New house!

We are settling in to the new house nicely and are already loving the neighborhood. After one day, we had met almost all of our neighbors which we loved! The house has lots of charm and character. I can't wait to post some pictures of the place (as soon as the pile of boxes dwindles down a little bit). 

We've been antiquing and searching for a few needed furniture pieces. It's a slow process but we've found a few gems that fill a need and add some extra character to the house. The house was built in 1939 so we're working on a mixture of pieces that fit the time period of the home, as well as mixing in a few more modern aspects. We are far from expert designers, but its fun to pretend & give it our best shot.

I love that our house is already a gathering place for friends and family. Last night, our living room was full of friends catching up and listening to some music, truly one of my favorite things! I'm looking forward to more get-togethers in this house and continuing to explore the neighborhood.

Pictures coming soon!

A community home.

I promise this is my last post about the house for a while (ok, maybe I can't make such promises, but I'll try). I have just been day dreaming of all the good times we've already had in this house. Friends gathered around a fire in the backyard, delicious food on the grill, and most importanty, lots and lots of laughter.

When I begin thinking of the upcoming year in this house, all I can do is smile. Its not really the house itself that brings us so much happiness, but rather all that it provides. I am pumped to have a space where friends can gather, a guest room to offer up to anyone that needs a place to stay (or just wants to come visit us), a kitchen to cook & bake & share good food with others, a garden in the a backyard that will produce veggies and herbs & a space that we consider "everyone's."

Will and I from the beginning decided that wherever we lived it would be a space for everyone. We would share it with friends & family & offer it up to whoever needed a place. My heart is so full knowing that we can bring people together in this home. I am looking forward to picnics and cookouts, bike rides around the neighborhood and friends gathered around the dining table.

Home sweet home

We're officially all moved in to our new place! We have already fallen in love with this house & are so enjoying having a yard. It is wonderful to have a lazy morning drinking tea on the porch and enjoying the first signs of spring.

View from the front stoop: 

Saturday was the big move day & honestly it went smoothly (I had anticipated the worst!). All I can say is that we are blessed with friends that are willing to give up their Saturdays and haul large boxes and furniture for us. Those guys had the apartment emptied in about thirty minutes. I did find that all the prep work I did the week or so leading up to the move helped a ton. It is crucial to have everything ready to go and labeled well.

Sunday we had a few friends  over to show them the new place & to have a fire (of course). I have a feeling that we will be out by this fire pit every weekend. Will loved having a fire & I loved the s'mores. I can imagine some good memories will be made in this home.

We still have plenty of unpacking and organizing to do, but it already feels so homey. Unfortunately, Revolution decided to film out of town this week so Will is away in Raleigh and won't be back until Saturday at the earliest. The positive to this is that I can (hopefully) get lots of unpacking and organizing done. I am just moving slowly from one room to the next. More updates to come!

So.many.boxes.

I've been sort of MIA from the blogging world because I've been packing boxes like a mad woman. It seems that you never realize how much stuff you have until you move. 

Fortunately, the ABC store here gives out boxes for free. I walked in last week and the lady at the counter was staring me down and clearly thought I was too young to be in there (naturally). I asked her about boxes and she told me take as many as you can fit in your car! I've loaded the lil' camry up a few times now. I finally feel like I'm making a dent in the moving process! We still have a ways to go, but it will get done.

We are stoked about moving from an apartment to a house. Will & I both love to be outside which is something we've really disliked about an apartment. We are excited for sitting around a fire in the backyard, riding bikes in the neighborhood and eating dinner on the patio. 

This upcoming week/weekend will be crazy, but hopefully we can get settled fairly quickly. I have attempted to be organized in this moving process (something that is so not me). I've got all the boxes color coordinated and labeled (ie: pink tape=kitchen, orange=master bedroom). Hopefully having things organized beforehand will help cut down on the unpacking time. 

Will informed me yesterday that Revolution will be filming in Raleigh for over a week starting the Monday after we move. Not too excited about that, but on the bright side, I'll have plenty of time to unpack while he is away. 

i'll admit; i'm already pretty sore from lifting boxes and carrying loads in and out. 

We're MOVING!

We are excited to announce that we are moving!! Its just about 10 minutes from our apartment now, but we're gaining more space & lots of yard space. We found a cute little rental house and are moving in less than two weeks (crazy!). I've got lots of packing to do, but I am thrilled & can't wait to move in. 

Pictures to come!

Home is wherever I'm with you.

We have been on what seems to be the longest journey ever to buy a house. I'm sure every home owner felt the exact same way when they were looking. Its exciting, exhausting and pretty much an emotional roller coaster. We have gotten so excited and envisioned ourselves living in about a dozen different houses, only to later realize they weren't quite right.

Over Christmas, we thought we had found the right house. An offer was made, then counter-offer and so on until we reached a meeting point and they accepted our offer. Until yesterday, we were pretty sure this house was OURS & we're beyond excited to begin moving. After reviewing the inspection results and talking with a few experts in the field we slowly, to our dislike, came to realize that this house has some major structural and electrical issues that we did not know of in the beginning. We are trying so hard to make the best financial decisions to protect ourselves, our marriage and our future children; and based on that report this wouldn't be the best decision financially.

Even though my heart so desires to have a sweet home where we can entertain and host, I think I'm realizing that I have put too much emphasis on a worldly item. Will sweetly reminded me of this truth by singing one of our favorite songs- "home is wherever I'm with you." As cheesy as it sounds, the song has it right.

We are trusting in the Lord and his timing. We're singing that song & reminding ourselves that items don't bring you happiness, but rather relationships. So whether are friends are crammed into our little apartment or a more spacious home, who cares? We're just thankful for wonderful friends & family.

Home, let me come home; home is wherever I'm with you.
 (Home by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros)

You should probably listen to this song. I promise it will bring you a little bit of joy this morning & soon you'll be singing along too.