On February 10 of this year, Dustin and I officially fled the tortuous unknown of bidding war purgatory and jumped straight into the searing hot certainty of property ownership. Again.

In March of 2010, we purchased our home in a cozy, quiet little neighborhood just blocks away from our favorite Boise-living perks – the Boise River, the Greenbelt, and a generous pocket of incredible ethnic markets. As we settled into our new home, we couldn’t help but notice that the tiny ramshackle of a dwelling next door was vacant. The poor old place had a caved roof, sagging shingles, and more dandelions carpeting the yard than grass.

We watched. We waited. Eventually, the yokels who owned the place came around and, through a series of conversations that included impromptu outbursts of harmonica solos and requests for a “jar of water”, we discerned that the old woman who lived there several years ago had died, and her gaggle of toothless offspring were fixing to sell.

A Fiery Getup: Flame-red silk dress by Black Halo / Orange cropped angora-wool sweater by Guinevere for Anthropologie / Ochre tights by Worthington / Charcoal leather strapped heels by Calvin Klein / Serpent necklace & bracelet by Hazel Cox

It was a lengthy, exhausting, and teeth gnashing battle to get these folks to comprehend that the chunk of dirt and dilapidated shack was not in fact worth the laughable $80k they were asking, but eventually we prevailed and paid a fine sum of $30k for the neglected but infinitely promising lot.

Now, the real work begins. What was once an oppressively depressing, mold-infested shanty filled with cobwebs and over a century of palpable memories is now slowly but surely becoming a greenhouse and studio apartment. The weed-strewn lot is now home to a community garden (and a petanque court, for good measure). We’re slowly coaxing the peach, plum, and apricot trees back to their fruitful old selves, and are making plans for chickens and bees……perhaps a goat or two.

The future home of what we’re tentatively calling “Handsomehound Farm”

Out of the frying pan and into the fire……..we’ve invested ourselves in a lifetime of work; my arms feel like wet noodles and I have constant blisters on my hands from digging, scraping, and shaping the soil, and my skin is dry to cracking from being constantly caked with dirt……but for now, it’s definitely the fire of inspiration and dedication we’re feeling.

Digging garden furrows with Edmund K. Handsomehound

Great feats of dedicated inspiration can often suck the motivation out of other creative endeavors…..thank goodness for the unending fashion prowess of Kelly Lynae, who dressed me for this post, and whatever would I do without Bethany Walter‘s indomitable photography skills. A big huzzah! to Jessica Holmes this week too, for suggesting we stage a photo shoot in my “haunted shanty.”  It’s an incredible blessing to have such creative, talented friends.