We Bought a House!
I am SO excited to share the big news with you guys!! We have been keeping this a secret for some time now, which has been one of the hardest things to do. But the cat is officially out of the bag and I can't wait to tell you more!
We're each our own toughest critic, so I do first want to start out by apologizing for a lower quality of content lately. I definitely feel like I've been "mailing it in" and I feel badly about that. It's been hard to not share such a big part of our lives on a blog that's about my life haha. But for privacy and personal reasons, we wanted to wait to share until it was safe to do so!
And with that, I hate that I even have to mention this, but I please ask for you to respect our privacy and not try to find or share our address. Surprisingly it's a very common issue bloggers have to deal with and something that we've taken great lengths to protect.
Where do we even begin??
Our last update was in September and we didn't leave off on the best note, but coincidentally, things actually turned around that same day. Long story short: we bought a house! I touched on this some in that post, but Andrew and I had just re-signed our lease in June and were planning on another year in the city. We honestly were not ready to move or leave our current place that we love so much, so we decided to stay until 2021.
That had always been our long term plan and the target year on which my savings had been set. But things change and COVID happens and you just kind of realize what's important. We love our apartment and living in the city, but having both of us home, starting a second business (that requires inventory), and no outdoor space of our own helped change our minds.
I totally understand that there are a lot of people not as privileged or as fortunate as we are and have been. I am honestly grateful that we have been safe and secure throughout all of this. But I'd be lying if I didn't also mention that living in the epicenter of a global pandemic was taxing. It was physically and emotionally draining, and I'm not sure I'll ever be able to truly understand the toll it took on me.
So we are now another statistic among other people leaving the city for greener pastures.
In some ways, it makes me sad because I love this place.
There was still so much more I wanted to do and had plans for. I was proud to stand strong throughout this past year in the city that I love so much.
We started looking at places in the suburbs and basically had an hour-drive radius outside the city set for our search. The thought of renting a bigger place outside the city also came to mind, but after talking with our bank and financial advisor, we decided that we were able to buy a place if we wanted. And I'm not totally sure why, but I never really was interested in buying a condo or starter home, so we looked for more long term options within our budget. The search reminded me of Goldilocks: some were too big (aka expensive), some were too small (didn't fit our needs), and one was just right.
I'd be lying if I said that the home buying process didn't cause some tears and a lot of stress. It's the biggest purchase of your life and there is so little of it you can control. Also it's SO EXPENSIVE hahah. It can feel like you're drowning at times.
But the outcome was worth it. I was always a little worried I would regret leaving the apartment because it was our first home together, but even now as I type this, I feel claustrophobic and stressed. It doesn't help that things are in a bit of disarray as we move out, but I think I've Kon Mari'd it: I thanked it for the memories and am now letting it go.
That was also a big weight on our shoulders:
Getting this apartment rented! We found someone to take over and we could not be happier. The thought of floating two (basically) mortgages would have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Even better, the person taking over our lease has been super flexible on timing and has made it so we can take our time between places. This time of year is already stressful enough with the blog and business. This has given us time we need to get the house ready for move in.
I keep telling Dixie that we'll be moving (she's never seen stairs before) and she doesn't ever seem to like the sound of it, but we're all very excited for our new adventure. I'll be taking you along for the ride and sharing just about every step along the way so I hope you are as excited as I am!!
Some things we're really looking forward to in our new place:
-Opening the dishwasher and/or oven without moving the trash bin
-Being able to open your door and go outside
-Having a yard
-Two bathroom sinks
-Multiple bathrooms and showers
-A car
-Washer and dryer in the house!!
-Storage
-A bigger closet
-Being able to load your car with groceries
-All of our stuff in one place
