I just can't stop thinking about it...

There are things you learn about yourself as you get older; sometimes they're surprising.  When I think back to myself at twenty years old, there are a lot of things about me then that are almost exactly the same as things about me now.  

But I think one of the fun things about getting older is discovering new interests and passions; there are definitely things I love now that I never imagined I would have loved when I was twenty.  In fact, some things I love now I definitely did NOT love when I was twenty.

Isn't it interesting?  What are yours?

(I'm going to save this question for my next dinner party with friends - I'd love to hear about the ways they've changed as they've gotten older that surprised them.)

I said before that I think in another life I'd make a great florist.  I definitely never saw that one coming.

Another one - I love real estate.  I always did, I think, but now that we have this magical thing called the internet, I can browse houses for sale for fun.  And I do.  A lot.

I think I'd be a realtor if our lifestyle didn't keep us moving around between houses so often.  I'm out of town too much to make it a feasible career.

So all that to say, I stalk houses online a lot.  And one of my favorite things (it was at twenty and still is) is historic architecture.  I 💓 old houses.

Yet I've spent my last eighteen years in a new house, which isn't so new anymore.  (The kind of house I always said I'd never live in.)  I won't go into the details of why we've been here all this time now.

And I won't go into the details of why now we're thinking of moving (maybe in another post), but we are, and since I hope this is my last move (short of the nursing home) I really hope to finally live in an old house, as I've always wanted.

Two weeks ago, on the way to The House of Goodwill, we took an hour detour to tour an amazing old Victorian with a real estate agent.

Here are some pics of the house, still for sale:

A HUGE Victorian, built in 1899.

These are "porch goals" as they say 😀 

Sweet tea, anyone?

Maybe lunch with a neighbor...

This staircase!  It consisted of three  curved segments, with a window seat on the huge landing in the middle, next to a large stained glass window.

This house has six fireplaces!  (We are fireplace people, for sure.)

This is another HUGE sitting room space in the upstairs, connected to a small room with that big stained glass window.  There were also lots of huge closets in this house.

The woodwork in this house was just breathtaking.  The two bay windows in the two front living rooms were just so pretty.  We were there in the evening, and it had just started snowing.  It was like these bay window spaces were built for Christmas trees.

They just don't make them like this anymore, that's for sure!

I've been thinking about this house for two weeks.  The house was absolutely spectacular, and in so many ways, exactly what I'd want.

But there were a few drawbacks, and I'm still thinking about them.

Perhaps the most significant: the house is in the middle of nowhere.  (Nowhere being a village of 3,500 people.)  Is that I want?  I don't know.

One of the reasons we're ready to move (and leave Nashville) is because of the population explosion that doubled the size of the city from 1 - 2 million people in just a decade.  It just doesn't feel like the same place anymore.  And it seems like wherever I am, there are too many people, too much traffic, long lines etc.

But would I like nowhere?  I don't know.  I might.  I might not.

And although the property comes with three acres, the lay out is a bit odd.  There are very near neighbors on the sides of the house, and behind, and a shared driveway.  It seems perhaps former owners of the house sold some land to family members, because I can't figure why else the house behind would be in the kind of strange place that it is.

Neighbors aren't necessarily a bad thing, either.  It depends on the neighbors.

So it wasn't a total slam dunk.  And we're probably still a year from being ready to move.  I'm still working on The House of Goodwill and I need to stay focused.

But, wow, it was amazing.

I'm still dreaming about it....