Okay, here we go...

So this is my first time blogging.  I'm fairly certain this will suck, but what the hell, I'll give it a shot.

Me in a snapshot: Married, kids, originally from MA, I've been living in NC since 2000.

So how did we decide on the Verona?  Bedrooms.  We need a shit-ton of them.  And an office.  And a play room.  And a man cave.  In a nutshell, we started off looking online for existing homes, but we quickly found that in our market (Charlotte) it's virtually impossible to find a house that has enough room, on a decent lot, in a decent part of town, in our price range.  So then we started looking at new construction, and we started getting closer, but no cigar.  Then we saw the model version of the Rome.  We fell in love with it almost instantly, but we didn't like the neighborhood or the lots.

Then we found another neighborhood with much better lots and we saw their model, which is the Verona.  It also has a basement or attic option, which made it a perfect fit for us.

Okay, on a quick side note, I'm currently typing this while sitting on the couch watching Island Hunters on HGTV with my wife, and these assholes are buying an island.  Literally, a f@cking island.  Like, an island that is about an acre or two, and there is exactly one house on it.  I need a beer…

Anyway, we were able to take advantage of some great year-end incentives from RH, and got the morning room for free, along with $16k off the price of the Verona.  We got a great lot (.31 acres) and it's in a great location.  So on new years eve we signed our lives away.  Yay!

Home sweet home!

So here's what we've decided to go with so far:

Verona elevation L with a side-entry garage, with the 2' bump out.  The nice thing about that bump out is it also extends the alcove in the bonus room by 2'.  Sweet!  We also went with the finished attic, which is going to be my man cave.  Aww yeah!  

Today we also went by the neighborhood and met with +Stuart Singer , who's blog has been extremely helpful so far.  His Verona is immaculate, and very tastefully decorated, and he was kind enough to share his time with us, along with some great tips and information.  Thanks again Stuart!  

We also stopped in at the model and picked out our exterior colors.  We went with the blue siding, but as soon as we got home we got on google maps and looked at a house with that color and decided we hate it!  So I think we'll switch to the green.

Allright kids, I think that'll do it for tonight.  How do you end these things?  Do I have to come up with a catch phrase, or a sign-off?  I'll try to come up with something better, but for now….stay classy.