the good, the bad, and the oh so ugly

We had our home inspection Wednesday which went swimmingly (especially compared to how the inspection could have gone if we had actually purchased one of the old charming houses in NE).

While we were there, I took some photos of the extreme outdated-ness so I could share them with you. Please consider this my "before" post. I desperately hope there will be an "after" not too long after we move in.

We'll start with the overwhelming amount of dark wood and the hideous fireplace with large non-remove-able mirror. Please excuse the random assortment of stuff lying around in the pictures. They are preparing to have a garage sale soon; if you are interested in anything you see I can give you the address (perhaps the large doll in the foreground of this photo? Or the strange lamps adorning either side of the mirror?) :

The kitchen is so overwhelming that I didn't know where to start taking photos. But I did snap a picture of this little guy who sits above the stove and will be keeping me company while I cook. Not creepy at all. Super appetizing:

In case you're not jealous enough yet, let's take a look at some other classy features and then work our way to the bedrooms. For starters, here is the textured wall in the living room:

And the amazing door handles. We will be replacing all of them before we move in, and selling them for a very decent price if anyone wants them. Like, free:

Nauseated yet? Wait for it...

The carpeting in two of the bedrooms upstairs:

... and the master suite. I'm calling this color "moldy moss":

Saddle up, we are now headed downstairs to the saloon. At least, that must be what the previous owners were going for:

Okay, now I will give you a few pictures that help to redeem what I have shown you so far. Here is why we bought the house:

This is the view of the reservoir behind our house from the top deck:

Here is the view of our hot tub from the top deck:

This random water fall and pond in our back yard will be drained until our children are old enough to know it is not a large puddle to jump in... but it's still nice to have:

The view of the reservoir and the humongous playground directly across the water from our house, easily accessible by way of a peaceful path around the reservoir:

So there you have it. A little sneak peak into where our minds have been lately. We have also been making home Depot and Ikea trips to price items, collect paint samples, etc. Also, my mom has been graciously donating all her decorating magazines to me. I can't believe how overwhelming it all is, and we haven't even closed on the house or started packing!

P.S. Abby, will you please move in with me for a week and help me decorate? I know that it may be a bit of an inconvenience for you, so I will compensate you with... umm... baked goods?