Friday, April 10, 2009

House planning

It's starting to hit me that in a week we will have a house. A HOUSE. Where we will really build our lives together. Where we can create a space that we really love. Where our kids will start their lives. Where it's not temporary and we aren't constantly thinking of what we'll do differently the next time we move. This will be the house our kids grow up in.

There will be neighbors and this time I really want to get to know them. I've already talked to one of them on the phone and she was really nice--she and her husband have two kids, ages 5 and 2, and another one due in July. I'm already planning to bring over some sort of meal when the baby is born because I figure the last thing they'll want to do is cook. And by then we'll be NEIGHBORS. Real ones! And if we have a baby in a couple years, then their youngest will only be a couple years older than our oldest. They can play together!

And there are so many DETAILS. I mean, yes we have to get a ton of furniture, and that will be fun. But we also need to plant trees, and figure out if we want some sort of water feature to help block the highway noise (and, by the way, if we do install a waterfall, like most landscaped water features, it will use recirculated water--so it will not be a huge drain of natural resources). And figure out if we want fruit trees? And a vegetable garden? And ooooh daffodils, and what purple flowers grow well in Colorado?

And we're going to get a grill, and some patio furniture. This will be perfect post-surgery--grilled lean meat and vegetables are an excellent post-surgery diet, and I can just eat that all summer. Plus it means Torsten will be in charge of cooking--so I can finish work and go to the gym while he prepares the grill so we can eat when I get home. It's perfect!

And the two fireplaces! We have to get fireplace tools and order wood. And buy a rack to store the wood in. And a tarp to cover it with.

And maybe a dog door? Montana loves being able to go in and out as she pleases, as we have learned when we leave the balcony door open, and with our offices being upstairs in the spare bedrooms, it will be a pain in the ass if we have to keep going up and down the stairs to let her in and out when we're trying to work.

Oh, and the house doesn't have a mailbox, it has a mail slot next to the door. I didn't think those were still in use, but apparently they are, so we need to get a little table to put under it so that Montana doesn't come across mail lying on the floor and think it's fair game.

Basically there's a million things to do because we're about to be LIVING IN OUR HOUSE. But I LOVE this type of stuff, and even more because it's FOR OUR HOUSE. I'm sorry, did I mention that we're ABOUT TO HAVE A HOUSE? And that the house is PERFECT? Because we are, and it is. I want to go drive by the house RIGHT THIS SECOND, just to visit and say hello. But I will restrain myself, because soon enough we'll be LIVING THERE.

25 comments:

  1. How exciting! It is so fun to hear about your excitement! Enjoy!

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  2. It all sounds wonderful - congrats!!

    Just a quick thought - I'm sure you're already all over this - but if you get a doggie door, you should also look into an electric fence . . .if she's outside unsupervised, you don't want her wandering off to the neighbors yard, or worse, the street.

    Just a suggestion! Congrats!!

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  3. Stupid excited for you. Seriously. What a monumental year for you two!

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  4. I'm so excited for you guys! A word of warning about doggie doors. I don't know about Colorado, but in Minnesota we have skunks, and they are just as able to go in and out doggie (or cat) doors as your dog is. My aunt and uncle had one come into their house and spray, and that is one thing you do NOT want to have to deal with. Yuck! I'm not sure if they make doggie doors that are somehow skunk proof, but it's something to consider. :)

    Good luck with your move!

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  5. So excited for you! I'm going to live vicariously through you!

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  6. Oh wee, decorating and fixing up your brand new house is SO FUN. We unfortunately don't have quite the money (or maybe we're just too cheap) to do it all at once. Sometimes it feels painfully slow. But I'm so excited every time we make a small improvement. This spring: a garden. It makes me so happy!

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  7. YAY for the house! I cannot wait to "see" you guys all moved in.

    If you decide to do a doggie door, may I recommend one?

    http://freedompetpassdirect.com/

    This company is owned by a friend of mine, and the product really is quite amazing.

    You really should plant some purple crocus. They are so pretty and always first to peek out in the spring!

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  8. Purple flowers that grow well in Colorado (since you asked):

    LILACS (my favorite; they smell awesome)

    Vinca
    Irises
    Ornamental sage (blooms with purple flowers)
    Lots of annuals grow well here; stop by a nursery and see what they have. The one near us is called City Floral and it is awesome.

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  9. Aww, this is all so exciting! Woot!

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  10. How exciting! I am particularly enamored with the idea of the little table under the mail slot.

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  11. Can you plant an herb and veggie garden so I can live vicariously through you? I am dying to have an herb and veggie garden, but I cannot. BOO.

    So exciting that you are almost homeowners!

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  12. Your excitement is contagious! I can't wait to see all that you and Torsten do with your beautiful, new home.

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  13. Oooh! Excitement!

    And, I second all of MLE's purple flower suggestions, and add: clematis (which you can find in ALL SORTS of purples) and lavender (which is, uh, more lavender than purple). Also, for the spring, allium (big purple balls on stalks).

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  14. Fun! And you can have a BBQ and invite us all over :)

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  15. You're cute when you're excited. Well, you're cute all the time, but particularly charming when you're excited about something.

    xox

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  16. that's so exciting!! i remember how excited we were when we bought our house. i can't wait to see the pics after you move in. :)

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  17. So many things to consider for your first house. :)

    I think columbine(s?) is purple and grows well anywhere. As do bachelor buttons but they're a little more bluey-purple. They grow really well though and reseed themselves.

    Your idea to bring the neighbours food when the new baby comes is a GREAT one. Oh what we would've done for easy meals....

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  18. I never thought I would get squealy happy for someone I've never met. Woo hoo!

    You should be able to go to a nursery and ask or just see what's abundant. Probably, if they have it available, it will do well there in the summer at least. They will have perennials better suited for warmer climates that are only intended for one season because they are so pretty. For perennials you want to actually come back, you should ask or look up what really works there.

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  19. Doggy doors are absolutely worth every penny of investment.

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  20. We just bought our first home, and I feel that same way. I keep thinking about all the things that we are going to do. And the fact that I will live somewhere that I actually get to choose the color of the walls!

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  21. My advice? Make use of every ounce of that ambition immediately, because it will wane steadily the longer you live there, until suddenly you're like, "Eh. Maybe I'll get to that someday." This is why I landscaped one side of my house three years ago and haven't touched another side since. Maybe THIS year! We shall see. :-)

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  22. That is so exciting! I think you have a lot of great plans for the house and your mark on it will grow with time :)

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  23. I really love that we're in such different life phases, and that I can get a peek into what the other side is like.

    Congratulations! This is all so exciting.

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  24. How fun! SO EXCITED.

    I am rather smitten with the mail slot. So cool!

    I think irises would work well?

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