5705 Stone Drive

Normally whenever someone asks, "What's going on?"

I usually draw a blank and respond with something along the lines of, "Not much..."
or "Same ole, same ole..."

Well a LOT has happened in the past two weeks in the form of this:

This is going to be the NEW Dow house next week! (here in Amarillo)
 

Shanny has been sharing listings with us for the past several years and while I sometimes get excited about them, I usually shrug them off citing that I don't want the hassle of moving unless it's a "dream home".  When she sent the link to this house the Friday before last, I had the same thoughts upon opening the attachment and seeing the front lawn.  Rocks, really?  Hmmm...
 

After seeing the photos of the inside, I was even less enthusiastic.  Hello 1978! 

We're talking dark trim & cabinetry, dated tile & olive green backspashes, gold/chrome fixtures, not to mention hideous wallpaper adorning every surface that wasn't covered with wood panneling. 

(Nothing remotely close to looking like the inside of a Pottery Barn catalog.)
 

BUT... something made me drive past the house with Ben... and then something made us call her that night and have her show us the inside the following morning. 

What's the hurt in looking, right?

There were some positives that caught our eyes right away:

 nice, fenced in backyard

large rooms with big closets (storage!) and bay windows

Okay, so I wasn't thrilled after the first glance, but once I started considering the possibilities I could look at the place with fresh eyes. 

According the Shanny, the elderly couple who lived on the property took excellent care of the house, which was evident, and installed a class 4 metal roof as well as a top-notch air conditioner & furnace.  As far as houses go, this one was well-maintained and very reasonably priced. 

We also noticed that for being in the center of town, this house is situated on a very quiet street in a great school district.  Hmmm.... More thinking...  With a few more looks over the course of the next couple of days, we decided to take Ben's parents' advide and make an offer. 
And the man quickly accepted. 

This all happened two weeks ago. 
So within the past two weeks, this is what I have been doing with the boys during any free moment:

 

 

Driving around town, looking at various tiles & backsplashes (that are within our budget). 

Narrowing down paint choices (I've learned that you can paint almost ANYTHING-- including cabinetry, panneling, and chrome fixtures)

Looking at the array of lighting choices.

AND spending an obscene amount of time on Pinterest while I'm lying in bed at night...

 And spending a lot of time with Nonnie, our realtor.  Not sure how much "help" these boys are lending.