Dirt to Turf!

So when we rented this Townhouse online sight unseen we never saw a picture of the "baby backyard" and much to our surprise is was a dirt pile. It sucked and for the last year we dealt with it but since we are staying in our rental longer than originally planned I just couldn't go another Summer with the gross dirt pile. 

 But since we will be hopefully moving out at the end of the year we don't want to put much money into this, such a conundrum. Most of our neighbors have turf since the yard really isn't a yard at all. So for my early Birthday present Matt and I watched a tutorial online and set out to DIY our own turf yard!

 This took Matt about 6+ hours and we got everything from Home Depot and since we already just started out with a dirt patch Step 1 was already done for us!

 The yard isn't perfectly level or professionally installed but the end result is still like night and day from what we had before! And it is so easy to clean up after the dogs!

 I also wanted to freshen up the patio so thanks to Target and Home Goods I created a Shabby chic patio for us to enjoy all the beautiful Denver days ahead!

 Now, keeping the boys from peeing on the new rug is quite a challenge for my rowdy boys so so far so good! In about a month I will plant some flowers and herbs which will be nice!

 So it's amazing what a great job Matt did and how I was able to pull together a cute patio on a nonexistent budget..... this way all our coming up house guests can have a nice place to eat dinner or enjoy a cup of coffee!!!

House Hunting Adventures!

Matt and I will be in our town home until Feb 2015 which seems far off but it really isn't. We are leaning towards building a home which will take about 8 months which would be a great timeline! With the prices out here I just am not finding ANY resale homes I like and I would rather spend my money on things we pick out and LOVE!!!
We have spent most weekends "Suburb Shopping"and although we have found many suburbs we love finding the right combination of affordability, location and what the community has to offer is the hard part!! We love living where we live now but it also happens to be one of the most expensive places you can live....so unless we win the lotto we will be heading to the 'burbs. In fact Stapleton where we live is home to one of the HGTV Dream Homes.....I know, right???
I made you guys a quick slideshow of some of our favorite homes that builders are offering "around" our price range!!! And let me tell ya........ Denver is SOOOOOO expensive, it is unreal. I mean we aren't in Oklahoma or Ohio anymore!!!!
Enjoy.......

A little house hunting

It's Done...

Well it's official.......... we closed on our Ohio home today and what better way to start off the day than with gourmet donuts?!?!?! We both needed a little sugar rush to start the morning off right!!!!

 It was fairly easy.....sign sign sign...... give the keys and now we are no longer home owners. (Which is weird)
From here...... tomorrow the movers arrive to pack us all up and my Mom arrives!! Then Sunday the movers come back to load up the truck! Monday morning we will hit the road for Denver! It is so weird, I don't really know how I feel about all of this. I feel happy, sad, scared, excited.....you name it!

Keep us all in your thoughts and prayers for the coming week that everything goes smooth with the pack, the journey and the animals! Hopefully next time we talk I will NOT have any disaster stories to share~
I probably will not be back on the blog for over a week or so.......but follow me on Facebook and Instagram in the meantime!!!

One Week

You guys...... ONE week from today we close on our Ohio Home!!!!!! EEEKKKkkkk! At this point I feel like I have so much to do and nothing to do at the same time! I am in "list making" over drive....we all know I love a good list and each one I make calms my anxieties just a tad! The next 3 days I am meeting ALL my Ohio friends for a "Last Supper" and by all I mean all 3 of them! hahaha! 

You know the logistics of moving across the country are intense, here is the plan......

* Matt gets in next Thursday afternoon and he then has to immediately paint the guest room since some a touch of paint peeled up when I removed my command strips. He told me to wait since I am not that good at painting! 

*As of now next Friday morning at 9am we close and that morning I will also take Bella to the vet to be boarded. A cat would get so upset seeing stuff move out of the house, I can't put her thru all that stress!
* Saturday the movers arrive and all day they pack us up. YES we have movers and the amount of relief I have is too big to talk about!!! We got a 65% OFF deal since this is still the slow moving season (Nov-May is the dead time they say) Saturday Mom also arrives.... yup, I needed my partner in crime!

* Sunday the movers come back to load, the whole house will be loaded on the semi on Sunday. Sunday Matt is actually leaving with Abner and Ralph. He is crazy and he is gonna do it in 2 days again. 11 hours is a long time for dogs to be in a car for one day. But that is his thing... and I can't worry about it. 

* Sunday night Mom, Oscar and I will stay in a hotel here in Pickerington and on our way out of town Monday morning we will get Bella from the vet and hit the road.

* Mom and I are doing 3, 7-8 hour days of driving:

Day 1 to St. Louis and we actually get to stay with my Brother and Sister-in-law 

Day 2 to Kansas to stay in a small motel in the middle of nowhere 

Day3, to Denver!
Our movers will arrive in Denver Between Thurs and Sat the week we move. And then they will then unload and unpack us! Not bad huh? The only craziness there will be that our Townhome is 1/2 the size of our house so 1/2 our stuff we will be storing in the garage for the next 10 months until we buy a home!!! 

Mom and I will try to fit in some fun and tool around our new city and then she will fly home the following weekend!

Whew! That was a lot huh??? Wish me luck!!!!

FSBO

Ok, I just want to put this out there....getting new carpet is SO much work! You literally have to move out of your stuff just to move right back in.....I clearly underestimated the amount of work this would entail! BUT....I survived!!!!! 

 The new carpet goes sooo much better with the home and it really warms up the great room! In fact it made me love my home even more...boohoo...I don't wanna move (ok, tantrum over)! The carpet goes really well with our kitchen tile also.......So much more flow then white! DON"T even buy a home with white carpet....gag!
I was so lucky to have my friend Kylee come over to help me put the house back together the next day, she was a life saver!!! Literally.

 While I have been organizing, cleaning and trying to get this house ready to go on the market the boys have loved having their Mom home with them all day!!! How cute are these two? I found them like this having a morning snuggle sesh the other day! #adorbs

 Drum Roll Please...............
It is official Casa Savage is for SALE!!!!!! I put the sign up today complete with homemade flyers which I am quite proud of! To check out our listing on For Sale By Owner just click HERE!!!
I worked hard on this and I really think someone is going to fall in love with this house as much as we did.
Any buyers out there????

Now if only all the snow would melt or shovel itself??

#friends

This weekend we had a real treat..my friend Crystal from Oklahoma and her husband came to visit!! They were on a road trip of sorts to visit family and we got to be one of their stops! I'll swear....we tried to show them so much of Columbus that I am exhausted! 1 day and 2 nights is quick!

Ohio State had a bi-week so we took them to the stadium to the the "horseshoe"......I tried to make Crystal and David do the OU at the Ohio State stadium but as you can see they felt stupid! HAHA

 YAY.....Someone is here to actually take a picture of Matt and I!! CHEESE!

 We took them to Jeni's Ice Cream of course.......we have to take all our guests to get one of "Oprah's Favorite Things" and I was so excited to find out their Holiday flavors were out! I had Eggnog and Pumpkin.....too die for!

 Crystal is a big reader like I am and in fact we were in book club together in Oklahoma (which I miss so much) Of course I had to take her to the Historic Book Loft in German Village, I knew she would love it. What bookie wouldn't want to go to a building that has 32 rooms of books and had been around since the founding of German Village? Here is a quick history of this place.....
One of the nation's largest independent book stores, The Book Loft of German Village, is located at 631 South Third Street in Columbus, Ohio, just a few blocks South of the state capitol building. The pre-Civil War era buildings that once were general stores, a saloon and a nickelodeon cinema, now are home to 32 rooms of Bargain Books
We got some new books that were signed.....SCORE!

 Before we went to see Thor on Saturday night I wanted Matt to take a picture of us and go figure....Oscar wanted in too!! He is so silly and all the animals were smitten with Crystal and David!

 It was so neat being able to share somethings I love with friends, sometimes you don't know how much you miss home until a piece of it comes here! I am so glad Crystal and David stopped by to visit us!!!!

The Art of the Visit

 The past few weeks around casa de Savage were spent getting ready for my family to visit over Labor Day, it also wasn't until I moved that I realized how much I enjoy "playing host". Randomly I found this book at Anthropologie and it happens to fit this post perfectly....The Art of the Visit! I thought I would give you some...
 Easy tips for making your own house guests feel at home!!!!

* Plan out each day!
This doesn't mean hand out an itinerary but it is not your guests job to plan, this is their vacation. I just plan out ideas as well as all meals for my own benefit and I always make sure they can "Mix and Match" as well as having a back up or two!

* We clean clean clean! I always want our house looking it's best when my family/friends visit because I think that helps promote a relaxed environment for us ALL!! And ya, these leopard place mats (Hobby Lobby) are pretty amazing!

 * I wash enough towels for each person to have 1 plus a few extra, as well as hand towels and wash cloths! These cuties were on clearance at Kohl's which makes it even better to please guests!

 * In the shower as well as on the counter I keep EVERYthing a guest might need. Face wash, lotion, hair spray, eye make-up remover just to name a few! Don't break the bank.......either
A. Buy new in brands you use so you can then use it once they leave
B. Pass on the toiletries (for the most part) that you have been using already! No one will care that their shampoo is 1/2 used!

 * Matt "collects" mini-stuff from all the hotels he stays out so this is not only functional but looked pretty darn cute too!!!! Toothpaste anyone?

 * This is on the wall in our guest room and I love to write out the weekend plans.....I also LOVE it when my guests leave and leave me a note in return! This was a frame that I got on clearance and after taking out the "plastic/glass" I used Martha Stewart chalkboard paint on the backing of the frame!!! Easy peasy....

 * Stock the fridge.....enough said! We eat out 1/2 the time and I cook the other 1/2! Free pat on the back to anyone who guesses this amount......

 * I also like to bake whether it be semi-homemade cookies or even puppy chow, it's nice to have something sweet to snack on while guests are in your home!

 * I also ask my guests (or know what my family enjoys) what they would like me to buy. Special drink? Snack or fruit? That is just another way I try to anticipate my house guests needs!

 * Clean, wash and repeat!

 * I laid out some of the new Fall magazines as well as some fresh flowers for Mom and Marissa in the guest room while they were here! I just snipped and dropped these flowers into a cute Anthropologie mug! My Mom loved the touch!

 * My family got in Columbus at 9pm and they flew over dinner so I made sure to have a fun homemade snack ready!! Beer Cheese Pretzel Crescents! They were YUMMM.....you can see the recipe HERE!

 * Lastly, everyone wants to feel special....so this year I went as a very exclusive and pricey chauffeur to pick up my family! Yes, I felt stupid and Yes, they loved it!

Maybe you were able to pick up an idea or two for the next time you have guests in your home!!!

My Favorite Room...

It is so funny that my favorite room in the house is our basement....the finished and unfinished portion. Us Okies don't have basements so having a whole room devoted to storage is super exciting! And no, an attic is not the same....I never crawled into my hot cramped attic at our old house. And speaking of attics we have one here too but we have never been in it! And yes, after re-reading that sentence I realize how boring my life now is.  Anyhoo.......the basement now also houses remnants from Matt's district office and I wanted to put some of it to use!

 I have gone thru all (well, almost) of our important documents and filed them away. Since forever we would just throw them in a box and hope we can find what we need so this is a big step for us! I am just trying to make our life easier and build routines that we can fall back on.

 Next to the file cabinet is a few more pieces from the office that I have turned into "my station"! I was so glad Matt brought them down here so I can have a space all my own.

 I use this to hold my gift wrapping stuff, craft supplies and scrapbook projects! I can even use the top as a great place to wrap gifts without dragging everything around the house!

 Here is the front of my area and yup it even has a scentsy on it! I am very proud of myself for getting organized....it really helps me to feel at home and have a sense of accomplishment! HA!

We filled up more of the basement with things from Matt's office so this space is my next project, just when I think everything is labeled and organized I have to start over!

 This is Matt's space.....can you tell who is and who isn't organized?? I will go ahead and clean this up for him too or as much as I can since I have no idea what is what here. And I have said it before when I am down here I get no feelings of being creeped out or anything, my basement feels just like any other room!

What space do you love in your house?