We've owned our home now for about 16 months, but have lived here for 15 months, so I thought I'd share some photos my friend Ashley took of us in our house to celebrate our one year home-versary!
If you remember, I actually was visiting my family in California when my husband came and saw and then made an offer on our house. I facetimed him during his walkthrough, but that's all I had to go off of. You can imagine my anxiety ;) You can read more about that experience here and get all our house hunting details.
I first saw our new house on the day of the inspection. When I walked in from the side door, I immediately saw a couple things that I wasn't a huge fan of. I tried to remain calm. It didn't check a lot of my "must-haves". I was getting nervous. As I toured the house, I noticed it was a lot smaller than I expected and had some quirks, but I kept reminding myself of the potential. Lots of deep breaths! We can do this.
We spent 6 weeks fixing up the house (read: painted every room, taking out a bulkhead from the bathroom, painting kitchen cabinets, adding built ins to the living room, etc.) until our apartment lease was up and we had to make the move. I've shared this before, but I found it so interesting how sad I was to leave our apartment. It was just a one bedroom little place, but it's where we moved in together after our wedding and all of that. It held a lot of memories. I get so attached to the places I live, even places I didn't love the look of, because I pour my heart into making it as much of a home as I can. Does anyone relate? I highly recommend this because although it makes leaving harder, it makes living there all the more enjoyable. It's amazing how much you can make a place feel like home with some little, sweet touches.
So when we moved in, while I was grateful for our house, it didn't feel like us yet. It definitely didn't feel like home. Everyone kept asking me "don't you just love your new house?" and "I bet you're so glad to be in a larger space and out of your apartment!" The thing was, I didn't love our house (yet) and I actually really missed our apartment! I felt so guilty about this, especially because of how much work my husband was putting into the house. I felt like I should love it more right away.
But like a lot of things, love grows over time. Not only did we fix up some areas of the house that wasn't very pleasing, but also just living here and unpacking our stuff, getting a few new pieces, making memories, having friends over, meeting neighbors...it all helped me come to love this little house!
Lincoln sure is glad we have more space in our house than the apartment! I couldn't get over how he curled up in my lap for these pictures.
This is definitely my favorite room in the house. It's SO bright, almost all day long!
Probably the most radical change in our house was our backyard renovation. It has brought us so much joy because it feels like we expanded our living space! We've had lots of friends over for dinner out here, hosted a little sip and see, and are hosting a baby shower in September out here. One of the things on my wish list when house hunting was I wanted space enough to entertain and host. It's one of my greatest joys! I was so thankful we could made a space for this in the backyard.
Seeing it transform from a pile of dirt and weeds to our little oasis has been so fun. I still can't believe my husband pulled it all off!
This little area with the shutters (my friend made them + our window box!) is a favorite of mine.
Lincoln's face above kills me. He is not photogenic ;)
I'm so thankful for our home and to live here with handsome husband of mine. We've made a sweet little home together and along the way, McCann has found that he's extremely handy and loves projects! That's music to my ears ;)
I can promise you this; one day when we leave our little three bedroom ranch, I will miss it. Lots.
Your house looks amazing. I love everything you've done. Great job! (And yes, I agree, having a husband who is "handy" (like mine as well) is always an asset as a homeowner.
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