Home Sweet New Home

Tomorrow, we gain possession of our new house. Actually, we may even get the keys tonight, which would be perfect because we’ll be able to clean it a little bit before we move in.

It’s really been a whirlwind. In less than a month we’ve made an offer, had our financing set up, had a home inspection, signed the paperwork at the notary, set up home insurance, AND had a couple issues found in the home inspection fixed. Oh – and the people we bought the house from live in Australia, so the time difference definitely made things a bit more challenging.

Even with boxes packed up all around me, it’s hard to believe that Kyle and I have bought our second house. It’s all so surreal that we’re going to have an amazing, big house to grow in. I seriously can’t wait!

Really, it’s hard to believe that anyone at the age of 25 owns two houses. A lot of people think that we’re just renters in our townhouse, which is annoying but understandable. Not a lot of 20-somethings have their poop together well enough to buy a house, let alone two. How do we do it? Patience, and sacrifice.

It took us almost two years to save up for our townhouse, which was relatively easy since Kyle’s mom was giving us a good deal while we rented her house. We also didn’t waste our money on things we didn’t need. We’re very much a “make do” couple where we have to be.

We don’t go on expensive holidays (neither of us have passports!), we don’t have expensive car payments, we’re not loaded up with student debt, our credit card balances are almost always zeroed out when the bill comes. Savvy, we care.

That being said, our luxury is food. We eat well and generally don’t skimp out on satisfying food cravings. Kyle did buy a new truck, but after getting a great deal and really doing his research. We’re firm believers in not living outside of our means. Ever watch “Til Debt Do Us Part?” The host would be proud of our money managing skills.

So, how the hell did we manage to buy another house? Well, add the above to Kyle’s new job and more sacrifice. I’d really like a new car, but there’s nothing wrong with the one I have (at least nothing that warrants a new car). Every chunk of change we put away into our savings account brought us that much closer to a new house. When we want something, we go for it!

So, here’s to our new house. I really hope renting the townhouse works out, at least until the rental agreement is up in June. If the tenant wants to stay, that’s fine. If not, we’ll try selling.

Bye bye townhouse!

Ten on Tuesday

Silly American Thanksgiving being waaaaay in November ;) (Canadian Thanksgiving was over a month ago!) Let’s have us a little flashback, mmmkay?

1. What are you doing for Thanksgiving this year?
I went to my mom’s for dinner, which was wonderful because I have yet to cook a turkey for my family. I’m hoping to make this last as long as possible!

2. What are you most thankful for this year?
I am most thankful for my amazing husband. I seriously don’t know what I’d do without him. It’s been an amazing year (so far) because of him!

3. Do you have any traditions on Thanksgiving? The parade? Football? Long naps?
Usually there’s a hockey game on, so I’ll watch that. We don’t have any big traditions in my family though.

4. Is it called stuffing or dressing? Is it in the bird or a separate dish?
Oh, it’s definitely called stuffing! My mom makes it in the bird but usually makes a little extra and bakes it separately.

5. Do you cook?
See Question #1. Absolutely not.

6. What is your favourite dish?
Definitely my mom’s stuffing. And only my mom’s stuffing. (I hate stuffing with sausage in it and she doesn’t use it!)

7. What is your dessert preference?
Strawberry cheesecake. Or maybe pumpkin pie. I actually can’t remember the last time I had pumpkin pie.

8. What is your favourite Thanksgiving memory?
I don’t really have one, to be honest. This year’s was pretty awesome though.

9. Do you plan to shop on Black Friday?
We don’t really have a Black Friday here in Canada, but I would say no. I also don’t do Boxing Day shopping. Too much crazy for this gal!

10. What are you most dreading about Thanksgiving this year?
I dread nothing about Thanksgiving! Just wait until I have to cook my own turkey. Pandemonium will happen.

Packing, packing, packing!

You know how much stuff fits into a 1,300sq/ft townhouse? A LOT! Seriously – where did Kyle and I get all this stuff?

Needless to say, my weekend was filled with packing while Kyle was at work. It feels like there’s SO much more to do, but really, there isn’t. I think all that’s left is the kitchen stuff, our clothes and the bathroom – stuff that’s still kind of needed until the day we move! It’s hard to believe that it’s only a few days away.

I’m not sure if I’ll have internet access right away since I’m having issues getting my cable/telephone/internet services transferred over to our new house, so I don’t know how much blogging will be done in the near future. (Not that I’m much of a blogger now anyway.)

Fingers crossed that everything goes okay!

I’ll leave you with a video of my dog “talking” to me. Seriously. She’s so sassy, it’s not even funny.

How was your weekend?