The Southern Belle...

I've got a "girl crush".....these were the hubster's first words when he saw this house.

This house was gorgeous, well built, stately, elegant...the list goes on and on.  The view from the road was magnificent.


When we drove up, I heard the soundtrack from Gone With the Wind.  Rhett Butler was telling me how hot the summers could get here in the south, while we sipped our Mint Juleps on the veranda.


The hubster was goobly-eyed.  He kept telling me how this was his "dream home".  What?!!  You said you wanted a dream home in the middle of Montana.


This Southern Belle was situated on 5 acres, mowed acres....not wooded acres, one hour from downtown Nashville.


The hardwood floors were true hardwoods....from several old barns.  The owners had built this house.  They were moving down the street so they could build another house....smaller, since their kids had flown the coop...hey, it's a traditional southern home that deserves traditional southern speak.


It had not one, but two chandeliers in the living room and a real honest-to-goodness wood-burning fireplace.  Our furniture would fit nicely.


The dining room was green, one of the hubster's favorite colors.  The chandelier was just for me!


The kitchen was nice and large and was adjacent and open to the living area.  That sink was an original 1930's sink.  Subway tile, counter-depth fridge...all good...and a gas stove.


These spaces were a little yellow, but something I could live with until we started painting.  Boy, that snapped the hubster's head right around.  Paint?  There is nothing wrong with this color.  It's perfectly fine...said he.


The master bedroom was nice and large...lots of light... a little lavender, but workable.  The chickens could fly right up and peck on our windows to wake us up every day!  Chickens, who said anything about chickens?!  The hubster wanted chickens.  Nope!  No chickens.


The master bath was the same color lavender.....had beautiful pedestal sinks. And....what do I spy with my little eye?  Another chandelier!  This place was a haven of chandeliers!   The master closet was all cedar!  Cha-ching! Those saloon doors to the commode would need to be replaced.  Can't have the hubster walking in with his little cap guns yelling "howdy pardner" while I was in there...I would be mortified!

We loved this house.  I envisioned Southern Living banging on my door every weekend asking me to host yet another gala for a photo spread in their magazine (I have a very active imagination).


At Christmas, the entire house would have warm, welcoming lights...the Christmas tree lighting the living room and kitchen with a soft glow.  We would stand on the porch watching the snow lightly fall and blanket the entire property as our neighbors celebrated this wonderful time of year with us and we would sing Christmas carols, then go inside for hot chocolate, hot cider and the roasting of marshmallows over the wood fire in the fire place.  We would all tell each other about our best Christmas ever...and ours would be this one.  All would be right with the world.


But this house was not to be ours either.  There was no screened-in porch.  There was a fireplace.  It was much larger than the house we are renting.  We wanted a smaller house. There was no garage.  It did have a large metal building out back that could be used as a workshop for the hubster.  BUT, it was 5 acres to mow.  We travel.  It would be a jungle during the summer and we would spend all of our free time mowing this yard.  There would be no Southern Living galas, no Christmas carols, no craft projects, no blog, no turkey sandwiches, no turkey soup, no turkey ala king.  And, the granddaddy of them all....it was over our budget.

We waved goodbye.  The hubster moped around for weeks....talking about his "girl crush"...his "dream home".....gone.


So the search continued....







*photos courtesy of the realtor

32 comments

  1. What a lovely house and I would be the same way, walking from room to room just imagining all the possibilities. Hopefully the next house will be the one. Have a wonderful weekend... :)

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    1. Dee, it was so great, we were just in love with it. But it wasn't to be and we have found a house that is perfect for us. I am going to post about it on Monday! :-) I hope you have a wonderful weekend also and are doing something fun! :-)

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  2. Really beautiful home !! I love the tile and especially the farm sink in the kitchen :)) No garage ?? At least you could of shipped the hubster out back to the metal building . ( that's an amenity ) Can't wait to see THE ONE and the magic touche's you put in it !! Have a great weekend !! Hug's,TT

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    1. It was beautiful and so elegant. We both loved this house. It was just too much for our budget and too far from the city. And we still would have needed to update a few things. So, we moved on. The hubster was more than happy about that metal building…it was a virtual paradise for him…LOL. Thanks so much girl and I hope you have a fabulous weekend! Hugs!!!!

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  3. I love the way the drive goes up to the home. What a vision. I agree to much mowing for my taste. Loved the tour, it really is a beauty. Looking forward to veiwing THE ONE you guys bought. Have a great weekend.

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    1. It is a beautiful house and we loved so many things about it. That view from the road was spectacular! I am so excited to share our purchase with you all and we are excited to get moved and settled. We are supposed to close in a few weeks! :-) YAY!

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    1. Carla, it is. After we decided not to get this house, I started thinking about all the time I would have to spend cleaning the thing....I'm glad we chose a small house....LOL

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  5. You're too social to live so secluded, Benita! Pretty house, move along now......;)

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    1. I am most definitely that….LOL. It was hard turning away from this house, but I’m so glad we did! :-)

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  6. It's a lovely home and yes, a decorator's dream, but 5 acres is a lot of yard to deal with and when it's not right, it's just not right! Can't wait to see the one you've settled on!! :) Happy weekend!

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    1. It was so hard to pass on this house because it was so wonderful and just so graceful and "southern"...LOL. But those 5 acres, the high price and the fact that it is so far out of Nashville ended up being the strong determining factors...and of course the resale value when we move again. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and are able to enjoy some beach time! :-)

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  7. Now THAT is my kind of house! Love it! I have a smaller, less elegant version of it......the one I want to pick up and move! Oh, how disappointing but I understand how the negatives were too much to compromise on, especially that 5 acres to mow!

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    1. It was definitely heartbreaking for us, but when we weighed all of the pros and cons, there were just more cons. And we needed something that we could possibly sell in 2 years if we move again and that has been on the market for quite some time. It is a great floor plan, so I know you enjoy yours immensely. The other unique thing about this house is that it has 2 laundry rooms...one downstairs and one upstairs. Each of these was designed to be a laundry or it could be something else, like a small library...you could tell a woman designed this house...lol.

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  8. She's a beauty, Benita for sure! I'd pass on the 5 acres of mowing too! Love the wood floors and the kitchen with it's subway tiles and farmhouse sink! *sigh* Looking forward to seeing the one you chose!
    hugs, Christine

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    1. Yes, she was a beautiful grand lady, but high maintenance. I’m the only high maintenance the hubster can handle, so we had to pass. I loved all of those things also…I could see us living there, obviously…LOL. The 5 acres was just too much and the price was out of our range! I’m looking forward to it also…..it’s been dirty every time we’ve been over there…LOL. And it has no stove! :-) Hugs!!

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  9. I would have a horror of a time cleaning all that space. When we were searching for a house, tops on my list were two places in the house for two large Christmas trees.

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    1. The cleaning of this large house was a concern of mine also. I didn’t want to spend every free moment trying to keep unused space clean. Our tree is tall, so a tall ceiling was a must and this house didn’t have that either.

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  10. I love reading your posts, Benita...you are funny :) This house looks like it has lots of potential (aka projects!) I hope your hubby is done grieving over the one that got away.

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    1. Thank you so much Julie! I’m glad you enjoy them. I figure since I’m no good in the craft department I better work hard in the humor department. :-) It did have so much potential and I could see it all laid out….but you know how it goes. He finished grieving over this one, only to start grieving over one that was on the lake. It was “project” house and I am in no mood for a full re-do again. The one we bought was new construction, so it only needs some upgrading and personal touches. :-) Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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  11. Benita,
    She is a beautiful house but I think you would not have time to sit on that pretty porch with all the up keep of a property that big. You will find the right space and you both will walk in and say yes at the same time. It will happen.
    Kris

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    1. Kris, you are right. I would never have time to relax trying to keep that place up and going. And most of the rooms would be unused, like they are in this house, because it is just the two of us. We did find a house and are waiting to close, which is scheduled for the middle of August. It is a small house, but we are excited! :-)

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  12. You are really keeping me entertained with these wonderful stories. You are in your element, my dear! The stories with all the detail and the hubster are really fun.
    Brenda

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    1. I’m so glad you enjoy them Brenda. I have an overactive imagination…LOL But that’s okay….I’m never bored! :-) The hubster considers himself a comedian and pretty clever, so I have to keep him in line. :-)

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  13. Beautiful home too!
    I am dying now, waiting to see The One!
    Oh the suspense is killing me!
    Still enjoying the tours though! ;)

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    1. This one was so beautiful and the true epitome of southern style. But not for us! The one we chose is so simple and plain compared to this house, but suited us perfectly and we will have fun fixing it up! :-) Thanks so much!!

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  14. oh my. we are in the process of looking for a new apartment. and we are having similar conversations. it never seems to be quite right, does it... good luck :)

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    1. Thank you Petra. Bless your heart, I feel for you! It is always a tedious process that wears on you....always being torn between this and that and doubting every decision your make...LOL. I hope you guys find something also and good luck to you! Hope you post photos of the new place when you find it! Looking forward to it!

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  15. These just keep getting better, Benita, the houses and your stories! Oh, I want this house too! That porch, even without it being screened in--I'd just hand out cans of Off.

    I was already picturing Christmas in this house, which is so crazy as what we need is a Tiny House for our old age and a pocket size garden instead of the 24 acres we have now. So I can understand, even if it had been in budget. But I'm missing Christmas there in this beauty.

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    1. I know…we were the same way. We pictured all kinds of fun family and friend things in this house. It is just one of those houses that you can envision all sorts of things in. We loved it and Edward was just so disappointed that we had to say no to this beauty!

      Thank you so much! I figured I would share some of my crazy imagination on this house…LOL. Love ya!

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  16. I loved this house and the other one you loved, but I get the mowing dilemma, since I once owned a house on 5 acres. It was a PAIN IN THE BUTT. I spent every weekend mowing... ugh.

    xo

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    1. That was our problem with it…spending all of your free time mowing that yard and no time to enjoy the house. The hubster still talks about it like it was his first true love…LOL Hugs!

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