Thursday, December 18, 2014

Eli's House

So it's getting late and I just finished the three-hour AMAZING Survivor finale. Did anyone watch it? I know it's not 1998 anymore, but some of us still follow the show. If you did watch it, can we please talk about what happened? Because ev'ybody be screamin' in my house tonight.

Anyway, because it's late, I thought I would just share pictures with you of my house and call it a night. And look. I know. I already posted most (all?) of these on the Instagrams. But not everybody has the Instagrams. Which is a huge mistake because Matt texted me today:



So now that's happening here. Oh, and just to warn you, this is not "Matt's" account for posting pictures of Ollie. This is "Ollie's" account to post pictures of himself.

I feel like Matt and I are in a competition right now to see who can be the most absurd when it comes to this puppy.

Anyway, house pictures:

The front entryway. One of my favorite things about the 1925 house is all of the gorgeous moldings around the windows and doors.

Dining room. With a kitchen table and SIX chairs.

Dining room by day to show you the beautiful stained glass windows.

Front room with the fireplace working. (Thanks, Jeff!)

Another view of the front room.

From the dining room.

The kitchen. My favorite part of the house. The cabinets are old but the last owner painted them white shortly before I bought the place. I'm now trying to figure out how I can put a small island in the center to increase some counter space and storage.

Another kitchen view.

And another kitchen view, looking toward the back of the house. 
My favorite thing about this bathroom is that there is a very odd laundry chute running down to the laundry room in the basement.

And my bedroom. Matt told me when I was moving in that now that I'm a homeowner, it's probably time to get a "grownup" bed. I'm still not totally sure what that means and I bet I'm supposed to be offended. But he keeps fixing things around my house so I'm just going to let him say what he wants for a while.
I'm so happy to be in this home. It's just what I was looking for in the exact Salt Lake neighborhood I hoped to be in. Every day I'm terrified that the house going to explode or burn to the ground. But so far, that hasn't happened. SO I GUESS I'M A PRETTY GOOD HOMEOWNER.

It was a stressful experience negotiating and purchasing this house. One day maybe I'll tell you the whole story. But for now, I'll just say that there were many moments throughout the process in which it looked like this wasn't going to work out. And it's still a little strange to me that it did. Cathie would say that it was all just meant to be. I'm hoping that's true.

~It Just Gets Stranger

37 comments:

  1. I'm officially Ollie's 6th follower. Pretty happy with the decisions I'm making in my life.

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  2. Eli, your house is beautiful, very very. May God bless it

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  3. Being from southern Louisiana, we don't have basements (for obvious reasons... you wouldn't want a bayou filled with gators running through the bottom of your house) and when we'd visit family in Illinois, my sister & I would play with their laundry chute non-stop! It's probably one of my favorite memories. Does that make my childhood seem sad?

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  4. Gorgeous house. I love the character of the whole thing, but especially of the old kitchen cabinets. So not cookie-cutter.

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  5. Eli, I'm going to say you have a very beautiful house. Good job. The oddest thing about your house to me, and it's probably because it's a photograph, but the stonework around the fireplace makes it look like there just a big piece of plywood cut out and place in front. I'm sure if I saw it in person it would look different. Also, I don't like where your couch is...please move it. ;) And a bed in front of a window is not proper "feng shui". I mean...hello?

    Ok, I'll stop jibbing you now. I can't help myself.

    Seriously though, I love your house and furniture. Hardwoods and kitchen are awesome. You could easily put a small island in there. Some come with rollers underneath that you can lock so if you wanted to move it around you could.

    I think Cathie is right. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.

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    1. I totally thought the same thing about the fireplace. HA! I love the house so much...so so much.

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    2. Same here about the fireplace. When I saw it online initially, I assumed that the fireplace wasn't finished. Then when we showed up, the stone looked really pretty in person. It's funny you should mention it because just last night I was showing a friend through the house and I pulled out my phone to show him how the fireplace looks like plywood in pictures.

      I have no idea how to set up that bedroom. Any other position feels awkward. I think I need all of the people from HGTV to come over.

      And as for the couch, there is seriously no other way to do it. I've tried. I'm hoping that eventually when I upgrade to a different couch I can find one that fits the space better.

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    3. You're just not trying hard enough Eli! NOT HARD ENOUGH!!!!

      Yeah, it's hard when you have certain types of furniture and you buy a new house and then have to somehow fit it in. We did the same with our house a few years ago. Went from a bungalow to a two story and had to set up our living room in a way that is ok, but not great. You do what you have to.

      I bet that fireplace looks awesome in person. It's funny what can happen to things when you take photo's of them. Kind of like your hair.

      Anyway, once again I wasn't invited to your house for the Survivor finale. Never mind that I don't actually like Survivor or that I'd have to pay like, $1000 for a plane ticket to actually get to your house.

      ....WHATEV'S!

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    4. Yeah, Eli, please don't sleep by the window!!

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    5. We should be encouraging his placement of bed!!! When we all stalk him at night, we will get a lovely, lovely view of his hair from that window! Never change it Eli!

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    6. When I was in boarding school I put my bed beside the window because I thought there was no better place. My very polish 70 yr old dorm both said "Alice, (she couldn't say/remember Alyssa) you must move your bed right now! You will roll out the window and die!" So I moved my bed to the only other place that wasn't entirely awkward, which was right beside the radiator. She came back and said "Alice, you cannot put your bed there! Your brains will cook and you will die!"

      She gave up trying to rearrange my room and force fed me apple pie and pistachio ice cream that had expired 5 years earlier...

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  6. LOVE the kitchen! Also, Eli, CURTAINS!

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  7. Your house is beautiful. But 1. how come whenever you take a picture of your phone, the battery is almost out? This makes me nervous. What if you are set upon by wolves and your phone is dead? Dingit, THINK, man. and 2. how come your bed is up against the window? Don't you get cold? And yes, I am apparently a version of your mom. YOUR mom.

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  8. Something went wrong and my comment was deleted. I'm not retyping it, but still feel the need to let you know that I TRIED to comment. I TRIED.

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  9. Oh, I love it!! I just love older houses. I need a photo of the laundry chute, please, though. I've always, ALWAYS wanted one and never lived in a house cool enough to have one. How fun would it be to send things down to the goblins living in the basement?!

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  10. I love your house. I love older homes instead of the cookie-cutter ones that are thrown up in no time these days.

    But I have discovered a problem. Judging from the pillows on your bed (too much information, probably) it looks like we sleep on the same side of the bed. Alas, it will never work between us now. I know this is extremely upsetting to you, but do your best to get over it and move forward with your life. In your house. Without me. Hopefully the tub is large enough for a few crying jags and then you can move forward. You were my best hope of getting into Cathie's family and now those hopes are dashed. For both of us. Like you, I shall be in my tub for a while. I will always look back at our brief, non-existent, torrid yet tame love affair with fondness. I hope you do as well.

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    1. Oh, and I DID watch Survivor last night! Another reason this is all so sad.

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    2. There, there...Eli will never understand what he missed out on. Oh the wonderful times the two of you would have had, that shall now never be. Hopes were dashed away because of Eli's selfishness for sleeping on what is CLEARLY the wrong side of the bed. But, Kjax, you must continue on with life...I know....I know it will be hard, but you must be strong! Get past this terrible time and find hope again. I believe in you.

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    4. Thank you, Lee. I appreciate your support.

      I've had time to calm down and do some thinking. I'm no quitter. I'm willing to continue with this fake relationship but Eli has to pretend to start sleeping on the other side of the bed. He's young, he is capable of pretending to change. I'm old and relatively set in my ways, less able to make major life changes like that. He will have to make that compromise in order to keep this fake and slightly weird relationship going. It's really the only choice. The ball is in his court now.

      C'mon Eli, fight for us! Do it for the wonderful relationship Cathie and I could have some day! It's not too much to ask, is it?

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  11. You have a dust ruffle on your bed! What more does Matt want??

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  12. The place looks great. Those stained glass windows are a nice touch!

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  13. I've been married for 11 years, bought AND sold a home, and I still don't have a "grown-up" bed. Love the details in your new home. Hope you have fun getting more settled!

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  14. Beautiful house! Congrats on being fully dressed for the dark dining room shot :)

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  15. My parent's house has a laundry shoot, too. The door is in the hallway upstairs, so a central location between the three bedrooms and bathroom. But downstairs, it is in the ceiling in the middle of the family room in the basement. Kind of random. So the clothes just pile up on top of that door in the ceiling until someone tall opens it, and then the clothes just fall into the middle of the room from the ceiling. My kids think it is hilarious.

    When I was younger, I had a friend who lived in a penthouse apartment. Her house had a food elevator. That was the coolest ever. I always wondered if I could fit in it, but I never tried it. I guess I'm not adventurous enough or just too afraid of getting in trouble.

    Your house looks amazing! But I will repeat what has been said: don't sleep under a window if at all possible to put your bed somewhere else in the room.

    Yay for you—you "big kid" homeowner!

    Also, I'm moving to Mexico tomorrow. I'm looking forward to having fresh tortillas all the time. And I wonder what my new house will look like. (I don't get any say, but my husband's job pays for it, so I can't complain!)

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    1. Ha. I just saw that I wrote "shoot" instead of "chute." That's a whole different meaning . . .

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  16. I had an awful moving day, as most people do. It was all difficult while we were moving stuff from my apartment to other one and all easy while moving to Trailer storage in Brisbane.

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  17. How does your fridge work in that location? I recently tried to put a fridge with double doors next to a wall and it didn't work at all - I had to replace the whole thing! I'm wondering if you were able to figure something out that I could not or if you are just living with the right side opening only partially.

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    1. It works but I have about 2 and half inches on that side between the fridge and the wall. I can open the door to a 90 degree angle, which is enough to pull trays in and out. If the space was any smaller at all, it wouldn't work.

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  18. I'm not sure who thought it was ok for you to play with fire, but I'm glad im far away. If you want to make sure your house doesn't burn down, I would suggest that you don't use it anymore… I only want the best for you Eli

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  19. I like the look of the lamps on your countertops, but if you need additional space, it's really easy to install "under the cupboard" lights, which will provide the same warm glow, but free up your counter!! I love the wood flooring, especially in the kitchen!! Best wishes on your new home!!

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  20. Why is your shower curtain lower than your shower head?

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  21. You seem to have a lot of lamps. . .

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    1. He loves lamp.

      Is that joke no longer relevant?

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  22. It's really wonderful to know that people are so happy in the house they're moving into. Here's wishing you many happy years in your new home!

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