Moving on

 After three years in my first official home I found a deal that I couldn't pass up. I loved so much about my condo, a foreclosure I purchased in the fall of 2008. It was a great deal at the time, and the building was a beauty. It was perfect for me, with little maintenance, great bones, and a low mortgage payment. I did quite a bit of work on my new home, stripping wallpaper, painting, even ripping up old flooring and refinishing the hardwoods. In the end, it was a home I could be proud of, and it certainly served me well.

Over the summer I stumbled upon a house in the neighborhood where I grew up. It is 0.4 miles from my family, which was the best selling feature for me. Of course this would be a deal breaker for some people, but with a bunch of kids still in the family I'm always driving home for visits.

I had also grown tired of paying condo dues. We kept them low, but I did quite a bit of work on my own, and didn't agree with some of the purchasing decisions. With a 2/3 vote to approve, only three units, and some big decisions to come, the condo association was bound to have some friction sooner or later.

I had also grown tired of city living, and longed for the private, quiet, and breezy life of the suburbs. I have been in my new home for two months now, and have made some progress. It is a fixer upper for sure, but I look forward to the challenges. My soon-to-be beautiful two bedroom house, on 3/4 of an acre, with a two car garage is perfect for me, and the price was right.

Here are some pictures to give you an idea of just what I'm getting myself into!

This is my kitchen. I ripped up the vinyl tile floor, and took out all the doors and drawers so I can sand and paint them. Excuse the mess!

This is the hallway, it will be the easiest space to work on. Wallpaper is almost down!

Lovely picture of one of my bedrooms, wall needs a good cleaning but at least all the wallpaper is gone!

My pink radiator!

Probably my favorite space in the house. I can't wait to have a working fireplace. If you can't see the potential in the rest of the house maybe you can see it here? Wallpaper is on it's way out here too!

One of many ceilings that will need some work due to water damage.

Another view of the living room. This will be a great place to hang out someday, but for now it's my workspace.

This is my lovely pink bathroom, complete with rusty pink radiator. At least the wallpaper and vinyl tiles are gone!

Did I mention that I have an old green bathtub with fancy gold hardware in my pink bathroom? Even Fatty is in awe!

Here is a little sneak peak! One of my bedrooms is almost finished. I painted and primed, washed the windows, scrubbed and painted the radiator, and sanded and refinished the floors. The floors aren't perfect since I just decided to polyurethane, I think in the rest of the house I'll stain first.