Ahhh.... vacation!

With the craziness in our lives these days, our trip to Florida last week came at the perfect time! Well, maybe not perfect, since we had to do house "stuff" while we were there, but you know what I mean. We were so caught up in house stuff, that we didn't pack until the night before our 6 day trip. Thankfully, we're quick and efficient packers because we had everything we needed and we traveled pretty lightly - success!

We got to Florida last Tuesday afternoon and it was cloudy and rainy. The gloomy weather had followed us from NY. By late afternoon, it was cool, breezy and gorgeous. I sat by the pool for 5 minutes alone, about 2 hours after we got there, and I was honestly so relaxed. That's impressive.

Not only were we visiting with Gramma and Grandpa Gerges, but Tim and Farrell were there too! We had so.much.fun. 2 days at the beach, dinner and a National Tour show of Les Miserables with Tim and Farrell, date night to the movies (Zero Dark Thirty - SO good!), and on our last night, a birthday celebration for Gramma!

I was very proud/happy that by day 3, Madelyn was saying Gramma and Grandpa. These are totally new words for her and they brought BIG smiles to Gramma and Grandpa's faces :) She also got better at saying Uncle "T"(-im). Miss M LOVED the beach, and the pool but wasn't as big of a fan of the ocean. The water approached so quickly, it took her by surprise and the cold temp sent her into a tizzy.  Our little cutie sat on towel for nearly an hour, totally focused on playing with her sand toys. It was the cutest thing ever. She barely knew what was going on around her she was having so much fun. I actually got to lay down, shut my eyes, and enjoy the sun. Same with the pool, once she got started playing, it was really hard to drag her out after an hour when it was time for bed. There were tears... what a mean mommy!

We are so lucky that visiting with family brings us to such a beautiful places as Florida and the Vineyard! We are looking forward to seeing Mom and Dad Gerges again in just a few short months. In the meantime, we've learned to use (and love) facetime. Gotta love modern technology!

Some pic's from our trip:

House Hunters

It's no secret I love houses. I talk about it often, look at houses online all the time and I've probably watched every House Hunters episode. I was so excited to be house hunting ourselves, but only a few weeks in, and I was completely exhausted. Whose idea was it to sell our house and move anyway? ;-)

I actually started this post 2 weeks ago, but then was afraid to jinx anything (and too tired to even finish!) Now, after a few stressful weeks, an inspection, signed contracts, and finally today, the confirmation that our house is officially sold, we are feeling much better about everything. It seems like a good time for an update :) The house I talked about here, well... she waited, for us :) I'm happy to report, she's ours! (Hopefully) if everything else goes as we plan (mortgage, etc), we'll be living in the beautiful home in New Canaan, come summertime!

Just a few days after our sneak peak at the house (the first week of Feb), the house had a brokers open and then it went on the market. I literally thought about the house every day. Who had been too see it? Did anyone love it as much as us? Well priced homes have been flying off the market in just 5 - 7 days and I was sure that this one would too, the price tag was almost too good to be true, for the town. So, time was of the essence and we had a few things that had to fall into place before we could move forward with a new house. Luckily, we got to work quickly on that stuff and by day 12, we were able to put in a offer. We low-balled and after a few counters and then our "final and best", the owner came back with an honest no. It wasn't enough. The owner was planning a public open house a few days later and he was confident he'd get a better offer... UGH. So, that Sunday was the Open House, and we drove by more times than I should admit, literally stalking the house to see the traffic.  By this point, I convinced myself no one was going to love it as much as us - I wanted this house, bad.

There was one underlying thing that I think was on our side the whole time. The home-owner knew my grandfather (Dad's Dad) well because they played in the New Canaan Marching Band together. I never met my grandfather unfortunately, because he died when my Dad was 10 years old. Just 2 years ago, during a big town event, they did a big tribute to my grandfather for all the good he did in the town, and honored him for writing the town song - New Canaan March. The man who gathered all the information and gave the presentation at that event, was the very man who owns this home! Coincidence? Luck? work of God, whatever...throughout this process, knowing all of this has just made it feel more right.

The night of the open house, after dinner with my family, we decided to write the homeowner a note.  We wrote an old school, handwritten, very honest note. At the end, we said, please keep us in mind.... We figured we had nothing to lose and we wanted to let him know how much we liked his house.  All the while though, we kept telling ourselves we have to move on because he already told us, no! I got a call on Monday afteroon that there was another offer as a result of the open house, but he wanted us to come back with the very best we could. A second chance!

And... he picked us!!! I kept telling myself that if it was meant to be, it would be. But then when we finally got the news, everyone cried. Our realtor, me, my mom, my sister... poor Brian, could barely talk! To say we are excited is the understatement of the century. I have whined and complained about our commute and being so far removed from all of our friends for at least the last 16 months. Ever since, little Miss M came along, my perspective on everything changed and time together as a family is more important than ever. What this move will do for our family is priceless. I cannot wait to live in such a beautiful home, in a wonderful town and be so close to our family and friends!

Just in case you are curious, here are some pictures of the house  :)

Phone dump

Happy hump day!

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for the weekend already! It could be because we had such an awesome weekend last weekend that I wasn't ready for it to end :) the weekend was all about catching up, with friends and family, and it was perfect.  We got the chance to see a few friends we haven't seen in a while and we had so much fun! Sunday was the first Sunday in almost a month that we hung out in New Canaan with my family. The usual lazy Sunday - feet up, hanging by the fire, yummy food, laughs, and wine - my fave! Here are a few pictures from our week! Madelyn has since come down with strep throat and has been battling a fever (up to 104!).  Her first time on meds, it is so hard to watch your baby be so sick! I just want to spend all day cuddling and hanging with her. I guess that's why I'm looking forward to the weekend so much this week :) 

Big girl pony tail!

 

the master cuddler

 

love those cheeks!

 

our special valentine!

 

 

Timing, and such

Timing is everything.... More on that later

We (I) have been spending a lot of time thinking about our next house.  I have a must-have list and a like-to-have list of things that I hope we are able to get in our next house.  While talking about it recently, I admitted to Brian that I'm scared we wont find a house that we fall in love with like this house.  We had seen about 15 houses when we were house hunting the first time and the minute this listing came online, I was all over it. Sure enough, we loved it the same in person. It just felt like us, and felt like home. We looked past the aesthetics and things that needed updating and just loved it for what it was.

So as we look ahead and look at houses, these are our next house must haves:
More space, incl 2 living spaces (family room + playroom)
At least 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths
Decent yard/lot
Central air
Good flow (doesnt need to be open floor plan)
Close to work, my parents and daycare

Like to have
Cul de sac
Master bath
Finished basement
Hardwood floors

The reason we are consumed with all of this? We have accepted an offer on our house and are currently signing the contracts! I dont want to jinx anything but the inspection went well and we are moving forward. We are planning to close mid April. So, as far as timing... we thought we had it all planned out and the timing would work out. We'd sell our house, find a house and maybe live with my parents for a few months if time overlapped. As I've mentioned our main objective is to finda larger  home, closer to work to cut down on the time we spend commuting. We narrowed our search to Wilton but are open to New Canaan and Darien. Most anyone could tell you that real estare in the later two towns comes at a pretty penny, so we are realistic about looking there.

A few weeks ago, our realtor tipped us off that there was a new house coming on the market in NC that we may like. I must have driven by 5 times before we finally got the ok to tour the house on Tuesday.  I went into it expecting the worst. There are essentially no houses in New Canaan in our price range so I just assumed this would be forgettable. From what I know now, the only negative is that the wooded 1 acre lot, backs up to the merrit parkway. For some, thats a huge deal breaker, but for us, it puts the house in our range.  What I wasn't ready for was the abundance of charm and character.  The house hits every mark on my list and then some. It is perfect, and it felt like home, to both of us.

Take a look at this amazing living room that must be 4x the size of our current space.  The opposite wall has a beautiful mantle and fireplace surrounded by built ins. This screams cozy family time and I can't stop thinking about it:

These ceilings continue through the ranch home, including the large master. I mean.... The house isn't even on the market yet.  The owners knew my grandfather well and were excited we were the first to see it.  Trouble is, our timing couldn't be more off.  Its like the tease of all teases.  We literally can't do anything for at least a month! So, when the house goes on the market this weekend, and with each passing day, I'll have my fingers crossed that this house waits for us ;) wishful thinking but I know what I like, and this house is amazing! If its meant to be, it will be....

Cozy blizzard weekend!

We're going on 48 hours in our house, essentially trapped because the storm dumped so much snow in our area! The snow is beautiful, fluffy and there sure is a lot of it. Our little town just can't keep up with the plowing and restoring roads. The last time a plow came up/down our street was about 5pm on Friday night. Now, our front yards seem to link together as you look across at one big blanket of snow! Originally, I thought we got about 22 or 24 inches, although it seemed like a lot more. I think the official count was more like 30 or 32 inches.  The Fairfield Police Department announced yesterday that there are 380 cul de sacs in town and they dont expect to get to those until Monday. We're not necessarily on a cul de sac, but side roads like ours aren't top on their list. We're hoping we may see a plow today, but the reality is, we may not be able to get to work tomorrow either!

Hey, I am not complaining :) I love a reason to stay in and hang with my hubby, little girl and doggie. We've had so much fun, playing, listening to music, watching Barney (and my fav - Law & Order SVU) and baking, all in our sweats! I think the one that's the most restless is Quigley. Usually by Sunday he's a ball full of energy and he spends Sunday afternoons running in circles with his cousin Sophie. He probably wont have the chance to do that today, just more playing solo in the snow in our yard. 

I was supposed to be in NYC today at the Javits Center for the Toy Fair. In the toy business, it's like the World Series and Melissa & Doug goes all out. The whole company attends, to lend a hand in the biggest booth at the event. I was looking forward to seeing the whole operation, meeting the customers I chat with on the phone, and helping out. I woke up at 1am, 3am and again at 5am to look outside and see a clean road. Unfortunately, I had to call my boss and tell her I couldn't make it. It's like I'm literally trapped. Unless you see our street/neighborhood, it's probably hard to imagine, but we are really stuck!

I've snapped some pictures during the last few days and wanted to share them. Hope you are having a great weekend!!



Friday afternoon snow

Daddy-daughter cuddles

Friday night - Q scoping it out

Madelyn and "buddy" 

Saturday morning - buried

Quigs not sure how to get outside :)

 

Our cars, also buried

 

the hubby - the pro shoveler

M's attitude face - captured!

almost done - but notice the wall at the end of our driveway? ha!



awwwww