New Unexpected LOVES with the house

There have been several "hidden treasures" about this house that we never realized just HOW much we would love them and how they would make home life easier.

1. The high kitchen cabinets.
Yes, I can only reach the first 2 shelves, but having 4 shelves in the cabinets make a TON more room for storage. Plus with a tall husband, his coffee mugs can go up high, plus all the other stuff we don't use on a daily basis. My step ladder does the trick when he's away!

2. Tall trees in backyard.
At first I thought they made our backyard feel smaller. I also didn't like the look of the dead grass/mud/pine needles under them. Plus I thought it made us appear too private. Well needless to say, I love them. Sometimes I look out back and forget that there are houses so close. We are also able to reap the benefits of the morning shade well into the early afternoon which is the #1 reason I love them.

3. 2 linen closets
SPACE. I LOVE the space.

4. Upstairs laundry
So convenient. I love being able to throw the dried clothes into a hamper and then onto my bedroom floor with tons of room to sort.

5. Open Living Room into Dining Room
At first I wished there was some sort of separation but now I am convinced that it is awesome, well at least for the family dance parties that involve jumping on a mattress while looking in a mirror. I will let you know if I still like the plan once we get adult furniture.

6. Outside Door Beeps
The previous owners had an alarm system. We are not activating ours but the doors still beep when they open. SO nice in letting me know if a certain somebody decides to try and go swing on the swing set without me (don't worry, that only happened once).

7.2 stairways
We knew it would be nice. We didn't think THIS awesome.

8. Convection Oven
No need for a toaster oven now! This microwave/convection oven works like a charm and I even figured it out without the manual :)

9. Under cabinet and over cabinet lighting
When it gets dark those are the lights I have on downstairs and it looks phenominal. Rob told me I'd love these, I just didn't know how much.

10. Garbage Disposal
Who'd a thought? Yes. I love this little sucker because we no longer need a free standing garbage can. And we have never been good at finding a good spot for our garbage can. This solves all problems!

11. 3 car garage
Right now it's a perfect home to boxes. Soon it will be home to our cars and other stuff. At first we thought we only would need a 2 car garage but judging on how much stuff we have unpacked for the garage, it's a good thing this house had 3!

12. Shaded Patio 24 hours a day
There is an area on our patio that is shaded all the time. The water table fits there perfectly. I knew the back yard would get the evening shade but never did I expect 24 hour shade on a portion of the patio. We are out all the time; even in the 100 degree heat!

13. Refrigerator
These people did it right. 2 pull out freezers, exterior ice machine and water dispenser and good refrigerator space. Don't think I am as much of a fan of stainless steel as I originally thought; you can see too many smudges on it.

14. The space
Literally we knew we were buying a much larger space but you never know how large a place is until you get your furniture in it. the space we have around the furniture is awesome. So awesome, comfortable and calming.

15. Tile in Master Bathroom
I seriously feel like I am at a spa every time I walk into my bathroom. It is shiny and beautiful. I want to lick it.

16. Shaded backyard
I knew we were getting the afternoon shade but didn't expect our patio to be completely shaded by 3:30 AND that our swing set would be in the morning shade until 12:30. Awesome that we pretty much have shade back there any time of the day.

And of course there are things that we thought we'd love that we just aren't sure about....

1. stainless steel appliances
like i said earlier, they show so many smudges and dents. Apparently if you hold dry ice in a paper towel and hold it on the dent for a minute or so they pop out. I will keep you updated.

2. black counter tops in kitchen and bathroom
Pretty when clean but show lots of tooth paste residue and water marks. I guess we just have to clean more.

3. dark hardwoods
LOVE them when clean but they show everything. Scuffs, dust, trash, food; looks like we will just have to mop more.

4. high ceiling in foyer
Beautiful but makes for a hot tunnel of air that tunnels straight into the Master bedroom. Our Master is easily the hottest room in the house because of this foyer.

5.