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July 2016

Room Tours

Our New Rental: Before

In case you missed my last post, we have moved! As of today, we are 100% moved into our new rental. Our old placed is cleaned out and ready for some new renters and I could not be more happy to leave that sad little place behind. It has been a whirlwind of trying to move everything, clean everything, meanwhile trying to get a weekend away to visit some friends. Plus it’s Texas, and it’s July. So this week has included a lot of sweat. Not that you needed to know that. But it has been stressful.

Anyway. now that we’re moved in, I am ready to start setting up shop. And by shop I mean home. I snapped a few photos of what the house looked like before I started doing anything. And I’m not sure whether I’m sharing these because I really have no shame, or because I want to have a record of how far I’ve come when I’m looking back at this time.

So if you want to see some super terrible photos, continue reading!

diningroom

This first photo is part of the living room, looking into the dining room. There are two large windows in the dining room which let in a ton of light, so I’m super excited about that. What I’m not super excited about (and you can see it in the left corner of this picture) is Atlas’ crate. It’s huge and we don’t really have an out-of-the-way spot for it. So I’m still trying to figure that out.

guest room

this is the guest bedroom, which at the time of this photo, I couldn’t find any blankets for. Again, I really have no shame here.

guestbath

This is the guest bath…it’s small and has no window, but it is a full bath, which is an upgrade from our previous home that only had a half bath for the guestroom. So I’m really not complaining.

livingroom

Here’s a shot of the living room. I’m not totally sold on the furniture arrangement, but hey, at least I was getting the slipcovers washed, right?! The living room space is a bit wonky, so I think that’s going to be a fun little challenge for me. Obviously I need to decide quickly though so Ethan can mount the TV and we can continue on with our lives.

masterbath

Here’s a terribly embarrassing shot of the master bath. But I wanted to share it mostly because this is the first time we’ve had a master bath, and it has two closets and a big tub and a shower and double vanities and a window and if you can’t tell I’m really excited about all of that. Because we had none of that in the old house.

masterbedroom

Here is the actual master bedroom. It’s a bit smaller than our old bedroom, but it’s a much more efficient use of space, so it feels perfect.

office

This last room is one that I’m going to have to work really hard not to be the junk pile room. Because that’s currently what I’m working with. We have plans of turning it into an office, with a really cool DIY desk. First it has to be cleaned out. Obviously. You can see that this room has tile flooring, which is actually what all the bedrooms have as well. I’m not super excited about that, but we will have to get area rugs and make the best of it.

Overall, I’m super excited about this new house. We haven’t gotten the final word on whether or not we can paint the house, but the color is light enough that I can live with it if we can’t. If we are allowed to paint, this girl will be in heaven painting everything in sight white.

Well, I really should get going because as you can see, I have a lot of work to do! Hopefully you’re not too disgusted by the fact that I just shared these photos! I know they’re terrible, but I really do want to remember how it looked the exact moment we moved in. Hopefully y’all can see my vision with me! Well, that’s all for today! Have a fabulous day, friends!

Personal

WE’RE MOVING!!!

I have been waiting approximately 1.9 years to say those words. We have been married for two years, and for just about all of those two years I have been waiting to move. No joke. You’ve heard me complain on and on about this little house of ours and how terrible it is. It is the epitome of young married couples’ first homes. Old, dingy, and unlevel are just a few words to describe it.

Well friends, this week is officially the week… we are finally moving into our second house! It has been a crazy six or so months for us. We have desperately wanted to move, feeling like we’ve paid our dues in the crappy first place together, but still wanting to be financially wise. We went back and forth trying to decide whether to rent or to buy.

We fell in love with a historic home on a huge lot in town…and it closed before we could put in an offer. We went through the process of getting pre-approved for a loan (all the super fun stuff of house hunting…not). We looked at home listings multiple times per day. The cost of rental properties kept climbing higher and higher, and the housing market is in a huge boom right now. We saved all our pennies and we were ready for a change. We just couldn’t find anything.

So when a rental house came up that was actually decent AND in our price range, we just felt like it was the right thing for us right now. Now, we want to buy a home. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think there is another couple who is as excited to tackle home ownership as we are…but #studentloans and #responsibility. We made a goal when we first got married that we would pay off my student loans before purchasing our first house. And I know that choice isn’t for everyone, but for us, buying a home right now knowing we still have that student loan hanging out there felt like we were cheating ourselves.

So, we’ll be moving into our second rental. And you know what? I could not be more excited. Our new house is miles above what our old house was, and I can’t wait to show you. For one, there isn’t a dark gray dingy wall to wall carpeting. So that’s a win right there. For the blog, you can expect more room posts from now on, as well as larger projects instead of just small DIYs. We’re moving down a little bit in sqare footage, but the layout is much more efficient and won’t feel like we’re moving down at all. I am super excited about our fresh start, and for a blank canvas to decorate.

I have loved making our first house a home. I have discovered a passion I didn’t know was in me, and we have learned and grown so much in this ugly little house. I will forever be thankful for the time we have had here…but for now, we are on to a new adventure! That’s all for today friends, have a fabulous day!