One Year In Our Home

The other day, my husband and I were in our kitchen and I mentioned to him that our one year anniversary of being in our new house was approaching.  I was feeling sentimental and wondering how we should mark the occasion when he let me know that it had already passed, two days before.  Oops!  Time has really flown by. 

We moved in early May 2012, when Audrey was just three weeks old.  Crazy, I know.  In case you're wondering, moving with a teeny tiny infant is not ideal.  J and I had a hard time packing things up before the baby came because we weren't sure what we were going to need.  Coupled by the fact that I had an emergency C-section and couldn't lift anything, it was a stressful time for us.  Oh, and when your husband tells you the basement is "95% packed up and there is nothing to worry about, honey," don't believe him.

So, let's take a look at what our house looked like just a month before we got the keys. 

 

 So, why did we move?  We were the proud owners of your standard Toronto two bedroom bungalow that we had almost finished renovating from top to bottom, inside and out.  We knew our days were numbered in that house and were looking for new, bigger challenges.

Back in the summer of 2011, I lost my job and found myself driving J to the subway each morning for two reasons.  One, to make life easier for him and two, to make sure I got a good start to my day of job searching.  On our way, we would pass this house and discovered a small sign on the front law that said for sale by owner with a website for more information.  I honestly don't think these people cared about selling their house - there wasn't even a phone number and they took their sweet time answering our initial email. 

We toured the house with the owner's daughter, who knew little about the house, and left feeling underwhelmed.  With news that two would become three, we stepped up our house hunting in the fall and winter.  It was only when we started seriously looking around and touring open houses did we realize that this was the home for us.  So early 2012 we reconnected with the owners, who were now renting the house, and started negotiations.  We would have liked to move sooner, but the tenants needed two months notice.

I think of the few people who looked at the house, most were scared away....and here's why via a photo tour.

 Front door

 Living room

 Living room, looking into dining room

 Dining room and a very pregnant me

 Stairs

 Upstairs washroom

 Master bedroom

 Master bedroom, other side of room

 Basement kitchen with door leading to cantina

 Basement hallway

 Basement washroom

 Basement back hallway

 Kitchen, looking towards the front door

Kitchen, looking towards mudroom and back stairwell

 

So there you have it.  I will follow up with some posts on what we needed to do immediately, our progress, and what projects we have tackled since.  Let's just say, when Audrey and I finally moved in three weeks later, we were washing baby bottles in the sink in the upstairs washroom, spending our days in her nursery, and eating out of a mini-fridge in her room.