The Journey Begins

Here it is, the first entry of our new blog. 2010 has been a year of firsts: the most dramatic was the birth of our daughter, then followed our first car, and now our first house. In one short year we've gone from renting an apartment and living the life of a young downtown couple – zipping from event to work to party on our bicycles – to a happy little family with a new set of priorities and responsibilities. While we still zip about on bicycles, it is more often to pick up something for the baby or the refrigerator than to attend an art opening or a meal at our favorite restaurant.

So five months after the arrival of our daughter, we have purchased a house. The search for a house had taken us almost a year, and I won't even bother to go into detail about the ups and downs of that experience in Toronto's crazy housing market. Rather, I'll focus on the journey from the moment we got the signed papers proving that we were about to embark on the ups and downs of buying, renovating, and maintaining a home of our own.

So, where are we at this point? Two weeks away from possession of the house, and one of our two allotted visits to the house complete, armed with a camera and measuring tape. No packing done, no contractors called. Just talks after the baby is asleep about what we COULD do, WANT to do, and HAVE to do to the house over the next weeks, months, and years. Starry-eyed like those first months with a new love, we are dreaming of all that could be, and cannot imagine there could be any hiccups to come.

And so it begins...