We have a move in date!

October 8 – Oct 24

We finally have a move in date! We have our final walk-through on Nov 15, and we close on Nov 22 (our anniversary). So, that afternoon we can start moving things in. (if all goes well on the walk-through)

Of course, we don’t have anything major in storage to move, just clothes and some small stuff. Most of the clothes in storage will need to be washed since they had a power outage due to the storm and things got a bit musty with no A/C. I can do that and get quite a bit of the kitchen stuff washed and put away while we wait for deliveries. (more is coming from Amazon) 

The tricky part will be having all the major stuff scheduled to deliver and not arrive before we can move in or too long after our move in date. Until we get a bed we will stay in the hotel. Such fun! (NOT)

I’m anxious to see how my color choices for furniture play with each other. In my head they should work, but I haven’t seen the accent chairs in person; only online so who knows if the colors are “true”.

I went very neutral with colors (counters, cabinets, floor) and instead went with more colorful furnishings. (I don't have very "normal" taste anyway.)

Here are some online photos of my choices which are just internet photos:

aqua leather couch with 2 reclining seats

there will be 2 of these accent chairs (I haven't picked out a table to put between them yet (I want to see how things look together first)

chrome & marble topped tables

the area rug that I hope ties it all together instead of fighting it

wall unit

the table has another leaf and I ordered 2 more chairs for a total of 6

 granite in kitchen

tile floors throughout

 Greg got me in the kitchen going through window covering samples

it's still filmy & dusty with construction stuff

 master bath (it's done now, these are older photos)

shower seat & niche

countertop in master

 guest bath - in person I like the grey shower better than the one I chose for the master

granite counter in guest bath

I'm going tropical for the master (side tables aren't my choices just in the stock photo)

night stands

I haven't decided if I want a matching dresser or a bench at the end of the bed - not room for both. 

The "headboard" will be panels that attach to the wall. Something similar to below only in a sand colored suede and probably just the middle 2 panels. The bed frame will be a simple platform bed since we are going with a Luxi 3 in 1 mattress. (It can be adjusted so one side can be soft and the other more firm. (3 different types of firmness to experiment with)

I haven't picked out anything for the guest bedroom yet. The den is also a work in progress. It will be like a "game room/den". 

Probably 2 of these in a grey color with a table in between.

wall unit to store board games & play video games 

After we see how this fits in the space we can always add to the wall unit if there is room for another tall cabinet or a long short one under the window in there.

We drove by the house today and they finally removed the port-a-john from our driveway. We were beginning to think it was our 3rd bathroom. Sunday, we will go peer through the windows to see if the painting has been finished. Now that the "outhouse" is gone, we'll get photos of the house since the landscaping is done. 

I've been ordering kitchen items like crazy. Some have been delivered already, but most we'll have shippied directly to the house now that we have a date to work with. Many things I can pick up as I need them at Bed Bath & Beyond. (which is very close to our house) We have received our new vacuums. (a Roomba that self empties and a Roomba mop and then a hand vac for high dusting etc.) 

So, that Saturday and Sunday will be busy getting ceiling fans and Greg installing them and getting all the TVs set up. Window coverings are scheduled to be installed that Friday after closing. Saturday we have quite a lot of the furniture delivered. The mattress should be Saturday or Monday. 

I'll add the photo of the outside of the house to this post after we stop by on Sunday. Before we order the patio furniture we wanted to measure the screened in patio even though we have the measurement on our plans, just to make sure. Monday, we will go and choose the color of base and the chair fabric & colors.

back patio before the screen is in

photo that the appraisal company took - I'll take more on Sunday and post here

I forgot to get shots of the backyard and pond. Peering in the window it appeared they hadn't done anything since we were there last week. Still no fridge and they haven't painted the inside. They have time and neither of those things take long. The only issue we see to address (without being able to go inside) is that the patio door in the screened in patio opens the wrong way. It doesn't open so it will be easy to roll the grill out there onto the pavers. It's drawn correctly in the our plans, so hopefully they can rectify that. We realized that with it opening the way they installed it would require going off the pavers and into the grass, which is why we specifically asked for it that way. 

Post Road Trip & House Progress - September 18 to October 7

With travel on the back burner while we prepare for having a home base again, I will be posting less. Which means less travel for a while, but it does make it easier to travel with a home base. It worked well for us in Panama, but that was a furnished rental, so building a new house and owning virtually nothing is time consuming and not as much “fun” as one would think.


So, we have been researching, shopping and ordering things. We went to Vertical Village to look at the options and colors so we would be prepared for our appointment at the house the next day with their decorator. We met with him at the house to get the windows measured and discuss our choices. He had samples with him and unless he had a strong opinion to go with something else, we just verified our choices of style and color with him. It’s a family business and they have done quite a few homes in this new neighborhood.


For the sliding glass door and the family & dining room windows I went with LUMINETTE® Privacy Sheers. They caught my eye since they are blinds but look like drapes. They combine a sheer fabric with vertical vanes attached to the back of the sheer that can rotate up to 180°.


For the rest of the house I went with PIROUETTE® Window Shadings which are like a modern twist on Roman Shades. They have softly contoured front-facing fabric vanes attached to a single sheer backing. I went with 4” vanes. (the other choice was 3)


I’m trying to keep things light and bright and went with a crisp China White for all of them. They are ordered and they will make them and hold them until we get the CO to move in and schedule them to come out.


It was also the first time we have been inside (except for my quick peek) to see the progress. So far, I am OK with the choices I made for floor tile, shower tiles and counter tops. We both really like the shiny white cabinets in the kitchen, and I like the granite backsplash that matches the counter. Everything is covered with construction dust, so I’m sure it all will look nicer once it’s all cleaned up.


We have ordered the couch, accent chairs, end and coffee tables, dining set/server and the entertainment wall unit for the family room. They will also hold them until we are ready for delivery.


The master bedroom stuff is all picked out, but that can wait to be ordered since they ship quickly. Same with the den, and it’s not vital for move in. The nightstands were on low inventory, so we ordered those and have them in storage. (not much room in there, but we got them in.) Same with the accent rug, it’s here in the hotel and is sitting on top of the couch here. Not in the way, but it looks odd.


We have the closet design finished and will order that when we know our date for move in.

I’m still deciding on the guest bedroom furniture. Again, not vital for move in and can be delivered anytime.


We went back today, and the house is still unlocked so we could get in. They hadn’t done a whole lot since we were last there. The mirrors were up in the bathrooms and the closet wire shelving was in. Other than that, we didn’t notice much. They are making progress on the clubhouse and it looks like they are close to pouring the foundation.


We have been TV shopping and ceiling fan shopping and I’m researching all the kitchen stuff I will need. I already bought a blentec Designer series blender since I got tired of burning up the cheap ones we used in the RV because they were light weight. So far, I’m loving it for our protein shakes. When I cook, I also make a lot of soups and this should work well for that as well. It has a large capacity which should eliminate the multiple batches.


I went to see an ortho doctor for my left wrist yesterday. About 2 days after getting back from the WC in April it started to hurt and was like an electric shock when I moved it just right. (or would that be just wrong?) Anyway, after doing all the options the GP had, it improved slightly but still painful and limiting my use of it. So, the ortho injected it with cortisone. Hurt like the devil last night which is normal and should improve in a few days. Fingers crossed!


We were early for the appt. so we swung by the house to look in the design center at the bathroom cabinets. The ones in the house didn’t seem as smooth and glossy so I wanted to see the samples again for comparison. They look pretty much as I remembered them. We’ll go back to the house on Sunday and see if the doors are still open to get in and sneak another peak inside. They aren’t done inside yet, so there is lots of cleanup and other things to do, so maybe it’s just that and the lighting.

We drove by the house before heading to the doctor and we got so excited as they were in the middle of planting the palm trees in our yard. Whoo hoo, we have plants!

We went by the house again on Saturday and the door was open since workers had been coming and going. (the garage door is now down) So, we popped in and the cabinets looked better in the bathrooms. (must have just been lighting) There were a few more things done and the plants and trees were all in. Getting very close!

I'm now hoping that all the furniture I have chosen will look good together. The rug I chose is bold, so the chairs not clashing is vital.

May sound strange, but I can't wait to cook again. Haven't really cooked since we left Panama in 2017. I made a few things while RVing, but we were too busy to cook much. I look at all the fresh produce in the grocery store and can't wait to start chopping! Wonder how long that feeling will last? Ha ha!

We are both still working on getting off our "road trip weight". We both gained more doing that than we did on the WC.

I'll try to post some photos of the house progress in my next post.