So… Why did we choose this house???

Before Alex and I bought our house, we were living in a brand new condo on the 21^st floor of a high rise in downtown Minneapolis, quite different from a Dutch Colonial build in the 1920's. So why did we buy an old house? We have always loved old architecture and the warmth and history behind an older house, they have so much character and charm to fall in love with. We loved being downtown and miss it very much, but living in a 700 square foot 1 bedroom box is tough for 2 people and 2 dogs, and a life that was beginning to grow (and the amount of stuff you own does too) wasn't making any sense at all.

This was our 700 sq foot box of a condo at Skyscape

And we never thought we would be 'suburban' type of people living far from the city, so living in a more urban neighborhood in the city close to everything (and a 3 minute commute) was VERY appealing! We didn't know a whole lot about an area outside of downtown Minneapolis since we moved here from Michigan for work, so we had to get to know a lot of new places while we searched for our perfect little home.

The balcony of our 21st floor condo was no environment for Rocco to grow and be safe in!

Funny thing is, the house we ended up choosing, was actually the first one we clicked on to view pictures of when we started our search and the first house we did a little 'drive by' of before we made appointments to view houses. When we drove by, we had never been in the area before, didn't quite know where we were, but found the area to be very charming and cute, all the houses were colonial, arts & craft, bungalow, or Spanish style with tree lined streets.  

One block over we found the Theodore Wirth Recreation Park, which in the winter was filled with people sledding, cross country skiing, and even snowboarding. In the summertime the park is a golf course with 18-hole and Par-3 courses. The Grand Rounds Trail goes through the park as well, which is 53 miles of trails that can take you around the Minneapolis Parks and Byways, perfect for my husband who bikes, and me for running! There are also mountain biking trails in the woods of Theo Wirth Park! We were amazed at all the parks and trails right near the house, just seemed very perfect for our interests and lifestyle.

It was time to Get to NOMI!!!!

We explored more around the area, and did find some parts of North Minneapolis that definitely aren't as nice as others, but overall, we really loved the Homewood part of the neighborhood. And our cute little Dutch Colonial couldn't be more charming, we quickly fell in love with the house, mainly loving the floorplan, woodwork, and staircase. The house reminded me a little of my grandma's house, which was my favorite home to play and explore in when I was little. Our house had the same arches, doors, crystal doorknobs, and creepy little crawlspace, just like at my grandma's! I love our neighborhood and neighbors, so as I continued to get settled in, I wanted to learn more about the history of the area, and the history of my home… more to come!