House Renovation: Granite Step & Plants in!

Posted on | May 11, 2009 | 5 Comments

I hope everyone had a nice relaxing weekend. We worked on our gardens a bit. Greg finally got the granite step in. This time it’s not photoshopped. The step fits perfectly. I can’t believe we actually did it. The rock was a monster. In the second image our hydrangeas starting to sprout. We planted the hydrangeas and put in the granite pavers last fall.

My mom came down over the weekend and brought a few plants from her garden. I need a few more but we are off to a good start. I kinda wish I could snap my fingers and everything would be in bloom. Patience, katy. I need a flowering bush for the end of the garden. I’ve thought about lilacs, butterfly bushes, and lace cap hydrangeas. I have to keep looking around.

Category: house hunting

We Bought a House!

Posted on | July 13, 2008 | Comments Off

We bought a house in Marblehead, MA! We finally closed on the house this past Thursday. I am honestly still in shock and can’t believe that we own a home. The whole thing just doesn’t feel real.

“Me? I actually own a whole house?”
We feel so lucky. Check out the house on flickr here. The image below is of Marblehead Harbor on our first night. The harbor is just a few blocks down the street from our house.

Category: house hunting

House Color Inspiration

Posted on | June 24, 2008 | 3 Comments

So I think we maybe homeowners in the next couple of weeks. Keep your fingers crossed and if nothing crazy happens I will have my house by mid-July. I can’t sleep at night because I’m so excited for all the fun projects we get to do. One of first projects I want to get done before winter is cleaning up the outside of the house. The roof needs work, chimney is caving in, put in a brick driveway, and the house needs to be re-painted. I was thinking maybe something creamish toward brownish color? My boyfriend thinks the color is a little to blah. I think it would be amazing with big green variegated hostas and hints of pink bushes and shrubs. Here are few photos I took of cream colored houses in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Marblehead, MA over the past few weeks. What do you guys think?

Category: architecture, house hunting, marblehead, on the streets

We may have a house!

Posted on | June 20, 2008 | Comments Off

The last couple of months have been a bit stressful. My boyfriend and I have been searching for a house up in Marblehead, Ma. We found one we loved and could afford. The whole process of figuring out our finances and learning about mortgages was extremely overwhelming. We finally figure everything out and made an offer but then find out another offer had been accepted the day before. We were so bummed. So a few weeks past and our lives were just starting to get to normal; when we go a call yesterday letting us know the other buyers backed out and our back up offer has been accepted. We are really excited but now we wonder how are we really going to pay for all of this? Ahh house stress. Next: house inspection.

Category: house hunting

38 Mugford Street

Posted on | May 15, 2008 | 1 Comment

I promised to share photos from the house I checked out in Marblehead on Monday. I am completely new to real estate market and I’ve already realized I have a lot to learn. Since our budget is tight we are checking out a lot of older homes. A big renovation could be fun but I’m afraid the whole process could be nail-biting stressful.

I am a bit more cautious of the situation then my other half. He’s ready to dive into anything kind of a guy. I’m just a frightened of ending up with a project that’s much larger then we had originally anticipated. In the next couple of days we need to figure out inspections, structural issues, and how to get grants to renovate historic homes. I’m excited and totally freak out all at once. Check out more photos by clicking here.