Another blog

Just wanted to pass on the link to my other blog.
If you are redirected to my TeamDeJean blog, it's because the other blog is password protected and your computer's security settings are set too high to allow the script to run which asks you for the password. Let me know if you have any problems and I can give you some simple instructions to be able to view the blog.

Accepted contract on Investment #2

You can never say it's officially sold until you walk away from closing with the check in hand, but we did get a contract that we negotiated and went on to accept. If everything goes as planned, our closing is scheduled for January 25th. Onto looking for #3...

Investment #2 Listed!

Here are some finished pictures of Investment #2. It's so exciting to be done and now the hopefully easy part of selling it starts! I'm not sure what to do with myself. I think I'll go out and get a celebratory massage, manicure, and pedicure tomorrow! On a serious note, this is a wonderful townhome in the Lindbergh school district. It's within the 270 loop off of Tesson Ferry. It's listed for $114,900. With two bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths and 950 square feet (not including the 250 additional square feet of finished living area in the basement), I know this will make the perfect home for someone. Where else can you get this much house for this price in this location?! New condo construction and apartment conversions in the area are "starting from $126,000", however the least expensive unit is selling for $128,500 and you have neighbors on both sides and either above or below you and no basement. I know someone will be just as enthusiastic to buy it as I am to sell it. I keep wondering where this house was when I was house hunting for the first time five years ago!

Front - Shown are units a, b, and c in this picture. We're the middle unit, the one that I outlined.

View of the Living Room from the front door
New carpet, new Pergo Select flooring, new entryway light fixture, and nuetral paint

New railing and light fixture in living room
New chandelier in dining room

Half bath featuring new mirror, light fixture, towel bars, faucet and toilet seat

New kitchen featuring cinnamon maple cabinets, granite slab countertops, new stainless steel look (the look of stainless steel but easy to clean) appliances including a built in microwave, tile backsplash, under cabinet lighting, and stainless steel sink and faucet.

Pantry in kitchen

Downstairs living area. New carpet, sconces, baseboards, and nuetral paint
Built in shelving in downstairs living area
Laundy in basement - hookups for both gas and electric dryer.
Upstairs renovated bath including new ceramic tile floor, reglazed tub, shower doors, bathroom vanity and sink, towel bars, light fixture, faucet, and toilet seat!

Master bedroom featuring new carpet, new ceiling fan, closet organizers, and neutral paint.
Master bedroom walk-in closet. I know it barely qualifies as a walk-in, but it's certainly possible!
Second bedroom featuring all the same upgrades as the master

Linen closet outside of the upstairs bath for storage

Gingerbread Houses with the Girls!

Last year, we all signed up for a class to make gingerbread houses. Between the cost of the class and feeling rushed for time, we decided that this year, we would make our own...from scratch!

Trina, Judy, Karen, Lisa, and Diana rolling out the dough

MK busing doing something else!
Check out the wonderful spread that Lisa made for us. We had brunch while the house pieces were baking.
Some action shots from building our houses. Check out Trina's attention to detail!
Lisa's solution to everything...more frosting!

The Alberta clipper that came in from the North on Lisa's house! Poor little gingerbread men never saw it coming!

Pictures of us with our houses

Many thanks to Lisa for the wonderful food and volunteering to have her kitchen ransacked with frosting and powdered sugar for the afternoon!

Christmas Decor!

I just love this time of year! The house always feels so much cozier and "homey" with all the decorations out and when it comes time to take them down after the holidays, the house always feels empty for a few weeks! This year was the first year for a big tree. For the past five years, I've had a 3 foot table top tree that I decorated. We'll still use it, just probably out on the front porch or something! This year, I decorated using mostly celery greens, browns, matte golds, and reds. Here's the (mostly) finished product!

Our tree - 9 foot slim spruce

Our dining room "hutch" with garland
Centerpiece on the coffee table - pine cones and ornaments
The Christmas bar - where we hang our stockings!
Dining room
Close up of the ornaments on the chandelierView from the stairs going up the second floor (and yes, Harvey is on the couch - sneaky little guy!)

Week Four/Five Recap

Weeks four and five flew by and there really isn't a lot to show for it! Actually, I stayed busy, but the work involved a lot of little things that don't really warrant pictures. After the carpet was installed, I rehung all the doors only to find out that the new carpet is so much thicker and plusher than the old stuff (that's the good part) that some of the doors won't close without being shaved down (the bad part). So I spent some time trimming doors and painting them. Then I moved on to the railing in the living room and updated that with something more modern day. The last big update was to the kitchen. The cabinets have been installed and the appliances are in place. It's winding down and hopefully my next update will be the final one where you get to see pictures of the final product and the staging! Enjoy!

New railing (the old one was metal and a little too "heavy" for the space)

The new kitchen (minus countertops and backsplash!)

Gooey Butter Cookies

This recipe is so easy it's almost criminal! For those of you who have never experienced a gooey butter cake, you owe it to yourself to try it atleast once! These cookies are a miniature version of the famous cake and are little bite sized pieces of heaven! I made them for Kale's 35th birthday celebration. Happy Birthday Kale!

Gooey Butter Cookies

8 oz cream cheese - softened
1/2 cup butter - softened
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 - 18.5 oz package of yellow cake mix
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream together cream cheese and butter. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Add cake mix and stir until well blended. Roll into 1" balls and then roll the balls in the powdered sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks. Makes about 30 cookies.

Week Three Recap

Well, tomorrow marks 28 days that we've owned the property. My goal is still to be done in six weeks. With the approaching holiday, I may have a difficult time sticking to that goal, but it's still a possibility. The list of items left to do is getting smaller, but one item, the kitchen, is a large task. We've started gutting the kitchen and with the help of Roger, I was able to start hanging the upper cabinets. The big change you'll notice in these pictures are the new carpet. What a difference it makes!

New carpet in the second bedroom

New carpet in the master bedroom
Both sets of steps were carpeted. Here's the view going down into the lower level family room.
New carpet in the lower level family room
New light fixture, mirror, and towel bar in the main floor half bath. Hopefully, the new faucet will be installed by the next recap!
New faucet and vanity in the full bathroom
Toilet and shower doors reinstalled in the full bathroom
Kitchen demo begins. We're leaving the sink cabinet until we can get a plumber over to install a shut off valve under the sink. I was surprised there wasn't already one!
New cabinets going up. The lighting kind of makes them look a honey color, but they're a cinnamon maple. They already are making the space look brighter and cheerier.
New dining room chandelier