Decisions, Decisions....

So recently I bought a house. Oh you didn't know that? Yes, you did.

It's all I've been talking about for like the last 4 months. 

And would you like to know what I learned about buying a house? 

That it is crazy. Crazy and terrifying and crazy and nuts and seriously? How do people make these decisions?

Bridget lovingly just told me last night, "Do you realize you just busted out like 1000 decisions in a month and I can't decide which mobile to buy?!"

Yes, I guess I did. And I kind of did it all by myself. But not really. 

What I really did was take paint swatches to work and ask everyone's opinion on warm grays versus cool grays and ask them how happy certain colors made them feel. I opted against "Classic French Gray" even though I love it in pictures- because apparently it gives me anxiety to even think about putting it in my house. (I did try it on the walls. And I did not like it.) I pinterested everything. I sent facebook messages out into the universe to decide what to paint my bathroom and how mad I should be about the garage door. I tried not to panic when they started painting while I was at work and I couldn't even go look at it until everything was done. A guy I went on one solitary date with is solely responsible for me even knowing what engineered hardwood is. Another friend is responsible for informing me what I should put in my backyard even though I had never even heard of DG a month ago. My realtor is responsible for helping me find an amazing drywall guy (Kenny) and amazing painters. Yelp and the Spirit are responsible for helping me choose the best plumber in Phoenix. And Yelp helped me pick my roofer. 

And Craiglist led me to Angie at AZ Discount Flooring which is such a ghetto-looking store (oh, you think I'm exaggerating. I am not.), but she is awesome and she drove her butt 30 miles west so I could see the carpet samples IN MY HOUSE so I could make the right decision. 

And Craiglist helped me find my washer and dryer and Brad picked up my dishwasher and he and Brea started doing my cabinets. 

And picked me up a smokin' deal on a Craigslist water softener. 

And Dad suggested Sears for my fridge and Robert from Sears matched the price of eastcoasttvs.com and we had a deal. 

And Josh McGavin told me exactly how to calculate my square footage and how many billion gallons of paint I would need (it came out to 38 I think). 

And Stephanie showed up after work with extra clothes and the box of food storage that she thought was paint to help me paint samples on walls! And instead we found the one clean corner of carpet in the house and sat on it and chatted in my new-to-me house.

And after hours looking at Home Depot and Lowe's and Amazon and overstock, I finally bought 6 ceiling fans and a kitchen sink that are not yet installed. (Sheer panic, that choosing fans situation...)

And, yes, there were plenty of times I stood in those stores and wished I was holding someone's hand and laughing or stressing with someone else. Sometimes the west side of the Valley felt like it might as well have been across the country. Those friends were too far away! (And all of you in other states and countries, too!!!)

Cabinets.....

But those same friends also told me to be glad I got to make all these decisions myself so I didn't have to compromise. And some of them even drove all the way there with their hungry , thirsty kids after work to be there with me on the day I got my keys and my house was 99 degrees. And they didn't even leave right away.
And now I have a lockbox and a house with beautiful walls and no floors and a repaired roof and new drywall and a yard that's in desperate need of landscaping. And I met my first neighbor yesterday, and his name is Randy. 

And what I'm grateful for is this: I got to make the decisions; I get to live in this house, and when I do it, I will think of all of you guys, and how excited you all have been for me, and how much you have helped me and how much I needed your advice and how grateful I am for it. And I will be so grateful to have guest rooms for my friends. You all are great. 

My brother facetimed with me to help make paint decisions.
It wasn't really that helpful...but it made it so much better. :-)