What’s your Valentine’s Day plans!?💕 Commen What’s your Valentine’s Day plans!?💕 Comment VDAY to get the links to these looks! We usually stay in on Valentine’s Day, but we haven’t decided for this year. I grabbed a few outfits that would be perfect for VDay and love how they turned out! Everything runs true to size except the red jumpsuit, I sized up. DM me with any questions. XO!
Just don’t ask 😆 Just don’t ask 😆
Test drove the @mazdausa CX-30 last week and now I Test drove the @mazdausa CX-30 last week and now I want one!! 🙌🏼 Comment A200 to get the links to this look. Jesse and I have been thinking about what car to get next, and I’m so thankful Mazda let me test drive this bad boy!! I loveeee the way she drives and definitely added her to our list of contenders. DM me with any questions on the car or this look! Xoxo

https://liketk.it/407hT
New FAVE jeans!!✨Comment A198 & I'll DM you the New FAVE jeans!!✨Comment A198 & I'll DM you the links to this look. I spotted these jeans a while back, and finally pulled the trigger on them! I love the high rise straight style with the split hem. Not to mention these make me look SO tall (I'm 5'4" you guys!!) - and I'm wearing a 3" heel. I also think this outfit would be so cute for Valentine's Day! My necklaces are 20% off with code MELISSA20 - DM me with any questions! XO
Really channeling my inner 80’s🤪 Comment A196 Really channeling my inner 80’s🤪 Comment A196 and I’ll DM you the links to these looks. Overnight it dropped like 20 degrees here in Phoenix and I’m wearing all the cozies! I love these sweaters (both Amazon finds) and they’re so comfy. DM me with any questions! XO
Anyone else love boyfriend jeans?!🙋🏼‍♀️ Comment A194 & I’ll DM you the links to my entire look! I’ve had this blazer forever (it’s an Amazon find!) and I just saw it’s on sale 10% off today. I love styling a blazer with ripped boyfriend jeans. These are my go-to! DM me with any questions. XO
Spring sweater dresses, YES PLEASE🙌🏼 Comment Spring sweater dresses, YES PLEASE🙌🏼 Comment A192 & I’ll DM you the links to these looks right away! I’m craving warmer temps, but these dresses are the perfect winter to spring dresses and both are under $50 amazon finds. They run true to size and are super comfy! DM me with any questions. XO
GRWM Valentine’s Day Style💗Comment SOMA and I GRWM Valentine’s Day Style💗Comment SOMA and I’ll send you a DM with the details ASAP! I asked you girls where I can find the most comfortable, yet cute bras, and I got SO many referrals to @somaintimates ! The Enchanting Lace Push Up Bra is insanely comfortable and the matching Enchanting Lace briefs are incredibly soft. I just ordered them in nude, too! Grab them and thank me later!! #SomaJanuary and #SomaPartner
My DREAM laundry room is complete!!🙌🏼 Commen My DREAM laundry room is complete!!🙌🏼 Comment LAUNDRYROOM1 & I’ll send you a DM with all of the link details.👉🏼When we built our home, we knew we’d have quite a few projects to do over the upcoming years. The laundry room has been high on our priority list, and is our first major project that’s complete! I’m so thankful for @three_plusme_ making our dream space come to life! I literally showed them an inspo photo and they went above and beyond (& no this is not sponsored!!) and created a space beyond what we imagined!

The wall letters were hand crafted by one of you who actually DMed me when I was on the hunt... I’m so thankful for this community in so many ways!! Her etsy shop is linked (comment LAUNDRYROOM1 & I’ll send a DM) & code MELISS15 is 15% off, as well. Almost all of the decor are super affordable amazon and walmart finds. DM me with any questions, as always!💕
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Fashion · November 29, 2021

Everything You Need To Know Before Buying a House

LIVING DETAILS HERE

Hi friends!! What an amazing few weeks it’s been, living in our very first home. Honestly, it’s one of the happiest times of our lives! For background, my husband Jesse and I just bought (well built) our very first home. Before this, we rented for years in both New York City and Scottsdale, AZ. In 2018 we started to seriously talk about purchasing our first home, but all we knew was that we needed to save money and have good credit scores. I really wish we had known more than we did, but that’s why I’m here today taking the mystery out of how to prep for being a home owner. Today, I’m sharing everything you need to know before buying a house!

Check out the details of our tile in our new home HERE.

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Before House Hunting Steps

1. Hire A Realtor

Before house hunting begins, we wanted to be sure of a few things. First, we hired a realtor! If you’re local, our good friend Jenna Marsh was our real estate agent. We knew we could trust her and that she had our best interest. Make sure whoever you hire is someone you trust and who will be 100% honest with you. What I mean by that, is you want a realtor who will point out the good the bad and the ugly! We went to look for houses for over a year before finding our lot, and I swear every single one had downsides and Jenna pointed them ALL out to us! A good realtor cares more about a long term relationship and happy home owners, who will refer them and come back when they’re ready to buy/sell, than just a one time commission.

2. Get Pre-Qualified

Second, call a mortgage company and have a loan officer get you pre-qualified. The pre-qualification process essentially tells you what you can afford to purchase. Your real estate agent can refer reputable mortgage companies. We got pre-qualified by a mortgage company that we didn’t wind up getting our mortgage through. You just need to take the first step and this step is 100% free. Getting pre-qualified also helps eliminate wasted time looking at houses out of budget. We knew what we could afford and didn’t want to try to go over!

3. Write Down House Non-Negotiables

Once we got pre-qualified, we talked to Jenna (our realtor) and chatted about our non-negotiables. These are things that were must haves in our house (that we either couldn’t or didn’t want to have to change later on). Basically we made a short list of things that were absolute must haves for us. For example, we wanted an open concept layout, high ceilings, a safe neighborhood and 4 bedrooms. Once we nailed that down, we had Jenna start looking for houses for us.

4. Save Money

This should also go without saying, but we saved a ton over the past few years! We wanted to put down 20% to avoid PMI (private mortgage insurance, which is a fee you pay if you don’t put down 20%, but drops once you get to the 20%). We also knew that once we cashed the down payment on the house, the first few months would be rather expensive. We still have a ton of projects, but we want new furniture, light fixtures, hardware, and so much other random stuff! Obviously we can do it slowly, but there are things (like landscaping or painting) that can’t be avoided.

That’s It!

I hope this helps you when you are ready to shop for houses. We had such an awesome experience, and I think these steps are what really helped us not be stressed through the home buying process.

If you want to see more home content, be sure to follow me on Instagram HERE.

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What’s your Valentine’s Day plans!?💕 Commen What’s your Valentine’s Day plans!?💕 Comment VDAY to get the links to these looks! We usually stay in on Valentine’s Day, but we haven’t decided for this year. I grabbed a few outfits that would be perfect for VDay and love how they turned out! Everything runs true to size except the red jumpsuit, I sized up. DM me with any questions. XO!
Just don’t ask 😆 Just don’t ask 😆
Test drove the @mazdausa CX-30 last week and now I Test drove the @mazdausa CX-30 last week and now I want one!! 🙌🏼 Comment A200 to get the links to this look. Jesse and I have been thinking about what car to get next, and I’m so thankful Mazda let me test drive this bad boy!! I loveeee the way she drives and definitely added her to our list of contenders. DM me with any questions on the car or this look! Xoxo

https://liketk.it/407hT
New FAVE jeans!!✨Comment A198 & I'll DM you the New FAVE jeans!!✨Comment A198 & I'll DM you the links to this look. I spotted these jeans a while back, and finally pulled the trigger on them! I love the high rise straight style with the split hem. Not to mention these make me look SO tall (I'm 5'4" you guys!!) - and I'm wearing a 3" heel. I also think this outfit would be so cute for Valentine's Day! My necklaces are 20% off with code MELISSA20 - DM me with any questions! XO
Really channeling my inner 80’s🤪 Comment A196 Really channeling my inner 80’s🤪 Comment A196 and I’ll DM you the links to these looks. Overnight it dropped like 20 degrees here in Phoenix and I’m wearing all the cozies! I love these sweaters (both Amazon finds) and they’re so comfy. DM me with any questions! XO
Anyone else love boyfriend jeans?!🙋🏼‍♀️ Comment A194 & I’ll DM you the links to my entire look! I’ve had this blazer forever (it’s an Amazon find!) and I just saw it’s on sale 10% off today. I love styling a blazer with ripped boyfriend jeans. These are my go-to! DM me with any questions. XO
Spring sweater dresses, YES PLEASE🙌🏼 Comment Spring sweater dresses, YES PLEASE🙌🏼 Comment A192 & I’ll DM you the links to these looks right away! I’m craving warmer temps, but these dresses are the perfect winter to spring dresses and both are under $50 amazon finds. They run true to size and are super comfy! DM me with any questions. XO
GRWM Valentine’s Day Style💗Comment SOMA and I GRWM Valentine’s Day Style💗Comment SOMA and I’ll send you a DM with the details ASAP! I asked you girls where I can find the most comfortable, yet cute bras, and I got SO many referrals to @somaintimates ! The Enchanting Lace Push Up Bra is insanely comfortable and the matching Enchanting Lace briefs are incredibly soft. I just ordered them in nude, too! Grab them and thank me later!! #SomaJanuary and #SomaPartner
My DREAM laundry room is complete!!🙌🏼 Commen My DREAM laundry room is complete!!🙌🏼 Comment LAUNDRYROOM1 & I’ll send you a DM with all of the link details.👉🏼When we built our home, we knew we’d have quite a few projects to do over the upcoming years. The laundry room has been high on our priority list, and is our first major project that’s complete! I’m so thankful for @three_plusme_ making our dream space come to life! I literally showed them an inspo photo and they went above and beyond (& no this is not sponsored!!) and created a space beyond what we imagined!

The wall letters were hand crafted by one of you who actually DMed me when I was on the hunt... I’m so thankful for this community in so many ways!! Her etsy shop is linked (comment LAUNDRYROOM1 & I’ll send a DM) & code MELISS15 is 15% off, as well. Almost all of the decor are super affordable amazon and walmart finds. DM me with any questions, as always!💕
Spring transition looks delivered!🙌🏼 Comment Spring transition looks delivered!🙌🏼 Comment WHBM1 and I’ll DM you the links to these looks ASAP. The temps are warming up a bit in Phoenix, and I’m all about versatile pieces I can wear now and later. If you’ve been here a while, you know @WHBM makes some of my favorite go-to jeans and these two were must haves for my closet! The coated jeans and flare jeans are perfect with a light weight sweater or casual tank and jacket. I’m wearing my true size in everything (except the flare jeans, size down), and sharing more details in stories! DM me with any questions. XOXO

#whbmnewyear23 #ad #itsherhouse

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