As you know, this year has been huge for us. We spent most of the first half of it planning our wedding, we got married (again) in the summer and then embraced the possibility of moving. What I didn’t really share on Instagram before is that we started looking at houses (to buy) in late spring. Back then, it only seemed like daydreaming as we weren’t pre-approved yet nor did we really know what we can afford. Still, it was nice to know what’s available on the Napa Valley market.

Being in your late 20’s/ early 30’s and renting rooms most of your life, it’s a bit daunting when thinking of buying your first home (and paying a mortgage that’s about 2x as much as rent). It’s also a different set of NEW responsibilities you’re taking on. However, we felt like the time was right for us. We were newly married, SO over living with roommates (that’s another crazy story), and we were simply ready to start a new chapter.

Buying our first home has been on the back of my head for a long time. Dare I say, it was my ultimate dream. If you follow me long enough you know that I moved from Poland about 7 years ago, lived in different states and found the love of my life in California. It wasn’t until then that I felt like I belonged somewhere. I thought buying our first home where we could truly start our newlywed life would only solidify that feeling.

Our First Home

Fast forward to the end of August. Our roommate situation was only getting worse so the motivation to continue the home search was obvious. Surely, we got to forget about all the worries during our honeymoon… But as soon as we got back, the reality hit pretty hard. We knew there was no time to waste. As soon as we were back from Hawaii, we went to the open house nearby. It wasn’t our first one so we didn’t really expect to find our home that faithful day. In fact, we already saw a similar unit before in the same neighborhood but felt as though it wasn’t in our budget.

Well, this one was cheaper and since we already knew we liked the layout and all that it has to offer, there was a potential. To be completely frank, I’ve been advocating for this house ever since I saw the first one. It had a right vibe going and I could just imagine us living in it. It was Rapha that needed more convincing but for the right reasons. After all, it is a big decision to make.

Long story short. We saw the house, finished pre-approval and put in an offer all pretty much in the same day and then 3 days later we got it! Now, I’ve heard stories that buying a house comes with many hours spent on searching, a bunch of lost offers and heartaches. Imagine our surprise when they accepted our very first offer right away! Surely, the process was still daunting as the amount of paperwork is overwhelming and legalities might roll your eyes out from time to time, but boy is it worth it. Those 30 days when you’re working on removing all contingencies and you’re in escrow (look at me using big words) are crazy too.

Basically, the whole month felt like a big fat secret. We didn’t really tell anyone about what’s going on with an exception of the closest family. The thing is, you don’t really want to spill the beans until you have actual keys to the house in case the deal falls through. And that’s exactly why we kept it to ourselves.

Moving Vlog

When I’m writing this entry it’s October 19th. Exactly a week after we started moving into our first home and oh man… I can’t even begin to describe what an amazing feeling this is. Such a labor of love. This house is SO ours and I already know we’re going to make many special memories here. We look forward to finally host our friends and family and to decorate this space the way we want to. Not to mention, filling the spare room with one or two kids one day. 😉

So happy the secret is finally out! Now I hope you’re ready for all of the home decor posts coming your way. Here are a few items I’m eyeing for our house… 😉