Breathing a Sigh of Relief, Well Kind of...

So last Monday (I know it seems so far away), I was all set to blog out my disappointment in being outbid on a house that we loved. We found out on Sunday morning that we had been outbid by a mere $2,000! Inside information? It seems kind of suspicious, but I can't let my mind wander down that path.

On Monday afternoon, our realtor, determined to make good on the events of the weekend, showed J a house that has been on the market since February. J walked through it quickly without REALLY looking at house, apparently the nanny was home with two sleepy babies. But he had me meet the realtor after work. It is a great house. The bathrooms and kitchen are renovated. There is plenty of space for the toy hauler and J's 1974 Chevy truck, and the backyard is ready for a party. We submitted an offer on Tuesday, and did some hardcore negotiating on Wednesday night. It was pretty interesting because this is the first offer we have made in which the house isn't a short sale or foreclosure. It's nice to be dealing with people that own the house and their realtor. Both parties made concessions in the end, but came to an agreement pretty quickly. I held off on sharing our triumph because we have been in this position before, in love with a house, but not so in love with the results of the inspection.

Sunday came around. It was the most beautiful day. We met our inspector, who we have worked with before and love, at the house around 11:30 a.m. By 2 p.m. he confirmed that there we no major problems with the house. Just minor things that could be easily fixed and are commonplace in a house built in 1960.

So we are in escrow and experiencing some uncharted territory with all of the final loan and appraisal details. But we are over the moon that it's finally our turn. As long as we don't experiencing and game-changing bumps in the road, we should be settling in to our first house the beginning of May.

But on to more important things, CAMPING! We are so excited for our annual camping trip with A and P for Easter. Last year, A decided to make an entire ham in her little toy hauler oven for Easter dinner. It took a little longer than anticipated, but when we finally broke bread under the stars it was pretty tasty. Just like home. She was up for the challenge again this year, but the consensus was that we would like to eat closer to dinnertime than midnight, so we are just going to barbeque a premarinated tri-tip for our Easter feast.

Enjoy the holiday. Pictures to come!

Hello Monday!

How is everyone responding to the time change? I am sure I will love it in the days to come, but right now, I am falling asleep at my desk. This might have something to do with a weekend of staying up too late catching up with me on Monday instead of the time change, but it's much easier to blame something else.

All is going well at the Dimon house. We had a nice weekend of catching up with some great friends, a little furniture shopping, and a day of rest.

We saw the movie She's Out of My League on Friday night with our friends B and N. I thought it was a great date movie with a funny cast. There was one character that bugged me, only because she reminded me of a role another actress plays much better. If you see the movie, see if you can guess what I am talking about.

We haven't heard anything regarding the short sale offer we made a couple weeks ago, but we did submit an offer on a foreclosure this morning. J and I really love this house; it is really cute and cozy inside with amazing outdoor space for pups and humans alike!

Hope each and every one of you has a great week!

Book Notes: I finished Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger (The Devil Wears Prada) this weekend. It was a great, easy read about three girlfriends love and professional lives post-college. Definitely a good addition to any beach bag this season.

March Madness

I can't believe it's already March! I really don't what happened to the first 60 or so days of this year, but I am glad that Spring is on it's way. A few things to look forward to this Spring:

-The time change; so glad to have longer days to enjoy sunny Southern California

-The return of summer fruit; i dread living off apples, oranges and tangerines during the winter. What I would give for some berries, a juicy peach or a watermelon! (Farmer's Market see you soon!)

-The annual Easter camping trip to the desert; my friend A and I call this our anniversary because we met last year on this trip through a mutual friend and have been inseperable ever since. I wonder if she has anything special planned for us that weekend, haha.
--This year marks our first year with her baby J on the trip. Born at the end of January, he isn't wasting any time getting acquainted with toy hauler-living.

-A trip home to Northern California; I haven't been home since the weekend of my wedding and J and I definitely need a little Chico time. I can't wait to see my family and spend some quality time with my best friends.
--Sadly, the pups will be sitting this trip out so we can make quick work out of those 944 round-trip miles.

J and I have plans to hang out with our friends J and M this weekend. This will be out last chance to get togehter before J leaves for spring training for baseball next week. He will be dearly missed, but as long as he is hitting home runs, we won't mind as much. I am also heading to a bridal shower on Sunday, which should be fun if the games I've heard rumors of live up to their reputations.

Quick house hunting update: Our short sale package has been submitted to the lender, so all we can do now is wait, and keep our eyes peeled for other properties of interest.

Happy Thursday !

On the Hunt

J and I are on the hunt for a house, a place to call our own, pay homeowner insurance, mow the grass and change out the socket covers.

We have been searching since mid-December for, you know, the standard three bedroom, two bathroom combo that everyone else in our price range is looking for too. The process hasn't been too stressful for me, but J might have a different opinion. We have gone as far as having an offer accepted only to be uncomfortable with the home inspection results and decide to cancel escrow.

Most recently, our offer was accepted on a home that is a short-sale, which can be the furthest thing from short. This coming from my extensive experience watching House Hunters on HGTV.

I know that our house is out there somewhere (hopefully in the areas that we like, with RV access, a nice backyard, and fairly close to work). We are not asking for much, just a little something that we can make in our first home. Our dream home will come later.