We GOT it, Baby!!!!

Well, now...aren't these some beautiful pictures?

I hope you think so...since

THEY ARE PICTURES OF...

OUR NEW

HOUSE!

:)

Cheers!

COME SEE US!

(Mom, Arms, and me...enjoying a wee glass on the day I accepted the offer!)

Today was a little better...

Uh - Huh. Well. We did some more hunting today...

In the first house, we found a big dog, a bunch of stains on the carpet that likely came from the dog, and a place that needed extensive remodeling.

However, there are always positive things to see...which are things like these neat little sinks...in the original Florida-color tile.

In some places, we could see a future hot-tub...

And some places, which - even though they had amazing original details like lovely accents and original wooden floors - check out that paint:

Wow.

This was a very nice detail. And I like the chandelier...but again, not the paint. Is that "raspberry" or "rhubarb"? Ick.

We saw the nastier side of people - like this gross garage.

And this lime-green/avocado room. Yikes. Check out Diane's expression on the right...Mom's not too exited either. I mean, WHY ruin a beautiful room????

Hi! :)
Ok, here we go. Now we're getting somewhere...

...and this is nice...

Yep...sometimes they didn't mind if we saw that they didn't make their bed. You know? I always thought if you made your bed your house looked at least 50% neater. Ms. Crazy Sheets must've not gotten that memo...

I like the pool...

...but the best thing is, when I get done with househunting...I always have these guys to welcome me "home" - like Dosie, on her chaise-lounge...(on the woefully tiny porch in this apartment...)

...and Arms and Spectre - and that beautiful man featured in the framed photograph under the light. :) Miss you, John...see you Thursday!

Oh, Wow. Househunting is not easy.

This is not so easy.

Right now, this is the front-runner. It's close to our work, and it's historic, and it's got beautiful features. (Check out that fireplace!)

The pool is quite lovely - but it takes up the entire backyard. Literally.

This was a nice feature in a weird place we looked at...Everything Grows in Florida. What a beautiful attribute for a state to have! :)

In an "Old Hollywood Bungalow" we found this nice mosaic:

...and bathroom. Don't you love the tile? Soooooo Florida!

I love these little guys...
Yep, I like Florida. I just hope we find a house soon...

Liked This One Today + Poking Fun at My Little Brother

Well, today turned out to be pretty exciting...our realtor took me out to see the ONE house that out of all she'd rounded up and sent us via the internet really tripped our triggers (those would be John's and MY triggers, you understand...)

He (the house is definitely a "he") was even more handsome in person. And yes, he's a little older, but he's Stately and Fabulous and my 30s-40s-50s era-furniture would look lovely inside...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Anyhoo, this is the view from the front walkway of this house. We'll call him #308.

For those of you who know me well...of course I noticed that my favorite number is in there somewhere, in some combination! :)



And this is the view looking at the house from the vantage point of the really large backyard (which is completely fenced for Spectre!)



This is looking from the garage toward the backyard. That building is the workshop, which can also be great storage and an extra garage for the Skylark and the Blue Mamu.

I love this view (look below - I know, I do my captions backward but this is my blog and it makes sense to me...) It is from the "Florida Room" (translate to Party Room!) and is looking into the Living Room.

...and the Florida Room itself. It's all glassed-in! Love it! That's the workshop, again, in the back left of the picture.

I'm planning to put a nice TV and couch and fridge and microwave and beanbags so when John and Armour or John and anyone wants to watch NASCAR or anything else Rednecky (sorry, Pam - HA!), they'll be all set. :)

This is the Kitchen. And no, I don't like the "so-bright-that-Dr. Ken Despain-could-easily-engage-in-a-cat-declawing-surgery-on-my-kitchen-table"* lights, and No, I don't particularly care for those cabinets, either.

It doesn't have to be perfect, People. Besides, Sisi is going to help me, and after she's through with this place, it would be a candidate for House Beautiful.

But, Wow. I LOVED this room, this fireplace, this ambience. And, I'm telling you, I know I'm kind of a Wackadoo (I'm comfortable in my world) but I could just feel this house smiling at me when I walked in here and saw this:

Oh. The English bulldog is not real.

And now, it's time for a little pastime I call: Making Fun of Arms.

And why do I do this? Because it's FUN.

These are several pictures of his place, as it looks now...and all I can say is, "Yes, I'm aware that my own house will look like this soon, too..."

But for now, I can just point my finger, crinkle up my nose and yell: Nyah-Na-Na-Na-Naaaa-Na!

See you soon, Brothah. :)

He sent this final picture to me, complete with what I found to be a hilarious caption:

"THE BED IS MADE!!!"

...and so it is!

Keep digging, Arms. Let me know how that works out for ya...

*Note. Max actually had to assist Ken when he did another kind of minor surgery, on their kitchen table in Maryland. Poor Tater is just not the Tom he used to be...

First House-hunting trips in Tampa...

...here's Jan, thinking... "Not so much..."

...and Bill, thinking much the same thing...

But, you have to admit...this isn't bad:

And I really liked these...

...and especially these! :)

...and check out the Red Heeler! Max likes Blue Heelers...so I took her as a good sign!