UPDATES AND A FEW SHOTS OF THE FUTURE NEW HOUSE...

Okay, so have you been wondering what is going on in my world?  No probably not but I'm gonna tell you anyway...hehe.

We went to have another look at the house we are wanting to buy and I took plenty of pictures while we were there.  I was planning on posting some of them WAY before now but I have been experiencing some major technical difficulties.

I thought my card reader went out because I tried it on all the computers here at work and it wouldn't do anything.  So I bought a new card reader...still nothing.  I thought that maybe there was a problem with my USB ports so I loaded new drivers and...NOTHING.  Then I tried a system restore on my computer and I got A BIG FAT NOTHING!  Humph!!!  This morning though I got the bright idea to do a system restore on the server computer here at the office (shhh, don't tell my boss) and guess what...IT WORKED!!!  My USB works, the card reader works and so today I am going to show you some pictures of our future home...the one that by faith I believe the Lord is going to allow us to have....very soon!!!

As I have said, the house is nothing fancy but it's all I want and need.  It's a plain old ranch style that needs some updating but the location and the beautiful yard makes up for all the shortcomings of the house.

You enter the property by crossing this sweet little bridge...

which is one of my favorite things about this place...I love it!

The little house is nestled in the heart of five acres of Missouri's prime land.

It has a 2 acre yard in a park like setting with three acres of woods behind it...Woods that I can't wait to explore to see if there are any of natures freebies that I can use in my decor.

Let's go inside shall we.

The living room is a good size and should be very comfortable.

The dining room is a little small and there won't be room for much else but I think it will house my farmhouse table with no problems.

To the right is a short hall that leads to the master bedroom...

master bathroom....

 Second bedroom....

and guest bathroom....

Okay, well I didn't get very good shots of this bath.  Oops!

So that's the west wing of the house.

To the left of the dining room is the kitchen.  Though it's small I love this kitchen.  It has plenty of cabinets and lots of pantry space.  I think it should be super easy to work in.

Those two doors are pantries....two pantries in one kitchen...now that's nice!!!

Right off the kitchen is a quaint little breakfast room.

You might notice some BIG problems with the floor in this room.  When we first looked at the house and put the contract on it, all the floors were in good condition (with the exception of a few stains) but the owner didn't heat the home through the winter and the floors have buckled in a few spots.  This problem will be taken care of before we purchase the home or either he will reduce the price for us.

Off the breakfast room and down a few steps is a unique little space.

The original garage was converted into a little sitting area, laundry room and two bedrooms.

The owners used the area as a playhouse of sorts for their grands.  The outside wall of the two bedrooms looks like the exterior of a little house.

The hubs hates it.  Sis and I love it.  As a matter of fact, Sis is requesting that other than giving it a fresh coat of paint that we don't change any of it and she has already chosen one of the rooms to be her bedroom.  The other room will be my craft room....which I am over the moon about. It's been almost six years since I have had a craft room and I have sorely missed the extra work space.

Out the back door leads to a smallish but fabulous back yard filled with raised bed gardens where I will be planting all sorts of herbs and veggies.

Of course I am having to be patient because our house still has not sold.  I believe though that it's going to sell SOON!! We have had quite a few lookers so we are just praying and believing that one of them will fall in love with our cute, charming vintage house and snatch it right up.  As soon as they do we will be heading to the country.

I can't wait to get into this house and give it a fresh coat of paint and add my personal flair to it...and I am mostly anxiously awaiting to get into these gardens and start planting some yummy things. Between the fruit trees in the front yard and these gardens in the back I hope to stock those spacious pantries with all sorts of yummy things.

This will be the perfect place to enjoy the rest of my life!!!

While I wait, I have decided to make a few things for my boutique that has been in the planning stages for some time.  Of course that craft room will totally come in handy for the larger projects but crocheting a few bath poufs is something I can do right now from my easy chair.  Yes, I am teaching myself (with the help of Youtube) to crochet.  My mother crocheted for years and in all my left handedness couldn't get the hang of it.  I was fumble fingers but thanks to the tutorials (AND THE PAUSE BUTTON) on Youtube, I am doing quite well if I do say so myself...and you know what?...IT'S FUN!  I will show you some of my work later...promise.

I love learning new skills.  A person should try and learn something new everyday.  It's keeps your mind fresh, alert and occupied.

Okay, so that's life lately here at Beyond the Portico.  Since the technical issues are fixed now I hope to post more frequently.  I will be back soon to show you some of my crochet work.  Stay tuned!!