One Little Drive

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

One sunny day last December, on a bit of a whim we decided to take a drive. We went to have a look at blocks of land. We didn't really have much of a plan, apart from just to look, to ask some questions and try to understand how the whole building and house and land package process worked.

By the end of the day, to our surprise, we had put an offer on a block.

We were (and still are) so excited.

It is funny how one seemingly small decision, like going for a weekend drive, can catapult your whole life into chaos.

What did we just do? What does this mean? Are we really sure?

From here we went into a mad dash to get the house ready to sell.
Painting, plastering, gardening, cleaning.
We met with builders and spent hours researching house designs, tweaking details and dreaming of things that our old cottage couldn't provide (aahh an ensuite sounds glorious).
We met with multiple realtors and discussed all our options.
Within three weeks of putting our house on the market we had an offer that we were willing to accept.
Another few weeks later and we were packing and moving out of our beloved first home.

All because we went on a drive.

We moved an hour away. To a new community, that we didn't know that well.
We moved in with my parents, to help save some extra money while we build.
Everything has changed so much.
We've been scouring magazines looking for inspiration for flooring, kitchens and bathrooms.
Dreaming big dreams, and then realising the big price tags are a little out of reach.

During this whole time we've been in the process of finalising the house and land contracts. Waiting for the developer, for the land titles, for the final house contract, working things out with our broker, waiting for the unconditional finance approval.

It feels like it has been a long road to get here.

But, on Friday, everything was finalised. Everything was approved.

Soon we will have settlement, we will own a little patch of land again, and we will start the process of building a house that we love, a house that will be our family home for a long time to come.

Its funny how one little drive can change everything. What if we didn't go on that drive? Would we have missed out on the few blocks that were still left? Would we have decided not to sell, and just stay and renovate?

Some days slip by without anything of real significance happening, seemingly just another day.
Others, however turn everything upside down. They cause you to make big decisions. Enable you to turn some of your big dreams into reality.

That day in December will always be a special day for me. We picked out our little plot. Our place where our family will grow up. It felt right, we knew it as soon as we drove through.
This is where we want to be. This is our new home.

Have you had a day recently that caused a chain of events to follow?

Karen xx

This is the house we chose, it was love at first sight for me!
Linking with Jess for #IBOT













24 comments on "One Little Drive"
  1. Sand Has No HomeMay 7, 2013 at 9:19 AM

    What a serendipitous day in December. Your new house to be looks amazing. I can't recall any days quite like that for me recently.

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  2. Oh yes! All the time. The house looks awesome.

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  3. How exciting. I hope you are taking full advantage of that sea view!

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  4. Gorgeous house. Building is such an exciting adventure - have fun!

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  5. I often think about things that have happened in my life because of one small, seemingly insignificant decision. I wouldn't have net Dave if it wast for one of those. Same with getting engaged actually! Can't wait I hear all about the build. I'd love to build a house but Dave doesn't want to move so unless we can ever afford a knock-down-rebuild I'm not sure it will happen.

    #tramIBOT was here!

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  6. It looks great! It is such a long drawn out process isnt it! We had a design firm draw up our plans to extend the house (by the same size again) and that actually started last May! Last week, finally, they started works. Good luck with it all!

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  7. How exciting! It's for this very reason I love that movie "Sliding Doors". It's amazing what happens when you take a different path on a particular day. Congratulations!

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  8. Emily @ Have a laugh on meMay 7, 2013 at 8:58 PM

    And with an ocean view. I also love the facade of your house. We had a similar experience, bought a block, chose a house and everything we wanted in a week! Then fly back to Sydney to wait for it to be built! We didn't even know anything about the place, thankfully it's not a bad spot, could be better, could be worse :)

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  9. We went for a drive one day too and now I am sitting at the table in that house on that block of land - that we found that day we went for a drive. I remember it like it was yesterday. This has is the soul to our family. Enjoy your journey - that facade looks great! xx

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  10. Your new home looks awesome!
    We too took a drive and ended up here, up to our eyeballs in that wonderful thing called a mortgage. Enjoy the next phase. X

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  11. It's funny how things happen. I think my whole life is like this post. Spontaneous, serendipitous. Happy home loving. x

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  12. I wish life was more like this! I love it when seemingly random things change everything! It's what makes it all a fun adventure worth living.

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  13. Serendipity is definitely the word!!

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  14. I am so ready to have it built and to move in!! Not looking forward to the building process though...

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  15. I wish we could, I think we will get built out. But, at least we can walk to the beach!

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  16. I am excited and a little daunted about building, you always hear horror stories!

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  17. had a little laugh at your #TramIBOT... iphone fail!!! I love looking back on the decisions that seemed so minor but meant big things!!

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  18. Ohh how exciting, a house full of people and chaos, I hope it gets done quickly, but it will be lovely I'm sure when its all done!
    It is such a long process, give me my house already!!!

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  19. Yes, I remember that movie!! I can think of so many times my life would have been drastically different if I didn't/did do something..

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  20. Oh thats a huge decision to not know the area you were building in!! But exciting and an adventure at the same time!! Unfortunately I think our ocean view will only be temporary...

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  21. Ahh I can't wait to be sitting at the table in my new house! I fell in love with the facade right away, I love me some stack stone!!

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  22. Oh one thing I am not missing right now is that lovely mortgage. It is nice to have a break to catch up and not have to worry about forking over all that hard earned cash!

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  23. That house was gorgeous! Congrats and good luck! =)

    xo,
    Katie
    hellolittlebean.com

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  24. Bahahaha! I hadn't even noticed the #tramIBOT, iPhone fail indeed! At least it was appropriate! Lol!

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