Love Love Love

Our first week in the new place has been really good- though a bit tiring. We finished de-wallpapering and painting our bedroom and after setting up a few small details it feels like lovely beach retreat. I've never though of myself as a good decorator- I don't have an eye for matching shapes and picking out perfect colors, however before the move I read tons of Better Home and Garden blogs and tips. I think some of the ideas actually stuck. I really wanted the bedroom to have a seaside cottage feel, and I do feel like I accomplished this.

I love it so much I think I'm even sleeping better.

Our office is also set up. I decided not to paint the wood panelling just yet. I put up a picture we got in Savannah of a bamboo forest path- next to the panelling it gives the room a kind of woodsy feel. My desk is set in front of my window and I have a wonderful view of our little front porch and the big tree in our front yard. It's trunk is totally encompassed in ivy. It gives me the feeling of being in the south.

Plus it makes me want to write.

Our Bedroom- the first (almost complete room)

So here is the wallpaper we tore down. We found tearing down wallpaper to be pretty time consuming. The decorative layer was easy- it pulled down dry (I kinda liked doing that part). We used Dif to scrape off the backing. It worked pretty well.
We painted it a simple cream- but I think it accents the blue wains coating really well.

What's it Worth?

I've found the hardest part of buying a home is all the waiting. Every step in the process is followed by a long stretch of staring at the phone or compulsively checking my email.

The appraisal was today. It's the last big step before we can show up to the closing and get the keys (thats when it gets really official).

So now we wait to get back the report...

An Education

In my first home I will learn how to:

Bake

Garden

DIY home repair.

Should be interesting.

Here We Go...

So far I have learned one very important life lesson: buying a house is not easy.

Before Tom and I started looking for a home, I had romanticized the whole process, especially the search. I imagined galavanting around cozy and well-decorated homes that smelt of freshly baked apple pies, I imagined I would instantly feel "this is it!".

I guess some of my day dreams turned out to be true. However, it took many terrible homes to get there.

Foreclosures and short sales bring with them their own adventures in house hunting. Having a very VERY tiny budget brings on a whole other set of challenges. I will say, only one house had me running out screaming. I swear I felt a presence in there- something saying "GET OUT NOW". Pretty sure my realtor hadn't had that happen too many times. He turned to my fiance and said, "That happens, right?", more a question than a comforting remark.

A month of looking may not seem long, but when you're seeing 5 houses at a time, a few times a week, it seems like an eternity. All of the properties began to blur together. I started to believe I would never get that "This is it!" feeling. Instead, I feared having to settle with something livable.

I'm happy to say I was wrong.

When I walked into our soon-to-be-house, I knew. Scratch that, when we drove by our soon-to-be- house I knew. It isn't huge or glamourous but it's brimming with charm and coziness. Exactly what I wanted. From the "Welcome Friends" sign hanging over the bay window outside to the exposed wood beams in the ceiling. I instantly saw past the wood panelling and out of date wall paper to a home full of possibilities.

And now the count down begins. 18 days until we close.