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| The Small Stone House Courtyard Entrance |
Well, it's been a big disaster. The new platform wasn't user friendly in the slightest, I couldn't get it to do anything I wanted. It made the problems I had on blogspot, like controlling spam in the comments and my wonky email subscription feed, seem like a walk in the park.
Then we went into summer and I can honestly say it was our busiest summer ever. At the end of May, while looking around at some local real estate for a larger office space, I happened upon the most enchanting small stone house for sale, not quite in our neighbourhood but just across the river. I was done for. When I brought MrBP to see it he was also done for.
We thought about buying it but it was such an impulse move that I lost my nerve: I couldn't see how we would make the process go smoothly in any way. I was about to leave for Atlanta to visit my father, then coming home to prepare for our three week family trip to Austria. I was having work done on our house this summer, kind of boring but fairly major and essential things like replacing the eavestrough and the furnace.
Our house was not ready to be put on the market at all, I couldn't see how I could manage all of it.
Yet...while I was visiting my Dad I couldn't stop thinking about moving. There is no one better in the world to talk over pros and cons with than my father, my Dad is the guy. We discussed the concept of moving at length, and we looked at houses online. I'd pretty much given up on the beautiful small stone house because I thought for sure it would sell while I was in Georgia.
Then on the Friday of my flight home I had an email from Rob, our real estate agent: the house was in fact still for sale and the price had been lowered.
As this was Father's Day weekend and all of our Dear Rascals would be home I asked Rob if he could show us the house on the Sunday evening.
Even though the two oldest Rascals live in Toronto and very much have their own apartments and lives, I wanted their approval for the move. There is nothing better than having them home for a weekend or a holiday, and the stone house has only three bedrooms, meaning that one of the Rascals will have to bunk in the family room on visits home.
On the Sunday evening after dinner we walked across the footbridge over the river and arrived at the stone house, and the Rascals were equally enchanted.
The next morning we bought the house.
So I had 2.5 weeks to prepare our current home for sale, it was madness!
I can honestly say that when I hopped in the car for the airport the night we left for Austria I was completely exhausted, but I knew I had done absolutely everything I could do to sell our house.
While we were away it sold, and I have to say it was a great relief to come home to a sold sign in the front garden.
If anyone is interested in the prep process I went through I'd be happy to write a post. We did not use home stagers, which saved us money for sure. It was more a matter of decluttering and subtle styling.
I've missed writing the blog and as we prepare to move into the stone house there are so many posts I'd like to write, we'll be decorating a new space with everything we already own and with the exception of about 40 cans of paint (and a sleeper sofa for the family room) we won't have to buy much for the new house.
So that's what I've been up to... of course there have been other things on the go as well. Anyone else have a daughter in her teen years? Heaven help us.
Of course I also miss writing posts about clothes and colour stories, and de-cluttering closets. As I prepare to move I've decided to keep clothes rather than pare down, I'm not sure I'm in the mind space to make good decisions on what to edit.
I hope you've had a good summer and that you'll follow me here on the old space.
I've missed you,
xoxDani
