The kitchen in this house was probably the most amazing transformation of this project. Since we funded the entire house renovation budget from our day jobs, this project seemed to take forever since it was one of the largest expenses. It was also the hardest to live without since we lived here during the renovation period. Luckily my handy dad was able to rough-in a working sink using an old lower cabinet, he set up plywood and cardboard counters, and even hooked up the dishwasher so we had a few creature comforts before the new cabinetry was installed, about 6 months after closing. (Click "Read More" to continue...)

​​This house was a HUGE education for my husband and me. It was our primary residence and I LOVED this house. Looking back I can say with certainty that I overlooked many of its flaws (accidentally on purpose?) so that purchasing it at the negotiated price seemed like a good idea (it wasn’t.) After all is said and done, I still love this house. It was a great learning experience and it allowed us to “save” enough money that once we sold it, we were able to purchase a better rental property outright. Here’s what I learned from the front yard: (Click "Read More" to continue...)

This is the story of our first home remodel of a 3 bed/1.75 bath, 1880sf, 1955 brick ranch house.

We moved to El Paso, Texas from Germany in 2015 and had about 10 days to find a house before my husband, and Army pilot extraordinaire, had to go to an 8 week training course out of state. We arrived on a Friday and I had to start my full-time job the following Monday (and contrary to what I was told, I would NOT be given any time off to help find a house.) So the scramble began...

This was going to be our home, not an investment property, and we wanted a super walkable neighborhood with lots of amenities. We decided to purchase something in Kern Place--a historic and hip neighborhood in west El Paso. Moving in October, I can't say that inventory was great and I was pretty convinced that we'd have to do some home improvements to whatever house we chose. We didn't really plan on an entire house renovation... (Click "Read More" to continue...)