OK, well, apparently I'm healed. I should return to normal programming shortly.

So, I guess it's pretty much "official" now--meaning I pretty much can't jinx it at this point (I hope)...so I can post photos of the house we're buying now. Although it kind of defeats the "surprise" of coming to the housewarming party and all. But still, I'm so damned excited about getting this house that I have to share some of the excitement. Check it out:

This is the front of the house, obviously. As you can see, it's a nice, wide, low-profile Chicago bungalow. Doesn't have stained glass in the front, but I haven't seen many (if any) flat-front bungalows that do. You almost ALWAYS find that on octagon-front bungalows though. Small sacrifice to make, honestly. You also can kind of see in this picture that the roof on the right side is dormered out, so the upstairs is finished and HUGE.

Next is the back of the house, again, obviously. You can see from this shot a few things. One, the back porch is completely finished...and it's actually part of the kitchen (eat-in area to the left, where the windows are, HUGE kitchen to the right where the doors are). More on that in a minute. This pic doesn't do justice to the yard's size (compared to typical bungalow sizes, not compared to Kim and Nick's yard, which is huge for a Chicago lot--for those never-been-Chicago-homeowners on the list). The yard is a good size. You'll notice the "carport" to the left...see the light blue thing. That is, indeed, a hot tub. No idea if it works or if we'll even keep it. If we do, the makeshift carport has to be replaced.

Finally, the piece de resistance, or however you spell it. The freakin' kitchen. Need I say ANYTHING about this kitchen? This shot is taken with the backyard to the right, from the eat-in area. We would not find another kitchen anything remotely like this one in a bungalow, let alone in our price range. Couple this with the rest of the house (which, mind you, does need some reasonable--and some serious--TLC), and really, it shot up the list really fast at the price we wanted. Had the price not come down, this house would have been out. But the kitchen, from Day One, sold us. Yes, that's a professional range/oven and hood, complete with convection oven, four burners, a griddle and a grill all built in. Just call me Chef Andy.

Aside from these things, I can't explain to you how unbelievably excited I am about this house. Yes, it needs work. Yes, it's going to cost money. But I am ready and willing to do what it takes to make this home unbelievable for me and my future family. I love Chicago bungalows. And I can't express, honestly, how much I'm excited about this house. It's so very much the type of bungalow I wanted (without fully knowing--it's the kind of thing where "you'll know when you see it"). And I'm so psyched.