Our New House | Our Real Estate Agent Mary Carol Schriefer

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NmNOKQ1389tdel1bWl6N_U8MC41IEVhXVF9pXjlQILkyzIlzNMlzMZ397M6TtdbPEsPCH6XoJ8hfM_LykSpOvwPnK8U9GQH5JjiXlzB9jUEJbjKbeIRcSVbevNBbl75uitxPwuLRabxn/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="545" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NmNOKQ1389tdel1bWl6N_U8MC41IEVhXVF9pXjlQILkyzIlzNMlzMZ397M6TtdbPEsPCH6XoJ8hfM_LykSpOvwPnK8U9GQH5JjiXlzB9jUEJbjKbeIRcSVbevNBbl75uitxPwuLRabxn/s640/photo.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjY44bnRrp-GPITAteSpuZV3xklbwOl9QRiLysp28fX6snrVbcYxJ2NlHGZmt8lpD4Qy4geYH4njXyEDhBmn4pUGipvBLMotifEaX1DvMfSSmmXJzWLMd_kcA3zS2MeHdn1JCFu7sRzgjk/s1600/Mary+Carol+REMAX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjY44bnRrp-GPITAteSpuZV3xklbwOl9QRiLysp28fX6snrVbcYxJ2NlHGZmt8lpD4Qy4geYH4njXyEDhBmn4pUGipvBLMotifEaX1DvMfSSmmXJzWLMd_kcA3zS2MeHdn1JCFu7sRzgjk/s200/Mary+Carol+REMAX.jpg" width="165" /></a></div>We're officially home owners (again)!  This morning we closed on our new house... let the work begin.  As you know, I've been busy making <a href="http://jennysteffens.blogspot.com/search/label/Home">design plans</a> and <a href="http://pinterest.com/jennysteffens/">pinning inspiration photos and products</a> for what we hope to do with the new house, but a lot has had to happen for us to get to this point, including finding, negotiating and actually buying the house.  Details, details!<br /><br />I want to give a big THANK YOU to our realtor <a href="http://www.marycarolandreed.com/">Mary Carol Schriefer from Mary Carol & Reed Premium Real Estate Services</a>.  In the spirit of full discloser, Mary Carol happens to be married to Pops (my grandpa), but the benefits of her services greatly surpass her family ties.  Mary Carol is an absolute expert in all things Residential Real Estate - from having great taste (like when I ask her her thoughts on window treatments and paint colors), a keen investment sense (she and her business partner/son Brian own investment properties themselves) and insight to the financial side of buying a house (her 30+ years of experience as being a mortgage broker helps!).<br /><br />When we walked through houses Mary Carol and I would talk about how perfect a Christmas tree would look in the front picture window or how perfect the french doors were that lead from the dining room to the side porch, and in the same breath, she would turn around and answer all of Mike's questions about the condition of the windows and foundation.  I knew she would be the perfect agent for us because not only is she is a very smart (and self-made!) business woman, but she knows the importance of living well and how crucial a gracious home is as a part of a comfortable life.<br /><br />Besides Mary Carol's experience in the business, Brian (her partner, as I mentioned) owned an appraisal business before he partnered with his Mom to start their agency and he was able to share with us his knowledge about the true value of various homes we considered.  Talk about full service!  Thank You, MC and Brian for helping us find our new home!<br /><br />Visit Mary Carol & Brian's website, <a href="http://marycarolandreed.com/">marycarolandreed.com</a>, for more information about their services.<br /><br />Another big Thank You to Melanie Reed (Brian's wife) for doing a wonderful job as our mortgage broker.  You made it painless!  Visit <a href="http://www.peoplesbankhomeloans.com/mreed">Melanie's page</a> for more information about her services.

Our New House | Our Real Estate Agent Mary Carol Schriefer

We're officially home owners (again)!  This morning we closed on our new house... let the work begin.  As you know, I've been busy m...

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We Bought a New House... and I'm going crazy on Pinterest

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have been distracted lately.  You may have noticed.  We have some major news... we bought a new house!  Or, I guess, we're buying a new house.  Certain things, like, the appraisal and closing still have to happen, but the <i>plan</i> is to buy the house.  In one month. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, yes, I've been distracted.  Then I thought, instead of letting my endless search for interior inspiration distract me, I decided to bring you along. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've been going Pinterest crazy (follow all of my pins <a href="http://pinterest.com/jennysteffens/">here</a>) pinning inspiration photos, paint colors, chairs (oh, the chairs...) and general I love everything about this photo photos.  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Follow along as I share the journey of designing our new home.  Note, I won't be sharing the photos of the actual home until we move at the end of next month to keep the current owner's privacy.  And to not jinx the closing!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, I've listed some of my new Pinterest Boards below that I'll be updating with inspiration as I come across it.  To follow all of my Pinterest boards (recipes, home inspiration, wish list, clothes, baby...) click <a href="http://pinterest.com/jennysteffens/">here</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINQmb7CQWJWKjxZfH2xsJgGMyEqLI24hoYpJi97QSoeu3wvrThyphenhyphen9frlJ3uWysZIxWlMjhslLTLxQyKWtDJL2EugWBipFSQykYZkjxTbecPhONbkd4e9O0fHePtQlFw-2pEOwNIobVpXNV/s1600/207236020324024238_wfrnB7CZ_f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINQmb7CQWJWKjxZfH2xsJgGMyEqLI24hoYpJi97QSoeu3wvrThyphenhyphen9frlJ3uWysZIxWlMjhslLTLxQyKWtDJL2EugWBipFSQykYZkjxTbecPhONbkd4e9O0fHePtQlFw-2pEOwNIobVpXNV/s640/207236020324024238_wfrnB7CZ_f.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="http://pinterest.com/jennysteffens/new-living-room/">New Living Room Pinterest Board</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKqVNUvZak_3-3nqfZ_0zBNApf9h5LZRrxXiqAilayZc8iDCbOl3x9WnWkmT4nPX-aI2LlC3xo_WGWG9w2Gyze6UiQB61SHAAeUt6ErX9uRErTqzn4w4Gn6QXZyVGCJ-fsCrnLO4nKR7xx/s1600/86483255314912061_Fo1wgjW8_f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKqVNUvZak_3-3nqfZ_0zBNApf9h5LZRrxXiqAilayZc8iDCbOl3x9WnWkmT4nPX-aI2LlC3xo_WGWG9w2Gyze6UiQB61SHAAeUt6ErX9uRErTqzn4w4Gn6QXZyVGCJ-fsCrnLO4nKR7xx/s640/86483255314912061_Fo1wgjW8_f.jpg" width="492" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/jennysteffens/new-kitchen/">New Kitchen Pinterest Board </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWmSrBcE2BKfJO0B9NIfTlk-v8J5xkkVIVEs4_SlYBmgfG5rzzgfcgyY6Uv6YqtHwvlozQOwyg8y3bmQzUPEYPgQv-agN1_-du5cYNsD575YhoUkQi_5ugtLSb_bhG6TvJYtIsRqNDDPBp/s1600/207236020323901886_H212cIQf_f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWmSrBcE2BKfJO0B9NIfTlk-v8J5xkkVIVEs4_SlYBmgfG5rzzgfcgyY6Uv6YqtHwvlozQOwyg8y3bmQzUPEYPgQv-agN1_-du5cYNsD575YhoUkQi_5ugtLSb_bhG6TvJYtIsRqNDDPBp/s1600/207236020323901886_H212cIQf_f.jpg" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/jennysteffens/new-kitchen/">New Kitchen Pinterest Board  </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5iBRUqlset82SkKeecp7GDyPEcK6_U3lsYof2pggq2OX5w6VifIQv9uhK2AQnXe_Z34GrUrct9i_2e3DgjIZNPqFEr1VhpI_YbdiZyrAE1ynd_qPCvFu6a2w2l82zhwBU8TSo3ptibKkr/s1600/paintphoto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5iBRUqlset82SkKeecp7GDyPEcK6_U3lsYof2pggq2OX5w6VifIQv9uhK2AQnXe_Z34GrUrct9i_2e3DgjIZNPqFEr1VhpI_YbdiZyrAE1ynd_qPCvFu6a2w2l82zhwBU8TSo3ptibKkr/s640/paintphoto.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://pinterest.com/jennysteffens/new-house-paint-colors/">Paint Colors Pinterest Board</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQnFmbXa_kADyEqEl2-y3utr0clCC6hStJnqjc2S6oWOTkFnp2hLWjdkWWmleW5hUmxnDHoruJtbu17k9kYYDBJ5qbALReJaN0LL8lQYzqLPptG2G7-ff8mt07eFSl-uPG02CGTpeaVvR_/s1600/207236020323939785_5XaU2yZ4_f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQnFmbXa_kADyEqEl2-y3utr0clCC6hStJnqjc2S6oWOTkFnp2hLWjdkWWmleW5hUmxnDHoruJtbu17k9kYYDBJ5qbALReJaN0LL8lQYzqLPptG2G7-ff8mt07eFSl-uPG02CGTpeaVvR_/s640/207236020323939785_5XaU2yZ4_f.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><br /><br /><a href="http://pinterest.com/jennysteffens/house-inspiration/">General House Inspiration Pinterest Board</a><br /><br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3V03qTQunhhIgtKFdb1ztZF_EyDzrxS3wTiEP7JKFA6M6ee1cTJeiFiGFttCb4AUJcAMT9aztm9ypKmAeRdWOJBuCtWlEdfmP4Ibp0bwtND3Y3Fv2x4GvWK0W9_T0VU_no_LYWUTflkKf/s1600/207236020324024323_M2bo31mQ_f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3V03qTQunhhIgtKFdb1ztZF_EyDzrxS3wTiEP7JKFA6M6ee1cTJeiFiGFttCb4AUJcAMT9aztm9ypKmAeRdWOJBuCtWlEdfmP4Ibp0bwtND3Y3Fv2x4GvWK0W9_T0VU_no_LYWUTflkKf/s640/207236020324024323_M2bo31mQ_f.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://pinterest.com/jennysteffens/new-dining-room/">New Dining Room Pinterest Board </a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3LCXY8mPH5-ft1eHj5eF1rRMVnJaZkCoF6WPIM4FN3JIr5DIgYenTE91qdj148Gij5lFGDT0WqDT-3CRPGRkTox-39u2t222fDrgqKz4FjUqebTpwfnVtaK5S8tXUa-hd3mA-o8qL3Ntc/s1600/207236020324024269_a6Tx2cXZ_f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3LCXY8mPH5-ft1eHj5eF1rRMVnJaZkCoF6WPIM4FN3JIr5DIgYenTE91qdj148Gij5lFGDT0WqDT-3CRPGRkTox-39u2t222fDrgqKz4FjUqebTpwfnVtaK5S8tXUa-hd3mA-o8qL3Ntc/s640/207236020324024269_a6Tx2cXZ_f.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br /><br /><a href="http://pinterest.com/jennysteffens/new-master-bedroom/">New Master Bedroom Pinterest Board </a><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52RUFxFWuK8Nfz-n9Ovjbejz5Smt9k62VreWd4b16h4loSsl5ObwaLtuXBb7Wahse4WMTUP7GnM48VT-Y7Wh88b3oCBZo-cuvuKHxtl5WzNIyGQSfH_71JCDjyIu2HfhMheRTI8l-f4ly/s1600/178173728978075265_6S5t0SYa_f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52RUFxFWuK8Nfz-n9Ovjbejz5Smt9k62VreWd4b16h4loSsl5ObwaLtuXBb7Wahse4WMTUP7GnM48VT-Y7Wh88b3oCBZo-cuvuKHxtl5WzNIyGQSfH_71JCDjyIu2HfhMheRTI8l-f4ly/s640/178173728978075265_6S5t0SYa_f.jpg" width="512" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/jennysteffens/new-guest-room-laundry-room/"> New Laundry Room / Guest Room Pinterest Board </a></div>

We Bought a New House... and I'm going crazy on Pinterest

I have been distracted lately.  You may have noticed.  We have some major news... we bought a new house!  Or, I guess, we're buying a ne...

Read more »