sold!

Well that was fast. They didn't even have time to put the "real" for sale sign in the front yard!'

We put our house on the market at 2:00 on Saturday and had two showings on Sunday, three on Monday and one on Tuesday. By Sunday night we had two credible offers. Quite the great situation to be in. Made me wonder if we were getting rid of the best house in the world.

Yesterday afternoon we sat down with our realtor, made our selection and signed our names and initials many, many times. And just like that, our house is sold.

I cannot tell you how grateful I am that we will not have to show this house for weeks and months. It cleans up easily enough, but Ivar is a champion at touching every glass surface in between showings, taking treasures from one room and putting them in the next, undoing all that was just done. I feel so fortunate that we can just live here again... with our kitchen garbage can out of the cupboard, laptops left out, and the high chair put back by the kitchen table.

So that's our good news! Thanks for helping us spread the word. Next on the summer to do list: have a baby.

For Sale!

We did it. I cannot believe how much we accomplished in seven days. Every room, corner and drawer has been tackled. And our house looks incredible. Makes it hard to put on the market! My tip of the week: for anyone inspired to work on your own home, go get yourself some new accent pillows. They are an easy way to add a little something something to a room. :) 

molly maids and a day full of grace

Yesterday we hired Molly Maids to come and attack our house. They were $80 an hour for two cleaners and then towards the end, a third cleaner showed up too to help finish the basement. It was worth every single penny. I am not receiving any perks for writing a blog post raving about them, but for the record, I would endorse their service with a television commercial if I could. I was so excited when my house was cat hair free, rid of plastered banana on the wall and smelled like the bleach and chlorine you smell at a health club. I told Rory it almost made me want to join a gym. That's such a good smell.

So check them out. The oven has NEVER looked so spotless (stove top included!) and they moved every single piece of furniture to vacuum and mop every inch of floor. Wiped down the walls, vacuumed the heat registers...I could go on and on. Obviously, I already am.

And then today Rory put on the second coat of paint on the porch floor, but it is going to need a third coat now...so our "house on the market" date has been postponed one more day. Oh thank goodness. The extra accessorizing of our house is taking lots and lots of trips to Marshalls, our own basement storage of home decor and to other people's homes to gather and collect the right pillows, vases and furniture. The extra day due to the paint on the porch was like a little present for me. I will gladly take it.

So that's our life right now. All consuming cleaning and staging and boxing things up. Next week I am planning a getaway to my inlaws where I will watch obscene amounts of HGTV while sitting sedentary on the couch watching other people work their tails off as they get their houses ready to sell. I can't wait.

so much getting done

It is unbelievable how listing your house suddenly necessitates the completion of every single project on the "to do someday" list. Like this picture from our wedding day. For six years we have moved this print around, always intending to get it framed. We looked into matting but it just felt too expensive and somehow another year would pass.

But with the house going on the market, we needed some bedroom art. And after a quick trip to Michaels and a $35 frame with matting included, we now have the wall art that we have been putting off for years.

Crazy.

We are utterly exhausted. The house looks incredible. Rory's dad is here now washing our windows. Rory is about to paint the porch floor. We had cleaners here today and the house sparkles. They hit every single room so that our next step is to add the little special touches to each corner before the photographer comes tomorrow.  We list on Friday morning and hopefully then we can rest this weekend. Like at a Barnes & Noble, because so many people want to come and see our house. :)

a sad goodbye

We said goodbye to Toonces yesterday and took him to the humane society. It was so sad. He has been a faithful sidekick for six years. We got him just a few months after we were married.

The crazy thing is that we both knew it was time to find him a new home, even before we found our new home. Our move really had little to do with his departing from our family. It had more to do with our growing family, wanting Rory's brothers to be able to come over without having their throats swell up and wanting a tidier house. He shed a lot.

Rory drove him to the humane society and only got a few blocks away before I called crying that they needed to come back because I hadn't held him while saying goodbye. (You can imagine any fifth grader behaving the same way.) And my sweet husband turned the jeep around and let me come and fall apart in the front seat, holding Toonces, who was very indifferent to the swell of emotions that held him. And then they left.

Rory said the drop off went well. The lady said that because of his age, proper litter box usage and the fact that he is good with kids that she though he would be adopted very quickly. I am sure she says that to every owner, but I am choosing to believe her words.