It didn’t really happen until I hit mid-age where I really starting believing what you dreamed on paper, could actually come true. My husband and I like to write down goals at the beginning of the New Year. We had some personal and business goals, and we worked hard toward making them happen.  One of our personal goals was to build a house we loved. We’ve owned several resales, and loved them, but it’s not quite the same when you don’t get to pick what YOU love in your home. So last year I said, we should put building a home on our list for 2015! ( I like to be a little lofty in my goals).. my husband wasn’t quite on board at that time,  and a lot of the model homes we looked at were just out of our reach of our price range.. then one day my husband said, ” Why don’t we just drive into Fauquier CO and look? ” That’s SO far I said…” but on the drive there I fell in love with the countryside and the farms lined with horses along the way, and it was only 10 minutes from our last home. We fell in love with the MI Westmoreland Model. It was the outdoor living and open floor plan that really sold us. After two years of looking at model homes, this one just felt right.

Some things we learned from building our home…

Invest in what you love. For us, the outdoor living was more usable right away than the basement, so we will finish the basement slowly in a year or two. I know we will get so much enjoyment out of being outside! You can’t add that later, but you can finish a basement, and my husband is handy! 🙂

Go with a great builder! We LOVE MI Homes, and the quality they take in their homes has been outstanding. We’ve had no issues so far.

Harwoods on the whole first level make a huge impact. Plus it’s easier to keep clean than carpet! We picked the wide plank slightly darker hardwood.

Invest in bump outs. For our house the it was the Princess Suite and Master bath Spa. For resale, those bump outs make a big difference!

Splurge on nice bathroom floors for the Master( See Below). We did the white plank whitewash tile and SO glad we did! We just picked what came with the house for the three other bathrooms. I really wanted the frameless shower, but some things I just had to give up to fit in the budget.

Know that you will spend so much more than you intended! So choose what you can live without. 

The gorgeous model… excuse the iPhone quality photos.

I’m obsessed with this wine room in the model! How cool would that be someday?Of course I can’t wait to decorate the house! If you know me, I  LOVE decorating! I’m also super OCD about a clean house.

I’ve been pinning several design ideas, and love the look of the modern farmhouse with touches of bold patterns and colors, but with a very clean all white kitchen and dark hardwood floors. I know it will take some time, but I can’t wait to make this home a home we love! I can’t wait for new memories in this house with family and friends. We plan on hosting Thanksgiving with family this year, and I’m So excited!

Most of all I’m just thankful for everything God has blessed us with this year. We owe him everything.

We finally have a mudroom! I can’t wait to decorate it!
I’m actually looking for to even decorating the laundry room. 🙂Now if I could just get Joanna Gaines to come decorate for me? 🙂