I know. It has been waaay too long since I have last
written. So much has happened since my last entry—most importantly, our big
move!
It’s kind of magical the way it happened. I have dreamt
about having my very own house for a couple of years, but in the distant future
kind of way where we say, “I can’t wait until I (INSERT DREAM HERE) one day . . .” It is one of those big steps in
life that deserves popping open your most expensive champagne (which of course
we did upon moving in). It started out
as going house hunting, “to see what was out there.” We picked one of our
favorite cities and my mom’s realtor and spent the day imagining ourselves in
each home we toured. It was so incredibly fun to go house hunting and visualizing
our lives filling up each and every house we walked into (although there were
some homes where it was all I could do to NOT run out the front door). At the
end of the day we had several prospects, and were seriously considering the
reality of moving to this quiet mountain town we had spent the day touring. We
were familiar with Idyllwild but it would be different to live in this small
town full time. Could we really do it? Could I really go from living in the
city and near the beach my whole life to suddenly living in a modest town resting
on a mountain top? We flirted with the idea and the houses we saw, keeping one
a little higher on our list. We decided we had nothing to lose by acting on our
dreams. Let’s just see what happens.
We put an offer in on a house not too far from town, with a circular driveway,
pine floors and ceilings (but not in the cabin-y way you are probably
imagining), that was perched up on a little hill from the street. It was
beautiful. It was us. The listing price was fair, so we were prepared to offer
full price . . . but we didn’t have to—the seller accepted our first offer! (Side note to other first time buyers: This is
extremely rare!) The following day the seller received three more
offers. Trust me when I say timing (and
prayer!) was everything. If we would
have waited a few more hours, I would not be writing this entry from the desk
in our office overlooking these beautiful, venerable pine trees standing just
outside our window.
Throughout this process of house hunting and buying our home, I realized the value in taking chances more than ever. When it comes to going after your dreams, sometimes it pays to be bold and just go for it. Three months ago I would have never thought I'd be a home owner at 24. And never would I have imagined our first home would be so beautiful.
