Sunday, November 2, 2008

Total Eclipse of the Heart

So very tired. Painting is exhausting, and I'm beginning to wonder why I didn't try to hire someone to do it. Oh yeah, that's right -- because I have no money after buying the house, and I'm plagued with a puritan work ethic that says why hire someone to do something you are perfectly capable of doing.

But the ceilings have been painted. One whole day to paint a white ceiling, well, white. Not at all satisfying like painting a bathroom red, or removing purple paint from the bedroom.

Meanwhile, I've had a change of heart about the sellers. I was frustrated before the closing, but I've decided they are okay. They covered up all their nail holes and painted them, which is big in my book. Plus, the fixtures they installed in the bathrooms and kitchen are very nice, as is the granite countertop they added. So I'm glad we have the same bourgeois taste and sensibilities. And I now like them, on account of the spackling and the fixtures.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

This is not my beautiful house...

I'm officially a homeowner. Closing went well and was done in less than an hour. I tried not to think about all the responsibility as I signed all the papers. Just the fun decorating part.

I love it. I LOVE IT! It had me at hello. Well, actually it didn't. But like Tom Cruise as Jerry Maguire in, well, Jerry Maguire, after sixty days of doubt, questions, daydreams, etc., I'm all in. (I did not, however, shoplift any pooty, or any other thing for that matter.) I'm so excited.

And, I cleared major hurdles today when I had the whole family over. I thought they were going to be freaked out by any number of things. My house, being in the city and everything, does not look like it's worth anywhere near what I paid, particularly when you compare it to my parents' mcmansion in the maryland exurbs. So I thought that would freak them out. That, or the fact that the Checker's up the street has boarded up windows.

But, the weather was on my side, and it was bright and sunny as my family drove up. So, they saw the house like I did that first day, when it was sunny and warm, and you couldn't but help imagine having a cookout on the pretty patio. Everyone liked the house, and they helped me fix a few small things. PLUS -- my sister brought a bottle of ridiculously expensive champagne that she received for her wedding to toast the new house. Yay bubbly!

Up next: This week I'm hiring a contractor to fill-in a weird cut-out wallspace in my bedroom, and picking paint colors. I'm getting psyched about the move.