I am so pleased to share that after many long years of house hunting and saving we've realized the dream of owning our own place.

I've had to adjust my expectations. I grew up in the USA where every house had a yard and green grass, I grew up in a rural area on a 1 acre plot of land with plenty of room to roam, and the town still doesn't even have a traffic light. I now live in one of the biggest cities in the world and after several years I've come to realize if I wanted to own my own home, it was going to be smaller than what I'm used to. I'm coming to terms with that...I'm certain the next month or two will present many challenges to ME more than any other family member but I'm ok with that. I give myself permission to have varied feelings during the downsizing process and I've learned a lot reading online and even from other YLF members that have experienced the same.

We closed a week or so ago. So far I've had fun doing some research and buying. Some of our existing furniture won't fit or doesn't suit the new space so I got to buy a new dining set. Love it! The bar stools we selected are on backorder, boo. I also got new beds and bedding for the kids. I'm a lover of bright colors - my room growing up was black, white and red. My kids will have primary colors (shown below) and I can't wait to get their room setup. Finally, it is OURS and I feel like I can make it my own. Such a great feeling after years of renting.

We have several projects planned, some of which have already begun. Exciting! If anyone shows interest I will post progress pics. We will be finishing part of the roof garden to have a bathroom, home offices and a storage room (for some of that aforementioned furniture). We also plan to have some custom storage built to maximize the space in the condo (aka mommy and daddy have too many shoes, haha). I'm looking forward to living with less and living a more organized life. I hope I can succeed at this goal.

Anyway, I wanted to share my news and excitement with you, my online friends. As always all comments are welcome. Sorry if the pics are out of order, iPad won't let me remove the first photo but I'm sure you get the idea