Yesterday, we bought a house! Ok, we've been buying this house for awhile, but we closed yesterday and on miss A's birthday no less and it is now, officially, (gulp), ours.
Not a townhouse or a condo, but a house. Not that there's anything wrong with condos or townhouses; we've lived in one for the past 18 months and mostly, this kind of connected living isn't for us. Although we'd accepted that we'd most likely find a townhouse or a condo to buy, (or rent again), because almost everything has been renovated torn downwithin an inch of its life in these parts and you get what you get (and you don't get upset.)
But we found a house! Ours is on a nice-sized lot in a pocket neighborhood; little streets that only lead you into the area if you're visiting someone. And this house is perfect for us, even though I'd have never picked this house as that because I'd always imagined our perfect home as a little arts and crafts cottage with a porch.
We started talking about the idea of buying when we realized there wasn't a lot available, (both rental and otherwise), in this tiny, one square mile, little city by the sea. By far the most impulsive we've ever been when it comes to real estate, this is the 3rd time we've become home owners, our most uninhibited purchase to date, even for us.
We began actively looking in January, mostly at rentals because that's the way we thought we wanted to live: nomadic, (ha!), and untethered to anything, able to move on a dime. At least that's how M and I have been operating. Miss A on the other hand, has had very definitive ideas about planting roots and owning our own home again, and until we saw this home, we did not agree.
When this house came up, we knew. Even from the website photos we knew this was our house and it was solidified two days later. I was at an appointment, unable to go with M and A to the showing, so when M called and said,
'I'm going to make an offer, do you trust me?'
I said yes, and I did. Mind you, we haven't actually been inside of any of the homes we've looked at over the past year and a half, so technically, we looked at and bought the first house we saw. Turns out I was able to get into the house for a five minute walk through before we made our offer, just enough time for me to start placing our belongings inside. I was immediately attached, but striving for non-chalance because the particulars were complicated. (when aren't they?)
This house reminds me of all of the places, (both rental and owned), that we've shared over the past sixteen years in a sweet combination of the best of the best. There's no yard, (and I'm ok with that), at least not in the traditional sense. The front and back remind me of a NYC townhouse with concrete patios and waist-high wrought iron fences. I have visions of container gardening and I'm looking at outdoor furniture and dining room tables in earnest.
We won't be moving until the end of June, which is perfect for our current rental sitatuation. Although we are chomping at the bit to move, I'm also really looking forward to the purging and streamlining of our belongings. It's gross amazing how much we have here that we're not using, (or that miss A's out grown), and I can't wait to pass it along, leave it on the curb, and create space so we don't have every inch of our new place packed full of shit.
The best part? My armoire will now have a place, (yay!), and M will have has his chair. If you've been to our home you know the one I speak of, and believe me, it's a small consolation. Because the front of our house has a turret, (princess much?), and on the 2nd floor, the turret room is off our bedroom, and perfect for my mirrored vanity table and accroutement.
Dream house indeed!
