A Christmas Present for Us!

 

Hi Everyone! It seems like eons since I visited but really, we were only gone for a long weekend. A very hectic trip for sure. We left last Friday for Florida and attended the grand twins' birthday party on Saturday, which I have to post soon. Sunday morning, we drove 2 and half hrs away to my other daughter's home. We (or rather John did!) bought the house next to them for our vacation and retirement home and we closed early on Monday. Yep, it's a big Christmas present to ourselves! Monday night, we flew back home.

 

Below, you will see the front of the house. It is a typlical FL home with tile roof.

 I love the house! Luckily John liked it too. This weekend was the first time he saw it though I looked at it last November and immediately fell in love and made an offer the following day. The real value of the home is that it is right next door to Tina and her family. The sellers at the time already had a cash offer but luckily because of my daughter and son in law being their neighbors, they accepted our offer instead. Another plus is Tina's neighbor on the other side is a very nice German family, Natascha (seen in the pic with us), Chris and their son Jan. And oh, most especially is my son in law, Scott, who is such a big help in maintaining the pool and the lawn. Thanks, Scott!

 And so in a half day that we were there, I was very busy decorating. Tina owed us a Christmas present and I told her to just wait till we got there so I can pick. We made a very quick stop to HG, which is only a few blocks away (another BIG plus! LOL!) and I picked 2 things for our presents. One of them is the wire cloche below. The tea set, I bought from HG also last Nov when I saw the house and I left it at Tina's house knowing I would use it here.

The stuff inside the cloche were items I brought from our MS home. I am sure they are not in there permanently. I was just pressed for time and I wanted to leave the house in a neat condition.

 We flew on SW and took advantage of the 2 allowed free luggage. Dragging 6 huge luggage in addition to 3 hand carries and my mom while John was parking, was a big challenge, but I made it. Only 1 luggage had our clothes and a small one with mama's clothes. I had to pack them separately cause I left her with my brother while we went to the new house. Such a big help cause I was able to accomplish so much more. It was so much better coming home cause I left 2 big empty luggage there. Nice to have an additional place to store things, lol.

 The other present Tina gave me is this terrarium. I am not sure if what's in it will be permanent or if they will even stay on the kitchen counter but that is how I left them for now. I do not have much stuff there yet but luckily the sellers left most of their furniture to us too. They were really so gracious. They even left us a bottle of champagne (shown in the corner) and a box of chocolates.

We got the bar stools for free also, left by sellers. Everything was so clean. I don't think they ever used the dining set in the dining room (which they also left) cause it is so clean. It was only a couple who lived there and they kept the house spotless. I did not have to do anything to move in.

 My coffee pot will go on this counter after I buy one. This will be my coffee nook. Those bird pics are there temporarily. I had no hammer nor nails yet at the time to hang them.

 Another thing I want to share with you today is this huge Italian leather sofa, which the owner gave us. I moved it forward towards the TV, added more pillows and placed the coffee table, which they also left for us, in front of it. It was by the wall. I wanted to make this family room look warmer, looked too cold for me.  The "Before" picture is following this. I want to get an area rug for here too. The sellers also left the picture on the wall and also that counter high breakfast table and chairs near the distant window. I will show it closer next time.

 Below is the "Before" picture. It was pushed way back making the room look very long and narrow. There is a flat screened TV on the wall in the foreground, which you do not see in the picture.

 

We got this kitchen table for free too. It's counter high so the pool can easily be seen while having breakfast.

I have so much more to share but it will on another post. I can't wait to go back there to finish decorating but I have to wait until my mom leaves cause she is here with me right now until Feb., then I can stay longer. Thanks so much for your visits and thanks to the foloowing kind hostesses.

Marty's Tabletop Tuesday at

http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Kathy's A Return To Loveliness

http://adelightsomelife.com

Sandi's Teatime Tues

http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com/

Friends Sharing Tea

http://bernideensteatimeblog.blogspot.com

Centerpiece Wed

http://thestylesisters.blogspot.com/

Tea Cup Thursday~

http://missspensersblog.blogspot.com/

Share Your Cup Thursday

http://jannolson.blogspot.com/

Ruth's Tuesday Cuppa tea

http://antiquesandteacups.blogspot.com/ 

Katherine's Favorite Things Thursday

http://katherinescorner.com/

Richella for Grace at Home

http://www.impartinggrace.com/