Ho ho!

7 days till Christmas and we are successfully moved out! Well, just about. Today I'll nab the last boxes from the rowhouse and bring them back... here.... this cottage is exploding with all our stuff! Seems a shame to pay for storage (again) when we have all this room, just 2 doors down! I'm hopeful that soon we can drop some off over there.

Anyway, we're getting settled in for the winter here...the house is really cozy. A small kitchen, adorable living room, decent sized bedroom and a nice office for Scott. Oh, and a front porch that is packed 85% with boxes. I'm taking a few days off to sort through them.

Turns out, Scott and I are both pyromaniacs. Well, not really, but we have had a fire going every night since we moved in. So nice!

Dowtown

Relieved to know we wont be homeless, we went downtown for lunch and some Christmas shopping. It was so pretty!

Cottage!

Understanding the real estate market, Scott and I hurried to get our Baltimore rowhouse on the market-- we were told the typical turnaround time is 90 days. So, we followed all the instructions, "staged" the heck out of our house and it paid off! Someone has put a contract on our house for nearly all of our asking price. Yay! Great news!

The odd news is that they want to move in 2 weeks. Right before Christmas. Ulk! I spent nearly all of last weekend on Craigs List and looking at temporary sublets. Nothing great. At all.

My dad suggested we rent down near our house. Great idea! We are really very weary of the city.We completely lucked out...2 houses down from our house-to-be is this ADORABLE cottage for rent. It is tiny, but just fine for us. The owners are good friends with Noel & Nicola, so they let us rent it for a great price, and with a perfectly flexible time frame, no lease signing, nothing! How perfect is that? Look how precious this will be! It has a fireplace. Assuming all goes well with our pending contract here, we ought to be moving in 2 weeks. It has a fireplace and a great herb garden.

Siding

I'm floored at the difference the siding has made. WOW! I'm thrilled. And my green & white obsession is finally becoming a reality! The scalloped singles on the top will be painted white. And the roof on the porch will be dark green tin, as well as the small bit of roofing separating the second and third stories.

A shot of the side of the house...those windows in the middle are casement window above the kitchen sink-- which will be a neat farmhouse sink.

Thed front door will be painted dark green. Pretty!

A much needed getaway.

After putting our house on the market, we got far away from to-do lists, "staging" requirements and grout.

Thanks to the Moring family's generous gift from last Christmas, we were able to do so! And boy, did we ever enjoy it. This place is heavenly, and in the fall its breathtaking. We may make this an annual event!

I think Scott's grin says it all.

fireplace

Its going up! Just the notion of having a cracking fire in our living room is hard to even comprehend. We're both fireplace fanatics.

top view

I've always been a cottagey kinda gal, so I've been a bit nervous about having a third story. But, hey, whatta view! I adore the sycamore trees that are in Noelie's back yard.

In between trips to Ace Hardware...

A few more shots that were recently nabbed... (also, as a reminder, you can double click these images to see larger views if you're having trouble viewing.)

Mum-mum

None of this would be possible had it not been for the keen foresight, love and generosity of my grandmother, Mum-mum. She pioneered the whole Bay Ridge notion; a place that I adored growing up in and now can return to as an adult! Scott and I cannot wait.

Anyway, this summer when visiting a friend in D.C., I popped through Chevy Chase and found her house-- which appears to have been lovingly restored by the owners to look almost exactly as it did when she lived there.

meanwhile, back in the city...

We finally have made it through the home stretch in terms of getting our Baltimore row house ready to show. Our task list was 900 miles long--a "staging" lady came through and told us to get rid of everything. We are now living in a very tidy home and all our real belongings are in well-hidden boxes.

The past month has been heroic-- weekends haven't really been "ends". I wont easily forget the one Saturday where I had to ask to Scott to put on a tux to go to an event at the Walters after a long day of hard labor... ouch! (He did and it was actually fun, what a sport!)

Anyway, it's now on the market and looking spiffy. This is a virtual tour put together by our realtor. Quick caveat: Scott and I are not responsible for the music selection (!) -- seems a bit heavy, no? They're going to re-shoot the outside shots when its sunny:

Virtual Tour

Coming to life

It's truly starting to look like a home! We have windows!







And two more views... with windows:

Andrew Patterson

My brother & nephew came by to visit...Andrew has lots of white teeth he likes to show off. So, soooo cute.

Scott in window

...my photography skills leave a lot to be desired. This is actually
the view from the bathroom. How pretty!

The Bay!

This is the window from our bedroom. We'll limb some of the trees a bit for a better view. I cannot wait! They say February we can move in? It's just so exciting.

Two fronts.

I'm totally crazy about the screened porch that will be facing the bay! See below.

Ta da!

The final story is up! It's starting to really look like a house now! This is the road-side view facing Decatur. I like the shed dormers-- we were able to stil "meet" egress but also have smaller windows that will go up there. Should be cute.

The Bay view

You can start to see where our porch will be!

A wedding cake

Lauer moves fast! The second story was framed in just over a week. I'll admit, when I first saw this, in contrast to the Beatrix Potter home next door, I had to swallow hard. There's still another layer to go!

Stuff. And more stuff.

Smartly, Scott contacted a local real estate pro, who came in and assessed our Baltimore home for selling. The outcome? No less than 20 trips to goodwill. And putting all our "good" things in a POD unit, currently parked in front of our house. We're not too popular on the block these days. Even with the goodwill & pod, it's still a juggling act trying to paint and get this place up to snuff. Piles moved from one side of the house to the other. The good news is that we've made a TON of progress. Thanks for a lot of Scott sweat & muscle. Oh, and our fix-it guy, a Polish fellow named Ted who goes by Ted Pole. We love Ted Pole. Seriously, I want to buy him a present.

River Drive side

These two images show the views on the Bay side. There will be a screened porch added, which I imagine we will nearly live on in the warmer months. We'll obviously need to do some pruning in the bay-front yard, which is easy enough to take care when we're ready. From the inside, we'll have two french doors leading out to the porch.




Oh! And how cool--Noelie & Nicola shot some short videos:

Welcome!

Another shot from last weekend...This is facing Decatur. And the port-a-potty. I'm not sure if I was supposed to climb up there or not, but I couldnt resist. Its nice being high up, although we've already dwarfed the little cottage next door, and we have two more floors to go. Eek!

Up, up and away!

I woke up super early last weekend when Scott was in AZ and snapped these pictures. Its amazing how much they are completing each week! First floor walls (3 of them, anway) are up! This is a view from Decatur. I'm happy and surprised to see that will actually will have somewhat of a front (or back, depending on how you look at it) yard.

Dirt

And what good is a dirt pile if you can't climb up it? Bronwyn and her very best friend, Elizabeth, who just got an adorable haircut.

A pool

Dad and I joked that we could just build a deep swimming pool. And yes, we are very close to our neighbors, Rita & JC. Happily, they are extremely nice and don't seem to mind that what was a nice view of a grassy yard with apple & pear trees will now the the sides of Transfyndd. Her father was actually a builder, so she seems perfectly prepared for the next many months...

I honestly cannot wait.

Heavy machinery

They've filled in the sides and have done a bit of grading---and I have to admit, I'm thrilled. It doesn't look as elevated as it did last week, I was a little concerned. I mean, we stared at the house plans for a YEAR and even still, you don't really know exactly what it will look like until they actually go and do it. This is a shot of what will be the bay front yard, I was standing on Noelie's property when I shot this.

High rise

The foundation is set! We knew we'd be elevated, since, as many recall a certain wedding, it can get pretty wet back there in the rain. This will also be good for views and bay breezes. I look forward to having this painted white and planting pretty shrubs & etc.

We were down there yesterday for the Bay Ridge jamboree, an event I used to look forward to all summer as a little girl. Candy, pony rides and games. Bronwyn got her face painted and looked particularly cute in her Scotland t-shirt.

The earth has moved

We're excited for the next steps. Last weekend Scott and I stood staring down at the large whole in the earth, completely awed. Then without hesitating, we got in it. It's happening!

According to a Money Magazine article, we've so far made approximately 70 out of 60,000 decisions in our new home building process. Wow.

We are so excited. Stay tuned!

And we're off!

We're tempted to change the sign from the elegant "Moring Residence" to something more customized to our home-to-be.

Both Scott and Lee prefer Crabicorn. Ah, almost mystical.

My brother urges a nice, easy-to-pronounce Welsh title. His mother-in-law, born in Wales, kindly offered these Welsh names: Transfynydd or Llanfairfechan.

My father has provided an endless supply of regal, relevant and truly mellifluous house names. His talents are unparalleled. A brief samping include Beezil's Nob and Flanghornt's Glebe. Breathtaking.

The decision is a big one. For now, The Moring Residence will remain.