First visit.

Nate and I went over to the house tonight for the first real look at what we're dealing with - I've seen it twice before then and never with the eyes I used this time.
It's full. It's so, so full of things. The first goal is to help his mama sort out what goes where, because seeing this place empty will help a whole lot in visualizing what we can do.

I saw an antique frame on the living room wall with a woman in a Victorian dress, and I want to keep that. Not sure where it'll go yet, but it'll have a place in the new place.

After walking through and taking millions of pictures, this is our list of thoughts to think:

*Complete restructuring of the kitchen and living room
*New appliances, tile, backsplash, hardware
*Replacing sliding glass door in living room with french doors
*Knocking down the wall separating the formal and casual living rooms
*Floors for the kitchen and living room
*Staining those floors and the original oak floors in the rest of the house
*Wallpaper everywhere has to come down
*Knocking down a wall to combine two bedrooms into a master
*Extending or creating a master bath
*Complete gutting of the existing bathrooms
*New tile and fixtures for bathrooms
*New fixtures for everything - ceiling fans, doors, etc
*Complete carpet removal
*Painting entire interior including basement
*New flooring for the basement
*Creating extra bedroom in basement
*Creating half bath in basement
*Recessed lighting throughout the house
*New doors throughout the house
*Exterior paint and new shutters
*Removal of exterior columns
*New and pretty exterior columns
*Clearing of all backyard brush/ivy
*Removal of a couple trees
*Removal of shrubs in front of the house
*Slate tile on the back patio
*Screening in back patio
*Walling in carport and creating a garage
*New fence
*Garden

Aaaaand that's not including furniture and decor.

We're using what would have been our down payment to renovate completely.
Our apartment lease is up in October.
We're calling a contractor tomorrow.

If we can do this, I can't imagine how proud we'll be.