Big Dreams Vs. Reality

House Hunting

Let's admit one thing and get it out in the open.  Looking for your new home is fun until you are in the middle of truly looking to buy. 
Don and I had accounts with all of the real estate websites, Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com.  Oh yes, we would see every new house entering the market and talk about them, discuss what we liked and didn't like.  There were so many houses out there that were perfect for us. We were all over it.  
Of course, we had our list of must have.

1. Large open concept kitchen, dining room, living room combo
2. Lots of window and hardwood floors
3. Garage or barn 
4. At least 3 acres
5. Must have a basement (it's New England)
6. 4 bedrooms - the 3 kids can not share a room #wearenotthebradybunch
7. A place for hanging outside like a porch or patio
8. A fireplace or wood stove
9. A farmhouse, Cape or New Englander style home
10. Old World Charm

Truely, it's an exciting time, but man, when you are really looking everything changes.  Suddenly all of those houses that were perfect before, are not right in anyway.  This one is cute, but the rooms are tiny, that one has 4 bedrooms, but ZERO yard, this house is perfect, but the daily commute is way too long.  Not to mention the prices of homes today $$$, budget was a big player for us and we didn't want to bust that. 
Looking can be so stressful, I even shed a few tears.

Oh, did I mention that we were looking for a "kind-of" fixer upper?  
So, we found it!  Luckily after selling our old home and feverishly looking, 5 months later we scored....

A cape built in the 1800's with and open concept, lots of tiny window, 4 bedrooms, 3 fireplaces, in-law apartment, a bit of old world charm  and 31 acres of untamed land within our budget.
Ahhh!