And in the beginning was the word

Actually, it was more of a crazy idea than a word. Then again, most things start with a crazy idea, right?

One crazy idea had me falling head over heels in love with an American reporter, way back, when I was a German living in Germany. Hamburg, to be exact.

No amount of backpaddling got me out of his clutches and here we are, 8 years later, living in Florida with a 7 year old son, a cat, three guinea pigs, 2 hermit crabs and another crazy idea.

For most of these nearly 8 years we have been living in the same historic neighborhood. To us and our neighbors it's the best place in town: fabulous historic houses, old oak trees, green parks hinting at former grandeur and the coolest people in town living here. Granted, there are a few pockets around that still need some cleaning up, some houses that are hoping with bated breath to escape the bulldozer and wrecking ball and a few corners that are still too attractive to stragglers and hoodlums and wayward ladies than we would like but all in all The 'hood has come a long way and we're madly in love with it. So madly in love that we'd never consider moving unless we're leaving the state.

Moving to Springfield was a crazy idea but not the craziest yet. The craziest idea was born one day in spring when - innocently browsing Craigslist - I stumbled across a real estate listing.

• In our 'hood.
• For a cute historic 2-story home.
• For a ridiculously low price.

Since it was April 1st I giggled maniacally and emailed the listing to my parents. Maybe they felt like investing in real estate in Florida? (reporters unfortunately don't make oodles of money, nor do part-time translators/administrative assistants most of the time). I really didn't expect anything to come out of this idea, really! Imagine my surprise when my parents did declare interest! Bah-hah?!?

To make a long story short: while this house deal fell through (it went to auction shortly after we discovered it and paperwork does take longer than expected) it definitely set us on our current quest for a little old house for ourselves. This blog is to share the adventures along the way, good and bad, the learning experiences and the angle of our learning curve, the dos and donts and hopefully, one day, the renovation stories and decorating mishaps of our first home.

Wanna come along for the ride?