I'm Home.

I moved around my entire life.  As a child, I lived in 12 different homes that I can remember.  As an adult, I lived in 6 different homes.  And, in my entire life, I've never lived in any one house for more than 4 years.  

With that in my past, I've always longed for the title of "homeowner."  It was a big dream and goal for myself to finally have a place of my own - living in home for however long I chose, making a house my own, designing it as I saw fit.  Though, I was never sure when I'd be able stable enough in my life to able to commit to an area long enough to accomplish that goal.  

After getting married last October, I knew I was finally in a position to be able to do so - at the age of 32.  Mr. Handsome and I started casually looking in July, finding a realtor we liked and trusted, and getting to know the area in which we were looking.  We were trying to figure out what we could afford and what we could get in a home for that amount.  

We found the "the" house in November, made an offer the day before Thanksgiving and got an acceptance the same day.  Although we had looked at TONS of houses online, this was the first one we liked enough to go see in person.  Yes, we literally made an offer on the very first house we saw.

So, in January of this year, we officially bought this little beauty:

It came together completely randomly and in many ways, for many reasons, I initally fought it.  But Mr. Handsome insisted it was the right house for us and I followed his lead.  We were so excited.

This was the place where our marriage would bloom and hopefully the place where our children will be born.  It is a three-story townhouse, with just under 3,000 square feet, on a tiny almost-4,000 square foot lot (which is like 9% of an acre ... so yeah).  There are 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, a 2 car garage, and 1 adorable small outdoor patio.

We couldn't wait to get out of rental and into our very own home.  Due to some small renovations and a horrible snow storm, we didn't move in for a few weeks.  It was torture to own a home but not be able to live in it!  Our first night in the house wasn't until February 6, 2016.

Buying a home was a such a big, scary unknown for me and while I really liked this house, I knew I would never feel totally ready to make such a commitment.  So, I had to rely on Mr. Handsome's assurance that this was "the one."  And, he was right.  This is totally the right house for us.

Now, seven months later, it is quite amazing for me to think that this will most likely be the home I live in for the longest duration in my whole life up until now.  I'm not sure that it'll be our "forever" home, but it'll certainly be our 5-year home, maybe even 10-year.  And I'm beyond excited about that.

I finally feel like I have some roots.  That I, and our family, have somewhere from which to grow.  I still come home some days and think, "Really?  This is MY home.  I never have to leave unless I choose to."  Being in power of that choice for the first time ever is an overwhelming feeling.

Or, sometimes, I'll be walking around the house and think about how I'd like to change something and then I think, "And I CAN do that if I so choose."  I always had grand ideas for each rental that I lived in, but I knew those dreams would never happen.  But now, they can!  They are possible.  And that possibility is a powerful feeling.

Finally, I'm here.

I'm home.


You can follow our journey of making this house our home on Instagram by searching #WelcometoAmericaSquare