Fully Furnished

On Sunday there was a special event at The Brick for Mattamy Home Buyers. They called it a VIP event where there would be snacks, chance to chat with Mattamy, and great deals on stuff in the store. I figured I should go because I know there are some furnishings for the house I will need.

There were quite a few people in there as well as many a representative. Someone was always coming up to us (my mom, aunt and I) to try and help us out. We met one sales rep Nathan, who very politely greeted all of us, and explained everything in regards to the sales (28% off individual items and 15% of sets). He asked what I was looking at finding and we started off with bedroom. I admit I'm pretty picky to my tastes of items, or I'm not confident in my design choices so I always looked to my mom or aunt for advise. Nathan however was really good in not only listening but finding things I liked. After 2 hours we had finally gone through the entire store (several times) and I wound up furnishing my entire place. Below are the pictures of everything I got that night.

One great thing to mention is that through the entire night Nathan kept with us but also when we told him go off and find someone else who you can get as a customer, he would always return (perhaps they had a rep or he knew he was going to make a sale). He was extremely patient with my constant flip flopping between items but at the end of the day he did everything he could to get me a better deal which I really appreciated (as did my credit card).

Oh, another great thing was I wasn't obligated. Yes, I had to put a 10% down-payment for the stuff I did get, but I could back out anytime I wanted (before closing) without being penalized and I would get a full refund of my down-payment. Also if I changed my mind about an item, wanting to remove it or change to another one, I also could do so without issue.

So here are my choices, by room, certainly not everyone's taste but somehow I think it fits me and fits my style of house:


My bedroom set - Louis Phillipe Cherrywood Sleigh Bed 6pc (headboard, railings, footboard, night-stand, dresser, mirror). I am going to try and take out the mirror and ask to swap it for another night-stand instead (they are same cost) as I am not a fan of mirrors facing the bed.


TV stand for bedroom - again part of the Louis Phillipe set (only have pic in black though). I was going to put this in my bedroom so I could watch TV but now I have decided to get rid of this as I don't have another TV or cable box as well, best not to watch TV in bed if I can help it.


I opted to get the bedspread ensemble that is originally seen on the bed set, something about it just appealed to me, like it was calling my name.


These are the two couches I got for my living room (or great room as they call it). One is 3 seater the other a love seat. Normally I would have gotten a reclining one (I am partial to those) but it just didn't flow in the room and I thought this was better match overall to my cupboard choices and flooring etc.



I got an area rug to put over my rug in great room. I found this rug to be pretty bold (for me) but I think it will really pick up the colours from my couches, my TV stand (already owned) and my entire house.


For my dinning room I went with a sideboard(hutch), something about this one appealed to me. After purchase though I started to realise not only the cost of it was way too much but also it doesn't match my dinning room table/chair set from Ikea. So it's to be returned now and I will be getting the matching one from Ikea.


This one matches my dinning room table


And last but not least, I got a washer/dryer combo. I really wasn't expecting to, but this was a good price, it's a good brand, and a nice colour. If I see another combo I like instead of this one for the same price I can just swap it too so it's really win/win for me.



So now that all my shopping is done I am basically stress free. My biggest focus will now be to find coordinating items for every room, starting with my bathrooms. In my spare time I will do this along with visiting my lot when I can.

It's Official

On Monday I got the offical word that construction has begun on my house. I of course was already well aware of this as on the weekend we drove by to see if that in fact had happened.



This nice picture though not only makes it real but makes it really ahead of schedule. While earlier closing would be great, I'm actually becoming more happy for a delayed closing as it would give me so much more time to save even more money.

On a down note, I found out that I will not be having a Mattamy U session. According to my CCR K, she told me that since Fairwinds has closed it's doors there are very few new home buyers left, therefore it did not seem beneficial to host a Mattamy U. It is a little disappointing as I was really looking forward to meeting my neighbours before move in. On the BuildingHomes forum we might try and set something up to meet, which is even more beneficial for me as I need to make really nice with my adjoined neighbour (I want to fence in the future and having my neighbours OK makes it easier).

And the construction begins

Yes, you're reading right. If you are as surprised as I am raise your hand *raises hand*

My house isn't supposed to close until October 14, at which time they told me the contruction would commence in June.

I had heard some talk on the BuildingHomes forums that they were progressing on my street and having driven by it several times I thought I had seen homes going up.

So my parents, aunt and I swung out to Kanata to have a peak to see if there was in fact any progress. Approaching my lot I saw a lot of my neighbours homes already built (exterior built) and I wondered when was their closing dates. I can honestly say I didn't expect much if anything, it's only end of March, still 2.5 months away til start of construction.

As we figured out which lots were which (it did seem different from the lot map I remembered) I found my home. And what I found was more than I ever expected.

I will let the pictures speak for what I have

Footings!


Here you can see the spacing that I will have between my lot (end unit) and my neighbours, lot premium!


Me freezing my ass off in front of the lots


So based on all that I see on my lot and based on my calculation, at this point it appears I am about 12 weeks ahead of schedule. Part of me is really happy about that because it means I can get my house sooner rather than later, which means less burden on my parents. Another part of me is trying to be calm about it and think it would be nicer to save longer for my mortgage. The last part of me is skeptical and thinks they will be delayed.

I now plan to visit every weekend that I can, especially to track progress with the camera. I think my parents will be going when they can, but obviously not to obstruct any work that is being done. My biggest thing to watch for is when they build my porch, I have to make sure that they build it per my new agreement with my CCR and not the original specifications.

Overall, I had a really good Saturday!

All's Quiet on the Western Front

Nothing new happening with the house. From what I've heard over on the message boards though, it does look like my lot may have been dug out, so if true, I will try and head over there briefly this weekend with my parents to snap a photo of said dug up lot.

I've been keeping myself busy (and not focusing on house issues, e.g. furniture, mortgages, etc) by doing some family research. I've always been curious as to where my grandparents (maternal and paternal) families derive from. So my mom and I joined Ancestry.ca and have managed to successfully make a family tree for her parents side. I've made a tree for my paternal Nana (I've actually dated it back to 955 France) but it's his dad's side that I can't get anything out of. The investigator in me will find something!

Other than the lack of non content for this blog, I'm 75% everything moved back into my parents. March 31 is the last day to be out of the apartment by, thankfully we have everything major over @ my parents. The only big thing would be my dinning room table and chairs. I'm giving away my two couches to my friend's dad, and the rest is actually just clothes. Bags, and bags and more bags of clothes. My goal while I'm at my parents is to sort through all of it, so that when my move date is around, I will be clothes organized!

Now I'm off to try and relax for the rest of the night, I've hurt my back real bad so I've been very limited in the things I do (and I'm still trying to work...though at this moment, everything is just kind of disorienting to me...note to self, don't mix drugs and work)

Let the packing and moving commence

As mentioned earlier, until my new home is built, my parents have generously allowed me to crash back in my old bedroom. While it might not be the most ideal situation for any adult, it is the most economical and that matters more to me than what anyone might think.

Normally I would have a lot more packed up in my apartment and brought over to my parents, as I have to be out of that apartment by March 31, and being me, I would totally put it all off til March 29-30 (that's how I roll). We have been trying to get my parents rooms all cleaned out and organized for my return, as I might have left with some stuff but seem to be returning with more, that includes a new pet.

Bella (my cat) has actually been staying at my parents since Christmas, this has allowed her plenty of time to adjust to my parents dogs (whom I actually would have believed would have killed and eaten her) so now it's just for me to adjust being back there. My dad has been feverishly working on getting my old room back to how it used to be (e.g. cleaned out and ready for my designing). We upgraded the ceiling to make it more soundproof and solid, one request I had since I would be putting my entertainment unit in my room now.

This weekend, while mom was away my dad and I got my double bed moved over (the Queen will have to wait until end of the month). We were able to get the mattress itself in the van, but the box spring had to go on the top which I got to bungee down. Task one - check.

Sunday was move over my entertainment stand with TV and systems. We were thankfully able to take the stand apart and move it in an easier fashion. Only have one minor injury to claim, when we loaded the base into the elevator it tipped the wrong way towards me and pinned my thumb against the elevator railing - just bruised! So last night I got to sleep over on my comfy bed and watch my nice TV in my old room - felt as if I'd never been gone(even Emma [dog] felt that way when she jumped on the bed with me for a quick snuggle - just like old times)!

Once I have my temporary room set up and decorated as I would like, I will put up some pictures.

Appliances purchased!

I forgot to update this after having selected my appliances for the house. Better late than never!

I had originally decided to stay with the standards that Mattamy provides, since I was updating my hood fan to black I would just advise them at The Brick that I would pick black. We went there early Feb. to have a look see, but I was informed that they had actually loaned out the standards, so I have no idea what they actually looked like. Disappointed I walked around a bit, just pipe dreaming of what I could eventually get for myself. Stumbling into Appliances I saw some big sales, I enquired from Melis what I would be looking at cost wise if I were to upgrade from standard. He gave me a breakdown of the ones I was leaning on possibly upgrading to.

I thought on it til the very last day of the sale, and opted to just go with the upgrade. Yes, shame, I spent more money again. Here are the upgrades I picked, I know they aren't stainless and that's actually easier for me, less smudges, etc, but I think they should still go with my black hood fan (at least more so than a white one).

Frigidaire 18cf Silver Mist, Energy Star


Frigidaire Free-Standing Self-Clean Range w/Ceran Top - Silver Mist


Frigidaire Undercounter Dishwasher - Silver Mist - Energy Star


Overall, I'm happy with my starter upgrade choices, I can always build up from there in my future. I think these appliances will flow nicely with the modern look of my kitchen, to be seen of course!

One nice thing about having bought these, while it did cost me money, I don't actually have to pay until 45 days before my closing, so that gives me plenty of time to save the cost for them, and since I'm already saving all my money, I can save some for both mortgage and appliances.