Inspections, mortgage brokers, cleaners & numbers

I'm now at the part where people tell me all that's wrong with my house... Yippee?!

My realtor recommended:

• Reiney Walters of Calibre
• Victor Teece of Expertise Home Inspection
• Jim Nichols of House Master

And these two for the sewer inspection:

• Atlas Sewer
• Barry's

The general inspector will then tell me if anything else needs to be looked at further. Like if he doesn't feel comfortable giving the okay on electrical, he would recommend an electrical contractor to come check things out.
I'm hoping I get good people to look over the house. That they give me a comprehensive list of what needs to be done and when. And maybe even an approximate price tag on all the fixes for me to plan out my spending for the next 25 years...

I'll review the service I get from the inspectors later.

I also have to go back to my mortgage broker (Claire O'Donnell) who I haven't seen since getting pre-approved at the end of April.
She was recommended to me by my lawyer/family friend Glen Dowling.
Claire is great; easy to talk to, smart, friendly, didn't shut the door in my face for showing up single, under 30 and with a 5% down-payment.

The house is a total mess; dirt on the walls, peach pits and cough drops smushed into the blue shag carpet, nails and screws on every surface.
I emailed an ecologically friendly cleaning service in Regina (EcoClean) to see how much it would cost to clean from ceiling to floorboards, in cupboards and closets, windows and walls. I got a quote back for $336 + GST - really?! I thought it would be soooo much more.
Mind you, they haven't seen the house...

My original offer was $19,900 under list price and it was countered with an extra $5,000 - which I accepted, granted they clean the place. I'm not expecting a miracle (hence the cleaning crew I want to hire), but it should be a good start.

to be continued...

Ideas

Just a dumping ground for house ideas:

Bathroom

This will be the first major project (apart from tearing out carpet) and a total gut & re-do.

I can't decide if I want to go stark and modern or stay true to the era of the house...

• I've always loved console sinks, and apparently they're very 1950 appropriate (the year of the house) Essex Chrome Metal Console Lavatory
• I don't know if I'll have to replace the toilet right now, but eventually I would get a dual flush toilet like this one TOTO Aquia® Dual Flush Toilet, 1.6GPF & 0.9GPF
• A black & white bathroom really appeals to me and pennyround are amazing (and an appropriate vintage) Nemo tile pennyrounds
• Plain old white subway porcelain tiles (3 x 6) for the bath surround and walls

Black and white paint:

• Benjamin Moore Moonlight White (matte): all white walls/ceilings
• 
Benjamin Moore Simply White (satin): white trim/woodwork
• Benjamin Moore Soot (matte): black walls for accents
• Benjamin Moore Toucan Black (satin): black doors and stairs if they are wood under the vinyl
• 
Olympic Knight’s Armor (eggshell): black for bathroom?
• Benjamin Moore Black Beauty (satin): exterior black trim

Kitchen

I don't think I'll need to redo the kitchen right away, but I've always loved apron front sinks or farm sinks (Rohl Shaws Lancaster Apron Front Fireclay Sink)

Good prices on faucets and sinks (fixtureuniverse.com)

Wall-mounted track shelving:
Inspiration (Almost Makes Perfect)
Instructions (This Old House)

So I may have bought a house

WHAT!?

I bought my little car exactly one year ago, and last night I put in an offer on a house!

What massive life-changing event will happen to me June 15th, 2014? (don't answer that)

The sellers countered with $5,000 above what I offered, and I accepted conditional to them cleaning, and getting a roof/furnace/house/sewer/gas line inspection done.

Little cottage in a forest

Now my head is spinning with ideas and I need to start documenting or I'll forget all my brilliant plans!

Professional work:
Outside

• Shingles (rotting boards?) and ice-damming prevention
• Eaves
• Grate around house and take out tree that's growing in front of living room window

Inside

• Bathroom plumbing/electrical?
• Moisture-proof subfloor and walls
• Install new bath + tiles

DIY:
Inside

• Rip up carpets
• Pull out the bazillion nails/screws that are all over the walls (FREAKY!) inside/outside/trees/basement
• Wash walls, ceilings, windows, cupboards, closets, etc. (there are peach pits in the entrance that the selling agent is supposed to take care of)
• Demo bathroom - I can live with a weird and outdated kitchen (once sanitized), but I can't shower without sandals on in that bathroom...
• Refinish hard wood? We'll see what it looks like once the carpet comes up
• Paint EVERYTHING white - I need a blank slate

Outside

• Scrape paint off wood siding/window ledges/soffit
• Paint wood siding/window ledges/soffit

Stuff to buy:

• Washer & dryer
• Fridge? Maybe... depending how old/energy efficient the current one is. And how clean...
• Windows? When a good sale with financing comes up perhaps

Slow cooker chicken with dried fruit

Whole30 followers abstain (because of the sugar):

You'll need:
Pieces of chicken with bones (something about overcooking if it's boneless?)
Old dried fruit (doesn't have to be old I guess... I had old dates and even older raisins laying around)
Onion
Ginger
Pepper
Chicken broth or water
Honey
Apple cider vinegar

Chop up 1 onion and stir into slow cooker with 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar, 1 cup of liquid (water or broth), grated ginger to taste, pepper and 2 tbsp of honey.
Toss in some old dried fruit! I used about 1 cup of dates and raisins.
Add chicken. I used 2 skinless thighs.
Set to low and leave for work. (about 9 hours?)

Take the lid off, stir, pull out bones that have fallen out of the meat.
I'm not eating the bloated fruit, but you could puree them into a gravy of sorts?

Non-dairy "cream"

Not that there's anything wrong with using REAL dairy, but this seems like an interesting (and delicious) alternative from Following My Nose.

Coconut creamer

Combine in blender:
1 can of coconut milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
vanilla

Refrigerate.

I'm doing it again?

A new Paleo challenge is starting at the gym. Am I going to do it?
Of course I am... I need someone breathing down my neck to make good food choices.
Not that I'm normally a terrible eater by modern North American standards, but some days I am pretty gross.

Read the details here.

And get ready for 60 days of food pictures.

Cashew Milk with cinnamon and agave

Makes just under one quart of milk:

• 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
• 3 cups of water for soaking
• 2 cinnamon sticks ground to a powder or 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups filtered water
• 2 tablespoons agave

 

Place raw cashews in a clean bowl and top with 3 cups of water.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight, or for 8 to 12 hours.  Once soaked, place the cashews in a fine mesh strainer and run the softened cashews under cool water until clean and the water runs clear.  Set aside.

 

In a spice blender (mine is a clean coffee grinder), grind cinnamon sticks, one at a time, to a fine powder.  Place in a small bowl and set aside.  If you don’t have a spice grinder, measure 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon into a small bowl and set aside.

 

Combine cinnamon, cashews, filtered water, and agave in the bowl of a blender.  Cover tightly and blend on low speed, increasing to high speed, until smooth.

 

Place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl.  Pour half of the cashew mixture into the fine mesh strainer.  With a spatula, work the liquid through the strainer.  The harder you press the cashew mixture, the more liquid you’ll release, and the more cashew bits you’ll get in your milk.  I happen to like this milk to be thick and slightly chunky.  Continue to strain the milk until all of the liquid has passed through the strainer.  Place cashew meat mixture in a bowl and set aside.

 

If you’d like a smoother milk, feel free to pass it through the strainer once more.

 

Store in an airtight container (I used an old one-quart milk jar) and place in the fridge.  Shake well before enjoying.

 

Milk lasts, in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days.

 

Inspired by this recipe.