Bad news on the house front: our second offer was rejected. In fact, the sellers didn’t come down at all on their counteroffer. Apparently, we’re not in a buyer’s market. Waahhh! 
At first, Mal and I decided to just throw in the towel and move on. But, the more we talked about the house, the more realized how perfect it would be for us. So, we called our realtor, pulled out the big guns, and made a hefty offer. Hopefully, this offer is one that the sellers can’t refuse. If not, we’re walking away for good! Wish us luck!
Dinner
Luckily, after a drama-rific afternoon, I was able to enjoy a nice, relaxing evening at Tory Row in Harvard Square with some lovely ladies. Jayne Karolow, the Events and Communications Manager for the restaurant, invited Chelsee, Susie, and me for dinner.
The first thing that caught my attention at Tory Row was the beer list! There were so many great local brews and they were pretty affordable. I know my husband would be impressed!
Despite the awesome selection of beers, I ordered a glass of Chardonnay. It was just one of those nights that only wine would do.
Chelsee, Susie, and I wanted to try several different items from the menu, so Jayne ordered a bunch of plates for us to share among the table.
We started with a couple of appetizers: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus with a baguette from Nashoba Brook Bakery and the Spanish Cheese Plate with manchego, serrano ham, fig jam, and marcona almonds. The hummus was especially delicious.
Then, we tried a couple of salads: Chopped Salad with smoked bacon, Great Hill blue cheese, and green goddess dressing as well as the Grilled Hanger Steak Salad with arugula, teardrop tomatoes, parmesan, and red pepper dressing.
The Grilled Hanger Steak Salad was really something special. The parmesan cheese was to die for. I’d definitely ordered this salad again.
Jayne raved about the Lillet Spritzer on the menu, so, midway through the meal, I decided to give it a try. Lillet is a brand of French aperitif wine. It’s a blend of Bordeaux wine and citrus liqueur made from sweet and bitter oranges and grapefruit peels. The spritzer was very nice– slightly sweet, refreshing, and perfect for (late) summer.
The Bacon Flatbread was my favorite dish of the evening. It had smoked bacon, Vermont white cheddar, baby spinach, and Bermuda onion on it. Yuuuummm! So much flavor!
We also tried the Croque Monsieur with black forest ham, gruyere, whole grain mustard, and mixed greens.
And the Grilled Tuna with haricots vert, and whole grain mustard–ginger vinaigrette.
And, of course, we made room for dessert!! The four of us shared the Brownie with Ice Cream. It was rich and delicious, and I only needed a few bites to feel satisfied.
A big thanks to Jayne and Rachel (the manager of Tory Row) for inviting me to dinner. I really enjoyed myself! 
I’m exhausted after today. House hunting is emotionally draining. Let’s hope that Mal and I receive some good news about our new offer tomorrow.
Good night!
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Best of luck on the house! I’m sending “happy house” vibes your way!
Good luck with your house hunting! I’m sure it will work out soon, and it will be worth the struggle!
Good luck with the house offer! I hope it goes well!
The whole meal looked delicious, but the best part is that loaf of bread. How lovely!
glad to hear there is still hope on the house! fingers crossed!
Lillet is my favorite thing ever (after st. germain). So glad you enjoyed it!
House hunting is hard going back and forth and not knowing on the other end!
The dinner looks like it made up for it though!
Sorry about the house! I’m sure your perfect home is out there right now, just waiting for you guys!!
Looks like an incredible dinner spread, new restaurants with new friends are so fun to try!!
Goodnight
sorry to hear about the house, but good luck on your new offer. It’s still overall a buyer’s market, so I’m guessing that the sellers don’t want to lose too much money on the home (have you checked on zillow to see how much they originally paid for it? it might not be accurate in case they put a lot of $ into renovs, but it’s a decent way of seeing if they’re playing hardball or really can’t afford to go lower)
We just moved into our new (to us) home a few months ago, and it took many offers on many different houses (and several counteroffers on this one) before we got to this point. Try not to get too discouraged. If it’s meant to be, it will be, and if not, the right house will come along at the right time. Good luck again!
(p.s. loving the new layout)
Sorry about the house! I’m sure your perfect home is out there right now, just waiting for you guys!!
Looks like an incredible dinner spread, new restaurants with new friends are so fun to try!!
Goodnight
Why does buying a house sound as disappointing as dating?
That pizza definitely looks like it would have been my fave too…besides the brownie sundae of course.
Good luck on the house! No one deserves it more than you do! as for the eats, they look amazing. I love that bacon flatbread. I definitely need more bacon in my life.
That brownie + ice cream is torturing me — I have the biggest craving for some fro yo right now! Yum eats. Best of luck with the house.
Good luck with the house!
That flatbread and hummus looked to die for! Too bad I finished my red pepper hummus the other day.
And g’luck with the house. If you don’t get it you might consider waiting a small handful months. A few friends of mine just tried to buy a house and heard that the banks expect things to happen soon that will make it even more of a buyer’s market.
how could bacon flatbread NOT be a favorite?! holy yum that looks delicious!
That is so ridiculous about the house! I am so sorry to hear that!
Good luck on the house!
P.S. Your food photography is gorgeous!
Good luck to you guys! The right one’s out there – and hopefully it’s this one!
I also wanted to say how much I’m loving the new blog design. Especially the Murphy page.
That restaurant looks delicious. I am especially loving the idea of a bacon flatbread–mmmm.
Hope this new house offer works out!!
good luck you guys!!!
good luck with the house Tina! I hope you guys get it!
Good luck on the house! Your dinner looks absolutely amazing.
That’s a shame about the house. But just remember – what will be, will be.
I can only imagine how mentally draining house-hunting is! I’m glad you had fun tonight and hope you get a restful sleep!!!!
Good luck on the offer, I’m crossing my fingers for you!!!
The third house we put an offer on was the one that we ended up getting… and I am so glad it worked out that way! Looking back I would have been no where near as happy in the first two and feel like it was just “meant to be”… house hunting is definitely tough but maybe the 3rd one’s a charm for you too?!?!
When I read about house hunting stories like this, it makes me glad I will still be living in an apartment/condo for the next4-5 yrs of my life.
But best of luck to you! If it’s meant to be, then it’s meant to be.
Sending lots of good luck vibes your way! House buying is such a stressful time in one’s life
Good luck with the house!! Don’t give up, your perfect house will work out just like it should.
Whoa, that bread and those salads… droooooooooool!
Jenn
Oh YUM! All of those dishes sound incredible!
Good luck with your house!
Good luck on the offer!
Hope the offer comes thru. I know house stuff is so frustrating.
Good luck!
That Steak Salad looks so good, I love eating those salad because then I can combine the two things is enjoy eating most; salads and steaks!
I hope everything works out with this house for you guys… but if it doesn’t there are always others out there! I know how stressful house hunting can be, and unfortunately selling might be even more stressful. We have to sell our house before we can seriously start looking for another one… sometimes being an adult stinks!
Stay dry today!
Good luck again with the house!!
I hope they come down a little for you guys! I know how exhausting this is.
Hi Tina, I hope everything works out for you with this house! As someone who just went through the homebuying process this spring, I want to remind you that you will never feel that you paid too little for your house, but, once you move in, you may very well feel that you paid too much. So, don’t get too attached to any one house before it’s yours. This IS a buyer’s market, and it’s going to continue to be one for the foreseeable future, no matter what your realtor (or the seller’s realtor) tries to tell you. You hold all of the cards right now— this is your time to enjoy your position of power and really take your time investigating properties. You can make your agent and the seller’s agent jump through hoops if need be to get all of your questions annswered and everything that you want attended to. Don’t let them shrug off a single question. That said, if the seller accepts your new, higher offer, that will get you to inspection, and then you will probably be able to scoot the price back down, if you still want the house after the inspection. Just don’t act from a position of emotion (that’s what my dad, who was in commerical real estate, always tried to remind me of). There will always be another house!!
Good luck!
Caroline
Good luck with the house! I KNOW how stressful it can be!
Going through the offer process IS emotionally draining…. hope you get good news this time!
Dinner looked amazing! Especially the bacon flatbread, I dont even eat bacon but that looks so good! U girls looked beautiful too!
Im wishing you guys extra luck now for the house, guess this isn’t a buyers market?!!!
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! xoxo
Best wishes on your first home! It’s an exciting but scary time! Once you become home owners it will all be worth it. That special home is waiting for you…. ~Take Care
We recently bought a house and man, talk about EMOTIONAL experience. I was a mess for awhile. It’s just such a huge decision! I hope goes well for you!
Also, I love love love the little pug in your new header. It’s so cute!
tina, you always make me want pizza and buffalo anythinggg. ::growling stomach:: Good luck with the house..just remember…if it’s meant to be it’ll be so don’t stress! Just enjoy this whole process
Good luck with the house, I really hope it works out for you!
The bacon flatbread look so delicious, YUM!
I made a recipe using Barney Butter.
By the way,I don’t know if you saw my recent post on my blog but I mentioned you and Barney Butter. You’re the one who got me hooked on it and in a good way! haha
Your meal looks fantastic! I always love going with friends and sharing a sampling of everything…and always leave room for dessert!
Good luck as you continue the house-hunting process. It’s stressful as you go through it, but it will eventually come together better than you could have hoped!
You life is so fast paced and interesting. Would def make an addicting reality show
I have everything crossed that this will be an offer they accept. It sounds like it’s your dream house.
I hope this offer goes through. I’m surprised they didn’t come down at all!
hey!! you have a wonderful blog. thanks for sharing your weight lost progress here. keep it up and never give up. you can do it.
I’m so sorry about the house! I hope they can’t refuse your second offer! Good luck!
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