Category: Home ownership

Today we lived out the best of being homeowners in the Sunset.

We woke up, and the kids sat in our bed, and watched cartoons. When we finally woke ourselves up, we got dressed, and headed to breakfast. But not in any old way. We hopped on our bikes, threw the kids in their seats, and headed into the park. Breakfast was great, and then…

We headed to the Zoo.

The bike ride to the zoo is fantastic. It’s along the ocean. It’s free of car traffic. And you’re there before you know it. It was so, so windy, but that’s not too big of a deal.

The morning was seeing the red panda (new to the zoo), the new insects, the goats, the big cats, and then playing with model boats on a simulated river that they setup by the penguins. It was fantastic!

We headed to lunch back on Judah, I had a killer cheeseburger, and then we came home.

I don’t think either of us could imagine a better day… and we know how lucky we are to have it.

We walked to the beach today. We were mixing friends (Justine & Baby Renzo), with family (Doruk & Hanna), with beautiful weather. There’s a cool little deli (called Clancey’s Market & Deli) around 41st and Irving where we stopped to have lunch. The sandwiches are amazing. The owner is a great guy. And the prices aren’t San Francisco (which is nice).

It’s also a fantastically easy walk. It’s flat. There’s plenty of things to see, and places to eat, around the way. We saw a cool photography studio. There’s a New Orleans food spot. There’s a surf shop (because I’m clearly going to have to learn).

I think discovering the neighborhood is going to be one of the best parts of having a home. The neighborhood will grow up with us, and we’ll become part of its fabric.

I really love this home ownership thing.

Everything so far this weekend has been a first.

First time homebuyer

First family dinner at the house

First night sleeping at the house

First shower at the house

and on and on the list goes. It’s really overwhelming, and it’s really exciting. It’s a very different kind of roller coaster than before, but a roller coaster nonetheless. I think the crazy bit is that at the end of the day it’s all mine. It’s just such an awesome feeling. These firsts are just milestones that make that more and more obvious… and fun to celebrate.

First rainy weekend spent watching the birds.

First time playing in the toy room.

First take out ordered (from a Thai place down the street. Delicious!)

I really love it. I hope this feeling never goes away 🙂

Today we moved into the house… finally 🙂

The day started whisking the kids off to school, and fitting in a call with <redacted> on my way over to the house (we are that big of a deal at TokBox).

I was getting to the house for the Sonic.net guy who was to show up at 10am. Let me do a quick interlude, and say that Sonic.net internet service is awesome. I’ll get back to that in a second.

The chores on the list included hanging two lights, and doing a final coat of paint in the toy room. The coat of paint was easy (and the Dixie Chicks Pandora station made it fun). The lights were a complete pain 🙁

For lunch, I had some awesome guests swing by, help out a little, and then go on their merry way. Their identification is protected to preserve their innocence.

Then the movers arrived.

When the movers show up it’s total chaos. Boxes; beds; cribs; couches. Everything is stashed somewhere, and then rebuilt. Micky and I were maniacs in the kitchen first, then the kids room, our room, and then the toy room.

By the time the kids came home, their corner of the world was in great shape, and we were officially moved in 🙂

We’re getting ready to move in (T-2 weeks to go). We’ve put up new lights, removed the doors from the play room closet, and started to make a big dent against our credit card :-p

Micky is really excited about the DIY, and I’m really excited to make the house feel more like our own.

Today we got our new fridge & washer/dryer set. We also spent the day painting the play room. It’s a very bright yellow, and the whole crew got in on the action:

I think the house is really starting to look good 🙂

I’ve been tight-lipped for a month so that we didn’t jinx it, but now the keys are in our hands. We bought 1250 31st Ave earlier this month, and the deal closed today. It was a whirlwind of zero to house in approximately 24 days.

We’ll throw a party soon, but otherwise I’ll let the photos do the talking 🙂 (the furniture is fake in these photos)