One year ago we decided to do something big for our family.
We decided to move back to Michigan. We decided we wanted live more self sufficiently. More traditionally.
Finally, 11 months after we made the six hour move (into my parent's basement)... we have our own home and our own place to begin fulfilling those dreams.
It's old. It's... interesting. And it's perfect for us.
The mini-tour.
Our front door! Original to the home. Opens to our front porch... with a few good tugs! Oh, and the lovely green carpet is hiding hardwood floors.
Lacey-lace. Every single window has these curtains. I have no idea what I'm going to sew with this much lace but I'm saving all of it. Maybe I'll make Evelyn's wedding dress.
Now we can officially begin our journey to homesteading (and home ownership!)... I hope you'll follow along and help us!
When did you buy your first home? What do you remember the most? What do you wish you had known?
This post is linking up with the Barn Hop and Simple Living Thursdays!
Thank you following along on our journey to simplicity & contentment. Please be sure to learn about our family, like our page on Facebook, and visit the right column to subscribe to future posts!
Congrats! It is adorable! I cannot wait to how you put your own charm into it. :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, friend - I love the lace, too!
ReplyDeleteWe bought our first home not far from MI, in Ohio. The biggest thing I remember is my youngest son being born there. What I wish I'd known (that I know now)? That I can't expect to have everything my parents have immediately & it takes time to have "everything" that you want. It looks great & I love those windows! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteHow true! Thanks Krystyna!
DeleteLove that old glass window.....I hope you guys enjoy making the new house your very own home!
ReplyDeleteWoot! Doesn't it feel great! From the pictures, it looks like you guys found a great home.
ReplyDeleteWe're in our first home, and will be here for a long time. We've been here since 1998. Ours was built in 1929, and needs some work which we're slowly getting to.
Congrats on your new home! We have been on our home for 6 years now. We found the buying process so stressful. I love our house it is also surrounded by woods. My sons love going for walks in the forest.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Looks like you got yourself an adorable house to turn into a home! I don't have any advice; my husband and I purchased 30 acres of land before we got married, then bought a used double wide trailer to live in after the wedding. Almost 4 years later, we're still in it! If we could go back, we wouldn't have done that - we paid way too much money for a trailer that has a lot of issues - but its served as a nice home for us regardless. I just can't wait until we're able to build the house of our dreams! (:
ReplyDeleteYou can always change the house.. But 30 acres, wow! I think the wait will be worth it!
DeleteCongratulations! What a charming house! I am super jealous! The housing market in N MI is so bad and expensive! I can't wait to see the "after pics"
ReplyDeleteThank you! Our first major renovation is almost done :) be sure to check back!
DeleteLove your house, and the back yard looks awesome. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteOhmygoodness, this is adorable!
ReplyDeleteCongrats!! It's such a huge journey to embark upon. I hope you love every minute of making the house your own!!
ReplyDeleteI love a foursquare! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteWhat a blessing! It looks beautiful. Old houses have so much rich character. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteNew fan here by way of Homestead Revival. Beautiful home ! I love that rectangular window. I would love for you to come share at my Farm Girl Blog Fest: http://fresh-eggs-daily.blogspot.com/2012/11/farm-girl-blog-fest-7.html
ReplyDeleteAnd while you're visiting, enter to win an Egg Selter too!
Lisa
Fresh Eggs Daily
Thank Lisa! You have a great site - I'm so happy to connect!
DeleteCongratulations! I'm a sucker for old houses, and that looks like a four-square charmer, for sure. That window...if you look at it, it looks like 3 houses side by side. Anybody else see that?
ReplyDeleteMy husband first noticed that when the sun shines through it creates "arrows" point towards are porch!
DeleteBeth this is awesome! I love, love, love your house!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely! I'm very excited for you! We just moved onto our new off-grid homestead a year ago, and we are enjoying the adventure. We have owned property before, but always had to sell them to help pay for international adoptions before we had a chance to build or live on them. Then last year the Lord provided the perfect 20 acres for us at a very low cost which perfectly meets our needs. We are so glad that we didn't try to settle in on any of the other properties that were much smaller and would not have allowed us to be very sustainable.
ReplyDeleteThis property is ours free and clear (no mortgage), but we had no funds left to build, so we purchased a converted semi trailer as a tiny house (350 sq ft)where we live with our six children. It's the first house we've owned.
What I remember most is how thankful and tickled we were to finally move into it, as we had various delays and had to live in a camper for six weeks. It is very cozy and homey and we love it!
I'm not sure what I wish we would have known...there have been difficulties we faced that I'm glad I didn't know ahead of time or I may have been too "chicken" to do what we're doing. God knew what we didn't and has brought us through the tough times.
Thanks for sharing your adventures!
Wow! Now THAT is an inspiring story! So much to learn. Thank you for sharing
DeleteWow, 350 sq ft with 6 kids!? That takes courage :)
Deletewe bought our first home while we were planning our wedding,and moved in 2 days after we said I DO! we have been here 7 years now, and are moving out in 13 days! we are moving into our dream home, and it will put my dear husband only 8 minutes to work. THAT is what i wish we had known. when looking for a home, we were both insistant that we live in the city we were from, even though my husbands job is not here. neither of us thought it would be any big deal for him to commute 45 minutes each way. 7 years later, i cant stand to hink of how selfish i was then. dear husband works a night shift, and is on the interstate at 4am, tired from a long nights work. it scares me to death, thinking what could happen if he were tired enough. oh yeah, one more thing i is i had known: once the kids start to come, you want almost as much storgage space as you want living space! our first home is small for our now large family (the one bathroom thing has become a small issue) but if we had a garage or bsement for storage, it would be very workable.
ReplyDeleteWe are in the process of selling one home and rehabbing another to be mortgage free! We're going from a tiny city lot crammed with garden and chickens to almost a full acre to homestead on in the city! Home ownership is an awesome adventure!
ReplyDeleteLooks lovely! I wish I knew how much money we would love when we bought it, right before all the prices went down. It's not not even sell-able and it isn't a place we want to stay because we have zero land! Being debt free doesn't seem to be in the near future.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your new house! I think its age is part of its charm. I’m sure you can’t wait to start sprucing it up though. I hope you post pictures of the progress and when your new home is finished and ready for your family! =)
ReplyDeleteWell, you certainly bagged a great deal with the house! What I like the most about the property is the lot size. It’s going to be good for a growing family like yours! I remember, when I bought my house, I made sure that it also had a lot of space because my wife likes gardening a lot!
ReplyDeleteI love that “…it's perfect for us.” :) Yeah, the age of the house doesn’t matter as long as you see it as perfect for your family and it is still fit for human occupancy. Size, price, and location are more important than age. About your question, I wish more people knew about “first-time home buyer credit.” That would be a big help for people who are thinking of buying their first house.
ReplyDelete“It's old. It's... interesting. And it's perfect for us.” That’s one of the important things to consider when you’re moving in to a new house. You need to have affection for it. After all, it is that one place you’ll go back to every day, and it should help you feel relaxed. :) And keeping it as organized and clean should start the moment you unpack your things when you move in. Great house by the way! :)
ReplyDeleteEricka Muldowney
Moving out is not an easy thing, but having a home that you can call yours is something to be happy about. It took us a couple of months before we were able to find our dream home. The negotiation process went smoothly, thanks to our real estate agent! By the way, how’s the renovation now?
ReplyDelete-Kathleen Salazar