Our New House! and Pictures!

What we've all been waiting for.  Pictures of our house!  

Well, we are in limbo right now, obviously waiting for it to close, loans and escrow to go through etc.  We are pretty confident that it will be ours though.  

 Remember it is small, there are no basements in California, and lot sizes are smaller, but for a starter home (and our meager salary), we are pretty glad we were even able to snatch this gem.  The previous owner was a Doctor, and we like to think that is the reason he took our offer.  He said to his Realtor, who told our Realtor, who told us, "I like that another Doctor will be living in my home."  Remember my last post about house hunting?  The market is vicious in Fresno.  So even though the house doesn't have EVERY aspect that I have always dreamed about, it is a great house in a great location and we are excited.  So here is the tour!

The front

Everything is ready for us to put our own personal touches to it. (I'm seeing rose bushes in my head).

These evergreen Redwoods in our yard were a huge selling point for Cody and I.  We both love that they don't drop any needles, provide lots of shade, and are beautiful to look at.  We've got another in back.  

We thought the house had nice curb appeal, and it already looked really nice from the outside (you should see some of the homes here, so outdated and ugly).  We liked the cement work all around the house and leading up to our front door as well.

Here's our backyard.  Check out the shade!  That will be nice when Tal and his brother are outside in the summer time, especially with the heat here.  We also liked that the grass is already lush and the soil is ready for us to plant our vegetables.  Oh and the yard is fenced, so no wandering into the street.  Even though we are located in a pretty quiet neighborhood with speed bumps on the road right by our house (love it!).

We already have a pile of wood started for our wood burning fireplace, and a shed to store our gardening tools and lawn mower (yikes another thing we need to purchase!).  It's hard to tell from the picture but we can hang a swing from that tree too.

Another selling point, the kitchen!  Big, beautiful, spacious, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances.  I would've preferred a gas burning stove, but beggars can't be choosers, and this is one of the best kitchens we've seen in ALL the houses we looked at.  Not to mention the large, greenhouse like window that overlooks the backyard.

Colors are pretty nice for the cabinetry and granite, I personally would've chosen something else, BUT again this is a starter home and it is pretty great compared to others.  Love the counter space and the bar.

I love the fireplace, it is has a beautiful hearth and I like that it is wood burning, not only is it more efficient, but the smell and sounds of a crackling fire in the winter will surely be one of my favorite things. In California, they have 'no burning' days, they are very particular about the air, so other than knowing when those days are, I am sure this thing will be going all the time.

I like that the walls are already painted a pretty, neutral color.  I like some of the small details, such as those banisters in the wall hole, adds a little character.  The vaulted ceilings are a nice touch too.  All the floors are tiled in the whole house, which means we need to purchase some floor coverings.  But it is nice knowing that it will be easier to keep clean, especially with little boys in the house.  I like wood floors over tile, but it is a trend in Fresno, every house has it, so there was no escaping that.  Not to mention every house gets termites, so the less wood you have around, the better off you are.  

The rest the house is a bit smaller, but works for our small family.  Here is the guest bathroom.  Double sinks, granite countertops, love the cabinetry and tiling in the tub/shower.

Did I mention jetted tub?  And nice and deep.

Here is the master bath/shower.  The weirdest thing I have ever seen.  It's a sunken tub (lower than the floor) and it is tiled!  What the!  I sat in it though and it is actually quite comfortable.  I hate the doors and small little square tiles (for cleaning purposes), but I think I can turn the area into a nice little oasis for us.

Master bedroom (decent size) with a walk in closet.  I wish the bathroom had been connected to the closet, but that is not a deal breaker by any means.  We will finally have enough closet space to put both Cody's and my clothes in.   

Bathroom is small, but I will finally get counter space!!!!  Yay! Did I mention I hate those shower doors?  Mostly for the fact that the door swings open and takes up the entire bathroom.  The door to the bathroom is also annoying, because it swings open and hits the toilet.  We will need a sign to hang on the door that says, "using the thrown," so we don't swing open the door and smash each other's feet.  I really don't mind though, I do still love the house despite these little nuances. 

A picture of the hallway, a little storage space and cabinetry to put things, which is really needed. Especially without a storage room or basement.

Talmage's room. 

Front room.  Love the big bay windows.

This is connected to the front room.  We will place our kitchen table there.  Another character piece, the cubby in the wall for decorations/pictures.  We love that it's open concept kitchen. Everything is connected and no closed off spaces.

Here is our garage, utility and tool room, storage space, and possible workout area (Cody's punching bag probably go in here).  Like I said, houses in Fresno are small, gotta make the most of your spaces.  The people left a big floor rug (yet to be determined if it is usable), extra grout, paints, mirror, and they have nice big pegboard walls for hanging rakes, shovels and tools and work benches already built.   Those will come in handy.

Pictures I left out are the inside front entry way, the laundry room (which is right by the kitchen), and the other bedroom, which is identical to Tal's.   

That ends our tour.  Hope you liked it!

Here is Talmage after playing for an hour in his new backyard, while we walked around and took pictures and talked about possibilities.  Exhausted!  Hope this becomes a trend!  He has been putting his foot up over his knee like that I thought it was quite adorable.

It is very dry here, hence his rosy, dry cheeks and lips. Love this boy!