Channeling Candice Olson

never ever in this world thought my first home would be brand-new, or for that matter that I would want it to be brand-new. I like things with history. But apparently history in a home only means one thing: old. Old AC, old appliances, old roof. Old, old, old. Yes, most of it I figured we could pay to update. But when you're married to Mr. Dose of Reality, why buy old when you can buy new for the same price if not less? You get peace of mind and the opportunity to pick out everything yourself. And pick we did tonight. I felt like I was in a Crayola store of patterns, textures, and colors. In a dizzying number of choices. I tried my best to think about the things I'm attracted to in magazines. And then I did my best to channel Candice Olson.

Here's how my house came away:

Kitchen: It's pretty damn close to my dream kitchen. I got my white cabinets. It was an upgrade (if you're keeping track, that's upgrade number two). Just a small amount to get what I really wanted. On the walls: Sherwin-Williams Harvester. We didn't even explore granite right now so we could stay within budget. We were able to find a Formica pattern we liked called Sand Crystal. Our appliances will be white.

Dining Room and Great Room: I stuck with the Harvester color throughout just to save time and to create flow from this one larger space. I realize that I could have done variations of the same shade and still made it work, but better safe than sorry. My fireplace (upgrade number one) will have a raised hearth (no buried fireplace here! it's going to be a great focal point) with a stone-looking ceramic tile with mantel that's trimmed in beige.

Through the foyer, dining room, and great room will be Kenya oak hardwood floors. Hardwood floors. Another dream come true.

Bedrooms: Only the bedrooms and the stairs will be carpeted. We chose to stick with the standard carpet in Fossil, but upgrade the carpet pad to an 8-pound pad versus the 6-pound pad. (That's upgrade number three. Our last upgrade. Not too shabby.) The rooms will be painted in Beige, which we can change later, choosing to play it safe for now.

Bathrooms: Again, we stayed away from the upgrades. The vanities will be chestnut oak with a stone-looking vinyl on the floors. The master bathroom has a shower so we opted to go with the clear glass door. (Hello peep show.)

Exterior: By far the hardest choice was the exterior. This is permanent decision. Luckily none of the selections were too crazy. (Except for maybe the light china blue color, which one of the houses our our cul de sac has already selected.) I stuck with a gray-brown color called Tuscan Clay with trim in Colonial Ivory and gutters in Pebble Stone Clay. The stone work will be Centurian Castle. (Doesn't that sound fancy?) Our front door and garage will be white. The hardware will be Venetian Bronze.

Add in a little love. A lot of waiting for this moment and you get a dream home made for Jonathan and Jessaca. How divine.