Scenes from our closing day

At 9 a.m. yesterday we had our final walk through of both houses. I don't know about Steve but I was definitely resisting the urge to run around from room to room and say, "Do you think "Aqua Bay" works in here? The light is great!" and other stuff that would probably bore our Super-Agent Wendy. So, we maintained our cool while she was there, only showing hints of our excitement, like when Steve got to lock the door himself (above).


We then posed for multiple pictures in front of our house, blocking out the HUNT Real Estate sign when Wendy took the official Realty USA photograph. Check out the stained glass window behind my head--pretty awesome. Wendy said she'll send a postcard with our photo to our new neighbors. No doubt they'll think, "Who is that 12-year old girl and her awkward dad?"


Presents! Wendy opens the gift we got her while Steve holds the basket she gave us. Fresh fruit, bottle of wine, and small Lindor truffles--yum. We gave Wendy a certificate for a nice dinner at nearby Left Bank.


After Super-agent Wendy left, Steve and I went back into our house and did some measuring. I promptly did the "we're alone I can dance silly if I want" dance. This was the first time we could go in the house without a realtor or home inspector.


Around lunch time we picked up some loot from the hardware store for this weekend's awesome painting party: rollers, brushes, and paint trays. The clerk at the store gave us some very informative information about paint supplies, including the new Teflon rollers. Just ready for a post on painting supplies.


We also picked up a broom and a mop. Steve told me about these Mr. Clean "magic sponges" that release a chemical so awful and effective that his parents decided not to repaint a wall after wiping it down with the magic sponge. They didn't have any, we'll continue looking. I should note now though that I completely plan on having a wash-windows-with-vinegar-and-water house, free of most chemical cleaners. I just want the heavy duty stuff for an initial cleaning.


At 2:30 we went over to the NACA office and met our lawyer, Dena, in person for the first time. She was great, a total hustler. Steve and I learned much from Dena in the two hours we had with her, including "CYA: Cover Your Ass," and the names of Italian cookies (below). Whenever we feel like wusses on the phone with contractors or banks, we're going to channel Dena and kick ass.

I also signed my name twice on one document. Once above my name and once above Steve's. I thought Dena might kill me but she just called me an ass. We love her!


We also bought a tray of Italian cookies from Romeo & Juliet's for the folks at NACA and totally ate some while we signed our 360 pages of documents.


We finished up our closing around 4:45 p.m., hands tired from signing, and hauled ass to the paint store. As you can tell from Stephen's joyful expression, closing wasn't all that stressful itself. It was the before-work and the running list of after-work that makes us tired, tired people.

As the last piece of paper was signed, Dena said, "Congratulations, you're now in debt!" Yay!