Thursday, July 9, 2015

Casa de Sotherden: One Year Later

One year ago today, we closed on our first house.  A house that we built and that from start to finish took eleven months.  A house that we designed, that we waited out endless delays for and a house that we love.  Since our house was new construction when we closed - it came with nothing, not even painted walls so we had a lot to do even after we already made a lot of decisions.  

Here we are a year later and we've had the best first year and look forward to many more until we move on to our forever home.  

All that is missing is some decoration in the laundry room, one table in the basement, two clocks and a wall hanging for above our bed.  Not too bad in my book considering that most of the decorating wasn't done until this past January.  Painting, furnishing and some little touches were done last July and August but we were pretty focused on our wedding at that point to do much else.  We closed just under two months before the big day - much later than schedule and I was a giddy bride picking out window treatments and paint colors while furnishing a full house at the same time I was attending last minute appointments, hair and make up trials, dress fittings, etc.  Can you see why I keep saying how much I'm enjoying being able to enjoy summer this summer? Life was a little hectic back then.

I thought today we could take a little peek into the past to this time last year as well as our building project in addition to taking a look at the current time.  


putting up our sold sign on our lot - spring 2014

Let's start with the past - In August of 2013 we were just two kids dating and vacationing and on a boat cruise from San Francisco to Sausalito when we got noticed that we were approved for our house - we were about to be homeowners.  We knew that building wasn't slated to start until closer to the end of the year and that was fine by us - it's what we wanted.  Our original closing date was in February of 2014 and because of weather and other such building delays didn't end up happening until July 2014 (we we're hoping for May/June because we weren't planning on living together before the wedding but wanted enough time to get the house set up enough before the wedding so just in time we got July!)


On the ferry from San Francisco to Sausalito just after we found out we were about to build a house

When construction started on our house, Derek wasn't even living in PA yet - we used to go to the lot and check it every time he was here.  Then in January '14 he moved in at my parents house and as things got rolling our trips over to the new house became more and more frequent.. we LOVED seeing the change.

 Checking out a pile of dirt in October 2013 and a bunch of building supplies about to start in December 2013

Checking out some major progress in April 2013 (upper left) Then adventuring through to see some major steps to being close to being finished on Memorial Day Weekend in May.

We ended up with four visits to the design center, a handful of construction meetings, an actual closing date (after all the weather delays) that got pushed back three times and we finally closed one year ago.  Of course the night we closed we have to make a trip - Derek's car full, my parents car full and my car full of things we had purchased for the house (after a almost a year of waiting we had time to slowly start getting things) and celebrate.


Our first steps into the house as the owners

My first car ride over with a full load, celebratory champs and a very empty new house.

 There were many trips to bring things over, including an entire "move" weekend.  By August we had a mostly painted house, a fully furnished house and very little decor - but that was quite alight with us - it's a marathon, not a sprint.


Waiting for things such as washers/dryers, refrigerators, furniture, etc. all on separate deliveries can get kind of boring - but worth it.

By early mid August our house was finally ready for an overnight stay - my Mom too the photo above of us having our first dinner in the house before my family left from helping us all day.  The photo is a funny memory to us because not too long after I ended up in tears at the table - excited for the new chapter in my life, but already a little homesick, ha! The funny part was I still had a few weeks to still live at home.

A year later and I can't believe we've finally turned this house into a home.  Since last year we've gotten married, added a puppy to our family, hosted so many of our family & friends, created so many memories and had the best time being newlyweds.  It's not our forever home but it's a wonderful place to start!


On our way out to have dinner with the family at one of our favorite restaurants in the new neighborhood with our "first home" bottle of wine from the wine basket my bridesmaids gave us at my bridal shower.

I said above part of this post was going to be a look into the current house but I don't want to make this post too long and I think that I will save the second part for next week or the following week.  At this time I'm not sure how I feel about sharing our entire home on the blog but I am sure that I feel okay about sharing a few of my favorite parts, so - check back for a sneak peak into the furnished and decorated current Casa de Sotherden.

Posts on the building process: 

35 comments:

  1. What a fun look back on everything! We are hosting a party at our house and some people haven't ever seen our house (despite being here a year now, too) so Ive definitely been thinking about all of the work we've done on the house and just how different it is since we got it. It's always fun to look at how far you've come :)

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  2. that is so exciting! I love seeing the progress and it's impressive that y'all are so young and building your own home. go y'all!

    not a mom

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  3. I love that you built your dream house and did it during such a fun time in your life!!! I have to say you're a girl after my own heart because I spied that TV being set up before anything else LOL! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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  4. You have a beautiful home! Even with setbacks and delays it was worth the wait in sure. :)

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  5. That's so fun! I can't wait to build a house! It seems stressful but it looks so worth it:)

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  6. Your house is gorgeous! Love your kitchen! I bet it was so fun getting to watch your house being built!

    <3, Pamela
    Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  7. Love this! I'm so ready to start seeing progress on our house--they got the permit from the city so now we are just waiting for a start date. Can't wait to see the "after" pictures of your house!

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  8. So exciting! Love all the memories you guys have built there this past year! We built our house through DR Horton as well, and love it! Cheers to many more years in your beautiful home <3

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  9. You have a beautiful home - I someday want to build a house myself. I think it makes it more personal! Love it!

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  10. Great post, Christina! I'm sure you and Hubs will continue to make some awesome memories in your home! It's beautiful!

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  11. So exciting! I can't wait to see the current photos!!

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  12. Loved reading this post! It's so awesome that you are sharing your memories with us, not to mention how nice it is for you to have something to look back on! Can't wait to see a peek into your home!

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  13. This is such a fun post! You have had such an exciting year & you are one brave lady for taking on building a home and planning a wedding at the save time! You're superwoman! :)

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  14. Can I just tell you how jealous I am of that big soaker tub you have? Love it! I also love that you got some great photos of your first steps in the house as homeowners. With all of the hustle and bustle of closing and moving and everything else, I totally forgot and I am so, so bummed about that. Those are great memories you will be able to look back on from years to come! From what I've seen so far, you have a beautiful home and I'm looking forward to your next house post!

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  15. We moved into our first house a year ago too! It's been a crazy year but I'm glad things are settling down =)

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  16. Loved this post. I bet it's a lot of fun to look back and see all the progress you've made on your home - especially since it started empty. I look forward to the house tour!

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  17. What a gorgeous home! I'm excited to see how you've decorated and changed things over the last year. Congrats on your first year!

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  18. It's beautiful! Happy one year housaversary! :)

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  19. That's so fun you have so many pictures of your first home together, such great memories! thanks for sharing girl!

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  20. How fun! We are going to move into our first home as the owners this month!
    It's a very exciting time! xo

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  21. Your house is so pretty!!! Now I want a tour of the whole thing :) Annndddddd you're close to your family. #alwaysaplus

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  22. So exciting building a house! We built our current house as well, and it was awesome to customize everything and have it just the way we want it! I'm looking forward to your house tour... I love, love, love seeing how people decorate! :o)

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  23. Congratulations!! How exciting to make a year in your house, especially one you've built from scratch. We bought ours (already made) three years ago, but I would love to be able to build our house one day.

    liz @ sundays with sophie

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  24. Love this post!! Your house is beautiful and looks HUGE! That's such a fun time building and picking everything out - can't wait to see a comprehensive post of when it's completed :)

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  25. Your house is beautiful and congrats on making such amazing progress in only a year! I'm hoping that our next home is our "forever" home and will probably look to go the new construction route. It seems pretty daunting but totally worth it in the end! xoxo

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  26. This post got me all goosebumpy because I went through such a similar experience! I remember my husband and I walking into our first home (just a month before our wedding) like it was yesterday. It was such a special moment. So much has changed since that day.
    Do you maybe have a post about what it's like to go through a builder? We want to build our next home vs buying resale.

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  27. Ahh I can't wait to have a house! I love the pictures when you just got it where there's barely anything in there. It reminds me of Michael and I's first apartment...I was still in school in a different city and I had a bunch of furniture but was still using it. So we had cushions on the floor, a tiny TV on the floor, and ate chips and queso :) hahaha.

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  28. What a beautiful home! We built ours too- I can relate, it's definitely a process! Happy 1 year anniversary!

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  29. What an adventure!!! I feel you on the delays and we're just renovating - I can't imagine building the entire thing!! (I'm SO BAD AT DECISIONS!!!) I love all the windows in your house - amazing!!!

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  30. So cute!! I hope you decide to share photos around your house. I can't wait to see them. Your home is beautiful and what a fun journey!!

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  31. Awe, I loved this post! It's amazing how much can happen in a year. You have a beautiful home, and I can't wait to see some more posts of it finished!

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  32. You know I loved reading this!!!! My husband drove over to our new house every single day to watch the progress and I only did on days that they made visible progress haha! We finally got internet today so I've got a lot of posts to catch up on!
    Sarah a tMeetTheShaneyfelts

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  33. What a beautiful house! My husband and I are hoping to have our own soon (and are currently living at my parents house while we look . . . so sooner would be better than later). This post makes me so excited and a teeny bit jealous! Haha. Can't wait to see what it looks like now.

    Kaylee
    Adventures in Everyday Life

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  34. I'm so behind on posts - congrats on 1 year in your beautiful home! xo

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  35. LOVE your house!! Isn't the building process fun?!? I too experienced multiple delays...that part got VERY frustrating, but it's so worth it in the end. Congrats on the 1 year anniversary of living in your home!

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