Home is where the for sale sign is

In 2005 we bought our first house; a house we thought we would live in for one year until TFitch's job took us elsewhere. 

Seven years and countless memories later, there's a for sale sign in the yard of Armstrong street. 

The house may not have double ovens, a three-car garage or granite countertops, but what it does feature is 2,110 square feet of laughs, stories and priceless moments. 

Opening the front door to see little Macy's face for the first time when the breeder dropped her off. 

My parents' reaction as they walked into the entry way and saw the house filled with their nearest and dearest, ready to celebrate their 50th birthdays.

Trevor's quote when he stumbled into his surprise 30th birthday party. "Everyone's in jerseys!" 

And all of our "firsts" as a married couple - first Christmas, first anniversary and every holiday in between. 

As a person who notoriously gets weepy over the ending of a chapter, the voluntary decision to relinquish this property to a complete stranger -- albeit practical and probably necessary -- does sadden me. Seven years ago, we bought a house. Today, we're selling a home. 

We'll always have a roof over our head, and for that I am grateful. I know it doesn't matter the house, it's what inside that makes it a home. Our shlocky Christmas trees. A jersey collection. Bins...lot and lots of bins. A happily married couple, a white fluffy dog and now a new addition. These things will make our future abodes feel like home. But those homes will never replace the wonderful times we celebrated here. 

Furniture Fun

I realize as a Nebraska native and fan of Warren B.'s that I'm supposed to ooh and aah over NFM. And that place is great. But I'm pretty obsessed with our new basement furniture from Bassett.

If you're in the market for new furniture, check it out. It's custom and not outrageously expensive. We ordered our furniture on June 12 and they said it would take 8-10 weeks. It was delivered today--less than one month later.

I highly recommend it. And if you live in Omaha, be sure TJ King is your designer! He's the bomb diggity!

Macy agrees!!

Good finds at the Goodwill

I recently found some awesome blogs* that have inspired the thrifter/DIYer in me. So, last night I went to the Goodwill by our house to shop around.

Among my purchases--totalling $14--were:

These gems. Aren't they beautiful?

If you say yes, you are LYING! They are hideous as is--hence their temporary home at the Goodwill! But you know what they say! One person's trash is another person's treasure. Wait until I get about 18 more of these, give them a fresh coat of paint and they display the postcards we collect on vacations! I can't wait! The postcards are currently hanging on a bulletin board in our home office. YAWN! Not sure where I'll display these--might need a bookcase, and I have an idea for that!--but soon they'll be just what I had in mind. The only question now is the color! I'm thinking either white, black, gold or maybe something totally different! I'll be sure to keep you posted on how this project progresses. Our office needs some help, but it's a struggle. We're at the mercy of the electrical outlets and phone cords (Internet) and in addition to being cute, the office needs to be functioning since it is where I work. More to come, more to come.

The other gem I am most excited about (bought five things total) is the medium Wilton Armatele bowl for $4.99. It's in great shape and matches one I already had at home. This bowl retails for $39.99. A little soap and water and now my find is good as new.

Happy Friday! I have an itch to hit up some garage sales, but it's not going to be very warm in Omaha this weekend.

* Blogs include but are not limited to: Remodelholic, Domestically Speaking, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia and more.

To renovate or not to renovate...that is the question.

We're staying in Omaha for a few more months--yay! More to come on that. But with this comes some questions about casa de Fitch. I'm getting the itch for a new house (two-story, privacy fence, three-car garage...ahhh!), but if we're only in Omaha for one more year, moving doesn't make sense and I know that. So, the question is...do we embark on some home projects to enjoy for our remaining time in this home or do we save the money and put it toward projects in a new residence? Specifically, I've been toying with the following (some for years):

Deck: We love having BBQs but we are outgrowing our deck space. The idea is to redo it and make it larger. This is; however, a pricey project and some revamped landscaping would have to happen around the new deck as well. To expand or not to expand...that is the question.

Flooring: We currently have laminate flooring in our kitchen, bathrooms and entry way. Blach. But it is definitely low maintenance, which I can't complain about. What I'd like to do is tile all of the current laminated flooring, rip out the carpet in the master bath and replace with tile and rip out the carpet under the kitchen table and tile that area too. I had this priced out once and it will cost about $4,000. To tile or not to tile...that is the question.

Countertops: New countertops would also be grand...but they'd also cost a few grand. Should I wait and let granite be a perk of a new house? To granite or not to granite...that is the question.

Landscaping: Some landscaping--around the power boxes in our backyard and on the side of our house where grass doesn't grow so well--would be nice. But again, we're looking at a chunk of change for this (and I do NOT landscape on my own anymore). To landscape or not to landscape...that is the question.

Driveway: With TFitch's work truck in the driveway now, I'd like to widen our driveway and make it a little easier to maneuver in and out of. I don't think it's that big of a project, but I do think there are sprinkler heads that need to be removed, etc. To concrete or not to concrete...that is the question.

I have a feeling we should sit tight and not invest in these projects. But at the same time, if we're living here for another year, we should love our house. Do any of these increase the value when we sell our house, or does it just make it sell faster--or do they do neither? I'm so torn as to what to do.

What would you do?