more houses.

We have been looking at houses like crazy for the last two days...yesterday on no sleep and no shower...ugh.  My dream home is to have a 100 year old house with updated plumbing and electrical, hardwood floors through out, and charm through the roof.  Unfortunately, everything we've looked at is in extremely run down neighborhoods with schools that barely rank in the nation.  Huge bummer for me...

What we're looking for in a house:  Great schools.  I would love hardwood floors through out.  Nice sized bedrooms.  Large yard and lots and lots of trees (we have NO trees in Utah...there's a hint for you...).  We would like for it to be ready to move in but are not completely against having to do some remodeling...mainly only paint and carpet.  Great schools.  The kids want a pool (but we'll settle for a community pool).  Plenty of living space and lots of storage (for those hand me down clothes and Christmas decor, etc.)  We would also like to have room for an art room.

These are some houses that may be in the running.  (After you vote feel free to leave us comments here on the blog to explain your choice in the poll if you want to...we are totally going to be checking this to see what you think!)  The first house is in the very best schools in the area.  The rest are in good schools.  The first house also has the lowest taxes.  The rest of them have pretty high taxes (which from what I understand of this area is a huge hint!)

Vote on your favorite!

HOUSE #1

This house is really big.  It's close to 3000 square feet.  It has all of the bedrooms upstairs, a really nice master suite, and big enough bedrooms for the kids so that we could still have an artroom/playroom.  The kitchen is nice and open and there are hardwoods on the entry level.  It has a 1/2 way finished basement (sheetrock and wiring) that has two rooms.  The yard is not huge but there is a creek running through the back of it that opens into a green/common area.  It has a cul de sac for the kids to ride their bikes.  It also has a big storage room on the back of the house that could store all kinds of stuff.

HOUSE #2

This house is on a corner lot to the entry of a subdivision.  It has a ginormous master suite that is gorgeous.  The house is on a postage stamp yard and there are not that many trees except for the professional landscaping.  There isn't a whole lot of storage but there is a 5th bedroom that we could use in a variety of different ways.  The floor plan is pretty open and it is on a culdesac for the kids to ride bikes.

HOUSE #3

This house has an amazing backyard.  The patio on the back is huge with 1/2 of it covered.  It has a great workshop/shed in the back and lots of beautiful shade trees.   It's a big yard.  The house is pretty big with a nice big kitchen.  They've done something funky with the garage and put down a commercial piece of carpet and use it for a family room and moved the washer and dryer out there.  They also made a bathroom right as you come in the garage door from the garage into the house...I mean if you open the door you'll see someone going pee in the bathroom.  Very strange set up.  We'd want to change the garage back into a garage and figure out something for that weird bathroom.  This house is in a really pretty neighborhood although we kind of like to not live in a subdivision.

HOUSE #4

A pretty busy street runs in front of this house.  It has a pretty yard with a wet season creek running through the back of it.  It also has a really big back porch.  This house is brand new.  It has quite a bit of storage space.  It's three bedrooms with a bonus room which we could use for all kinds of things.  The front yard has not been put in yet.

HOUSE #5

It doesn't look like it but this house has almost 4000 square feet!!  The yard is almost a 1/2 an acre and has a preserve in the backyard so the trees will always stay! yay!  We would have to do some big time work on this house.  The downstairs has blood read carpet and panelling.  We would want to sheetrock, paint, and redo the flooring.  The upstairs has a cute little sunroom off of the kitchen.  The kitchen is big and has lots of counter space.  There is storage space like crazy everywhere.  Upstairs would also need new paint and in places new flooring.  This is not in our favorite schools area but the schools are good.  This house is so big we could move in and remodel as we can (which we would start doing right away....).

HOUSE #6 

Very open.  This house has really high ceilings and is very open.  It has a loft are with a sitting room between two rooms that would be perfect for reading and an art/playroom.  The master suite is huge and beautiful with all kinds of closet space.  This house has a lot of storage space.  There is a big screened in porch and a deck. The yard is a 1/2 an acre and there's a place on the driveway for a basketball hoop.  The kitchen has been painted so that it's really nice and light.  The garage is very big.  There is a garden out back and an herb garden by the kitchen door.  This house is move in ready.  Absolutely no work to move in or even after we move in.

HOUSE #7

Great curb appeal. This house is really pretty from the outside.  It has a lot of hardwood flooring on the first level. It has a dining room, living room, family room, big mud/laundry  room.   Upstairs needs to have new carpeting.  There are only three bedrooms, but they could possible work.  The garage is huge and has some wonderful storage space.  It has a room in the basement that is totally a DIY project.  The kitchen is pretty big but could use some paint and new floor.  The backyard is big...over 1/2 an acre that opens up into green space.  It's gorgeous.  There's a deck on the back that is really nice.  The neighborhood is beautiful and the schools are okay.

So what do you think?  Make sure to go back to the top and vote for your favorite house!

It's cold out there.

So...it's totally a blizzard outside tonight and I love the Christmas movie, Elf.  We just got the soundtrack in the mail and went online and discovered the origin of the song.  I'd love to know what movie this clip is from.  If you know, please tell me in the comments (Oooo...and I'd love to hear about what you love during the holidays or one of your fave traditions)! 

The way they choreographed this song in the movie is so wonderful.  And as much as things have changed over the last 40 or so years I still love old movies with great dialogue and the dynamic that exists there.  So for your holiday cheer and comfort here's a little diddy for you....

happy. LIFE.

Order Now.

We have some really beautiful custom holiday cards that we are so excited about...and we'll have even more designs in a couple of days!   There are a variety of ways you can customize your unique holiday cards.  Contact the studio to order your cards now.  davina@davinafear.com

Holiday card orders must be placed no later than December 5th.

What? Yes.  Christmas in September.

We are about to launch some really awesome things for Christmas this year.  So get ready to be all set for Christmas for everyone on your list.

Make sure to check back because it will be here in not time.  If this goes well, it may be our first annual Christmas in September!

give. MEMORIES AND LOVE.

I want to hear!

I am so excited about my new blog...but I really want to know what you think!  Tell me what you like and don't like about the new look and navigation of this blog.  Also, in the following two posts each of the posts have borders that are slightly different.  Tell me which one is your fave in the comments.

Thanks!!

HEAR. LIFE.