Dream House: If Only...

So...

One thing that has been really important to me throughout this home-buying exploration process, is to stay within the lines, so to speak.

Maybe one day I will have a big house on the beach but my starter country cottage is likely to be much more modest.

Now that I am back at the starting point, in some ways, in that I have to save for my down payment, it is even more true.

But...

I couldn't resist sharing this dream house.

Forgive me! :)

And have a look at these textured floors, and this beautiful planking/woodwork.

I found this house in a blog post on the Inspired Room blog.



Here are some more dreamy pics from this beach house...




I would love this bathroom...




Do you dream, too, about houses that are a bit beyond your budget? :)

An Encouraging Angel Number

"Angel Number 707 is a message is that you deserve accolades for the mental, spiritual and physical work you have been doing in your life.

You are helping yourself and many others with your current life choices and actions, and you are being commended, encouraged and supported by the angelic and spiritual realms.

Continue your great work and shine your light brightly.

The repeating number 707 is a message to continue to focus upon your spirituality and Divine life purpose and soul mission" ~Joanne Walmsley

Slow Cooker Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Recipe

Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Recipe for Cornbread Dressing...

Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Recipe

Home Buying Postponed

Well, I haven't posted in a while because my plans to buy the home I wanted have hit a snag. A couple of them, actually.


I thought I was going to have help with the down payment and the person who was going to help me was going to buy the home with me. And that was going to help solve problem number two, my credit challenges.

Those plans have changed, so now I have to do more work with credit repair and I'm going to have save for a down payment. I'm not happy about it, to say the least, so I may not check in here as often as I did before.

More to come on this unhappy development and my plans to get myself out of this mess...

Avoid These Decorating Mistakes

Decorating Mistakes

I am possibly half a year away from actively decorating my new home, but I have begun the planning process already! And she even says some things in here about paint colors and accent walls that will help me in the beginning stages before my home is built.

                            

What did you think? Did you find it helpful, too?

See you next time!

Jeanine

Low VOC Area Rugs

Because I have chronic fatigue syndrome, I want my home to be low in toxicity in every way possible. So I did a search on low VOC area rugs and here are some of the resources and information I found...

Martha Stewart: Healthy Carpet & Rug Tips ...

"Synthetic carpets contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) -- which account for that "new carpet" smell -- that may cause health problems ranging from allergies to nausea. And virtually all synthetic varieties are backed with a latex mix containing styrene, a possible human carcinogen." ~Martha Stewart

Natural Area Rugs: Maintaining a Healthy Home...

"If you really want to lower VOC emissions in your home and you are getting a new carpet, ask the installer to air the carpet out before bringing it in your home. Plan to leave the house for several hours after it's been installed and ventilate your home during and after installation, Instead of using VOC emitting glue, ask the carpet installers to tack down the carpet.

A true VOC vigilante will want to use carpet or rug made from sustainable and natural materials. Sisal rugs and bamboo rugs are all examples of healthy carpet choices. Other excellent alternatives to synthetic carpeting are jute rugs and seagrass area rugs. Look for area rugs that have natural jute or latex backing."

FLOR: Low VOCs... 

"Most FLOR styles meet or exceed the Carpet and Rug Institute's Green Label Plus standards for low VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds). Low VOCs are important because of their harmful impact on indoor air quality."

Natural, Non-Toxic Area Rugs

Could Your Rug Make You Sick? 

The Olive Green Cottage

These colors are what I'm thinking about for the exterior of my home. I'm thinking a lighter olive with a darker olive for the shutters. What do you think?

Mediterranean Exterior by Santa Cruz Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers Kathleen Shaeffer Design, Exterior Spaces

Craftsman Exterior by Huntersville Architects & Building Designers Kenny Craft, CNU LEED AP

Craftsman Exterior by Spanish Fork Architects & Building Designers Joe Carrick Design - Custom Home Design

Traditional Exterior by Huntersville Architects & Building Designers Kenny Craft, CNU LEED AP

Keep Manhattan, Just Give Me that Countryside

Anyone else know all the words to the Green Acres theme song?

As I embark on the home-buying process, I decided to take a closer look at what it's going to be like to live in the country. I'm looking forward to it, but a wee bit apprehensive about the longer drive to stores and restaurants!

I do want to say that I am not going to own a farm or livestock or be homesteading, so lots of people have a far more rural experience than I will. But for me, moving from a fairly large city to one with less than 2000 people, with lots more nature and daily "Sunday drives" on my way to almost anywhere, it's definitely a move toward country living.

Let's hope this will be my experience...

"Fresh air is definitely one of the primary positive aspects of country life when compared with city living. In the countryside, everybody knows everybody and folks actually say hi. Residential areas in the country are a lot smaller yet they are more related and open. Folks in the country are truly friendlier and are willing to help you without asking a single thing for their efforts." ~Advantages of Living in the Country, goincountry.com

Asking for My Home: The Answer is YES!

 

If you don’t ask, you don’t get.  Also, you get what you ask for.  Every time.

This week, my coach’s challenge to you is to ASK at least 10 times.  At least 10.  Because it’s only in the asking – and always in the asking – that we receive.
 
Here’s to your asking… :)






 ~from a newsletter written by Elisabeth Purvis,  Goddess Business School

Ideas for My Healing Room

I think I mentioned before that I want a window seat for moon gazing. Well, I found a perfect one at Pottery Barn!

A little pricey? Definitely. But perhaps I can save up for it.

What do you think?

And the Winner Is...

Or, Maybe a Two-Story Single Family Home...

Also offers low VOC carpet and low VOC paint and hopefully, I will get a chance to see one of these, too, the next time I go looking. Stay tuned!

I'm excited about each of these last three possibilities because I have chronic fatigue syndrome (did I mention that yet?) and for someone with CFS, the possibility of low toxicity could be a game changer.

Low VOC Carpet & Paint: Another New Home Possibility

Low VOC Carpet & Paint

One thing I like about this home is the builder and the community where it can be built. The builder offers low VOC carpet and paint, which means lower toxicity (maybe even no toxicity?)

That could lower the cost of the home because maybe I wouldn't have to replace all the flooring with laminate.

Vaulted Ceilings

It also offers vaulted ceilings, including the room we would be using for homeschooling. It is meant to be the dining room, but that has been my plan all along: a room with chair molding and picture frame squares and a pretty window.

Sitting Room

There also is the possibility of a sitting room within the master bedroom. I recently unearthed a dream home vision board my son and I once created together several years ago.

I hadn't remembered it, but this vision board has on it everything I have been looking for, including a sitting room area in my bedroom. I don't know how much this upgrade would cost in this model, but I mean to find out!

My realtor is going to show me a model for this home plan soon, I think, and I can't wait to see it. Stay tuned...

New Home Possibility

The Search for Home

I've narrowed it down to three places, all single family homes. Two are two-story single family homes and one is a ranch home. They all have three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths and each one has a separate dining room.

My Priorities...

(1) A healing room

(2) A homeschooling room

(3) Hardwood floors (or, I should say laminate or vinyl flooring, instead of carpet)

The Homes...

(1) One has a bonus room, which would mean we could homeschool upstairs. But the stairs greet you when you first walk in the door and you can see almost the entire downstairs from the doorway. No foyer, whatsoever.

(2) The second home has a foyer, and it preserves a bit of mystery. You can't see the stairs, the living room or the kitchen from the front door. I also really like where they've placed the laundry room and the powder room.

(3) The third home is the ranch, and it has wood-look flooring already in it; only the bedrooms have carpet. It has an eat-in kitchen. But you can see everything but the bedrooms when you walk in and it feels like one big great room.

I love compartmentalization and separate rooms dividing up the space. None of the houses has a fireplace, which I want, but if I build a house, using the plan of one of the three, I can add one. I'd also need to add the flooring I want, except in the third home.

Where are the Trees?

I've visited a lot of new home communities, and I love them. But I do have one complaint.

The trees are often in a row behind the house, but there are no trees in the front or back yards, no trees that come with the house, itself. I love trees. And my realtor tells me that they can be added, planted in, but then you have to really baby and nurture them so that they live and flourish.

Seems to me they could leave at least one tree per lot? But since they didn't, maybe I will eventually add one or two.

Simple Comfort & Letting Go

Simple Comfort

I've had a great day today!

I slept in and actually managed to get a good night's sleep (insomnia is often a problem). And then, I spent the day reading, watching DVR'd shows like That Girl, and playing the board game version of Hollywood Game Night with my son.

Fun!! The best part of the game was the one called "How Do You Doo," where the goal is to get people to guess the song you are singing. But you have to sing it by using the word "doo" for each note of the song.

Letting Go

But I also decided to let go of the house I saw online that is under contract. I sought intuitive guidance and felt like what would be the highest good was to stop trying to influence this particular outcome.

Yes, sometimes people find something better and walk away from a contract or something goes wrong, but I am no longer going to wish something more wonderful into the life of whoever currently plans to buy that house.

I will buy another one in the same neighborhood. And I like that one, too! A lot. It actually was my first choice until I saw the other one. :)

Ah, well. I think I am meant for the one that's available.

Finding Fall Home Tour

Click here to start the tour

 

The Home I Want

Just tried this again (tried it last night, too) and was imagining the home I want. Try it, yourself, and think of the home you want...

The home I want? Well, actually, there are two. The likely home and the really, really wish I could home. Both in the same neighborhood. Picture below is the wish home!

Laminate Flooring

Laminate Flooring...

Not sure what I will do about flooring in my home, but am using this link as a resource. I know I am really sensitive to the formaldehyde in carpet, so as I look, I am exploring other flooring.

But also, this air purifier, which removes formaldehyde.