Here we go!

This is it -- the first posting. We bought our house back in September (2009), but I didn't really get inspired to do the blog until my wife and I watched "Julie and Julia" last weekend. If you've seen the movie, you'll understand the blog inspiration.

Here's the scoop on our house -- it is a 1915 Craftsman-style Tudor Revival. We bought it from the estate of Clay and Frances Cooper. Mr. Cooper was a University of Missouri football coach for around 40 years, and everyone I talk to has only good things to say about him and Mrs. Cooper. They bought the house in 1957 for the princely sum of $18,000. The Coopers raised eight (count 'em: eight) kids in this house with only ONE (count 'em: ONE) full bath. Somewhere along the way, they added a half-bath in a closet off the landing that leads to the basement. I'm not saying the half-bath is small, but let's just say that you need to know which way you plan to face before you go in.

The house needs absolutely everything: re-wiring, re-plumbing, central heat & air (it still has a boiler and radiators), new kitchen, new bathrooms, MORE bathrooms, and a real garage. There is no damper in the fireplace, nor are there chimney caps on the flues. Until last week, the basement ran rivers when it rained (I'll post later about the jackhammer adventure in the basement). On the brighter side, the house did come with a brand new roof when we bought it. Unfortunately, the roofers weren't so clever with the flashing around the chimney, so I need to do some work there, too.....

With all the issues the house has, though, we absolutely love it. Hope you enjoy following along as we make it into our "forever" house. I will post some pictures soon.