Welcome

This blog has been in the works for quite some time although until recently it was only a series of thoughts rather than a tangible entity. Nonetheless, even before buying our first house I knew that we would be doing a lot to it...not because we intended to buy a fixer-upper but because we wanted to make the house we bought our own. To say that we like things a certain way is a drastic understatement.

The idea of "our first home" still seems like a dream rather than a reality as it has been many years in planning (again, solely in my head). Lets go back a little so you can get to know the story behind this blogger.

I'm a full time working mama to two beautiful boys that are 22 months apart and a wife to a man that I met in a bar. Yes a bar. The hubs and I met while I was in college and out one night with some friends. I was the sober driver that evening and he...well let's just say he wasn't close to being the sober driver for his group. After he finally got the courage to come over to me (a few beers helped with that) one thing led to the next and we left with each others phone numbers (not each other just to clarify, this is a family blog!). A month later we went on our first date and nine months later we were married. Our first year of marriage was my last year of college and knowing my husband wanted to continue onto grad school we prepared ourselves for the prospect of moving within the following year. Twelve months later the prospect of moving manifested as a 17-foot Budget truck with all of our belongings inside.

We moved from Washington State where all our friends and family were for a foreign country: Georgia. To make it a little more interesting I gave birth to our first baby a week before my husband had to be in Georgia for orientation. I followed 4 weeks after that with our new baby, our dog, and my mother (thank heavens). Did I mention that we drove?

It was a very challenging 3 and 1/2 years but well worth it. We returned from Georgia with a second child, a Doctorate of Chiropractic and those dreams of a home still floating around in my head. With that being said I am beyond proud of him and what he accomplished for our family.

We are a young, healthy, and budget-conscious family. My husband and I share a love for working out and eating clean but also enjoy our dessert. Both of us have sacrificed a lot to get to where we are now and into our first home. Truly it has been an adventure thus far but with so much more to come. If buying a home isn't adventure enough, then surely tearing it apart less than 24 hours after obtaining the keys qualifies. It's amazing what you find when you rip things apart and how resourceful you become when your budget dwindles faster than you anticipated. After buying this house we went all in with the renovations rather than practicing the more traditional (rational?) method of moving in and going room by room. The house itself sits on the corner of a great neighborhood and we reside on just shy of an acre. Some, when walking by or walking into the house for the first time prior to our renovations may not have thought much of it as it didn't really have any wow factors. For us though it was a gem with so much potential. It just needed a vision which I had the moment we walked in the door (and several years prior, again those darn thoughts percolating in my head!). Not to mention that vision would encompass a lot of work in the form of sweat labor, a few disagreements and several bumps along the way.

 I have been told that if your marriage can survive a renovation then you can get through just about anything. So honey it looks like we are in it truly for the long haul if that adage holds true.  Before you go I forgot to mention that all the renovations you will see on this blog are DIY thanks to my husband and his rockstar of a dad.

So, welcome to our 1989 home on 10th St...or what I more affectionately refer to as our "Gem on 10th."