Cliffgate (AKA the new house)

I affectionately dubbed the new house "Cliffgate" the first time we drove up the long, mountainous driveway, and the name stuck.

I will spare everyone the long and painful details of JUST HOW DISASTROUS this move was -- there's not enough antidepressants to cheer you all up afterward.  The movers couldn't get their trucks up our long steep driveway AFTER they were loaded with every.single.thing.we.owned. -- and Mother Nature was not cooperating with all this Polar Vortex business.  We had to spend 6 days total at my MIL's with two toddlers and no stuff.  We survived.  I'm just thankful we had somewhere to go. 

And WHO moves in January anyway???

The big move finally happened last Saturday and we are still trying to find our way out of boxes.

I am loving our new home.  When I first found it back in October, we knew it wouldn't happen overnight.  It was a bank-owned property that had been sitting vacant.  The previous owners custom built the home, and we are told, sadly left due to divorce.  They had a young set of twins and the house is laid out SO nicely for small children, with room to grow. (Play dates anyone?)  You can definitely tell they put a lot of thought and detail into their dream home.

I'm leery of doing a complete house tour (even though I live for those on other blogs!) because of weirdos out there.  Paranoid much?  Maybe a little.  Thank goodness for a high tech alarm system.  

So here are a few pics taken from the listing when it was active.  (Plus it's a mess right now)

 

The foyer.  And ignore that builder grade light fixture because it's getting evicted.

I am lusting after the RH Orb for the foyer but the Husband is not excited to shell out any more money after our billion dollar move.

The kitchen, which I am terribly unqualified to cook in.  I heart gas stoves.  And 2 ovens?  That's a lot of cookies I can bake at once.  The white pendants above the island have been replaced.

The great room with the sad little fireplace.  I'm campaigning for some built-ins and big stone wall all the way up to the ceiling, but again, Bank of Husband is resisting.

The master bath & closet.  The water pressure is amazing.  It goes from "trickle" to "take your skin off".  I love it.

A similar view of the great room with previous owner's stuff, but this shows the catwalk upstairs that I can only imagine MoJo launching toys (or eachother) off of.

 Since it was bank-owned, the bank came in and repainted & replaced some of the carpets.  There's a whole lotta beige going on, but since I'm the Queen of Neutrals and a total commitment-phobe, I think it suits me.  So far we've only replaced a bunch of light fixtures, but we have more things on the agenda.

The yard and driveway need major work.  Like excavators and engineers and more than just me & a shovel can handle.  We have nearly 6 acres and it's a mountain.  We've had several bids and let's just say MoJo are going to grow up eating Ramen noodles and living off the land and *gasp!* going to public school. 

Kidding.  Sort of.

I'm still getting used to the idea of being out in the country, away from civilization.  There's a WalMart 3 minutes away, but I don't count that, haha.  I just miss our old town and will continue to drive Morgan to preschool there twice a week. It's only a 20 minute drive so it's not too bad.  And it gives me an excuse to visit Target!

Other than all that, the place was in great shape and we feel so lucky to have found it.  It's the only house we looked at, and the first time we took a tour, I just "knew" it was the one:  I could see our kids growing up here.

Anyway, that's the story on the house and what I've been totally consumed with lately.  The kids are adjusting just great - they have bedrooms next to each other and they have really started playing a lot more together.  I can't wait for spring so we can get outside and explore.  Everything is an adventure to them and I just love seeing it through their eyes.