The House

As most of you know, this has been a major project for the Special Man-Friend (SMF) and I. Just a little more than a year ago we found a beautiful 3 bed, 2 bath townhouse in West Seattle. We decided that this was the one that we wanted to put an offer in on and pulled the trigger. Fast forward 12 hours to an early Saturday morning phone call from Momma Bear. Turns out she did some digging around and found there was a sex offender possibly living next door. (caution, before you click on this link, you need to decide if you really want to know who is living in your neighborhood… some people find this very disturbing)

Ouch. Well shoot. What now? We ended up pulling the offer and continued the search for the perfect place. And guess what?? We found it! It is basically the opposite of the beautiful, new construction, spacious townhouse… It is a tiny, fixer-upper, cottage of sorts.

The past year has been filled with DIY classes, dirt under my fingernails (yuck) and learning that The Home Depot is much like Costco—they don’t let you out for less than $100. On the flip-side, we have grown so much as a couple, felt the pride of ownership and meet some great new neighbors.

Before I start the photo section, I have to give the BIGGEST THANK YOU to my parents who have helped us out more in the past year than I would ever like to admit. Pretty much every project you will see on here, they has been involved in to some capacity. SMF’s parents also deserve a GIGANTIC THANK YOU for spending a good portion of their vacation out here (they are from MN) teaching us how to lay tile!! Yay, we are blessed with the most amazing families!

Below are a couple shots of the house (some before, some during, nothing is really to 'after' yet)…

30 before 30

I love making to-do lists, in fact the only thing I love more than making lists, is checking things off of them. With this blog I have just checked something off. So here it is... my list that has taken me 6 years to build, leaving me only 4 to complete...My 30 before 30 list. Similar to a bucket list, but God willing, my bucket will be kicked long after thirty.

Personally, I know the act of writing these down all in one place, and now publishing it, will encourage me to keep others needs in mind, just as I have my own.

• buy a house
• learn how to play chess
• skydive
• own a business (not sure if this will be part or full time yet)
• Go to Europe or Australia
• learn how to surf or skateboard
• start a blog
• go brown (hair)
• have a baby
• dedicate an entire day to acts of kindness
• send a foster child to the summer camp of their choice
• experience the magic of Danbee again, even if just for a few days
• go see a move alone
• change someone's life
• complete a half marathon
• bungee jump
• camp in Yellowstone
• visit Chicago
• hike Mount Si
• sing karaoke in a crowded bar
• reconnect to friends that I have lost touch with and miss
• experience Seafair to the full extent (boats, parade, etc)
• learn enough about gardening to have a nice looking potted plant and maybe even an acceptable yard
• learn to snow ski
• get involved in a campaign that I believe in
• find and master the perfect chocolate cake recipe
• get up early specifically to watch the sun rise
• send at least 2 cards a month to a loved one for a full year
• get baptized
• learn to take beautiful pictures

I will be checking off and writing about these as I go along, so check back often, as I have a lot to do! Full disclosure: This list took me waaay too long to build, so some of these have already been completed. I will make sure to write about each and every line item... stay tuned!