Hi, I'm Sara

My husband, Tom and I are embarking on a journey that we have dreamed of together since we met and I'm gonna tell you all about it...

On our trip to New Zealand

The good, the bad, the ugly. I will share our success and our pitfalls... because... let's be honest, how many of us have reached our goals without some bumps and bruises?...

OUR GOALS

We are going old school!

The concept of having a family with a single breadwinner and a homemaker just made sense to us.

I had been living in Southern California in a home that was purchased during the recession in 2008. It was a dump when I started out, holes in walls, light fixtures ripped out, missing appliances, broken toilets and plumbing... it was a foreclosure that happened to be on a street named Vacation.

Thus, I dub this dwelling, Vacation House.

The Vacation House

This picture was at the time of sale. I must have planted about 30 baby myoporum plants 3 years prior to this picture. To be honest, it was one of the few plants that I didn't kill over the years, but I thought it looked great here.

The demo was always the most fun and usually the easiest part... the "putting it back together" bit was the part I struggled with.

I managed to completely gut and remodel the bathroom. Mind you I had very little money and even less trained skill. But I watched videos and made 1000's of trips to Home Depot but I more or less managed to adequately complete the job.

New vanity from Costco, Purchased the floor model that had a scuff on it for $600. New Door and Hardware from Home Depot, painted bright white $210. Standing Cabinet from Target $45. Bottles and accessories from Kirkland Home.

Here is a great example of inexperience... Where you see the Wizard of Oz curtain, there once was a double sliding mirrored door on roller tracks that concealed a walk in closet. I decided that I didn't like the rolling doors so I built out the wall to create a cased opening. What I didnt think about at the time was that it would only be elegant and glamorous if it was neat and tidy, which it rarely was. So, In order to hide the clutter in my walk in closet I now have a magic control room for the Wizard himself!

This was really my first time ever tiling. This was also my first ever adult design decision... I picked tile based on what I thought looked fancy and neutral. I didn't really know my style at this point, I was just becoming a consumer and I bought the things and the styles that were in front of me. The tile work is imperfect and the grout lines are uneven but at the time this was such a big accomplishment for me to complete. I had double shower heads, a bench seat (that would freeze your bum, or dig into your legs with the sharp edge when sat on), glass shower door and fancy toilet flusher.

With some free labor provided by my Parents and family we all managed to fix up a few other rooms over the years.

The Kitchen

Kept the original cabinets due to budget. New Silestone countertop, subway tile backsplash, stained concrete floors and all new appliances.

Upstairs Bathroom. New paint, mirrors, painted cabinet, light fixture, door.

Upstairs hallway, (I had no idea how to style a hallway) New paint, painted cabinet, new tile

Master Bedroom

Living room/ Dog room Stained Concrete, (started to refinish fireplace) new french doors, new light fixtures, paint

Two upstairs bedrooms got some cheap laminate flooring from Ikea (wouldn't ever buy that cheap again, scuffed and buckled, not to mention the nightmare of installing cheap product), new paint, ceiling fan and door.

A few years of renovating and Tom walked into my life.

This was a few months into dating. What a Stud! How could I not fall for this guy!

... And lets just say, he was a game changer.

I love our story and how our journey got us to where we are now, but I will save that story for another day.

I digress...

Tom swooped into my life and helped to finish up the Vacation House ("polishing the turd" so to speak)

New Farmhouse style handrail

New paint, found light fixture at Habitat for Humanity for next to nothing

Paint, wall shelving courtesy of Tom

Love the TV console we found at Costco, sold as a garage work bench.

Laundry Room. New Paint, Shelves made by Tom

Backyard, completely overhauled by Tom. DG, Planting beds, fire pit, corrugated steel retaining wall, plants and trees

Rosemary planted on back slope. Pride of Madeira were my favorite.

The minute we had the house looking all spruced up we put it up for sale. We had a full priced offer in 2 weeks.

We packed up our lives and our fur babies...

And headed to Idaho with the assistance of my sweet parents.

14hr Road Trip and we are all smiles.

Once we landed in Boise we settled into our jobs and life in our little apartment.

We soon began our house hunt.

After searching far and wide at homes in our budget we were beginning to become discouraged at the condition of homes we could afford.

There were lots of talks and even fights over the direction we should take on choosing our first home together.

Tom wanted to find something that needed minimal work and would be ready for a family in the near future.

I was fixated on budget...

We had talked about having a one income household and in order to make that happen I knew we needed to think of budget first.

After reorganizing our priorities we expanded our search and opened our minds up to the idea of a fixer upper. Tom is so handy and that needed to be a factor in our home purchase.

Tom and I headed out one Saturday morning to check out a couple open houses. The first home was great. It was in a great little area with a nearby park. The house itself was pretty much ready to live in and it was in our budget. The only drawback was the funny little cul de sac that the house was smooshed into.

The next house we had on our list was just a bit further out of town...

And to be honest I think I fell in love the moment we pulled up.

...Giant towering sycamore trees in the front yard with a rope swing dangling from the branches, we walked in the front door to be met with beautiful red and white oak hardwood floors and french doors that peaked out onto a beautiful backyard full of flowers and trees with butterflies and bees flitting from one blossom to the next.

It was magical...

I was mesmerized.

We put in an offer along with a letter of our story to the sellers...

And although there were 5 other offers...

And we had been out bid despite offering over asking price...

THEY PICKED US!!!

Our 1940's Craftsman Farmhouse

We could not be more thrilled with our adorable home!

I will show you the projects, the life, the struggle, and the treasures along the way.

Thank you for reading,

Sara