Garvin & Co

Motherhood, Lifestyle & Design Blog by Jessica Garvin

  • Shop
  • Living
  • Style
  • Wellness
  • Festive
  • About
  • Contact

Explore

  • Shop
  • Wellness
  • About
  • Contact

Connect

Motherhood · October 18, 2016

Farewell to our old house!

We closed on our old house yesterday! This is such a huge sigh of relief for us, although it is so very bittersweet. Buying another house before selling was a huge leap of faith for us (also read: risk). We found our new house last year, early Fall, when it was foreclosing. Our house was already on the market at the time and we had a few interested buyers, so we put an offer in on it, not fully understanding what we were getting ourselves into. By the grace of God, we actually lost the house to an investor. There wasn’t a ton of other houses on the market at the time, and definitely none that we loved, so we took our house off the market and decided to stay. Early this spring, the house came back on the market, with most of the major repairs done (electrical, hvac, refinishing the hardwoods, roof & master bathroom). We knew we had outgrown our current house & needed to make a move, so we jumped at the chance! We really loved the house, it was just one of those houses that gave us good vibes, we loved the back yard, we loved the schools for our kids & loved how much character it had. So we bought it & were hopeful that our home would sell. We sorta just missed the peak of home buying, and really put our house on the market just a little too late. Over the course of the last four months, we showed our house nearly thirty times. THIRTY. Thirty times I swept, mopped, shoved shit in drawers, made beds & rushed three kids out the door for someone to walk through and tell me that the back yard wasn’t what they were looking for. 
We had an offer in the first month, and the sellers ultimately backed out because another house they loved became available. We were devastated! We then had two offers contingent on the sale of the buyers houses (which we couldn’t accept). After that we had about a month of no movement, a few showings here and there but we felt defeated. We lowered our price, spent the weekend moving out, and had seven showings on the first day our house was vacant. Those showings resulted in three offers (holy what?!), one being almost 10k over asking price. Of course we jumped at that offer, accepted it and did a happy dance. And what do you know, those buyers got cold feet and backed out three days later. ALL THE TEARS.
 
Our realtor reached back out to the other two buyers, and one came back immediately with a full price offer that afternoon. Funniest story, Brandon kept warning me that with each offer, buyers would ask to keep mirrors, the trampoline, our patio furniture, etc. and he kept telling me that I would have to learn to part with something in order to sell our house. With this offer, the buyer asked to keep his garage speakers that he loved so dearly and spent hours and hours wiring all around the walls. Sometimes ya just gotta part with things you love in order to sell your house. We accepted, again, but this time totally hesitant to ever get excited about it. Inspection came and went, repairs, appraisal, prayers and more prayers. And finally, 45 days later, we closed on the house, holding our breath until the very last minute.
 
We loved our first house, and it was home to most of the very best memories of my entire life. I will never forget the home that we brought two of our three babies home from the hospital to. The home that we celebrated all three of their first birthdays in, and both of us turned thirty in. We celebrated each of our babies first Halloweens, their first Thanksgivings & their first Christmases. 

The breakfast nook will always be my favorite room in that house, I loved how the light poured in during breakfast & the brick walls will always hold a special place in my heart. I will also never forget the ice storm that caused a tree to almost come through this window. I will never forget how the cupboard in the kitchen where we put our glasses always smelled like pickles to me & how our oven never looked clean again after I dumped that whole tray of cheesy potatoes over in it our first month we lived there.Or the creaky floorboards that were right in front of the pantry door that always got me caught sneaking snacks when the kids were around. And although the backyard drove me crazy by the end, I will never forget the way the string lights looked among the pine trees or the way the rain sounded when it hit all of the ivy.

Farewell, old house. We will love you forever!

29

Posted By: Jessica Garvin · In: Motherhood

Fall Bucket List
Essential Oils Make & Take

You’ll Also Love

Five Spring Steals Under $50
Spring Break Packing + My 5 Travel Must Haves
Baby It’s Cold Outside

Comments

  1. Linley Noel says

    October 18, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    Totally made me tear up. Our house is on the market right now, less than a month with almost a dozen showings so far. Tired of keeping a "clean house" is an understatement. So happy to hear yours sold!! I can't wait to see more of your new home but am in love with this breakfast nook forever I think!

    Reply
  2. Danielle Reins says

    October 18, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    YAY! Congrats!!!

    Reply
  3. Erica says

    October 18, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    What a lovely post!

    Reply
  4. Allison Cooley says

    October 18, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    I remember when we sold our first house. So bittersweet! Congrats on the sell!

    Reply
  5. Karra says

    October 18, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    Well I didn't think this post would make me all teary eyed, but it sure did. Hooray for more memories made in the new home!

    Reply
  6. Amanda @ More Like Me says

    October 18, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    I remember when you bought this house! I loved the brick kitchen and your hammock farm 🙂 It's so nice that you'll be able to look back on all those special memories. I'm sure it was hard to leave.

    Reply
  7. Amanda C. says

    October 18, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    Aw, this makes me happy and sad all at the same time for you guys! I have hard time parting with things, so I can imagine that moving from the house where you made most of your memories, like you said, was very hard to do. I don't know that I would have been able to be brave enough to ultimately do it when it came crunch time! I think about looking for a house again often, but honestly, I love where we are and all the memories as a family with my babies and all… that I just can't bring myself to do it! Congratulations, you guys!

    Reply
  8. Whitney says

    October 18, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    It's so interesting to hear your experience from a seller's point of view. We're searching for a house right now and have put in a few offers, but nothing so far. It's kind of comforting to know that the sellers are probably just as stressed out and nervous as we are! lol

    Reply
  9. Lee Family says

    October 18, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    Congratulations! We bought a new house this summer also and after having 3 babies in 37 months with all of their milestones in the "old" house, it was so bittersweet. Cheers to the next chapter! 🙂

    Reply
  10. Stephanie Smith says

    October 18, 2016 at 6:43 pm

    Loved that house!! I will never forget house hunting with you two and the day we fell in love with it!! Can't wait to come visit and see this new house! xoxo

    Reply
  11. Chrissy says

    October 18, 2016 at 6:43 pm

    Yay, congrats! A new chapter is beginning and it will be amazing!

    Reply
  12. Laura says

    October 19, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    Congrats! Why was the backyard such a hard sell? I thought it was just open to the forest from what I remember in photos.

    Reply
  13. natasha {schue love} says

    October 19, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    ALL the feels in this post!! And Ryan and I were cracking up over the garage speaker story…SO good. Very excited for this next house chapter! xx

    Reply
  14. Marissa Garvin says

    October 19, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    Girl, I feel you on the back yard struggle. I am living vicariously through your gorgeous new backyard! Congrats and cheers to many happy memories in your new house!

    Reply
  15. amanda says

    October 19, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    Definitely tearing up! Thanks for sharing this with us. We keep thinking about moving, but I'm not sure I can leave the house where I brought my babies home.

    Reply
  16. Danielle says

    October 19, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    So we bought a house and ours is for sale and nothing! So you are telling me to be patient…it's hard?
    Good to know it ended well for you and your family, fingers crossed for us

    Reply
  17. E Hayes says

    October 19, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    Congrats! What a huge relief, but so bittersweet. It can be so hard to close the door on one chapter, but at least you already know what lies ahead in the next! Cheers!

    Reply
  18. Erin Rowley says

    October 19, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    Congratulations on selling your house!! We sold our first house last year and bought our "forever" home – I've ever been so stressed!! I say all the time this better be our forever home because there is no way I'm ever moving again! 😉 I can't wait to see more of your new home as you decorate and make it your own! 🙂

    Reply
  19. Leanne says

    October 19, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    Exciting news!

    Reply
  20. Ashley Gill says

    October 19, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    Ummmm these pregnancy hormones are making me weepy! Lol! So beautiful. I've been following you since you started and I love seeing how your family has grown.. we are on the brink of a big move too and I wondered how the kids have adjusted? My 3 year old has mentioned a couple times that he doesn't want a new house, he wants to stay at his home, which kills me. I reassure him it will be great, remind him that all of our stuff will be coming with us etc.. did you experience any push back from any of them?

    Reply
  21. Julie Gannon Psurny says

    October 19, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    Awww! You'll always have your memories. And your photos!

    Reply
  22. The Girl who Loved to Write says

    October 19, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    Congratulations on the new chapter!

    Reply
  23. Stang&Co says

    October 19, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    We sold our house a year ago, and I remember holding my breath until all of the papers were signed too. It is SUCH a relief to truly get it sold and close that chapter. I have always loved the photos of your house, it had such character. I am sure you new one will have plenty too and I can't wait to see more!

    Reply
  24. DavisEverAfter says

    October 20, 2016 at 2:13 am

    Aw this post made me teary eyed!! I just remembered all the posts of your moving into it and decorating it. It's like a part of the family!!! But change can be good and on to new adventures!! Congratulations!!!

    Reply
  25. Alycia says

    October 20, 2016 at 2:13 am

    Congrats on your new house and the selling of the old. We recently sold our house too – the one we brought our babies home to. It is most definitely a bittersweet moment. Lots of memories made there, just like yours. But here's to new memories in a new house! 🙂

    Reply
  26. Lindsey Schuler says

    October 20, 2016 at 2:13 am

    Congrats!! We went through something similar and selling can be so damn stressful! We sold sooner than expected and had to live in a 1BR apartment for 2 months until our house was built. You will soon look back and laugh! The old homes will hold a special place in our hearts but the best is yet to come!

    Reply
  27. Danielle Siero says

    October 20, 2016 at 2:13 am

    What a roller coaster! So glad your house sold! I am not looking forward to keeping our place clean whenever we decide to sell….

    Reply
  28. Leah Hazley says

    October 24, 2016 at 8:08 pm

    What a testimony!! We were on the market for 6 months with several offers, 4 accepted, 3 that fell through. The final offer was an all cash one! We know all too well about the ups and downs of selling. Our realtor said he had never seen anything like it but in the end we got the house in Denver that was right on time for us. Congrats again Jessica 🙂

    Reply
  29. Mindy Prater says

    October 24, 2016 at 8:08 pm

    This post made me tear up, as this post completely hits home for me since we sold and moved to a new house ourselves back in June. I think bittersweet is the perfect characterization for these kinds of moments. However, cheers to new adventures & tons of new happy memories! Congrats!����

    Reply
  30. Jessica Ziff says

    October 25, 2016 at 9:13 pm

    Hi! Congrats on the house moving! I've been reading your blog almost since the beginning and loving it. I'm in the process of buying and selling too. My question has nothing to do with moving though, it's about the table in your breakfast nook. Where did you get it? I need one just like that for my new house! Thanks again for such thoughtful posts throughout the years. 🙂

    Reply
  31. Amber Mickelson says

    October 27, 2016 at 5:44 pm

    Ah! So bittersweet… it's so special you could have one place hold so many good memories. But it's also so exciting to have a new house to make so many more! xo

    Reply
  32. Jessica Weaver says

    November 16, 2016 at 12:45 am

    I have been in awe of your light over the kitchen table. I’m sure everyone has. Where did you purchase it at?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Photo
Welcome to Garvin & Co! So happy you're here! Grab a cup of coffee & look around. We hope you leave feeling happy & inspired!!

Get on the List

Look Around

  • Book Club
  • Chalkboards
  • Essential Oils
  • Festive
  • Friday Favorites
  • Gift Guides
  • Holidays
  • Homeschool
  • House & Home
  • Lake House
  • Monthly Edit
  • Motherhood
  • Playlists
  • Pregnancy and Newborn
  • Recipes
  • Skincare & Beauty
  • Style
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Shop the Goods

Search

Sponsors & Partners

Did your grandma ever make you a jello poke cake?! Did your grandma ever make you a jello poke cake?! They’re so fluffy and refreshing!! And always our girls birthday cake request! It’s too easy: make a white cake (from a box), poke holes in it with a toothpick, make jello according to directions in a saucepan and pour over top, and then put in the fridge for 3-5 hours to cool and set! Frost with whipped cream and serve chilled!!
Happy Valentines Day from the Garvin girls! 🖤🖤🖤 It’s also Thai Food Tuesday (IYKYK) so let the good times roll!!
Chiefs win baby!!!!!!!! SHUT YO MOUTH AND KNOW YO Chiefs win baby!!!!!!!! SHUT YO MOUTH AND KNOW YO ROLE!!!!!
If you’re tired of running all over the house in If you’re tired of running all over the house in the morning to find all your kids shit to get them out the door on time for school, this is for you.
Explaining the birds & the bees to our three daugh Explaining the birds & the bees to our three daughters and getting absolutely roasted in return.
Currently craving: thai food, tulip magnolia bloom Currently craving: thai food, tulip magnolia blooms, sunshine, pistachio cream cold brew and more tile in this kitchen. 💅🏻
Impulsively painted this little powder/laundry roo Impulsively painted this little powder/laundry room green and I’m obsessed. Sacrificed just one sweatshirt and my favorite pair of socks because I was way too lazy to change into painting clothes but overall: worth it. Also don’t look too close, 100 year old plaster walls are the opposite of smooth. On the hunt for some fun art next!! Swipe for before and afters 🖤
Color: @farrowandball Green Smoke
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Garvin & Co · Theme by 17th Avenue