This blog begins with a move.
After almost ten years in our beloved first home, we decided to put it on the market. When we initially built in 2005, we were just a family of three (mom, dad, and a 15 month old baby who didn’t take up a lot of space). Having been told that most people only stay in their first home about five years, we chose one of the smaller models in our neighborhood: a modest 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath that seemed the perfect fit for our little family. We relished in the things we had not before had: a guest bedroom, a garage, a decent size backyard. We even had closets with NOTHING in them! (This is a glorious feeling, by the way. If you ever happen upon this opportunity, I highly encourage you to take the time to stare at the nothingness. Step into the closet, turn all the way around, and enjoy the sparsity. Because it will NEVER ever happen again. Especially if you have kids.)
We talked casually at first, then got more serious about moving about a year ago. Our sweet, little baby was now a nine year old boy. Our guest bedroom was home to his four year old brother. Our closets were anything but empty. And we couldn’t remember how we had ever got along without a garage to store the mass amounts of junk we had hubby had somehow collected. We still loved our home. But one couldn’t open a cabinet without crap falling out all over the place…and if I was the one doing the opening, a few expletives came out as well.
Simply, we had outgrown our house.
So, I gave myself a goal that New Year. Get it on the market by April 1st. In reality, the house would not be ready until May, but giving myself that goal proved to be a strong driving force, and once we finally did put that “for sale” sign in the front yard, it pretty much sold in a weekend (but that story deserves its own post).
Now it came time for us to look for Beloved House #2. I would like to say that this was a fun and exciting ride…but alas, I cannot. There was a lot of anxiety (we were under major time pressure due to the fact that we were closing on our own house in less than a month). There were a lot of comparisons made (what we already had in our current home, what we weren’t willing to give up–mostly this came down to yard size, as we refused to settle on a postage-size backyard that couldn’t even house a single swing set). And there were a lot of ugly houses out there!
This, in turn, led to a lot of tears (all me, people–hubby stayed cool and calm).
So when we finally found a house we were absolutely smitten with, know that we had looked, and we had looked hard. But when we fell, we fell hard too!
It’s officially ours!!!
We moved into our new home in June 2014, and with this move came the idea that I should (finally) start a blog.
I had already done tons of upgrades and DIY projects in our previous home. I wholeheartedly appreciated anyone out there who blogged about their own successes and failures in the decorating/DIY realm (and we who live in it know it’s its own world) because I relied on them daily for inspiration and how to’s and what not’s. This move had basically just provided me with a fresh palette, and I decided the best way to give back to my fellow DIYers was to document my own progress.
Not all of it will be pretty, but it will be true.
