Letting go

It's very difficult. I'm really struggling when it comes to winter accessories. Leggings, hats, scarves, gloves. I just can't let go :( I don't wear the stuff, but it's so cute it's hard to let it go. However, it is just sitting around not being worn. One of the scarves was a gift from Daniel's mom. It's wearable, but not my ideal style. Maybe I'll just hang onto it until I move out. Or see if my sister wants it. Another one is a white one with cute ends from J. Crew. I thrifted it, but I know it was probably pricey when it was in store. I just gotta think about I guess.

I  have some flared jeans which I don't really want, but I wear them for work. Cause skinny jeans look kind of stupid with what I have to wear for work. I'll probably get rid of them when I get a different job.

In denial

I'm so in denial Christmas is over. I don't want it to be over! I've been buying discounted Christmas stuff for next year. I bought a few ornaments, some string for wrapping presents, and a white mini tree. Shame on me cause I bought the white version of the tree I already have. I realized this year that you can't see the ornaments because Daniel and I chose to do black and silver ornaments. The black ornaments just kind of fall into the dark green. The green tree I have has fiber optic lights built into it which I don't like. Which means, unfortunately the white one also has the lights built in. I wanted a white tree with out lights built in, but $7.50 was hard to pass up. I feel a little guilty cause I've been buying ornaments all December. But I know that we'll have our own real tree next year with no ornaments to put on it! And as soon as I go to look for them next year, I have a feeling I won't be able to find any good ones.

Ah I want my teapot to come in! It says it will be here Wednesday but it also says its already in Georgia so we'll see.

Just dreaming

I want a house so bad. Right now there's nothing on the market in area we want in our price range. Just short sales. I'm hoping there will be new houses after the new year.

I keep dreaming about a cute little ranch. A two story would be nice too, but a ranch would be more homey I think and energy efficient. I feel like Daniel and I will grow closer together than we already are when it's just us living together. I don't feel comfortable where I'm living now and I'm always on edge.

I can't wait to brew a cup of tea in my new sweet teapot and chill on the back porch with Daniel. Assuming I can get him out of the house. Lol. But my teapot is awesome. Well I don't have it yet. I've been wanting a white bodom electric kettle forever. But they're hard to find. I put it on my Christmas list but I didn't receive it. Daniels mom gave me money for Christmas so I used that money. We went to the mall yesterday and they actually had the big version of the kettle...for $50. But I bought it anyway. But today I decided I really wanted the 17 oz one instead. As opposed to the 1.8 liter I bought. I know I'll never brew 8 cups of hot water. The 17 oz brews 4 cups I believe and it's so much tinier.  So I went searching online and found it at zappos for $40 with free shipping. So I bought that and returned the other one. It's super cute.

I just can't wait to have friends over and have fun. Most of our friends don't come over here, because we still live at home.

Christmas shopping is done

Man I hate Christmas shopping! I bought a lot of consumables and stuff that is actually useful for people. This Christmas season has flown buy. Daniel and I have been so consumed by looking at houses that we haven't been paying much attention to it. I'm trying to be excited but I keep getting sidetracked by wanting to have Christmas with Daniel in our own house.

We've made an offer on two houses now and no cigar. Apparently, a lot of investors are buying out all the houses in our price range to rent out. It's very frustrating. I'm not really surprised by the second house. We put in a bid for $7,000 over asking and offered to pay closing. But everything in the neighborhood was going for about $20,000 over this houses price. It sucks because at least if we knew what the houses ended up going for we'd have an idea of what were getting ourselves into but we won't find out for another month or so probably.

Christmas

I can honestly say this is the first Christmas I've ever felt that I would be entirely happy if I didn't get a single thing. That makes me very happy! There are a couple things I want, but I wouldn't be upset if I didn't get them. The things I would like are a humidifier, a bodom electric kettle, and a chair for my desk from ikea. I'm probably only going to get one of those things I'm guessing. But Daniel bought me an iPhone for Christmas which I'm very happy about! I did get that early though. We also went shopping a week ago and shopped together for stuff we wanted. He bought me a Mac concealer, Mac foundation, and a couple things from lush. We also found this trash can at an antique store that I've been looking for one that style. I'm not getting it until Christmas though. So yes I have got gifts, but I also would be happy if I wouldn't have got anything.

It's such a good feeling to be able to look at websites such as urban outfitters or mod cloth and see home things that I would've loved before minimalism. Now, I see them and realize there's no value in them for me. Sure stuff is cute, but it would bring me enjoyment for like 1 day max. Then I would grow tired of it taking up space and want to get rid of it. On top of being overpriced and a waste of money. Don't get me wrong, I still lust after the perfect shower curtain or dresser. I try not to get caught up in the small trinket stuff though.

Furniture planning

So I tried to quickly explain minimalism to my mom today. Coming from living in a crowded home for the last decade or so, she didn't understand. Or she kind of put it down and made it seem unrealistic. It did make me a little sad to see her react that way, but I guess it's kind of what I expected. She jumped to the idea pretty quickly that Daniel probably wasn't on board for it. I mean he's no minimalist, but he's also grown tired of living in a crowded home and wants nothing to do with it.

Today I had to put my minimalist opinions to use today. Daniel loves to cook and he wanted a wok. I'm fine with that and I know he'll use it. So we bought one. We also found out that Daniels mom got us one for Christmas. A much nicer one. So I tried to make it pretty clear that we really didn't need both skillets. Daniel agreed too. It made me very happy he did. Well just have to take the other one back.

As far as kitchen stuff goes, there really isn't much more we need. We'd probably need a utensil sorter thing, paper towel roll, trash can, table and chairs. That should pretty much be it. We do need stuff in other areas too. I'm just gonna make a list for reference.

Kitchen:

Table and chairs
Utensil sorter
Paper towel holder
Trash can
Small rug?

Living room:

2nd couch?
Media stand
End tables
Coffee table
Rug?

Guest bath:

Shower curtain
Bath mat
Trash can
Light decor
Matching hand towels

Master bed and bath:

Bed stand tables
Dressers
Bed frame or headboard (eventually)
Matching lamps

Shower mat
Hand towels
Light decor

Other :

Coat rack
Place to put shoes?

I'm sure I'm probably forgetting something. So as you can see it's not going to be super minimal, bare bones, but somewhat homey. I'd really like to do an orange theme in the bathroom, but I'm having a hard time finding the perfect shower curtain.

.

Right now I'm just chilling in the basement, I just kind of felt like writing. It's so hard getting rid of clothes that you do wear sometimes. I feel like I should donate them, because I don't wear them very often. At the same time, there have been times when that particular clothing item was useful. I have a couple scarves that I think are cute, but I really don't wear them very often. I think one is J. Crew. It's a cream color, so it's neutral. I just never pick it up to wear it. I have another one that's like color blocked with brown, grey, and black. I never wear that one either, but I think it's cute.

I think I need to reevaluate the clothes in my closet. I have some pants that I feel could go. Maybe a couple jackets. I feel like I would be getting rid of those things just for the sake of getting rid of them though.

:(

We didn't get the house :( I'm pretty bummed, but Daniel and I prayed a lot about it and it obviously wasn't meant to be! I really wish it wouldn't have taken the wind out of my sails as much as it has. My sister and I looked earlier. We found some stuff, but nothing close to the other house.

Stuff

I've accumulated a bunch of beauty stuff again :( I decided I'm going to try and use up one thing at a time, because I think that's the most manageable way of doing it. Like I'm going to try to use up one perfume, then move onto the next. One hair product, then move onto the next.

Man I'm a hoarder when it comes to storage type stuff. I think it's the eco part of me. Like I feel like I should save old candle glass containers, because I feel like I can use them for something. Or if I buy a drink with a glass bottle I try to hang on to it and reuse it. Eventually I get rid of it, but I hate the guilt I feel about getting rid of that sort of stuff :(

I need to get rid of another pile of stuff, I just never remember it until night time when I really can't do anything about it.

No news

The realtor made it sound like we would be hearing back from the bank yesterday, but we never did.  The waiting game is driving Daniel crazy! She did write an e-mail saying she hasn't heard anything. So I guess no news isn't bad news. My cat just finally laid down so now I can actually see what I'm typing. He's so cute though. lol He's curled up on my chest now. I can't wait until we get a kitten! That won't be until we have our own place though :(

Daniel and I made some christmas cookies today. That was pretty fun, but they turned out really ugly. It was pretty funny though. It almost made it more fun.

I should probably be cleaning my room now. It's such a mess! I haven't felt like cleaning it cause I've been so worried about whether we got the house or not. I also want to decorate our mini christmas tree. I asked Daniel earlier, but he didn't feel like it so I may end up doing it myself.

Offer

So last night around 1 am Daniel and I put in an offer on an AMAZING house! Daniel's mom goes to church with the realtor team we've been working with so they didn't mind working that late (it was actually their idea!). Yesterday was incredibly nerve wracking. We've only seen the house once (yesterday around 5 pm). There was a person their viewing the house when we got there and then about 4 other people showed up while we were there! So we had to make a move that night.

However, I feel like we stand a good chance. We are offering to pay $2,100 over asking price in cash and pay for closing costs. We'll find out today whether they accepted our offer or not. We actually got a call from the realtor this morning saying that the bank received a high number of bids and asked if we wanted to raise our bid. Apparently everyone who put in an offer received the e-mail. But we're going to keep ours the same. The realtor thought we should do the same.

But the house is amazing!! It doesn't need any work and its the perfect amount of space! It's actually a lot of space but its a good amount. It's 4 br 3 bath and a split level. The lower level is almost like a basement. It has a full bathroom and I believe 3 rooms down there. I just cannot believe how perfect it is. It has brand new carpet, new paint, new appliances (missing a fridge though), a covered deck with a tin roof (good for rainy days), new trim, white, bright, and open kitchen. I could go on. I really couldn't ask for more with this house.

Don't get me wrong I'm excited, but I'm also nervous as hell. But Daniel's mom is going to help us with bills until we get on our feet. After that I'll feel a lot less nervous. Ugh I'm so nervous right now! We're going to find out around 4 whether its ours or not. I'll be praying!

Houses

We've been looking. We're gonna try to go look at one tomorrow. There was one that Daniel was in love with, but we found out it was in a bad area. The house grew on me, but I didn't think it was perfect. It spoke to me minimalist wise because it was pretty small and was exactly the amount of space we needed. Everything was very open and it would be good for entertaining, which we plan to do. But this next house I really love, especially for the money. Daniel really likes it too. It's so bright! I love it! It's hard not to get your hopes up about stuff. This house seems perfect.

I cannot wait to move out! I will be so fricken happy! Daniel and I went looking around Home Depot and brandsmart today to get an idea of how much everything will cost. So that was fun.

Ugh I just can't wait to move on this!