Week 1: We're Building a House!

While plans have been in the works for quite some time now, I'm happy to finally share that Tyler and I are building a house! If you follow along on Instagram, this is likely not a surprise. I've been trying to share sneak peeks as we go along over there, so feel free to jump over for some real-time updates, but I'd also like to have a space to more formally document the process. If you're interested in hearing about the details, I'd love for you to follow along!

So let's see... it's been a while (months!) since I shared much about life around here. This is a doozy so grab a cup of coffee or glass of wine and let's try to sort this out with a timeline...

• January: I quit my first and only job since graduation. Eek! I spent some time in southern California and did a whole lot of soul searching. Joshua Tree National Park --> Just go and thank me later. Meanwhile, Tyler and I casually looked at a few plots of land for sale in rural Indiana - just because.
• February: Lots of reading, blogging, research and discovery. I headed out to California again and loved every bit of it. Sunshine and blue skies in the middle of winter is never a bad idea. Around this same time, our favorite 5-acre plot that we had been stalking is sold. We were both pretty bummed but decided it simply wasn't meant to be.
• March: Things on the job front started to get really interesting. Tyler got a big promotion requiring a heck of a lot more driving at the same time that I briefly considered a move to the west coast for amazing design-related job opportunities. It was time to make some big decisions. Do we stay or do we go? By mid-March, we decided Indiana was where our hearts were but our house was no longer going to be a long-term solution. Tyler was driving 1.5 hrs each way! So we decided to finalize a few house projects and put our beloved home on the market. We also found another plot of land, but this one was quite a bit bigger than we were hoping... 8.5 acres! The location was perfect though, half way to a potential job in Indianapolis for me and half way to the Ohio border for Tyler. Decisions, decisions.
• April: CRAZIEST. MONTH. EVER. We put our house up for sale on a Friday and within a matter of seven hours, it sold! SOLD. I still can't believe it. We received several offers all above asking and I'm still thanking our lucky stars that it worked out as well as it did. That whole process is a story for another day, but thank goodness for an amazing realtor/friend that kept us sane! Amidst the craziness, I accepted an offer to re-join my previous employer in a brand new position! That, too, is a story for another day, but even five months later, I couldn't be happier with my decision. On top of all that, we ended up falling even more in love with the 8.5 acre plot of land and decided to put in an offer. After some back and forth, we walked away when both sides couldn't come to an agreement. We were devastated but ultimately decided that things work out the way they're supposed to... fast forward to three days later when we received a call from our realtor saying the seller reconsidered! The land was ours!! The hunt for a builder/architect began...

• May: We officially became the owners of 8.5 beautiful acres, sold our first home (cue the tears...) and were homeless. HA! We decided to go all out and rent a 500 sqft studio apartment. HAHAHA. Please note that studio means no bedroom. "Cozy" is a nice way to describe it. Add that to the list of stories for another time... :) All I can is that we've been living here for over four months and haven't killed each other (yet). Success! Meanwhile, a lot of emails, phone calls, and inquiries for a builder/architect were sent in search of the PERFECT fit. We ultimately decided that quality, energy efficiency and sustainability were our top priorities and with that, we found a local full-service builder in Zionsville. We knew right away he was "the one". Our builder sent us some architect recommendaions and we selected another local Zionsville business to help us with our dream home. The planning commenced.

• June - August: Lots of detailed architectural planning. We went through a few iterations and landed on the perfect design - a little Kelsey, a little Tyler and a whole lot of amazingness.

So that brings us to September. This month has been full of making sure our i's are dotted and t's crossed. You know, the fun stuff like construction loans, insurance, and contracts. We felt like we crossed the last major hurdle two weeks ago with the finalization of the loan and officially began construction last week with the installation of the septic system! Who knew I would ever be so excited about a septic system... :) A temporary driveway and the foundation should begin shortly!

Are you tired? My brain hurts just thinking about the last nine months. It's been one of the most exhilarating, terrifying, exhausting and utterly amazing nine months of my life. We've already put so much time, money (oh the money...) and effort into this, but there is next to nothing I've ever been so sure about in my life.

This is by no means a quick process as we don't anticipate moving in until late April or early May of 2017, but I'm looking forward to each step along the way. As I continue to remind myself, most good things in life are worth the wait. Stay tuned for more updates! I hope to have additional progress photos to share soon.