We Bought a House!

Just 4 years ago Clark and I moved to Milwaukee, WI. Shortly after arriving I started working as a nanny for a local family and explained that we were here for school, and nothing more. What I meant by that was that when the 4 years were over, we would be heading back to our home: Colorado. The mom of the house, whom has since become basically family, jokingly said I would never leave. Well folks, she was right.

4 years later and our life together has taken many turns! I graduated college, got engaged on the same day, and began working in corporate retail merchandising 2 months later. I was so excited to explore this industry and expected to build my career in it.  I quickly discovered that corporate retail is not the industry for me and with a few other factors playing into it all, I left my job after 6 months.  After leaving my job in February I decided it would be best for me to not accept another position until we had moved back to Colorado. Clark was going to be graduating in May, our wedding in June, so I expected to be moving back shortly after. However at the end of April our four year plan completely changed. Clark found out the job he'd been interviewing for in Colorado was not going to work out and not having anything else lined up out there we reevaluated.  

We both had spent so much time focussed on getting out of Milwaukee, we hadn't taken the time to consider what life would be like if we stayed. We for the first time looked at the life we would have if we built it in Milwaukee, and realized it wouldn't be so bad.  We had built up a life here already over the past four years that neither of us were ready to leave.  Clark had been interning for a company for two years and given an amazing full-time offer that we hadn't even considered. 

So right then and there, we decided to stop living in a temporary state like we had been, and start making this place home.. at least for a little while longer.  The first step to doing this? Stop renting apartments downtown, and look for a house.  
Our 5 reasons for a house:
Having a backyard for the dogs
Cheaper than renting
More space for family & friends
Ability to renovate and add our own touch
Building equity
We started looking online for a place to rent and didn't find anything that felt just right. I then decided to look into buying. We found several homes that we loved but the market was so crazy they were gone within 24 hours. Luckily because I had not yet started working, I was able to devote all my time to looking online. An adorable house that met all of our needs came onto the market and within minutes our realtor set up an apt. for us. We had submitted our offer within 2 days of seeing it, and they accepted 2 days after that. I'm not sure if this process typically moves this fast for others, but I know one thing to be true: when Clark & I have made up our minds about something, we dive all in and get it done. This was no different. 

30 days later, Clark & I became home owners in the state we never though we'd live. I started my new job, Clark graduated and started his full time position, we got married, and finally we moved into our new house all in the month of June. Over the next year or so we will be working on making this house feel like home.. we've even already made several changes to the outside and I'll be posting pictures of that soon! Keep up with all the updates by checking back in Interior Design or subscribe to get the email updates sent directly to you!

Stay Tuned!