meant to be

Well, here it is my friends, after three months, a million viewings, and two failed offers, we now officially have new home.

Here, Thom checks out the new neighborhood while River rummages through a bag of books and toys we got from a yard sale (just what we need: more crap!).


















Cute street, huh? Still within walking distance of our favorite squares and Kevin and Crystal, so the location is great.

On Saturday we looked at a condo I had seen the day before, and though I thought it had potential Thom resolutely hated it (wow, sometimes we don't agree). I'm so glad he hated that place because it lead us right to our dream home.

While we were in the neighborhood, our agent thought we might like to see a house down the street that was in the process of being renovated. And when I say "in the process" what I mean is the house had been gutted and re-framed with studs... and that's it. We walked through the construction site armed only with a floor plan and our imaginations. Still, in spite of the exposed wires, plywood floors, and complete lack of walls, Thom and I both knew this was the place.

It's a four bedroom with a beautiful open plan, huge family room, and great backyard. And because it's so early in the construction process Thom and I will be able to have a hand in choosing everything from flooring to appliances to doorknobs (if we want).

We met with the developers yesterday--a lovely young couple who have quite a few houses under their belts--and we hit it off great. It was really important that we get along with them since we'll be working so closely together. They told us their ideas, we gave them some of ours, and at the end of the meeting we signed all the paperwork! It was so much nicer than the process we've been through twice before: giving our offer to our agent, staying awake all night wondering if they'll take it, only to find out the next day we've been out-bid by some crazy amount.

I'm thrilled and daunted by the prospect of designing a new space. It's going to be a lot of work in the coming months, but I'm always happy when I have a big project in front of me.

YEA!!