Well. We did it. We made it through the home buying experience.

(insert happy dance here)

And with this home buying experience will now come our fair share of house projects to keep up busy for at least the next 15 years. Or more, if you count the 3 acres of landscape maintenance that awaits us this and every Spring from here until eternity.

Papers were signed Friday late afternoon and we took our first trip over to the house as it's rightful new owners shortly thereafter. We even brought Stella with us to get her take on the new place. She liked it. Except for the missing water dish that we mistakenly forgot to bring for her.

I liked it, too. But I'll admit it was a teeny tiny eensy weensy bit creepy being there that first night. I think it is because it was a foreclosure that hadn't been lived in for a while. And it was uber dirty and disgusting. And we heard a really loud noise about 2 minutes before we left which is ultimately why I thought it was time to leave until daylight resurfaced.

Day 2 was a vast improvement. We (along with my amazingly wonderful family) cleaned until we couldn't clean anymore. Bathrooms are cleaned. Kitchen cabinets are wiped down. Carpets are vacuumed. Floors and woodwork are washed. You name it, we probably cleaned it. Even the garage and the basement look pretty darn good about now.

By day 3, I we moved into full force into destruction renovation mode.

Before.

Still before.

And after.

Family Room. Sans Paneling and Ceiling Fan.