A Whole Lot of Dirt...

After years of house and lot-hunting, we finally purchased a pretty sweet lot last fall. Our very patient realtor must have shown us about 100 properties over the past few years (thanks, Andy!). We tried twice to actually make a purchase, only to have each fall through (sorry, Andy...). But the third time was a charm for us and we now own a bunch of dirt:




After years of searching, we realized Rochester has a lot of cool homes that need a lot of work. Since we moved to Rochester in an attempt to make life easier, the thought of completely renovating a house just didn't quite fit the bill. So Paul and I thought about how we live, what NYC taught us, and came up with a plan on a napkin...



The house that fell through was pretty special, and definitely informed our current design. It wasn't perfect, and the thought now of an average heating cost of $600 a month (it was basically a barn with no insulation) makes me think we were a bit crazy for putting in an offer in the first place. So we basically set out to create an energy efficient version of that home.



Paul and I have spent weekends plotting out the house on the lot with stakes and twine. And yes, we sat on our imaginary couch, rang the imaginary doorbell and looked out the imaginary windows. Great first impression for the neighbors...

The lot no longer looks quite like this because digging has begun...



And we thought it'd be fun to take Graham sledding before all the construction started:



I must admit I was a bit sad when I saw the topsoil removed from a portion of the lot. We had been visiting the lot so often and become accustomed to how it looked untouched...