Old House Love: The Movies Lie

A neighbour recently told us that he and our other neighbours call our house "the money pit." Thanks? Fun fact: Matthew refuses to watch the movie. "Too soon."

We've been in our home for almost a year. I haven't blogged much about this place — I will soon, promise — but it's no secret that our cute double-brick century-old home is a fixer-upper.

We knew this going in. The home inspector's list was not a short one.

And yet.

Buying an old home "with potential" can sound pretty romantic. Restoring cracked plaster, preserving character, adding personal touches...it all sounds so promising. Everything can be fixed, replaced and updated. And buying new furniture is fun!

We bought the square footage and the backyard. And assumed the dream life would follow.

But we don't live in an HGTV show. We don't have an extra $100k to throw at a house — or 8 weeks with a professional crew to gut and rebuild the place. It's an arduous uphill battle, slowly chipping away at tiny repairs, often putting our money towards unsexy things: waterproofing a basement, panic-calling emergency plumbers and pest control.

Our hallway is dark. But our sconce money is going to end up fixing the overgrown and semi-demolished front and backyard. Because the neighbours are judging us.

I blame 10-year-old Nadine.

Since childhood, my dream home has been this one.

And since Mary Bailey was able to fix up the Old Granville House BY HERSELF, clearly our not-abandoned house was going to be a walk in the park, right?

And lonely Noah turned a dilapidated old home into PERFECTION.

And Carl and Ellie put a little elbow grease into their first home together and it became their forever home — and we all cried and cried and cried because Pixar does that to us.

Everyone loves a good makeover. (Please tell me you're watching Queer Eye on Netflix. It's the best.) But the dream of the makeover montage is fading a bit.

This is gonna take some work.

And then some more.

This blog will be home to its makeover story. And to life in a new city. With two kids. And to a giant question mark of a career. And to finding shoes that fit. (Not proverbial shoes. Literal, on-my-feet shoes. Babies ruin bodies.)

Stay tuned.

P.S. Movies referenced, in order: The Money Pit, It's a Wonderful Life, The Notebook, Up. I really hope you knew that already.