My Mama told me...

When my husband, BG, and I were looking for a new home, my mom and grandma had the same advice. It was like an echo, really, which I heard for the entire five months our house was on the market and we were maniacally viewing properties for the "just in case" scenario that *today*, we'd have an offer: PLEASE DO NOT BUY A PROJECT.

They were right to worry. We are two middle(ish)-class 30-somethings with four kids under the age of six. We don't have time to take vacations much less take on projects. Our day begins at about 2AM when the baby wakes up for her night feeding and ends at about 11PM when she goes down for her nap bed. There just isn't a lot of extra time in our lives.

We set out with the best intentions, truly. We told our real estate agent that we would like a large home (to house those four kiddos I mentioned) and would be willing to do minor cosmetic work--paint a wall or two. The problem was that every house in our price range looked like a war-zone, and every house beyond our price range still needed more than a quick coat of lipstick. We continued looking and willed the perfect house to come on to the market. After all, we didn't have a contract on our house, so what's the rush?

Then on January 4 at 9PM, a knock on the door.

Stranger: "Hi. I'm sorry to bother you. You probably think I'm crazy."
Me (to self): "That's what crazy people say."
Stranger: "I drive by your house all the time..."
Me (to self): "This is another sign of the crazy."
Stranger: "My Realtor is lazy and won't show me this house, but I know it's meant to be mine. Could I come in?"
Me: "Hoooooon-eeeeeey..." *sends psychic signal through the universe for BG to pick up his undies and towels off the bathroom floor*

And so it happened. Someone knocked on our door and saw the house and wanted it, for really really real. She was fine with a long settlement period to give us time to find something habitable, and so we continued viewing houses online and sometimes even in person. Our agent was really keyed into what we wanted versus what we were seeing. So when we drove up to this one, even though the street view was a bit terrifying, we were pleased to hear him say: "Now THIS is a [G Family] house!"

And so it was. In spite of our desire to limit our efforts to minor fixes, we fell in love. Hard. And big.

On April 2, we moved into a charming 3700 square foot windowless monstrosity... with a ballroom.



You know the adage "Buy the worst house in the best neighborhood?" Well Mama didn't raise no fool, and that is exactly what we did. See, Mom, I was listening, even though I didn't follow all your advice. The house has a pretty cool history, which I'll share in future posts. For now, I need to update you all on our very first project. Our first of about a zillion. I hope you enjoy reading along while BG and I attempt to stretch time and space in order to accomplish all that needs doing.