New Home

Well, hey there friends and family.  I know most of you have probably stopped looking here, but I beg you to cut me a little slack.  Here is why, we have been busy.  Really, really busy.  I know everyone is busy.  Life is busy.  This past summer though was really busy.  Do you like how many times I used the word "busy" to get my point across?  It was nuts!    Here is what we did: we readied a house for selling,  we sold that house quickly, we packed up our house for moving, we frantically searched for a new home which we did not find, we then packed up our belongings into 2 storage units and took the bare necessities to a tiny apartment with and even tinier kitchen (really tough on a girl that loves to cook), we continued our search for a home, we finally found a home (it was a dump), we bought that home, we started working, working, working and working some more.  Whew!  We painted, ripped out trees (trust me there were plenty left), repaired toilets, cleaned (a lot), pulled thousands (seriously) of weeds and it still looks the same, refinished wood floors, added screws to stop the squeaking upstairs, replaced all of the carpet (it was gross), had the outside painted along with some of the higher ceiling rooms, repaired holes in the wall, replaced rotting wood, replaced a garage door, had broken glass replaced in windows, removed 50,000 bees (yes, that number is correct), replaced an air conditioning unit and FINALLY added solar screens on the back of the house. Tomorrow we will finish the landscaping so that it looks like decent people live here instead of white trash people and in the early winter will we replace the fence that should be falling over any minute.  That is enough!  I'm tired.  

This has been such a huge change from our previous home which was gorgeous and new and shiny, but you know what?  I love it here.  I love it so much more than I ever loved our other home.  The other place, which was simply beautiful, wasn't home.  I cannot explain it, but it wasn't.  Mark and I talked about it all the time.  This is home.  This is comfortable, and a little overwhelming, but this is home.  I can walk Jack to school in about 2 minutes. He loves it and I love not having to sit in a carpool line for 30 minutes.  Win win.  Our neighbors are friendly and welcoming.  We are close to everything.  Much closer to much of my family and friends.  I just love it.  

Here are a few photos and Instagram shots of what we have done over the past couple of months.  

New owners!

Do you see a house?  This place had been vacant for 2 years and while there are a few good trees in here, it was so overgrown with junk, vines and crap trees you couldn't see the house at all.  We kept a pecan tree and a red oak.    

This was in the backyard.  Emphasis on the word "was" as that mosquito breeding ground has since been filled in.  What were they thinking?

This is after power washing the patio.  It was filthy!  Also, the bricks stacked in the wall is where the doggie door used to be before Mark closed it.  Haven't finished the outside portion just yet.

The wallpaper in the kitchen was literally falling off of the walls so the kids had a great time tearing it down.  I mean how many times in your life does your mom tell you it is ok to tear up the wallpaper?  Have at it!

These are the light fixtures that were hanging on the front of the house and Mark repainted them.   They look brand new.  Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint = like new fixtures.  They look beautiful.

He replaced all of the wood around the garage doors.  Hey, if you ever need a home repair, I swear this guy right here can do anything.

This, I show you simply because it is strange.  The previous owners had a super lock on the INSIDE of their study.  What were they doing in there that they didn't want someone to come in?  I do not want to know.

Jules helping load the truck on the initial move.  She has grown so much over the summer :(

Carpet that we cut and rolled ourselves.  I felt so nasty afterwards.  

One section of the bee hive we had removed.

She was amazed at how tall the ladders were that the painters brought in for the main living area.  

Mark repairing the whole in the wall where the doggie door was located.  For us, this was just a way for bugs and large critters to get in.  It had to go.  He did such a great job that you can't even tell it was there.  

And after.

Sanding the existing floors so that everything matches.  We added wood floors in the dining and study.  

This is the day that they scraped the floors.  One guy and one tiny tool created this mess.  

Indoor picnics before we moved in.  We had no furniture and the kids thought this was such fun.

Indoor bike riding was also allowed before the floors were refinished.  Now?  I don't think so folks.

First day of school for our little Princess.  

First day of FIRST grade. 

This is the alleyway we use to get to school.  Seriously fantastic walk.