missing baseboards were added, and did I mention we had electricity? That was of course until I blew the fuse by trying to test the garbage disposal. I was positive I broke the house before we even owned it, but the PM ensured us that 2 of the breakers were acting wonky so the Electrician would be back out to repair it. He also informed us that evening they would be finishing grading on the property and tomorrow landscaping would be done. Hubby already had a conversation with the PM in regards to picking the location of the trees so we came back later this evening after grading was complete and hubby placed stakes in the yard.  On our way out we saw that whoever did the grading damaged and cracked the driveway on the edge. It has been pretty cold for Texas the past 2 days so the upper half of the driveway is not completely dry. It looks like the person drove on it or hit it while doing the grading or both.

Isn't she lovely?

 Pardon the screens do not belong in the kitchen, or the fact that the outlet covers have not been added  but it still looks gorgeous!

 Did you notice the missing cabinet is now installed?

 Me enjoying Standing on the back patio. Go Longhorns!!!

Our cracked driveway :(

 I think that our PM saw the cracked driveway, because the 'Do Not Park' block was added later that evening when we returned.

 Hubby and I made a pact that we will not go back in the house until our orientation, however we will drive by and see the landscaping progress tomorrow. :)

I can't believe that in 8 days, this home will be ours. Ahhhh!

Until next time,
-The Alexander's

Week 13 and Week 14

 I apologize that this has taken me so long to post, but I have been dealing with a family emergency. I'm  currently typing this from my iPad since I had to travel to NY unexpectedly, so if the formatting looks a little weird- I apologize. I will make all adjustments as soon as I get to a desktop to adjust the format.

The remainder of week 13 was pretty slow. Not much happened, and maybe that is because they wanted minimal walking on our newly installed floors. On Thursday (Day 88) we noticed the A/C people had been by to install all of the vents and the interior condensing unit. 

The following day (Day 89) all bathroom counter tops had been installed. Also our dishwasher appeared and waiting in the kitchen. I spoke with our PM for our weekly call and he informed me that our driveway forms was going up in preparation for them to pour the following week. 

Up until seeing good picture, hubby was apprehensive about the bathroom Classico granite selection. I love it and he's actually in love with it now.

 

An up and close view of the master bath countertops.

Our stainless steel dishwasher waiting to be installed

 

Week 14

Day 92 (11.04.13): I pulled up and noticed lots of movement inside the house. Much to my surprise all of the toilets, sinks, faucets, our water heater, shower heads, and kitchen Granite was being installed. It definitely felt like Christmas as I walked room to room to see a crew working diligently to install different things. 

Master sink with faucets

Powder room- we're missing a framed mirror here. 

 

Kitchen view with Granite. Doesn't it look beautiful?

 

Up close of the St Cecilia Granite.

Day 93: I didn't go by the house

Day 94 (11.06.13): The electrician came by to install all of the outlets, light switches, and lighting through out the home. Our front door was installed and stained, and the railing was stained. We noticed that behind our back door there was some swelling on the wall. When hubby touched it he noticed that a piece of the drywall appeared to have been crushed. We called our PM and he states he saw it during his walk-thru and had plans for someone to come and repair that piece of the drywall. Our cabinet is still M.I.A and our PM was under the impression it would have arriveyf the week before. I'm not picky- I just hope we have that cabinet by closing. The dishwasher is still in the box and waiting to be installed. Maybe they are waiting for our other appliances to arrive before they start installing. 

Front door - Hubby's other demand!

 

Stained stair rail

 

Kitchen can lights and outlets

 

Dinning room chandelier 

 

Master bedroom ceiling fan!

Day 95 (11.07.13): hubby visited the house since I'm gone and he reports that all of the carpet was installed. The concrete still has not been poured due to all the rain, but as soon as it dries yo we will have a driveway and several walkways. He states Guardian was present doing their thing and so he stayed out of their way and documented all of green tape markups from the PM. 

Looking down the stairs

 

Upstairs hallway looking into master bedroom,

Our house!

 

View of other homes in community from an upstairs bedroom

Well folks that's it for now.

Until Next time,

- The Alexander's

End of Week 12 & Beginning of Week 13

Week 12:

Day 82- Majority of this week I've been dealing with these annoying allergies that turned into a sinus infection. As a result I was too tired to go see the house on hubby's break like we have been doing.  I managed to leave for work about 15 minutes early and saw that they painted the exterior of the house. I swear that made me feel 1000 times better for at least an hour. When I sent hubby this picture he decided to go by that evening and take more pictures. The pictures that he took of the back of the house had a reddish tint, it also looks a lot darker then the picture I have from the design studio.

Day 83 (10.26.13)- On Saturday we came by to see the exterior paint job, and were surprised to see several guys inside working on the floor tile. When I saw the paint up close and in person I was happy to see that it did not have a reddish tone, but it still looks darker than the latte color it is supposed to be.

Tile in Laundry Room 

 

Looking from living room to the kitchen. I will be so happy when they install the missing cabinets

Week 13:
Day 84- Contractors work on Sundays? Well our tile guys were back adding our grout and tiling the bathroom tubs. The tile guy informed us that their distributor gave him the wrong color of tiles for the curved edges of the tubs- so he is going to have to pick them up tomorrow and finish out the the edges then.

Almond bath tile in Bath 2

 

Tile with our Desert Khaki grout. It looks so pretty! 

Day 85 (10.28.13)- Hubby went to visit the house after work and noticed that all of the curved bath tiles had been installed, the vinyl flooring in both bathrooms, and our wrought iron stair rail.

 

Finished Almond tile in Master Bath. After we finish moving next month, the first thing on my agenda is to soak in this tub. 

 

Finished Bath 2 tile

 

Our upgraded vinyl in the linen closet. This is in both of the bathrooms upstairs

 

Hubby's pride and joy. The only other thing besides this rail that he is excited about is the front door. Initially we thought that the rail would be the round standard rail like at the model home, but the one we have actually has better detail to it.

 

 

Day 86- I did go by the house this morning, but there wasn't a change as of 10 o'clock. I'm not sure if hubby has intentions of stopping by on his way home, but I will definitely be by to visit sometime tomorrow.

 

 

Until next time,

-The Alexander's