Day 1: Single and ready to mingle…

…with realtors, mortgage lenders, inspectors and Lowe’s cashiers. And if I really work it, I hope to be sleeping in a new bedroom by the first week of January. 😉

Maybe 2012 will bring the men, but for now I have more than enough to keep me busy with this thing called homeownership.

Last week I put an offer in on a home. When I got the notification of the sellers’ acceptance, my life flashed before my eyes: no international vacations or weekend getaways, the return to my frugal college mindset (minus the beer choices), no more expensive dinners at Grove, and the most dreaded of all, coupon clipping.

Fortunately, it was a quick flash. Then I started thinking about how I’d put my newly purchased range to good use by cooking for friends while enjoying an $8 bottle of wine purchased on sale instead of an $8 glass of wine. It struck me, too, one of my new neighbors happens to be a chef at Grove. Perhaps he and his wife – my friend Shana – will want to swing by to use that new range, too. And once summer comes, I’m going to live on that amazing deck out back. And I’ll be so busy painting and repurposing furniture that I won’t even miss The Winchester or Hopcat. And of course, the investment bit is a good thing.

It seemed logical to unfold one of life’s biggest milestones, one rooted in Grand Rapids, as a new Project 365. Over the next year, I’ll ‘unfold the story’ of being a first-time, single-mom homeowner. Wish me luck!