If you missed part one of our story about the decision to move, catch up HERE. We are so excited! It’s been a whirlwind getting our house ready for sale, and we’re thrilled to begin this next chapter in a new home. I can’t wait to share more with you.
At the end of part one, my husband and I set off on a short road trip to a region north of us I’d wanted to explore for years.
We didn’t expect to find anything life-changing that day. We were simply open to a new season—one that might bring fresh experiences and a different pace of life.
A dream house doesn’t only have one address.
That day we weren’t actively searching for a dream home, and we weren’t looking for major renovation projects. We were ready to enjoy life, and if a house felt right as part of that, we were open to it.
I love houses in many forms. I enjoy a fixer-upper and the imagination that goes into transforming a place. I also love simply making a house pretty for a season without the long haul of major remodels. A sprawling property sounds lovely, but I’d be just as happy in a modest home with a cozy spot by the fire and a small flower garden outside.
A dream home can look very different depending on the season of your life. It might be a shingled cottage on the coast, a rustic cabin in the mountains, or a small, charming house that feels comforting and right. As I wrote in my book Love the Home You Have, a dream house doesn’t have only one address.
As we talked about next steps, we considered many possibilities: buy land for a future beach house, sell and rent while we looked, get a vacation home, or find a place that fit our empty-nester lifestyle. We decided we didn’t want to build unless the perfect opportunity appeared. We didn’t need a separate vacation home—we could make every day feel like a getaway.
We wanted a home that allowed us to enjoy the adventures we dreamed about, not one that would consume all our time and resources with endless projects.
After our day on the boardwalk and conversations with family, we felt clearer about location, lifestyle, and next steps. We were willing to sell our home and even discussed the possibility of my parents joining us nearby. Once we decided to pursue a life closer to the San Juans, everything else started to fall into place.
I’m a dreamer and can get overwhelmed by too many choices, but committing to the general direction felt like making the hardest decision. From there, the right house began to reveal itself.
A dream house is a home that is meant for you.
Our new home felt meant for us in so many small, meaningful ways.
Back to the road trip: we visited an open house that first day—a large, charming fixer-upper with plenty of potential. A garden snake greeted me on the porch, which I joked was a sign it wasn’t for me. Still, we liked many aspects of the house. It offered space to remodel and imagine possibilities, but over the coming days we realized a major project would tie up our time, energy, and funds. That wasn’t the kind of adventure we wanted right now. I also wanted at least a glimpse of water, and that house looked out only at trees.
A dream house is a home that was planted in your heart.
Nearby was a neighborhood I’d admired online for years. We’d never driven through it, though we’d saved listings and thought it might be a fit once we were empty nesters. Now that we were free to explore, we finally walked the streets and took it all in.
To my delight, my husband loved the neighborhood too. It felt like a special place where we could truly belong. There was a house for sale on the street, though it wasn’t open that day. From the outside it looked adorable, but the listing suggested it might be smaller than we expected. We parked and walked around to get a better sense of the area.
To my surprise, my husband fell for the neighborhood as much as I had. He suggested calling the realtor to see if we could tour the house that was for sale. I hesitated—what if I fell in love with the house?—but we called and were able to see it.
A huggable house
Years earlier, we’d heard a realtor describe a small cozy home as “huggable,” and the phrase stuck. A huggable house is not too big, warm and inviting—the kind of place that wraps around you. We’d lived in similar homes and always loved them.
When we walked into that little house, my husband’s face lit up. He whispered, “It’s a huggable house.” That moment told me everything: it was exactly the cozy, charming home we’d imagined. We fell in love within minutes.
Even so, we drove away thinking the market was hectic and we weren’t fully prepared to buy. Our house wasn’t yet listed and we didn’t have all our ducks in a row. Despite that, the house lingered in our thoughts.
The dream house that was meant for us
I couldn’t stop thinking about the house and reached out to the realtor to ask if any offers had been accepted. He mentioned a cash offer was in hand, which felt like a closed door. A few days later he checked back—the cash offer hadn’t been accepted. Our family kept talking about the house, and finally the cash offer expired. The door opened again.
The more we discussed it, the more we realized the location and the house fit so many of our priorities. It would support the adventures my dad dreamed about, and my mom would love being part of making a cozy house her own. The layout could be adapted to suit our needs, and the house was already move-in ready if we wanted to relax and enjoy it right away. It also left room for small, joyful updates over time.
The location put us closer to our children and family while placing us in a welcoming, smaller community that felt right for this stage of life. On our budget and in the areas we wanted, compromises were expected, but the pros for this house kept adding up. After discussing it with our parents and driving by again with our daughters and son-in-law, we felt confident it could be the one.
We decided to make an offer even though it felt both exciting and a little scary. As we finalized numbers, the realtor texted that another offer had come in, so we needed to move quickly. We submitted our offer and waited. When the sellers accepted ours, I had the joy of calling my dad on his birthday to share the news.
His dream of a seaside place for adventures was coming true. My mom’s dream of having a new home to love was coming true. And for us, this little house would become a daily vacation—a place to savor life every day.
There were a few more hurdles in the weeks that followed, but every time we faced a potential roadblock, a new window or door would open. The peace we felt throughout confirmed that this was the right home for us.
Our new house won’t be a second home or a seasonal retreat. We plan to live in it like we are on vacation every day.
For the final part of this series, where I’ll introduce you to our home sweet home, see part three of this story.
Follow along on Instagram for behind-the-scenes updates, and subscribe to the newsletter to stay in the loop.
Related Posts:
A Big Dream Coming True For Us
We’re Moving: Part One