While walking what would soon become our property, the realtor found this. 

Though it has some real character as a dirty bottle with a little bit of liquid still trapped inside, I have no idea what that liquid is and the kinds of things caked on the outside. After a little cleaning though, I'm pretty sure this little gem will find a place in our new house. 

After weeks of paperwork, meetings, an excruciating focus on finances we closed on this house on May 13, 2013. 
In truth, it was just over a month from seeing the house for the first time to closing, but it felt like so much longer. Limbo is difficult for me, always has been. Part of me was terrified to buy a house, part of me was excited. But waiting to find out if this was going to work was probably the hardest part for me.
Now that we officially own this house, we can shift into planning our lives around that, paying the bills and turning this house into our home. 
That will involve taking down awful wallpaper, removing glittery popcorn ceilings and updating all kinds of things. 
But for now, let's take a tour. We'll start upstairs and then move down to the basement.

Alright, that's it for now. The upstairs bathroom really deserves its own post, so we'll go there next before heading to the basement.

Lots of changes are happening in my world and so I've decided it was time to revamp the blog. What started as a travel blog for my friends and family while I was out of the country has morphed into more. 
Travel will always be one of my great loves, but I'm not leaving the country as much as I would like and now I'm doing what I never thought I'd do, putting down roots...in Montana. 
Don't worry, travel will still be a part of this blog and my adventures will have their place here, but Near and Far will now be a blog following the adventures, and craziness, of a globe-trotting East Coast girl making a home in Montana. 
In January 2013, I packed up my half of a townhouse in Alexandria, Va. and loaded everything into an ABF truck. My boyfriend and I stuffed my little Toyota Corolla with everything we'd need for a week and with the pupster, Grover, taking up most of the backseat, we headed west. 
Now that I've been here a few months I'm settling in to small town life, adjusting to being back in a newsroom (I love it!) and building my new network of friends. 
Just as I was getting the hang of all that, and actually unpacking, the boyfriend, Mark, found a house that we just had to have. 
I wasn't so sure at first, but the more we looked at it and thought about all its potential, the more we loved it. 
So, here we are with our first house, 26 acres, no neighbors, two dogs and a lotta love.  Boyfriend has also decided we should have chickens and I want to grow my own vegetables, maybe some fruits. I've gone from the craziness of D.C. to creating our own little farm. Quite a difference! 
Buying the house will have us pinching pennies a bit for awhile, but we've got big plans to make this a fantastic house, with views of the mountains, buttes, and Big Sky all around. We'll bring you along for the stress-inducing process that is buying a house and the fun/frustration of making it our own. 
I recently started a Made in Montana series on the blog and that will continue here as I love my new state and its people. Through them, I'll share with you more of how wonderful a place Montana is. 
For my longtime readers, loyal family members and friends and those of you just finding this blog, hope you enjoy!