The townhouse rental that earned it's place in my heart. . .

We found out we were moving to Houston in May of 2017. Not a great time of year for the housing market, and we had to be super selective about the area we bought in because of schools for the kids. It was too late in the year to get them into private schools in the area so we researched and researched the public schools and the zoning. We found a great area that we fell in love with. It literally felt like something out of Leave It To Beaver! We did put in an offer on a house that we felt was perfect for us, but it didn't work out. By the time we knew it wasn't going to work out it was too late to put in an offer on our second choice because it had already gone under contract. Now it was June, and I was really starting to panic. We decided to look into renting. We were told that because the area is so desirable there aren't many rentals available. We found a house, with a little bit of a yard and got excited! We have two dogs- a shape named Gus Gus (after the mouse in Cinderella) and a Cane Corso/Neopolitan Mastiff Rescue named Mitzi so a yard matters to us. They should get their own post one day soon! We put in an application on the rental and thought it was a done deal. Nope. They had 5 applications in on the first day so they told us to come back with our best offer. It's a rental! I'd never heard of such! We gave it our best shot and were told we were "the second choice." Grr. I'd gone from slight panic to full on hyperventilating. Adam was already in Houston, and the girls and I were still in Georgia packing up the house. I found a townhouse in the desired area online and sent Adam to check it our ASAP. He called me and said "it'll be fine." Not a glowing recommendation but it was ours if we wanted it and they were OK with the dogs. We signed quickly before they could change their mind!

When I first got to Houston (the girls were at summer camp in NC) to set everything up I was nervous. I've never lived anywhere sight unseen. I pulled up and there's no front door. It was the strangest thing I've ever seen! Also without furniture in it I was concerned about space. The girls rooms were really tight. There were a TON of stairs. There was zero yard. No windows on the main floor and little natural light anywhere else. And the alley on the side was so narrow I had to turn sideways. But you know what? When I got our stuff into it it really did start to feel like home. My mother-in-law had told me that, and I should know by now that she's usually right! She really is one of my favorite people and she gives the best advice! The landlord was amazing too. Plus after months of being apart our family was all going to be back together again. That was all that mattered!

A few weeks after we moved in Hurricane Harvey hit. This Georgia girl had no idea what she was in for. That was a long week and I was scared out of my mind. I sat for too many hours to count in the third floor just watching the water rise and coming up with a plan to keep my babies safe. But the townhouse held strong and stayed dry. We started calling it "the little townhouse that could." I am forever grateful for that rental for protecting the people I love most in this world. It ended up to be the perfect place for the time and etched itself into my heart!

I didn't decorate much because I knew it was short term and I didn't want to take most of our furniture and stuff out of storage/boxes or buy anything new, but here she is. . . the little townhouse that could!

Um. . . so there really is no door. . .

Lots of pantry space, and I clearly like to organize

Butler's Pantry

Galley Kitchen (that really was all the light we had)

Living/Dining room before we put up a new chandelier, decorated the shelves and bought a rug!

Caroline's Room

Lauren's Room

The master bedroom- I really never did put one thing on those shelves

Master Bath

Master closet- the best room in the whole house!

The staircase to the third floor. We called this "climbing the Himalayas."

The third floor guest room/playroom. This was also my perch in the storm.

There she it! The little townhouse that could! She did her job, kept us safe and I'll love her forever for that! We moved out in June. Our landlord was kind enough to let us extend the lease month to month, but we wanted to get the girls into the area and school zone they would be in later in the year when we close on our house so we moved out. Again we looked for a house to rent in our current area but it didn't work out. What is it with us and rentals?!? So we're in a cozy little apartment for a few months. It's not bad though. I'm actually loving the time with my people! The dogs though. . . they might be another story! ;)

I'll do a peek at our current apartment soon too!