Homeowners at Last!!

Hello everyone! Its Tuesday afternoon at Em's and I am making the kiddies mac-n-cheese so I figured I'd sneak in a blog while I wait for the water to boil...

First and foremost I am just going to cut to the most important news that I have for everyone....We bought our first home! Finally the persistence and patience has paid off! We bought a brand new bi-level in Milford, Pa. which is about 10 min from Ant's parents and 40 min. from mine. I am beyond excited! Milford is such a trendy, cool little town and the whole area is safe and clean. We are going to be living in a community called Sunrise Lake. It has a very "country without being in the boonies" vibe. Our home is a little over 1800 sq ft with 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. The kitchen is gorgeous with all SS appliances and granite counter tops. The living room has a beautiful stone fireplace with a huge stone mantle. But the best part is the master suit...HUGE walk in closet and a private bath with a jacuzzi tub (my fav feature!) and separate stand up shower. I will post pics as soon as I upload them. The siding is green with cranberry shutters. We got such an incredible deal too! Our purchase price was $199,900 with $5,000.00 back for "furniture reimbursement" and we will be getting the $8,000.00 tax credit as soon as we close. We financed at 5.25% 30yrs fixed. The house also includes all appliances brand new! I can't wait to have a washer and dryer of my own! No more laundromat! I feel like we definitely reaped the rewards from a shitty housing market! There is a silver lining on every cloud! We signed the contract last night and a bunch of papers with the MetLife guy so basically all we have to do is wait. This is the stressful part b/c I keep getting nervous that something is going to go wrong and we're not going to be able to close. At least its a new home so we don't have to worry about people moving out or deciding not to sell. And the home is built so we don't have to wait for that either. Just the routine inspection, appraisal, etc. I will keep everyone updated!

Other than the house, everything else has been quiet and pretty normal around here. We got yet another snow storm yesterday and I can't take the sight of the white stuff anymore. Give me sunshine and warmth! Sundresses and bathing suits! I long for my flip flops! Aaargh. I am super excited for summer this year. I am looking forward to my conference in Milwaukee in June and for a few mini-getaways that me and Ant have discussed. Trips to the beach, Dorney Park with the fam, and maybe Sesame Place with Sophia. I am also excited to go "flea-marketing" with my Mother-in-law. There is a great one in Marshalls Creek, a little over a half hour from where we will be living. But most of all, I am just looking forward to getting settled and concentrating on selling jewelry/growing my business. I haven't been able to dedicate the time that I would like to it lately so the summer will allow me to do that.

We have had some exciting family news lately and I am so happy for my cousin Becky who recently got engaged! Weddings are very exciting in this family. I still haven't seen the ring yet so email me some pics, Becks!!! lol. I am also very excited for my cousin Vance and his wife who recently had their first son, Logan Vance Louis. They had tried for a baby for a crazy long time and suffered 2 or 3 miscarriages and 2 tubal pregnancies. After my cousin's wife, Muriel had her fallopian tubes removed they pretty much gave up hope...until one day she found out she was pregnant! She had a healthy, normal pregnancy even though everyone was completely mystified by how she even got pregnant in the first place. Well, to make a long story short, a Cesarean birth revealed that a 3rd tube had regenerated and grew allowing her to get pregnant and finally be blessed with a healthy baby boy! It is a story that Oprah should seriously consider doing. It goes to show miracles happen everyday! We have our own miracles in our family, as well, and everyone prays for them everyday...I love you Aunt Patty & Tricia & Joe!

Last week, I had my "ladies night out" and it was a blast! We had an amazing meal at Outback followed by seeing "Confessions of a Shopaholic." I just thought I would quickly share my opinion of the movie. First of all, I have to mention that we were almost late to the movie due to some impromptu shoe shopping at Target! Oh the irony but who can resist two amazingly cute pairs of summer sandals for under $$40!!! Needless to say, we arrived at the movie in the nick of time and my feet and wallet were happy! The movie was fun and cute, but a long shot from the book. I have to agree with my cousin Tricia's blog on her opinion of the movie. I was a tad disappointed but was grateful to have a fun night out with my friends. I think our next ladies night is going to be at the local Mexican joint. Maybe it'll even be warm enough to wear one of my new pairs of shoes??

The next couple of weeks are going to be busy for us as we get everything prepped to move...groan. But at least its for good this time! No more apartments! I also am going to be busy with jewelry parties and extra shifts that I will be picking up at OB. Its money crunch time! I have to admit though, I have never been so excited to save money before! Its all for a good reason!!! I will keep you all posted! Have a great week! Ciao! xoxox

Check out the goods:

I got this pair for $6 even though they aren't that price on the website...but I am not complaining:http://www.target.com/Mossimo-Paulina-Gladiator-Sandals-Patent/dp/B0018Q6752/qid=1236107759/ref=br_1_4/181-9383377-5062100?ie=UTF8&node=3429501&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1

This pair I have been lusting after for a while and I didn't want to risk waiting for them to go on sale and losing out...they are sooo cute on and very comfortable:http://www.target.com/Mossimo-Petrova-Gladiator-Sandals-Black/dp/B001G7BSG6/qid=1236108084/ref=br_1_8/181-9383377-5062100?ie=UTF8&node=13851741&frombrowse=1&pricerange=&index=tgt-mf-mv&field-browse=13851741&rank=pmrank&rh=&page=2