The dreams started shortly after we moved into our house. I heard the doorbell chime and opened the door. He was dressed in a black suit, pressed and proper. He usually wore sunglasses like Will Smith in Men in Black. He was not unkind – just cold and matter-of-fact. “I’m sorry ma’am, there’s been a…
Location! Location! Location!
In my mind, the most important thing about the house you buy is where you buy it. So many things about houses – the size, the layout, and the other details – you can live with or they can be changed, but once you buy that house, you can’t move it. Unless you live in a mobile home I…
Longing to Live: Fitting life into small spaces
There are stories we tell each other with vivid recounting of memories, include a funny anecdote or a surprise punch line that makes you feel like you were there. Then there are stories that don’t need to be told but are captured in a moment in time. Just by looking at an old snapshot, reading…
5 Things I’ve learned as a homeowner
There’s nothing like the excitement of buying your first home and I couldn’t be happier for Laura and her family! In the two and a half years since my husband and I bought our first house, we’ve made mistakes and learned a few things along the way. Here are five things I hope to remember…
Moving on…
We built our first house when my oldest was five. We made mistakes…several. The entire experience from picking out cupboards and flooring to getting a mortgage was all new. We weren’t entirely sure what we were doing, it closed late, stress was high and in the end, we moved in feeling a great amount of…
10 Tips To Help You Enjoy Moving
So you are moving. Congratulations on; buying a new house, getting a new job, having a baby,finally moving out from your parents basement, finding a place that is cheaper/bigger/nicer/less drug lord infested! I am so excited for you. Well I am mostly excited for you. I am also somewhat sorry for you. Because now you…
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
I loved our house when we bought it, so why should I move? And should you move? Here’s my story and a few tips that will help you stay in your home! We moved into our 1930’s bungalow while I was 6 months pregnant with our first child. I finally had the old house that…
In a sea of action figures
From one end of the basement to the other and as far as my hands could reach–on all sides–any way I spun I was surrounded by toys. My husband Mitchell sat not too far away from me on the floor. In the middle of his own toy piles. I held up yet another action figure,…
Committed
My husband and I dated for five years before getting engaged, but it wasn’t a timeframe or financial security or a baby on the way that finally sealed the deal. It was a house. For me, the desire to be a homeowner came suddenly. I always figured we’d buy a house eventually but I had…
Houses That Aren’t Mine
I have a confession. Please don’t judge me. I don’t hurt children or animals. I don’t sleep around, steal (on purpose), or wear a regular bra with a strapless shirt. I do, however, wear white after Labor Day (I’m sorry; it’s a stupid “rule”). But. I stalk owners of the homes we didn’t get. We…
Chicken Coops and Other Homes
I tell people I haven’t moved much in my life, but that is not exactly true. The true part is that I haven’t moved permanent addresses very much. I’ve lived in four homes (all in the same small West Michigan city) my entire life, and one I was too young to really remember, let alone get…