My husband and I are trying to find a house. Well, we think we have actually found a house but due to various things (including possible mold) we may not go ahead with it. Mind you, trying not to get our hopes up is a fool's errand - we are already mentally redecorating "our" kitchen (the very 70s kitchen with questionable remodeling...) and planning where the veg garden will go.
We actually made a bid on another (practically perfect) home - 1950s with wood floors, great kitchen and 3 bedrooms, plus a HUGE lot in a great neighborhood. It was way too good to be true and we weren't that surprised when our offer was rejected. Then we found out that we'd made the best offer, but the homeowner was re-listing the home at a higher price. Hmm... It is legal for them to do so, but it is pretty unusual and extremely frustrating. The new price was out of our range so we decided to check out a home in a less-nice-but-still-nice neighborhood. This new house is in good condition and is very light and open. There is just enough room for a vegetable plot and small yard in the back.
So we'll see how it goes. I won't share too much, just in case the seller reads brand-new blogs (unlikely) but I will definitely share more if we get the house. Whichever house we end up with, expect lots of pictures of my decorating efforts, before/after stories and garden tales.
A bit of background - for many years I moved from rental to rental. We tried living in Eugene, OR, which was lovely but lacked employment opportunities and moved to Virginia, where we lived with a relative for a couple years and then remained in the home for 2 more years after he moved out. We were very lucky to be asked to caretake that home (owned by my husband's family) and were allowed to make it our own, to an extent. I never did get to paint the kitchen, but we redecorated both bathrooms. Although my husband and I have some different tastes when it comes to homes, we both wanted to create a home in which our friends felt comfortable and that was functional for our needs. Although our Virginia house wasn't perfect, we are really looking forward to finding our next home.
My home style is kind of a mix of hippy/artsy/cottage/Scandinavian - essentially, I have always wanted to live in a fairytale cottage and I think my decorating sense gets pulled in that direction. So while we might have
Star Wars action figures riding dinosaurs (yep!) on our bookshelves, we also have alchemist jars of dried herbs and several beaten up antiques sitting around. The giant gnome-head birdhouse helps a bit, too :) Basically, if you can imagine the Weasley's home - that is what I'm going for.