House to House

4 years ago, me and Jordan were on our very first house hunt. I was pregnant with Lu and we were looking to find the perfect spot to bring our baby girl home to. We searched high and low and finally came across this little gem out in Southeast Portland. This was our first house. A total turn-key, which Jordan didn't love, but I was thrilled about since we were about to become first time parents. Measuring in at about 600-something square feet upstairs with an unfinished cement basement downstairs, it was cozy, but we loved it.

I can sill remember thinking, is this real life? Are we seriously old enough to be doing this? Somehow when you're younger looking at life ahead of you, you're always waiting for that next big moment, and then when you get there, you kind of can't believe it. This was totally one of those moments. 

Thanks to the Obama tax credit, things were looking good. The catch with that credit is that you had to stay put for 3 years otherwise you had to pay it back. We were planning on making Southeast our home but things just didn't turn out that way. Life just kept pulling us back to Lake Oswego. So after two summers of the temperature almost hitting 100 degrees INSIDE the house (luckily we had a couple window air conditioners), we were more than ready to move on. That plus I was pregnant with Jacksen and we just needed more space! Once that three year mark came around, we were good to go!

So last spring it was on to house hunt number 2! With the help of Jordan's Grandpa Jack (Jacksen is named after him), we were able to zero in on the Lake Oswego area. Perfect spot for us. After a few failed offers, we ended up looking at a foreclosure. After a bit of a bidding war we got it! It was definitely a fixer but (with lots of help from my Dad and others) we were up to the task. Well not really me, but definitely Jordan. I will do another post on the interior remodel but for now, here is the most recent change we have made! 

Loving my new orange door. Even talked Jordan into painting the inside of the door orange too. We are so excited to be living here, closer to family and most of our friends...miss you Provenzolas.
Our sweet Southeast house was great then, but this house is better for now.