In the beginning....

...there was a family. Seemingly happy in their 1940's home, they plodded along with life - day in and day out. And then something happened - the families son became a teenager and started to grow...and grow. And as the boy grew, the house oddly became smaller. And then something else happened - the family adopted a darling little sweet potato from Russia, who obviously needed a bedroom to call her own. Not having the room, they did the best they could with what they had and transformed a lovely, but seldom used formal dining room into a bedroom. Voila! Rarely did guests discover their little secret, the room was adorable and they lived happily ever after. Right? Wrong! Teenage boy keeps getting bigger (will he ever stop? Stay tuned!), little girl will someday be a teenager in need of her own space and possibly even her own (gasp) bathroom, and the family is kinda bumping into one another!

What to do.... So, like others, we explored the idea of moving to a bigger, better house. Here's why we didnt: 1. We love our charm-filled little house. 2. We love our neighbors (not the neighborhood so much, but definitely LOVE our neighbors. 3. We love our backyard and live a fairly outdoor lifestyle. We spent a small fortune putting in a nice pool and have spent a large fortune on landscaping through the years. I just don't have it in me to start all over again, and the houses I was looking at had horrible backyards. 4. Houses in Los Angeles are not so easily affordable. Basically 700K buys you a fixer-upper in 2011. :( So, like others, we explored the idea of expanding our house. I won't bore you with the details other than to say that I'm the type of gal that does her homework. I have ideas. I'm a planner. I'm a list maker.

So, after 4 months of planning, exploring, learning, budgeting, planning some more, and finally ---- interviewing a parade of contractors (more on that subject later!), we are finally ready to begin! So if you're interested in doing the same thing, or just dreaming about "someday", or simply enjoy design and decorating - stick with me! It's bound to be interesting. Will the family stay together? Will the mother lose her mind? Will the father declare bankruptcy? Will the children be able to withstand the torment? Only time will tell! ~~~