Hello Lovely

Even though we're just three weeks
into our journey to fix up a quirky cottage,
I thought I would share a little history as well

Just like that...we were homeless. 


art works by me

We shopped for a project with these parameters in mind:
>cheap
>tranquil location
>not far from work
>half the size of prior home
>half the property to maintain
>more privacy
>x-factor



HALF was a theme.

We were so tempted to buy another big place
or build a downsized version, but this
vision of simplifying by eliminating
HALF kept us focused.

We sold HALF of our home's furniture and belongings
to ease the move into a small rental while we renovate.
Offers were made on four other fixers
(historic home, a foreclosure, a short sale,
and a white elephant) before we found the cottage:
a HALF-lemon, HALF-diamond-in-the-rough.

Those two HALVES should add up to a WHOLE
bunch of DIY adventures in HELLO LOVELY LAND, oui?



The cottage is a one-and-a-HALF story, extremely
neglected property which sat vacant for a time.

Swallowed up by a jungle of weeds, not one bit of quality
exists inside...so why did we proceed anyway?

Location, trees, price, and the fact we are indeed HALFcrazy. 
Also.
*cue the gong*

The  X - f a c t o r... 
it captured my husband's imagination. 


our old kitchen was a dream to live in!


It helps to embark on a fixer upper adventure
when your partner is courageously persuasive and says:
HONEY, THIS IS THE ONE, AND SHOULD YOU
NOT LIKE IT IN THE END, WE'LL SELL. 

It helps too when that partner is handy
with electrical, plumbing, and carpentry.




So we have decided to love this place back to life.









Meaningful metaphors seem to emerge daily
since making this commitment to renovate...
so do construction woes.

I won't be HALF-hearted in my blog posts.
I plan to share the pitfalls and unlovely as well as
the gratifying triumphs of the makeover.

For up to the minute updates, like my facebook page here.




After all, resurrecting, reviving, repairing,
and nurturing something used up and broken and
then ushering it into a beautiful new chapter?
Powerful, enlightening stuff.



The process has already been educational,
dramatic and challenging.

For example, I don't sleep well.
HALF the time, I cannot imagine we are ever going to
actually live in that big ol' mess, let alone make memories there.
Yet I have hope.

Thanks for following our journey,
and peace to you right where you are.

See a video of the fixer here.

More fixer upper posts here:
we found a house
week 1 - update
week 1 - reflections
week 2
how we got here
week 3
week 4
week 5
week 6
week 7
week 8
week 12
week 16
week 24
week 28
week 32
week 36
week 40
week 42
week 44
week 48
Before the Fixer Upper
week 52