Kitty Deschanel

Our house has been sitting for what seems like months (come to think of it, it may literally be months) while we wait for the weather to improve. The construction crew was unable to get the roof on before the first snowfall, so everything is a soggy mess. Outside, the mud is so thick and deep, construction equipment can't make it past the street. It's depressing. Our house is filled with water, but there's also some ice, so watch where you step! Is this a normal part of the building process? I have family members who work in the construction industry in Arizona. They said building in the winter isn't a big deal as long as you wrap the house, otherwise water soaks into the wood and it swells, causing major problems. Our builder isn't concerned (at least, he isn't letting on if he is), but I can't shake the feeling that everything is going to be a mildewy nightmare and that our house is ruined forever. Construction woes aren't the o

Remember the waterfall house we nearly bought? The one with the bat skeleton and huge hunk of mountainside in the living room? At around $270,000 in our dream neighborhood, I thought it was a great investment opportunity. Sexy Nerd, however, thought it was a money pit. Today, it is listed online for almost $600,000. I'm not a fan of the remodel.  This home is in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Albuquerque, nestled up against the mountains. It is a unique home in a neighborhood of unique, million dollar homes. The waterfall house has been flipped with cheap, cookie cutter finishes and a mishmash of tacky 90's style. It had so much potential. The infamous waterfall, now dewatered and stuffed with fake flowers. Meh. The sagging balcony/roof, which was the deal-breaker for us, is still as saggy as ever. All of this used to be open to the 1st floor, below. I understand the genius in closing it off from an investment standpoint, but it had looked sooo br

Another construction-crammed post already?? We're finally building our dream home. It's too exciting not to share! Unlike my previous post, I'll try to rein in my rambling on this one and just share photos. You can jump to your own conclusion on things, such as whether or not some of the windows appear to be tied with string. (They totally do. Ack!) Foyer View from the Foyer My Office Hallway Hallway Bathroom I know I'm supposed to be skipping the commentary, but it's worth pointing out that, yes, that is a curved floor to go underneath the bathroom vanity. It's a crazy house, so why not? Master Bedroom See the fireplace? It's going to look real, but won't actually be functional because YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH A FIREPLACE COSTS. Seriously, it's disgusting. My Closet Sexy Nerd insisted on adding skylights to my closet, though I begged to remove them from the plan for months. He says they wil

Five months into construction, the windows were installed. I had to double check that last sentence after typing it. Has it really been only five months? We're so eager to get into our new home, it feels like Panorama Homes has been building it forever , with no end in sight. We broke ground at the end of June and the windows were installed right before Thanksgiving. That still doesn't seem right. Also, I am way behind on my blogging. Sexy Nerd and I went around and around on windows, waging a heated battle between Pella and Amsco. What's that? You've never heard of Amsco windows? Supposedly, if my husband and our builder and our foreman and dozens of Google reviews are to be believed, Amsco is far superior to Pella in every way. Still, it would have been nice to install just two Pella windows, purely for the sake of being able to say "Our house has Pella windows," without it being a complete lie. According to the Pella salesman though, their wind

Construction on our custom, mountain dream home should finally be finished soon, after only a million years. Can you believe it? That said, you may be surprised to read my days of browsing Redfin and Realtor.com are anything but over. Listing photos are a fantastic resource for decorating ideas! Unlike Houzz, which features image after image of too-perfect-to-be-real (hint: they're usually not) pictures, real estate photos show you actual homes (just like yours!) with decorating ideas that are functional for real life. As much as I love finding a Pinterest-worthy home on Redfin, my guilty pleasure is the bad listings. Like, yell at the computer, what-were-they-thinking bad listings. Here is one for the record books. Just try to keep a straight face while browsing through these listing photos from a home in Holladay, UT. And remember, the photos you are about to see are all from the same house. The last one will blow your mind. The listing price is on the bottom of this