Friday, December 19, 2008

The House

With the mortgage crisis happening most people think we're crazy to have purchased a home right now but, because of the constant influx of people due to the Air Force base here in Abilene, Texas, the market stays pretty stable. We were so excited at the prospect of owning our first home and Abilene is the place to do it! I didn't know there were still places in the U.S. that you could buy a decent home for under $100,000 but we found it and fell in love with our place the moment we saw it. The house was built in 1949 and is mid-century modern architecture (in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright). It needed a little work but for those of you who know Mark, that was a bonus rather than a drawback. One of the previous owners had stock in a tile company or was sleeping with someone in the tile industry because the house looked like a tile store had thrown up on it! One of the first things we did was tear up an obscene amount of tile and replace it with wood and stone flooring. We also are still in the process of remodeling the kitchen.
The house is on nearly 1/2 an acre so there is a lot of yard work that needs to be done. I am really excited about the prospect of planting a garden and some fruit trees! Mark is really NOT excited about putting in a sprinkler system.
It is a 3 bedroom 1 bath house. I had a tremendous amount of fun and satisfaction decorating the nursery-it just about killed me to have to wait so long to nest but it got done eventually! It also has a beautiful sunroom off the master bedroom which is my absolute favorite place in the house to lounge, read, and nap with Madsen. The third bedroom is going to be a guest bedroom/office but currently it is acting as remodeling headquarters. The bathroom is called a "hollywood bathroom" because it is huge-it has 2 sink areas, a vanity, a toilet, and a tub/shower; we are entertaining the possibly of splitting it into two separate baths. The house is, as I mentioned on a large lot with lots of beautiful mature trees. Our front yard stays shaded the whole day, the backyard gets nice sun and would be perfect for a pool but I don't think we'll be here long enough to make that investment worth anything (darn!). Our neighbors are friendly and the neighborhood is quiet. It is so fun to live in a neighborhood and to have people wave as they drive by. I am quickly learning how to be a better neighbor-a "good neighbor" in Philly pretty much just kept to himself but here the neighbors all take care of each other and offer their services all the time.
Home ownership has been very rewarding so far although it is hard work-especially when you are looking to put in some sweat equity! I look forward to the spring when I can do some serious planting!

3 comments:

  1. Congratulations for buying your 1st home. You both look so great holding a baby!!!! Miss you soooooo much! check out our blog too. http://lapray7.blogspot.com

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  2. Sounds like a great place.
    Check out our blog. Just started it yesterday.
    http://benandsharonmoore.blogspot.com/

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  3. Don't forget to post before and after pictures eventually as you remodel! Hopefully one day we'll be able to visit you down there.

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