Before and After

Before I get into what I really want you to see...let me just say my golf game today was not as good as yesterday, it was frustrating and I'm glad it's over. That's about all I can say.
Now, on to more fun stuff. We closed on our first house on March 31 2009 and moved in during May of '09. When we looked at the house, I must say, there were a number of things that needed some work. I wasn't a big fan of the kitchen, but it was big and had potential. The people had really let the landscaping go, so it wasn't anything to look at. Not to mention the fact when we looked at it, the owners were still living in the house and if they were not hoarders, I don't know who is. When the realtor said they were taking all of the appliances with them...he meant it...every single thing from the kitchen was taken, even the dishwasher! I remember when I first walked into the house after we got the keys...the owners had kindly left egg shells in the sink along with food that had been in the sink so long that it was engrained in the fibers of steel. By this time, my dad was already on his way out to help us get it fixed up to move in and I remember calling my mom saying "I really wish your were here to help me clean up the kitchen!" Some things mom's just do better...like knowing the best cleaner to use and exactly the best way to tear out and put new shelf paper in the kitchen cabinets, I could go on and on. Well, she ended up coming out a week or so later and was a HUGE help! I can't even begin to say how thankful Jimmy and I are for their help getting our house ready to move into. So, without further ado...here are some before and after photos:

The Kitchen Before:


The Kitchen After:


I would have to say the kitchen was, by far, the biggest transformation inside the house, however the removal of the popcorn ceiling and a new paint color were not far behind!

And here are a few more pics of the odds and ends of fixing up the house...




And finally, since Jimmy has recently been working so hard on the backyard, here is that transformation:













Jimmy and I can't thank our parent's enough for their love and support through our first home buying experience, we couldn't have done it with out you all!!!