The Result Is In

It's been five days since we submitted our first offer on the house. It's been five days of back and forth and back and forth and technically, there will be one more day of back and forth, but essentially, the house is ours!

It has almost everything we were looking for in a house. It has hardwood floors and crown molding throughout, there's a formal dining room, there are 2 1/2 levels of living space (which means that there are stairs, which I have always wanted) and there is a nice sized backyard. What it does not have is a fireplace. None of the houses we looked at had fireplaces. Something about the region being former coal country, so houses were heated with coal stoves, which were then converted directly into electric heating? I dunno. 

What I do know is that Rochester winters are cold and I am going to really wish that I could curl up in front of a roaring fire. So I am considering a gas fireplace. Any thoughts? Most of what I've found online are so disgustingly tacky, but here are a few good-looking options:

"Crescent" by Heat & Glo

This is meant to be a kitchen fireplace, but I love the arch. Very tudor. 

"DXV Series" by Mendota

It could just be the fancy photograph, but doesn't it look like the real deal?

"Artesian" by Classic Flame

This is actually an electric fireplace, not gas. A corner unit would work really well in our new house. 

Waiting for a Response (Day Two)

...still haven't heard anything from our realtor about the sellers' response. I don't like this part. I would rather just hear right away that they had rejected our offer than have to guess what's going on. Arg!

First Official Offer

Today, Mr. Marshall and I made an offer on the house we like (which, if you read my last post, is the 4th and final house pictured). The seller has until 8:00 tomorrow night to respond, so until then, I wait with baited breath.  

Even if we don't get this particular house, I am so damn proud of myself and my husband. I can't believe that we are ready and capable of doing this before either of us hit 30 (though one of us is closer than the other, *cough* *cough* me). 

Hello, Rochester!

After a slight setback on the first day of our drive to New York, we arrived in Rochester as scheduled. We're currently subletting an apartment near the Eastman School of Music while we house-hunt. It's a really wonderful location, because at night, you can hear all the students in the neighboring apartments practicing their instruments. 

I know it has only been a few days, but we're been busy busy busy looking at houses and we may have already found the house we are going to buy! Here are some of the houses that we've toured. See if you can identify the one we want:

Option 1)

2 bed, 1 bath (but no tub!). Extremely reasonable price. Potentially needs new roof. If we finished the basement, we could add  another full bath and a guest room/play area.

Option 2)

4 bed, 2 bath.  This one had an odd layout. On the bottom floor, you have a living space, two bedrooms, a bath and the laundry room. On the top floor, you have the real living room, the dining room, the kitchen, one bedroom and a staircase to the lofted master bedroom. 

Option 3)

3 bed, 2 bath. The neighborhood this house is in is one of the best in the city.  This one was gorgeous, but just ever so slightly outside of our price range. 

Option 4)

3 bed, 1 bath. Everything is in really good condition, with hardwood floors and crown molding throughout. Also includes a finished attic and an office space. Within walking distance of a park with tennis courts. 

Okay, we've seen more houses, but I don't feel like uploading anymore pictures. Even though I haven't included all pertinent information, can you tell which one we like?

All images courtesy of homesteadnet.com

So long, Chicago!

We've packed up and left our Chicago apartment, the first place we ever lived as a married couple. It was small, but we made it cozy. Here are some pictures to remember it by:

The was the biggest bedroom in the apartment, which we originally used as our master, but changed into a formal dining room in time for Christmas. The midnight blue walls took about five coats, and could have used another.

This is a tiny glimpse of how we decorated our smaller bedroom. Everything was blue and white and ethereal and relaxing. Flynn certainly thought so. 

Here is the window in the living room that looked out onto a gorgeous Catholic church. The walls were painted a custom color we titled "Sweet Laura Brown" and the curtain tie-backs were insanely expensive leather napkin cuffs from Ralph Lauren.

Pretty much everything in the living room was brown and we loved it that way. 

Things not pictured:

1) The paradoxically large kitchen with almost no prep or storage space.

2) Jeff's British Racing Green office (that became the light blue bedroom).

3) The dining room/walk-in closet (that the navy bedroom became).

4) The petite bathroom with the wallpapered clawfoot tub.