Several of y’all have emailed me and said, “Hey, I thought y’all had a contract on another house, but your posts make it sound like you’re looking for a house, and you’re being sort of cryptic, and I find myself perplexed and confused.”
As well you should be, given the vagueness of my vaguery.
So I will now attempt to clarify.
Yes, we had (HAD) a contract on another house. It was very groovy and 70’s and even still had the original shag carpet (bright yellow in the master bedroom, followed bright red, bright green, and rust in the other bedrooms. My brother vowed that if I looked around enough in the closets, I would find a rake). We were planning to replace the carpet, of course, but walking through those bedrooms was like stepping back into 1974, right down to the Honeywell alarm system that looked like something from the episode of Columbo where Ruth Gordon locked her nephew in the safe and spent the next two hours trying to outsmart the good detective.
Now granted, I’ve never pretended to be normal, but it is a little strange to me that while lots of people dream of large, open floor plans and granite countertops and keeping rooms off of the kitchen, I have an almost unexplainable attraction (bordering on obsession, no doubt) to houses that look like Mike, Carole, Greg, Marsha, and the rest of the kids are sitting inside, just waiting for me to walk in so that they can serenade me with “It’s A Sunshine Day.” And the house that we had (HAD) the contract on totally had that vibe.
But alas, it was not meant to be ours. Another couple put in a contract. We had 48 hours to decide whether we wanted to roll the dice and set a closing date, not having any guarantee that our house would have sold by that date – or walk away.
We walked.
So the search continues.
Right now we’re looking at two Brady Bunch houses…one that is way overpriced and needs tons of work and smells really, really bad (sounds charming, doesn’t it? you MUST come for a visit) – but it could be a great house when it’s all said and done IF we can get a good deal. The other one is so groovy that I won’t even describe it because I think y’all would be certain that I’ve lost my mind to even consider it, so I’ll just say this: it looks like Austin Powers may have lived there at some point.
Or Maude. Maude might have lived there, too.
So if our house sells and we end up buying the Maude house, I’ve already warned D that I’m going to need some lounging pajamas and geometric-patterned headscarves (think Suzanne Pleshette circa 1976) in order to fit in with the new surroundings.
He is understandably thrilled.
Good to know!
Holy Cow! It worked. Maybe my previous comments were too long…?
Oh, oh, oh…and I’m first! And second and now third. =)
My best friend in high school lived in what we called “The Brady Bunch House”. It was incredibly cool and the best part was her bedroom was a loft, just like when Greg Brady moved into the attic room on Brady Bunch.
It’s really only a matter of time until shag carpet comes back. If skinny jeans can make a return then nothing is off limits.
Just don’t break Mrs. Brady’s vase while you are touring the homes. Say hi to Alice for us. And have fun!
I just love you.
Love the unashamed individuality and someone else who has trouble with marble countertops. I thought I was the only one. I love that my crossed stich and thanksgiving decorations fit right in the beige laminate countertop. I just do!
maybe when you move in we can have another bloggy tour of homes to celebrate! :)
So my husband (who is one of the tens who visits your site regularly) just came into the living room talking about headscarves and lounging suits and shag carpet. And he was laughing and shaking his head. I thought he was kidding. But nope, he wasn’t. Maggie can call it individuality. I’ll call your near obsession a sickness. I think there’s help for you, BooMama. But first you’ve got to acknowledge the problem. ;-)
Oh, I’m totally sure we have the same taste in homes :)
I’ll come, if we can call it the Partridge Family House. And also eat partridge while we’re there.
Sounds like your taste in homes is similar to mine.
I love that very same kind of house!
And, um, Jeana…LET GO OF THE PARTRIDGE.
I got saved while kneeling on some orange shag carpet, so I do feel a little fondness there, myself.
Not to mention that all manner of small toys can hide themselves in the carpet, considerably reducing your need to pick up before company comes over:)
if you want to move to AL my house is for sale! :) i know, when i moved to AL i made an unpleasant face too. but you get used to it. :)