Our First Place

Like I said in a previous post, buying a house was not on our to-do list for 2014. Really the only thing on our to-do list was getting a dog. Did that early on, so what next? Kidding, that wasn't our logic. Regardless of our logic, buying our first home was another reminder that our idea of "timing" pales in comparison to His idea of timing.

We happened upon our house in a random, "let's just see what's out there" search online. Jonathan found this house that had just been flipped. Adorable outside, adorable inside. "Let's go check it out, what do we have to lose," we thought. We lucked out on our realtor just as randomly. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Gail. She happened to become our realtor because she's the one that was randomly assigned our inquiry for this house on Zillow. We really hit the lottery with this one. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.

So we met Gail at the house and took a harmless tour.

And then I didn't want to leave. But, being the newly responsible adults that we were, we knew we had to look at more than just one house. Oh, and we also had to think through the whole buying a house thing. Cause we had kind of put the cart before the horse. 

So we researched, discussed, planned, made calculations... In the end, where we are in our jobs and the timing with our lease, plus realizing we'd like to call St. Louis home for a while longer, led us to the conclusion that buying was right for us right now. So we looked at a few more houses, but let's be honest: we had found the one. We had a few criteria that we weren't going to stray from: location (close to the highway so our commutes wouldn't increase), nice kitchen, not a fixer upper, at least two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and price. So all those things combined amounted to not too many options so we knew we found the one pretty quickly.

Back to Gail: she was the perfect realtor for us. Not pushy or salesy, she genuinely wanted us to feel comfortable with our decision. Not only that but she's a guru at renovations and old homes so it's been great to have her wealth of knowledge on our side, not to mention the list of experts she knows for any given project. Looking to buy or sell in St. Louis? Call Gail. 

One month ago we closed on our first home, a 1929 Dutch colonial. We learned a lot throughout the buying process (loans, mortgages, home inspections, appliances, priorities) and I know that learning will never end. Even though our place was move-in ready, there's a slew of projects we've already tackled and many more to cross off the list. Home Depot is our new hangout spot (my goal is for them to greet us by name). It's already been so rewarding to pour into creating this home together and knowing that it's ours. We especially love being part of a historic neighborhood that's still flourishing and reinventing itself. We already feel so much more invested in our community and city. We know this won't be our forever home, but right now it's right and it's ours.

Pineapple Mint Agua Fresca

Hot summertime deserves lots of refreshing beverages. Last month I went to Austin for a work trip, and afterwards Jonathan and my parents met up with me for the weekend. That city is foodie heaven. There are great restaurants around every corner. And if there's one thing we do when traveling it's eat. Brunch on Saturday was at La Condesa on 2nd Street in downtown. While the food was great, what really did me in was their refreshing pineapple mint agua fresca. I tried recreating it once, and while it still needs some perfecting, here's what you need to know.

Pineapple Mint Agua Fresca 

(makes half a pitcher)

what you'll need:

• 1 large can of pineapple chunks (or go for the fresh stuff!)
• 1/4 cup of fresh mint leaves
• simple syrup (to taste)
• water (fill the empty pineapple can twice)
• juice from 1 lime

what you'll do:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend well. If you don't mind bits of mint in your drink, you're done! Otherwise, pass the drink through a strainer to remove the bits of mint. Serve chilled and over ice. (Kick it up a notch with a splash of rum.)

Renters No More

In one week we'll be celebrating our first month in our first home. Or really our third home, but our first house (and the first we own!). But before we can celebrate our third (first), I want to give due attention to our second place. We only lived there for seven months, but it held a lot of special times nonetheless.

Our second floor flat had a lot of natural light, which I loved. When we moved back in November, our first project was to paint the master bedroom that was formerly red. Not pictured is the second bedroom that often just sat empty and the study turned leatherwork room. This place had some great character, namely the built in bookshelves in the living room, awesome wall of windows and great archway leading to the dining room. The kitchen was bigger than our first place and offered a lot more cabinet space. All in all it was a great home.

We had planned to rent this place for a year and a half, so the seven months that we ended up staying sound a little crazy now. But life's funny that way:) Anyway, the short time that we were there held some lovely moments:

• We celebrated our first anniversary the first day we moved in
• Our second Christmas together was celebrated with a lovely tree in that window-filled living room
• We adopted Clover and enjoyed many a game of fetch in that backyard
• I enjoyed my first working girl snow day
• We hosted our first big dinner party of 10 guests
• Friends and family visited
• Mom helped me spruce up the front porch and grow my green thumb

Thanks for the short but sweet stay, Linden.