14 days until close and things are ramping up quickly! Between finalizing my packing, organizing my services and appointments AND working all day, sleep comes easily lately.
This past weekend, I went to the Home Show at Lansdowne Park. Despite having to circle the parking lot for about 15 minutes trying to find a spot, it was a pretty good show. Tons of people and tons of exhibitors made for an exciting yet tiring Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, my sidekick for the day was able to make contact with some services for his new condo!! Yay!
On Sunday, after a hearty breakfast, a trip to the house was in order just to see how things were going. And lo and behold, my doors were locked. So peeking in the front door window would just have to suffice until PDI. It's looking good and I'm experiencing a mix of excitement, nausea and anticipation for everything that will happen in the next few weeks.
Yesterday, I was contacted by my lawyer's associate yesterday to finalize some initial information and I will be expecting another phone call from the lawyer in the next couple of days with respect to the all important payment amount. Yes, if there's anything I've learned from this whole experience, nothing is free.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
VID - Very Important Date
Last week, I received a voice mail message from Mark at Mattamy calling to schedule my PDI appointment. Woo-hoo!
For those who don't know, PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) is the appointment a week or so prior to closing which the homeowner (me) and the builder representative (Mark) will meet to tour the house before it is delivered to the homeowner (me).
Big Poppa will be making the trek for my PDI to offer a second set of eyes while I talk to Mark and ask him the anticipated billion or so questions I will probably have.
Stay tuned...
For those who don't know, PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) is the appointment a week or so prior to closing which the homeowner (me) and the builder representative (Mark) will meet to tour the house before it is delivered to the homeowner (me).
Big Poppa will be making the trek for my PDI to offer a second set of eyes while I talk to Mark and ask him the anticipated billion or so questions I will probably have.
Stay tuned...
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
28 days to go
Well, I'm into the final weeks of renting and every day is an eternity. I took a chance today after work to try to sneak a peek at my place. Well, easier said than done. Due to the amount of construction traffic and home owners arriving home from work, it was a mad house. As there was a flurry of activity on my street, I could only look from a distance. Booooo....
But not to be deterred, I decided to go and run errands and return at a later time. Well, after a visit to Indigo books, Bouclair and a bite to eat at Kelsey's, I decided to press my luck and return to the scene. When I pulled up there was no construction traffic which was a telltale sign to GO FOR IT! I discovered my siding is well on its way. Yay! So feeling bullish, I checked the front door and entered carefully. And right there, in front of my eyes, on the way upstairs, was carpet - beautiful, soft comfy carpet.
OK - here's where it gets weird. I crawled up the stairs on my hands and knees as I didn't want to be detected with dirty footprints and saw a sliver of my newly installed hardwood. Yay! As I slowly slithered down the stairs on my butt, I saw a carpet remnant lying on the floor and I smuggled it out for design purposes. Not one of my proudest moments. Now if I could just locate my paint swatch....
Overall, I breathed a sigh of relief. My color scheme, while good on paper, was always a question mark with respect to cohesion. Up until now, I was always wondering how everything would look and flow in the house. But everything seems to be coming along better than I ever expected.
As this was an unscheduled trip, I did not have my camera so in honor of all things wonderful, I give you Matt Damon instead.
But not to be deterred, I decided to go and run errands and return at a later time. Well, after a visit to Indigo books, Bouclair and a bite to eat at Kelsey's, I decided to press my luck and return to the scene. When I pulled up there was no construction traffic which was a telltale sign to GO FOR IT! I discovered my siding is well on its way. Yay! So feeling bullish, I checked the front door and entered carefully. And right there, in front of my eyes, on the way upstairs, was carpet - beautiful, soft comfy carpet.
OK - here's where it gets weird. I crawled up the stairs on my hands and knees as I didn't want to be detected with dirty footprints and saw a sliver of my newly installed hardwood. Yay! As I slowly slithered down the stairs on my butt, I saw a carpet remnant lying on the floor and I smuggled it out for design purposes. Not one of my proudest moments. Now if I could just locate my paint swatch....
Overall, I breathed a sigh of relief. My color scheme, while good on paper, was always a question mark with respect to cohesion. Up until now, I was always wondering how everything would look and flow in the house. But everything seems to be coming along better than I ever expected.
As this was an unscheduled trip, I did not have my camera so in honor of all things wonderful, I give you Matt Damon instead.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Tick tock...
Well, with one month and one week to go, it feels like the pressure is on. Well, not really but it's really exciting. There was not a soul to be found at the site today when I drove up so I surmised that things must be flowing along nicely. And holy mackeral, I wasn't wrong.
My kitchen is coming along so nicely. My cabinets and counter tops are in and to be honest, I am so pleased. I was nervous about how things would flow together because everything was done by eyeballing the Design Centre samples. The cabinets are fantastic maple and the counter tops are darker with black, dark brown and light browns thrown in and the cabinet handles are a brushed nickel. I think the black appliances will go nicely when they are delivered and installed. Whew....
I am also glad that I didn't go with the raised breakfast bar upgrade. I love the way the kitchen opens up to the dining area which, to me at least, gives a great open feeling.
As well, the bathroom has been tiled and vanity has been installed. Again, very pleased with turnout of this room. Super awesome...
This is the walk in closet in my master bedroom. I think I'm going to price what it would cost to have a closet organizer come in and help me figure out a design. I've never had a walk in closet and I've always dreamed of having a walk in closet so we'll see what the budget says. Stay tuned....
BTW, that thing in the corner on the shelf is the cover to the attic - definitely not part of the final product...
My kitchen is coming along so nicely. My cabinets and counter tops are in and to be honest, I am so pleased. I was nervous about how things would flow together because everything was done by eyeballing the Design Centre samples. The cabinets are fantastic maple and the counter tops are darker with black, dark brown and light browns thrown in and the cabinet handles are a brushed nickel. I think the black appliances will go nicely when they are delivered and installed. Whew....
I am also glad that I didn't go with the raised breakfast bar upgrade. I love the way the kitchen opens up to the dining area which, to me at least, gives a great open feeling.
As well, the bathroom has been tiled and vanity has been installed. Again, very pleased with turnout of this room. Super awesome...
This is the walk in closet in my master bedroom. I think I'm going to price what it would cost to have a closet organizer come in and help me figure out a design. I've never had a walk in closet and I've always dreamed of having a walk in closet so we'll see what the budget says. Stay tuned....
BTW, that thing in the corner on the shelf is the cover to the attic - definitely not part of the final product...
Sunday, February 28, 2010
All the trimmings
As I pulled up to the house, I could hear music coming from my house. I was able to see a guy, all masked up, at the kitchen window painting the trim! I decided not to go into the house as I did not want to interrupt his work but I did notice the plywood that previously doubled as my garage door was removed so I thought "hey, I'll just take a peek." As I walked in, I noticed something leaning against the wall. What was it, you ask? It was my counter top! Yes, a section of my kitchen surface was in the garage, looking ready to be installed. I pulled out the camera to take a picture and dammit to hell, my camera battery was dead. NOOOOO!!!!
After carefully maneuvering my way around my muddy front yard / driveway, I went to the front door, opened it slightly and noticed that cardboard protected the floor as well as painters tarps protected the stair railings. All the trim had been painted on the main floor although I was hoping to sneak a peek at my new floor tile, I wasn't able to see it this trip.
Now this post would have 10x better if pictures were added but well, you can't always get what you want....
After carefully maneuvering my way around my muddy front yard / driveway, I went to the front door, opened it slightly and noticed that cardboard protected the floor as well as painters tarps protected the stair railings. All the trim had been painted on the main floor although I was hoping to sneak a peek at my new floor tile, I wasn't able to see it this trip.
Now this post would have 10x better if pictures were added but well, you can't always get what you want....
Thursday, February 25, 2010
February 25 2010
It occurred to me today that this would have been my first tentative closing date! Holy moley how time flies! Thankfully, my closing day is one month two weeks and five days away! And when I say thankfully, if you see what I see, then moving in this crappy weather would not have been fun.
A big thank you to my mortgage broker, Jacquie, for helping me overcome another hurdle in this journey. I met with her yesterday to sign mortgage papers and get the financials out of the way. Jacquie knew exactly what I wanted and she delivered. To say that I actually had a hard time sleeping last night would be an understatement. So much so that I woke up with stiff neck and ended up having a kink in it all day after I checked my blind spot on the drive to work. Yay me.
I also have to see Melis at The Brick tomorrow to pay off the balance on my appliances. Just another item to check off my to-do list. It will SO nice to finally have a dishwasher - I detest doing dishes....
A big thank you to my mortgage broker, Jacquie, for helping me overcome another hurdle in this journey. I met with her yesterday to sign mortgage papers and get the financials out of the way. Jacquie knew exactly what I wanted and she delivered. To say that I actually had a hard time sleeping last night would be an understatement. So much so that I woke up with stiff neck and ended up having a kink in it all day after I checked my blind spot on the drive to work. Yay me.
I also have to see Melis at The Brick tomorrow to pay off the balance on my appliances. Just another item to check off my to-do list. It will SO nice to finally have a dishwasher - I detest doing dishes....
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Progress Progress Progress
Trekking out to the site this morning and I discovered a van in "my" driveway. Not knowing who was inside, I poked my head in and came face to face with a tile installer. Yes - a tile installer!!!! He said hello and told me that he was there to install the kitchen and foyer tile. They would have done the main bathroom tile but you'll see why below. I was so happy! I offered to buy him and his partner a round of Timmy's but they politely declined. I told them I wanted to grab a couple of photos before I got out of their way. They were gracious and told me to take my time...
From the dining room into the living room...
From the kitchen breakfast bar looking into the living room....
I went up to third level to see what was happening up there and discovered my railings! The stain is perfect (although a bit dirty but whatever, it's a construction zone!) and I was so glad to see I had spindles and not a solid knee wall! I couldn't have been more pleased...
On another note, I received a phone call from Erin at the Design Centre last night indicating that my main bathroom tile (both floor and wall) were discontinued and could I please come in this weekend and pick another selection? She told me she would leave suggestions with the weekend girls and they would pass along my choices to her on Monday morning. Surprisingly, I wasn't upset - I figured I could handle this one of two ways: throw a tantrum, bitch and moan OR take it with a grain of salt and make another selection. The weekend crew at the DC were so helpful and friendly and I think we made a really good choice.
An ironic note to this story - the new selection of tile and listello border were actually one of my original considerations from early in my decision process. Strange how things work....
From the dining room into the living room...
From the kitchen breakfast bar looking into the living room....
I went up to third level to see what was happening up there and discovered my railings! The stain is perfect (although a bit dirty but whatever, it's a construction zone!) and I was so glad to see I had spindles and not a solid knee wall! I couldn't have been more pleased...
On another note, I received a phone call from Erin at the Design Centre last night indicating that my main bathroom tile (both floor and wall) were discontinued and could I please come in this weekend and pick another selection? She told me she would leave suggestions with the weekend girls and they would pass along my choices to her on Monday morning. Surprisingly, I wasn't upset - I figured I could handle this one of two ways: throw a tantrum, bitch and moan OR take it with a grain of salt and make another selection. The weekend crew at the DC were so helpful and friendly and I think we made a really good choice.
An ironic note to this story - the new selection of tile and listello border were actually one of my original considerations from early in my decision process. Strange how things work....
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