Today is Timmy’s birthday! He turned 27. He’s kind of upset that he’s one year closer to 30. Apparently he thinks 30 is ridiculously old. We’re trying to save money, which isn’t easy with all the things going on in our lives (in addition to our regular life expenses), so we stayed in. I made his favorite dinner (tortellini alfredo and garlic bread) and had a small carrot cake for dessert. I bought him a new camera, but I got a refurbished one because its just a small point-and-shoot and he didn’t want me to spend too much money. Hopefully still works as well as a new one; I think it will be fine but, you never know. I also bought him some Chili-infused olive oil from Olivier and I will have to wait and see when the spice ends up in my food.

I’m feeling extremely proud of us lately. We’ve done everything on our own from the very beginning of our relationship, and buying this house will be another step we’ve taken completely independently of our families. Tim and I are a pretty amazing team! As young as we are, we’ve accomplished more than I thought possible.

Tim and I don’t want to get too attached to this house because we still have a few hurdles to jump. FHA-approved loans require that the lender appraise the house at the amount of the loan, and if they dislike something about the home (like the porch is old and needs repairs) they can deny the loan. If they are worried that the porch is a safety hazard, they can require that we tear it out before the close of escrow. The bank that owns the property, however, probably wouldn’t let us tear out the porch until the house actually belongs to us. So, we’ve got a little ways to go before we’re really in the clear. We did a formal inspection today, and Chris, our inspector, said that the house is basically in good shape. Good insulation, good foundations. Air conditioning and heating properly installed.

Here are a few pictures I took today… but this may not be our house just yet.