How I Found Her

by Claire Zinnecker

So many of y'all have asked about how I found Ida. Let's be real, it's not everyday you find a house, decide to buy it, and then relocate it to another piece of property. My original plan for the land I had purchased last January was to put a bathroom and a yurt on it and just keep things simple for a year or so. (If I could say anything about my life it's that my "plans" never happen the way I expect.)

I was chatting with my aunt and she told me about a darling little house she saw on Facebook Marketplace. One look and I was in love, so I set up an appointment to see the house the next day. The home sat on East 6th street in downtown Austin, sandwiched between a brewery and a restaurant, with new construction apartments looming overhead. The land she sat on had been purchased and was in the process of being prepped for development. Because of the age of the house it was easier to attempt to sell the structure than to get the proper permitting to demo it. (The thought of demolishing this beautiful part of Austin history makes me ill!)

Stepping into the house I saw through its crumbling sheetrock, layers of laminate, dust and broken windows. I knew this house was mine. I purchased it that day. I had no idea the journey I had just signed up for....no seriously, NO IDEA. All I knew was that this little piece of history was going to have another chance at life.

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