Down the Rabbit Hole

Finally back! Yay! Where have I been? I started working part-time has a data entry clerk. It's only a couple days a week which works just fine for me. It's close by and the people I work with are awesome, nice, and helpful. I think that I've mentioned before that I wanted to take photos of my work attire. Since it seems those are the only days that I dress up. 

With a new routine, things need adjustment. Actually my whole life needed to be rearranged. Down to fixing meals on workdays. Seems so mundane, but that's life. Not being home during the day hours two days a week has really put me behind in house work. How is that possible with only my Bf, two cats, and myself? I don't know, but it does. 

I have some good news. The Bf and I bought a house. We have been looking for some time now on being home owners. Before the economy sank we were looking in Riverside county for a house. We figured we could find a 3 to 4 bedroom home with a nice backyard to live in. We would have to deal with a commute, but for the Bf he commutes at least an hour one way everyday for work. I on the other hand would have commuted until I found something closer to home. 

Personally I wasn't thrilled in living in that area. I just had my gut tell me that it wasn't right for me. If I were to ever live there I needed a pool. That was one of the requirements to get me jumping into the bandwagon of living in horse country. Luckily, for me (hindsight is 20/20), we weren't that active in purchasing the home we were interested it. I'm thinking the Bf had some doubts too.

This past summer a property near the Bf's parents place in the high desert became available. The house was on a 5 acre property with a home built in the 80's with later additions. The house looked like a barn, it didn't help that it was painted red. For the area, it had a paved driveway, a koi pond, and trees that lined the fence area. Sounds like things we take for granted here in the city, but trust me those are bonuses out there. The house was big at 4 bedrooms, kitchen, dining, and den. It had a lot of potential, to make it our own. I was a little hesitate being it was so big and needed a lot of work. The location and how big the property was sealed the deal for us. Now it was up to the agent to make it happen. Of course you want to pay a fair price, so we made our bid at 20,000 less then asking with no mortgage. Not really what the banks want to hear. They found someone else to pay the full price. Was it heartbreaking? It was a relief for me, the only downside it had was the close proximity to his parents, that when we weren't there they can keep an eye on it. 

About a year ago his parent's friends were looking for a summer home out there. Something small since they all ready had property in the lower desert. They just wanted to get away from the 100+ heat during the summer months. They found a cute 60's cabin with later additions not too far from the Bf's parents house. The first time I laid eyes on it, the green monster peeked through. I was a little bummed that we didn't jump on the house. Sure it was a lot smaller, but bigger in charm. It's an open kitchen and living room, a bed room and a bath that sits on almost 3 acres. For sure, at the time I found the home that I was gauging everything else on from here on out.

I didn't air out my envy, when it came down to it I'm glad that someone nice can enjoy and appreciate it like I would. To be honest with you, I held out and secretly wished it to be mine. Sounds like contradiction? Never said that I was simple or easy to understand. 

The family friends were bummed that we didn't get the red house, since we would be neighbors if we did. They knew we were still looking for property out there and thought of us when they wanted to sell the cabin. (I have a smile on my face right now) They realized that they were spending all their time up there and decided to make it permanent. To do that, they needed more land. The day Adam told me the place can be ours, I was so elated. He thought he had to talk me into it, ha ha. 

So that's the story. Are we moving out there permanently? No, the commute would not benefit us mentally or financially. Since the house is paid in full, we are able to keep our apartment at the beach and the jobs we have. How is it possible to have it paid in full will be another post at a later date. For now, it's our getaway, our fall back, and our retirement home. 

It is in livable condition, we are just doing a few things here and there. The problem we are running into is how much money will we being putting in it. Not much now, because it isn't permanent, or do we spend the money on nice things for later? It has cause a few minor disagreements, from drapes to furniture. Most of my free time and money will now be taken up with the house. I will share my purchases with you, home or otherwise, ideas on decorating, and probably before and after pictures.

So now my Wonderland is now a reality. I get to have the best of both of my worlds, the city and desert.