Chasing the Dream, Finding the Pace

What do you do when you've finally settled quite comfortably into married life... when the only thing it seems you have left to do is lean forward and flip that switch called autopilot?

You DEFY it.

Why? Because Happily Ever After has developed a craving for The American Dream. And the last thing you ever want to do is leave precious-but-finicky Happily Ever After with a rumbling tummy.

Therefore, to please Happily Ever After, with cautious excitement you embark on a seemingly-endless-don't-even-stop-to-catch-a-breath marathon in effort to capture that coveted American Dream.

The starter pistol went off for Jimmy and I in June of 2009, when after almost a full year of non-committal house hunting, we finally made an offer on one that stole our hearts. It's an adorable three bedroom, (four if you include what we call the "cruise cabin" in the basement), 1925 home in an adorable Seattle neighborhood that just needs some help coming out of the 1960's remodel hideously imposed on it.

We think of the home as a major score, considering the sheer disgust we experienced far too many times while visiting homes half the size in less-than-ideal neighborhoods for the same price, if not more. Furthermore, Jimmy, (who you would without exaggeration liken to Shaq when touring these old homes with him), could ACTUALLY fit in our BASEMENT! Um, meant to be? We think so.

So we made it to marathon mile 1: drain your bank account to purchase a "fixer" that requires love (of which we have plenty) and even more money (of which is running quite low).

Upon crossing the threshold of our new home, we instantly fell into honeymoonland of homeownership. With the help of HGTV and numerous episodes of A&E's Flip this House, a new energy seemed to drum up within us and, like Rosie the Riveter and Mr. Clean, we worked tirelessly to get things in order. On second thought, maybe Jimmy doesn't like to be referred to a bald man who cleans houses. Let's go with Ty Pennington? Bob Vila? Yes let's go with Bob...

At any rate, we (and by we I mean mostly Jimmy) have successfully crossed many projects off of our list, such as ripping up the carpets, rejuvenating the wood floors, prepping and painting four large rooms and building a fence. Between housework and work-work, we've worked ourselves sick twice within the past month.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. We still have the following projects to conquer (in no particular order): wainscot the dining room, remodel the fireplace, replace doors, update electrical, switch to a gas furnace, replace windows, drywall the popcorn ceilings, build a deck, landscape the backyard, renovate the kitchen, update the bathroom, replace insulation, remove a portion of the wall by the staircase, and of course (we must not forget), build Jimmy's man cave in the basement.

Phew! And who know what else will be thrown our way?

Life on autopilot is without a doubt just a dream in the distant, distant future. Sometimes I wonder why Happily Ever After had to feast her eyes upon the American Dream so soon.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this new adventure. Jimmy and I come home every night to a place that is OURS. We constantly share new design ideas with each other and become giddy when we find a paint color that's just perfect.

I suppose now it's just about finding a steady pace to run this race. At least Jimmy and I are running it together, side by side. And we are so thankful to have the support of you, our family and friends, along the way.

We hope you'll follow us on this exciting new journey of ours. As soon as we find our camera cord packed away somewhere in a room that has yet to be sorted through, I promise we'll share our progress with you with photos galore.

Love and Hugs from West Seattle!

Bob Vila and Rosie the Riveter