Finding My Aloha: I'm a North Poler... The house hunt is over!

Ever since arriving in Alaska we have been filling our days with house showings and trolling potential neighborhoods. After checking out many areas around Anchorage, we decided to focus on the adjacent town of Eagle River. It seems there is a North Poler-South Poler divide here in Anchorage over Eagle River (North Polers) and South Anchorage (South Polers). The Merry Madagascar movie reference sums the rivalry up perfectly. We love everything about Eagle River. It is just outside of Anchorage so its smaller and quieter, its population is densely military, and what sold us are the views. Its tucked away in the foothills and the views literally fill your entire windows. It is everything I dreamed of Alaska. There's some basic shopping and a couple restaurants but it has more than the area we are moving from. I like living away from the bustle yet being 10-15 minutes away from great shopping and entertainment.

Once we narrowed down the area, that really helped us weed through house listings. A couple days ago I thought I had found THE house. It was in a mature, highly sought neighborhood and was about the same size as our house in Washington. It was an older custom home and had gorgeous views. As soon as I saw the big kitchen with the double confection wall oven I was ready to sign on the dotted line, so we waited to hear back from the owner. We waited....and waited.....and waited. Still nothing! Seriously?

Well, its must have been divine intervention because yesterday we were able to tour a house a couple doors down from our close friends who also live in Eagle River. The house was just put on the market that day and we were the first to view it. I was so excited to possibly live so close to our dear friends but I was sceptical that it could be better than the first house. Wow, was I wrong! Its gorgeous and felt like home as soon as we entered. Its about a 1000 sq ft less than our old house but the space is used very efficiently. The owners took really good care of it and upgraded it with very high end finishes like bamboo floors, high quality carpet, ceramic tile, granite, and stainless steel. I have a feeling the owner and I would be great friends. I love everything about the house including the light fixtures and even right down the paint colors and drapes. We were elated! Nothing like it is available in our budget, time frame, and area. We signed a three year lease today! Good thing too because apparently their phone is still ringing off the hook with inquiries.

So, do you want a tour???

yeah, I thought so :)

So here it is from the street...

No, I didnt take these photos. It looks MUCH whiter around here right now! The mountain views continue in the back of the house, but due to the angle these photos were taken you cant tell.

This is the living room...

And here's the kitchen...

And the adjacent dining room...

Here's deck and backyard. Ok, so these are the realtor's photos and the camera washed out the view. I promise there is a stunning mountain view. Ill prove it once we move in ;) If you remember my previous post of the snowy view from my friend's deck, it is very similiar since we are 18 doors down. I am also excited because it has a built in firepit like we had at the our house!

Here are the bathrooms. The half bath with the beadboard is on the main floor.

There is a laundry room off the garage and a small family room or 4th bedroom left on the main floor, but I dont have pics of those so lets head upstairs.

Next up, the Master bedroom. Its pretty large with a walk-in closet and attached bath. I love that it has a private deck!

There are two more bedrooms upstairs and they both look like this...

So there you have it! What do you think? We don't move in until February 4th so we have about another month left in the temporary housing here on base. You can bet I am already planning furniture placement and decor! Now that I have an address I am working on making "We've Moved" cards with my new Silhouette....

Did you catch that?

YES!! I DID say Silhouette! I have the best hubby in the world! He likes to play Santa. :)