Parade of Homes

Michael and I can not wait for the next step in our lives when he graduates, gets a job, and we move to a new place! Even more we can not wait to buy or BUILD our first home!! 

We love HGTV and have pretty much seen all the House Hunter and Property Virgin episodes. We also love to watch any show that does a home make over because when we think about what we want, we are never sure if we want to buy a house we want to make over or if we want to build a new house. After today I am saying BUILD PLEASE!

This weekend in the BCS they are having the Parade of Homes. I heard about this from some friends who found their builder through this event a little over a year ago. The Parade of Homes is an event where builders can apply to have an open house to show what they are up to. You are able to meet the builders (if they are there) and they give you ideas to what you can do if you use them. I couldn't wait to get out and look at new homes and meet the builders! 

I thought I would share a little about some of the houses we went into today.

The first house we went to was our friends who told us about this event (they actually just moved into their house this past week but were out of town this weekend, so they let the builder use their home as the open house). They builder of their home was JMV Homes and wow did they do an amazing job! We met the builder and learned some very neat things to make sure to include if we decide to build. One of the things I never thought about was with the granite counters, making sure it keeps the same thickness the whole way through. With most counter tops if you grab underneath there is a lip (and I do not like that) but when I grabbed underneath their granite there was no lip and it was very nice. We loved looking at their upgrades and their ideas all through their house. Here are some pictures of their beautiful home.

Loved the dark wood and the granite! Beautiful kitchen!

We liked the idea of adding wood to the fireplace

They used the same wood throughout the house and I loved this mirror

This was a big deal for the owners of the house! I love it! Laundry basket pull out drawer

I do not like shower caddies so I will need to remember this for our house

We then went into another home that we thought had some pretty ideas but it was very small and we did not like the use of space. We drove by some other townhomes that we were not that interested in as we are not looking to ever live in a townhome. With two sweet chocolate labs, they need a yard to run around and just be dogs in. 

Another house we went in was beautiful as well! It was built by Blackstone Custom Homes and was huge! It was 2,700 square feet which is a lot of house for our first home, but had so many great ideas inside. This was a really busy open house when we were there so we did not get to meet the builder, but we enjoyed looking through the home. Here are some pictures of things in the house we loved!

Different look with this fixture in the master bathroom

Michael loves this idea by the back door

Bar area, love the wine fridge and wine rack!

Exposed Wood Beams, LOVE

Can I say PERFECT, I want this exact range and pot filler!!

Very pretty cabinet idea

Spice rack pull out! On both sides next to the range, SO SMART!

I thought the entrance was beautiful with the dark wood

After that we drove north and thought we were headed towards 3 more homes, but it ended up being model homes that are always open and we were not interested in going in those 2 so we continued to the last one on our list. And I am so glad we did!!

Our last home was the best home I have seen and it was just the bones basically. They were not close to being done, but that made it even better because as we walked around with the builder he explained what was going to be happening in each room and all the details I loved. Raven Homes is the builder of this home and he was so friendly and helpful. The house is a 2,000 sq ft custom home being built on 10 acres (they already owned the land – exactly what we want) and was the best use of space I have ever seen. It had such an open floor plan and we fell in love with the layout. The one thing both of us loved that we do not see much anymore is when the front door (it was double doors) opens and faces the back door (double doors as well). You looked though the living room, but it made the house so open which we loved! The owners chose to do stained concrete which both of us really like how it looks! Here are some pictures of the home and I will explain what is in the pictures as the house is just in the bones phase.

Fireplace to the left and entertainment area on the right.The hole is in the master closet that opens up to the back of the TV, SMART! 

Window seats in the kitchen/dining area

So much natural light!

Looking through the living room to the back door

Front Porch, PERFECTION!

Front of the home

Another look of the front of the home

We know we are not ready to build or buy a house yet, but we loved going out today and looking at what we can do soon. We have been saving and saving so it is nice to finally have some ideas as to what it is going towards. We are lucky and got so many great ideas for when we ever build a home. We can’t wait to be in this step of our lives :]

Hi, my name is Jake!

And two chocolates become three, for a month.

I wanted to write and two become three, but I did not want people to think we were pregnant, so I had to add a little more detail. 

Michael's parents are going on a cruise for 18 days so we are are dog sitting one of their two puppies! We will have Jake for about a month, so our little 900sq ft duplex is going to be very cozy for a little while!

We are considering this a fat camp for Jake so Michael and I are going to do our best to slim him down and we are wasting no time! To exercise and get them a little sleepy, we took them to the lake and they had a great time. Here are a few pictures from tonight:

Craziness

This is our crazy Bella

Bella

Jakie!

B-Bot doing what she loves!

Bella loved having Jake chase her

Sprinting dogs!

Samson

Jake and Bella working together, haha NOT

Jake

 

Handsome Samson!

After about 50 minutes Jake was exhausted and Bella was starving, who would have guessed, so we came home and all three pups ate and have been super calm. Thank goodness! 

We will see how the first night goes as Jake loves his crate and Bella loves Jake. Michael sent me this picture when I was at work....so tonight may be interesting.

That is Bella attacking Jake in his crate!

 I am figuring I will have a lot to post about with three crazy labs living with us!

Costume Ideas...

With Halloween just around the corner, Michael and I have been trying to figure out what Bella will be for her first dress up experience. Both dogs LOVE squirels so I thought this would be a great idea, but when we were at Target there were so many choices.

 

The squirrel costume is what I thought we would be getting for Bella, but now I am not sure. The two arms holding the acorn in the front are stuck together and I do not think this will be a good idea with Bella. But still, I love this!

 

I LOVE THIS! Michael, not so much. I think this would be perfect for Bella.

I remember last year when we were looking for Samson's costume I thought the submarine was adorable and I still think so. I think I will get voted out on this one as well, but we will see.

And the bumble bee! I love the little wings and the antennas! Bella would make a cute bumble bee!!

We have 12 days to get a costume so we better get to making a decision!

And our other sweetheart will be a turtle again! Here are a few pictures of Samson last year. He hated the costume at first so after about 30 treats he came out from under the table and let me take his picture. He then spent the rest of the evening sitting right by my side looking adorable as all the kids came to our door for candy!

 

Our house will actually be crazy on Halloween! We will have our two brownies plus Samson's brother, Jake, will be here. We will have 3 brownies with a constant doorbell ringing and little kids at our door.

It will be an adventure :]

January PLEASE!!

This winter I will be learning how to ski and maybe snowboard and I can not wait! I just wish we were leaving tomorrow and not in a little less than 3 months. I find myself day dreaming about being in Colorado, sitting in the hot tub with snow falling around us after a great day skiing/snowboarding! I can not think of a better place to be than in Colorado!

I absolutely love the cold, but I have never experienced a Colorado winter and I am very excited! When I was younger my family used to go to Lake Tahoe during the winter and that was the only snow I grew up around (and it has been a long time). We had a little teaser this summer when we were in Breckenridge and were 14,000 feet up on a mountain when a storm blew in and we were snowed on in AUGUST, I know what!!!! Click here to read about our summer vacation to Breckenridge.

We have only been to Colorado during the summer and let me tell you, the entire summer there is like the one week of spring we get in Texas. It is absolutely beautiful, breathtaking, and MUCH MUCH cooler.

Here are a few beautiful pictures:

It is no secret that one day Michael and I hope to live in Colorado, we just do now know how soon we will get there. If we had our way, immediately, but we know when the right time comes we will be there. Until then we will have to visit as much as possible!

We will be in Colorado for 5 days with Michael's sister and brother. It will be a smaller Neisch family vacation that we are super excited about! Believe me, I will have many pictures to share of a white January in Colorado :]

One Month Later....

I'm back! And full of things I have been wanting to blog about!

For those of you who know me, I LOVE Pinterest! And as much as Michael hates to admit it, he must love Pinterest too as we have made so many new and delicious recipes! Michael does not like eating the same thing that often so before Pinterest it was somewhat difficult for me to come up with new ideas for dinner every night. Now, not so much!

Michael has told me that I make cooking very difficult when I am trying to take pictures at every step (and he is right) so for this blog post I am going to post pictures of some of the final products we have made in the past few weeks.

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wrap

We made these tonight! So easy, so yummy, and I think pretty healthy minus the tortillas. We will be making these again but with either jalapenos or pablanos to give it a little more spice! Click here for the recipe.

Egg Rolls and Fried Rice

This was a yummy recipe Michael had been wanting ever since I pinned it. It was actually really easy and delicious! We are actually making this again this week but we are going to bake them instead of frying them. Click here for the recipe.

Salsa Chicken and Spanish Rice

Another easy recipe from Pinterest! I put it together before I left for work and it was ready when I got home. Perfect for when you have a busy day and/or evening. Plus it makes the house smell delicious! Click here for the recipe.

Stuffed Shells

Michael and I loved making these! They were a little more difficult then we though they would be, but luckily they turned out delicious. I was not expecting some of the shells to get stuck together and rip but it still worked out. I'm glad I found this recipe because I have always wanted to make these but never would have. Click here for the recipe.

Naan Pizza

This is not a Pinterest recipe but a TexAgs idea. For those of you who know Michael, you know this is his favorite website that keeps him busy while I am pinning :] Almost every time we are at HEB, Michael will say he wants to make something with the naan bread and we finally did. One of the posters on TexAgs posted just a picture and we did the rest. So no recipe to link to, but what we did was put some pizza sauce on the naan, added some ham, onion, bell pepper, and cheese and put in the oven till the cheese was melted. Delicious and easy!

Stuffed Chicken Breast

Close up of the Stuffed Chicken Breast

This was so good it deserved two pictures. With a few mess ups along the way we finally had our final product! This had a little more work involved but it was worth it. The pastry sheet was a great idea with the baked chicken. We loved how flaky it was. We can not wait to make this again. Thank you Pinterest, click here for the recipe.

Homemade Margherita Pizza

This is not a Pinterst recipe, but one of Michael's favorites. We have been making this dough for the last 2 years and really like it. The recipe for the dough is: Mix 1 cup of flour, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp salt, and 1 package of dry yeast together. Then mix in 3 tbsp olive oil and 1 cup very warm water. With a blender beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Then I usually mix in another cup of flour with the beater and then with my hands beat in another 3/4 to 1 cup of flour into the dough. I then knead the dough for about 5 minutes. I then cover the dough with flour and loosely wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Enjoy :]

Tuscan Pasta with Tomato-Basil Cream Sauce

Sadly this is not my picture but we have made this twice now (and both times we forgot to take a picture)! We used raviolis once and tortellinis once, both were great! I recommened this recipe to everyone! Click here for it.

So after reading this, if you do not use Pinterest, start now :] It will make dinner in your house so much better! And Pinterest is not all about food, there are many other things as well, such as crafts, home ideas, tricks to fix things, clothes ideas, decorating ideas, kid crafts, health tips, and so many more things.