Holy f&*@, we did it! I never thought we would get there, but we just bought a house on Queen St. West.

Oooooooo, aaaaaaaah

With hipster mainstays such as New Golden City Chinese Restaurant, Steelers Restaurant & Pub, The Elmvale Bakery, and the Springwater Library, we think it’s the best Queen St. West around. It even has a weekly farmer’s market.

Queen Street West, Elmvale

For those of you who have been waiting for the gory details, here is the most important stuff from the listing:

• 1900 sq ft
• 3 bedrooms + a finished attic/loft
• 2.5 bathrooms
• Massive yard
• Big, eat-in kitchen
• New roof, furnace and electrical

Here’s the stuff that wasn’t on the listing but should have been:

• Acres of wallpaper
• Windows that don’t open
• Creaky floors
• Exposed pipes in two of the bathrooms
• A leaky basement
• A yard that must recently have served as an angry rhino’s enclosure

Hits and misses aside, we are very excited. A tiny bit terrified, but mostly excited. Let’s say 95% excited. Because at its core, this is a beautiful home that has a good, happy feeling about it. And it’s really nice to know that before us, a family grew up in it.

The closing date is August 16 — four days before my birthday. Thank you, Jean-François, for the best birthday present in the history of the universe.

Happy