November 3, 2009 – a day that will live in infamy. 

Well, actually no, that’s the day I closed on my first house in the Frogtown neighborhood of St. Paul.

I had been living in St. Paul for almost 2.5 years and was getting sick of a) paying rent b) not having the space to do what I wanted/needed and c) not being able to have a pup.  I kind of started the house hunt on a whim, but I am very glad I started when I did.  The house I ended up getting was love at first sight – I walked in and knew that it was going to be mine. It felt like home.  I never thought I’d be a big geek about this style of architecture, but I learned quickly through my house search that bungalows were what I needed to focus on.

After some trials and tribulations and waiting and seeing, I finally was approved for the loan, heard back about some other programs and I was on my way to being a new homeowner.

Some details about my house: it was built in 1923 and still had all of the natural word work and built-ins, 4-bedrooms, huge basement, redone kitchen, lots of charm, finished attic, decent sized yard and a garage. 

Over the last year, I’ve begun the work of making the house a home.  I never really was in any one place long enough to make decisions about light fixtures, architecturally and time-period correct paint colors, window treatments, real furniture, etc.  Now, it was a time for me to set down roots and decorate a house to reflect me and the style of the house.

I haven’t done much in the way of major projects yet, but have hung a few things on the wall, added new furniture, and starting thinking. On the initial to do list: change out light fixtures in dining room, kitchen, and downstairs bedrooms, a fence, and window treatments in living room and dining room.  I’m hoping to start on these in the spring/summer and will surely post information about my projects.

Folks have asked me to post some updated pictures of my house with my stuff in it.  Here’s some recent pictures – Enjoy! 

life, Minnesota, personal