Progress Update

Today's exciting news:

WE HAVE A MOVE-IN DATE!

I'm not able to make it back to VA for another week because of school... but knowing that we will soon be moved in makes it ALOT easier to handle.

This past Sunday, my parents came to visit! We had a great time taking them through the model and also showing them how much our house has progressed.  The last time they were there the only thing on our land was a sold sign!

Another thing that made us realize how close we were to moving in - a key is now needed to get in! TJ took us over to see how things had changed since the past weekend!

And wow! Things have really moved fast. It's easier to just show pictures - so here we go:

The tiling is the master bathroom is complete! There's so much space for candles and a wine glass! Or the entire bottle.. with the heater that's in the bathtub.. I could stay in there for days.

Our cabinets! We were once again impressed with the high-quality! Plus our refridgerator was in place and the oven was there too! Can't wait to cook fancy meals!

Our staircase looks alot more like a finished staircase!

Since the beginning, this has been my favorite place in the house. I love it more and more as time goes by...

That's it for this week. I can't wait to see what our house looks like when I get to see in in two weeks! Thank you for reading.

And please - if you are even CONSIDERING building a house... contact Atlantic Builders. It's a no-pressure company and they'd be happy to answer any questions you have... You deserve a house like this!

Things Are A-Changing

Matthew and I clocked about 10 hours in the car this past weekend.  This long road-trip gave us plenty of time to talk about several different topics.  One that kept coming up though - was how our life would change when we officially owned our own home. I thought it'd be cool to share a few of our favorites here:

1. No more dropping rent checks off - instead we get the added convenience of auto-pay.
2. If I decide that I simply cannot stand a wall paint color for ONE MORE second, I can repaint immediately.
3. I can sing show-tunes for as long and as loud as I'd like.
4. Matthew finally has a reason to buy a fancypants riding lawnmower.
5. Holidays will no longer mean being away from our home every weekend in December because we can host the family get-togethers.
6. I can finally start putting my Pinterest pinboard ideas to use!
7.  We might actually enjoy cooking and baking again because more than one person can be in the kitchen at one time.
8. Our refrigerator will have an ice maker! (Marking the first time I have ever had this luxury!)
9. Our cars get to become 'garage kept'
10. We no longer have an excuse for not decorating for holidays.
11.My collection of books can finally be in one place. (Right now, it's spread out across three different states at various houses)
12. I'll have a walk-in closet.. and no more explanation for that is needed.
13. NO MORE STREET PARKING! (!!!)
14. We get the confidence that comes with knowing that we do OWN our house.. This is huge.

I will share one more BIG thing that will change for us!  For the past several years, Matthew and I have wanted a dog. We both grew up in homes with pets and it's certainly been strange not having a few running around the house. When we put the word out that we were building a home and wanted dogs - our families certainly delivered and found us two furry friends that will be living with us in our new home!

This is Esma:

She spent the first 5 years of her life in training to be a Seeing Eye dog.  Because she was so amazing, she was chosen join the breeding program and gave birth to many puppies that are now giving independence to people experiencing the loss of sight. She's playful, adorable, and such a sweet girl! We can't wait to have her with us! :-)


We are also 'adopting' a 2 year old English Lab named Duke. One of Matt's close childhood friend purchased Duke to aid him in his duck-hunting adventures.  2 dogs and many children have proven to be a handful for his friend though, so Duke will be joining our household to be spoiled with attention and trips to Pet Smart. So exciting! :-) I don't have an updated picture of him yet, but he's super cute.

Picture Progression

For this entry, I thought I'd show you the progression of our house! With about a month left until our move in date, we absolutely cannot believe how quickly the past 5 months have gone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Time I Really Saw My House Take Shape

Words could not possibly describe this feeling.  I was speechless then, and I am still speechless as I type this.  I could not have prepared myself for the emotions I felt when I saw the house with the brick and siding complete.

I stood across the street, gazing at my(!) house, with silent tears. I got to LIVE here?! Moments like this really make you think about how far you have come  and future possibilities.

Pre Dry Wall Meeting

Matthew did this meeting solo, as I was stuck at school for the weekend. This meeting consisted of a thorough walk through of the entire house.  They went room by room, using the building plans to ensure that all the outlets, phone jacks, etc were exactly where we wanted them to be. Any issues were quickly attended to by Tommy! (Pendant lights weren’t wired and within 24 hours it was fixed!)

The characteristics of the home were discussed and the inspector came to visit afterwards. Outside landscaping was described and a tentative timeline to completion was given. Our house was on schedule and coming along swimmingly.

Fun fact: The next morning at 7 AM – a Saturday to be exact – Matthew sent Tommy a text message with a question. Ten minutes later, Tommy replied and the issue was dealt with immediately!  We are really not sure if he sleeps. But like I said before, we trusted him completely and time and time again, he has proven himself.

The Top Ten Reasons to Work With Atlantic Builders

10. Atlantic Builders has a community to suit anyone’s idea of a dream home! They have large lots, smaller lots, lake access, townhomes, and tons of design options! They also allow you to do non-standard options, ensuring your house is exactly the way you like!

9. Dinosaur Bone Rights. Juuust Kidding. (But seriously, it could happen)

8. The homeowner’s manual is fancy! It is a well-designed, thoughtful addition to an already thorough process.

7. The interactive floor plan is just another great feature Atlantic Builders has! When we first decided to build, we spent hours figuring out exactly what we wanted.  This allowed me to see what our floor plan would be laid out, as well as what kind of furniture we’d have to buy.  This feature allowed us to feel confident in our decisions and know there wouldn’t be any surprises throughout the process. (We did have one surprise, but it was a walk out basement… the BEST kind of surprise!)

6. The adjustable hard hats are so cool. I was very impressed with these.

5. Atlantic Builder’s professionalism and attention to detail is outstanding. We were kept in the loop about everything, knew exactly what to expect, and were continuously impressed with the quality of service.

4. If there is one thing that Matthew and I aren’t… it’s uptight and stuffy.  And neither is the staff at Atlantic Builder’s.  Each person we have come in contact with has been upbeat, out-going, and possessed a fabulous personality. This process has been so much fun!

3. We love that we have laughed through this entire process. So reason three is simply this: If you like to have fun and want the building process to be a good time, choose Atlantic Builders.

2. The quality of their Homes is amazing.  From everything to price, location, energy efficiency, and reasonability priced options… you just can’t go wrong.  (What other companies consider luxury upgrades comes standard in an Atlantic Builder’s home.)

1.  The number one reason to choose Atlantic Builder’s to build your dream home is their AMAZING staff.  They truly care about you and the house they’re building for you! From the very first time TJ (Or is it LJ? MJ? :)) showed us the available lots, we felt like we were in good hands and taken seriously.  Jennifer, Tommy, Melanie, and the rest of the staff are incredible. They answers questions quickly, (even responding to texts on Sunday mornings!) and are genuinely happy for you.  They love their jobs, and truly like each other… it definitely shows with every interaction they have with customers.


I absolutely AM gushing. But hey, if you're this impressed with something... you should gush!

 

Pre Construction Meeting AKA Ode To Tommy

Due to the holidays and our busy schedule, the pre-construction meeting turned out to be the foundation was just poured meeting. (The delay was purely our decision)

 This meeting consisted of meeting with a Media/Audio expert (wonderful guy! Very helpful and informative!), as well as going over step by step the building plans for our home.

What could have been a long, boring, drawn out process was anything but. We laughed, we were serious at times, professional during others; but mostly we laughed a lot.  This was the first time we met Tommy, who would be our house foreman.  And Tommy, oh, Tommy was JUST was we needed. He’s a gregarious, get the job done, and have fun kind of guy.  We were instantly put at ease.  His knowledge, professionalism, and genuineness impressed us from the get-go. I had been nervous about the team building our house, but because we know Tommy had things under control, we slept better at night.

It was also during this meeting that we discovered we actually got a walk-out basement. Happiness ensues! Things just kept getting better and better…

And then Jennifer brought down a huge box of chocolate and we were in heaven.

When I imagined us building a house, I pictured long drawn out meetings where we had to wear our serious faces.  I thought we’d be bored to tears, but I was completely wrong…

We had a blast! It was thorough, professional, and filled with laughter.

We were one step closer to our dream home with a stomach full of chocolate and nothing but confidence in the team responsible for building!