House Hunters goes to Austin

Kinda big news. It's been a roller coaster for us. With our lease running out here in a matter of months, we started looking at rental properties (in good school districts this time) and our search was turning up crap. Inventory is at 98% here as Austin is quickly becoming a popular place to live. So... it became clear that if we want to stay in Austin another couple years, which is what we are leaning towards, we would have more options if we bought a house, and then at least would be paying less per month. The idea would be to eventually rent it out after we leave since we know how in demand rentals are from our own experience. We already knew a real estate agent out here and he casually showed us some homes, and one we just LOVED. Or I should say I loved since I'm the emotional buyer : ) Yes, it all happened quickly but we put a contract on the house, which was accepted after some negotiation. All seemed perfect -- it checked all the boxes: newly updated, great school, 4 bedrooms, etc. until... inspection day. Unfortunately the inspection turned up some major foundation problems that we were not willing to take on, so we had no choice but to back out of the contract. So, it's been a lot of highs and lows this month but we feel good about the decision. We will continue to look, but honestly, there's no telling where we'll be 6 months from now.

I'm sorry, is it almost February?

Wow, a blogless whole month. And there's a lot to catch up on, so I'm going to dive right in: Lola came to visit for 8 days. Ed was gone for half of it on a work trip, so I was happy to have the help and we did some fun things like the Luminarium (you might recognize pictures from last year), a day trip to San Antonio, dance lessons at the Broken Spoke (a legendary Texan dance hall), lots of shopping and even more eating. The boys were happy to spend time with Lola and Dean kept saying "I love you Lola Linda!"

 

 The Luminarium is a traveling exhibit/maze made out of zippered nylon with thin colored pieces that allow light to shine through. It's like walking into a kaleidescope. Dean was too young last year, but this year, he's a runner and it was hard to keep up with them in there!

The Broken Spoke is one of those places in Austin that has not been touched in decades. It is a classic honky tonk bar/venue with live music and where some big country stars like Willie Nelson and George Straight have played. I'm not much for country, but I had heard that this was authentic cowboy territory, so thought it would be fun to just see. On certain nights they give dance lessons, and we all know how Lola likes to dance, so thought it was the perfect opportunity to go. Ed hung back with the kids while Siiri, Linda and I went. The place is a shack, not much more than a barn, with low ceilings and slanted floors. We got our drinks and were just planning on watching the dance lessons and listen to the music, but they were 3 girls short of partners, so guess who got volunteered : ) For an hour, we learned the Texas 2 step - it was fun and we were laughing a lot. I have often told Ed that if there was one thing I could change about him, it'd be to make him taller, but after dancing for an hour with a man who's shoulder was above my head, I'm glad I don't have to get neck cramps just to look into Ed's eyes.

Lessons: Linda on the girls side (like 7th grade)

Siiri and her partner