I'm back with big news....
After 6 months of a blogging break, I'm back with big news... 1632 square feet of big news to be exact. We bought our first house! It took 5 months of searching, 3 offers and 2 home inspections, but we wrapped up our process on June 22, 2017 and received the keys to our historic, forest green, colonial. This obviously has been a huge portion of our lives recently, but in reality... a few things have happened that have kept me pretty MIA. So let's recap....
Shortly after my last post in January, my sweet 5 year old bunny named Coco passed away. It was quite traumatic as she passed away under anesthesia and I was absolutely heartbroken. I definitely grieved - just ask Cameron and my coworkers. However, this heart-breaking event led to the best spontaneous purchase of our lives and we ended up welcoming our sweet Finnigan Cotham, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel into our 1 bedroom apartment. Cam and I aren't quite ready to have kids, but we honestly cannot remember our lives before Finn. Although obviously more time consuming than a life without pets, he has brought such joy into our everyday existence.
Finnigan at 3 months old
Now to begin answering questions about the home buying process…
What made you decide to purchase a home in Massachusetts?
Last fall, Cameron and I spent our 2nd wedding anniversary on a Vermont Road Trip. As cheesy as it sounds, these 48 hours solidified our desire to stay in New England permanently. Cam and I moved to Boston (the Fenway to be exact) in May 2014 and expected to be completely infatuated with city living. We ended up having a blast living across the street from Fenway Park, where we spent our time eating at the latest and greatest restaurants, attending Red Sox games at the last minute, and riding our bikes all over the city... but we longed for a private outdoor space and more room than our studio apartment had to offer. We also ended up spending MANY weekends venturing outside of the city and even the state. After living in North Carolina, we absolutely ADORED the close proximity to major cities (NYC), beautiful coastal towns (Nantucket), and massive mountains (Stowe, VT). Lastly, we have loved the distinct change of seasons and knew we wanted to stay here for the long haul.
What made you decide to purchase a home on the "South Shore"?
We have always wanted to be close to the water, so the question came down to the North Shore vs. the South Shore of Massachusetts. With my job in Braintree, the South Shore was a no brainer and Quincy (our location from Feb 2016 to June 2017) was a) the half way point for both of our jobs... and b) the perfect location to explore all the great towns that the South Shore has to offer. After quickly realizing that we would be unable to afford a home in Hingham, MA (our dream location), we kept our search open between Weymouth and Plymouth.
WOW - 3 offers and 2 home inspections?
Our first offer AND offer accepted was on a historic home in downtown Plymouth. The house was quirky, but we loved the location (2 blocks away from the water, but still had water views, as well as walking distance to shops and restaurants, etc). However, upon inspection we discovered the house had both asbestos in the basement and had had 2 separate fires... obviously we walked away from this one. A few weeks later we were caught in a multiple offer scenario and were outbid on a waterfront property in Weymouth. This was definitely a blessing in disguise, but we started to feel a tad lost. We revamped our search and that's when we found our current home in Hanover. Our new home offers everything we were looking for without the water views... sometimes you have to make sacrifices and this one unchecked box was definitely worth it! This house had a glowing home inspection and was cared for immaculately. God works in mysterious ways. :)
Our beautiful street
Finally, a few more details regarding our dream house...
The primary part of the house was built in 1812 by a Private in the Army during the War of 1812. We love the original wide plank pine floors, hand crafted beams, and wood burning fireplaces in both the living room and master bedroom. An addition was added in the 1950's, which includes our kitchen, den, second bathroom and bonus room/guest room/future kids room. ;) While the house has parts that are quite dated, we are excited to put our own stamp on our personal piece of New England heaven. Stay tuned for a post in early August featuring the first room on our "renovation to-do list."
