Our New Home

BJ, Ellie, and I made the trek home from Utah with a trailer full of furniture on Dec. 30th. Since then, we've been busy moving in, cleaning, organizing, and getting settled in our new home. It feels so good to have our own place. It still is very surreal most of the time, but so wonderful. We are anxious to get a sofa so we have somewhere comfortable to relax at the end of the day without having to go to bed at 8:00 o'clock, and without having to lay on a pile of blankets on the tile floor.
I have felt an ebb and flow of satisfaction and contentment that constantly wrestles with the many projects I dream of working out in my mind. Some are simple, like finding a decadent candle for every room so my house smells cozy and like us rather than the previous owners, to bigger things like painting the kitchen cupboards and un-installing the outdated light fixture in the kitchen ceiling. Most of these projects are ones I will complete myself (with the help of BJ and my mom.) We, like the people that sold us this home, will put our blood, sweat, and tears into this place to make it the haven we want it to be for our little family.

May I present the very first draft of our new home...

I think the front door is very charming, and the tan siding with white trim is perfect for sunny California. I added a purple hydrangea to the pot on the right cause my sister-in-law Courtney always keeps a hydrangea by her front door and they always look incredible. It looks so cheerful and pretty and adds some needed height on that right side.

This is a view of the entry way/ living room/ dining room area from the loft upstairs. We eventually will find a loveseat and a couple nice armchairs for the living room part. For now, my blue/green hutch I bought in college carries the room beautifully on its own. This was probably the wisest purchase I have ever made in my life. That mexican antique (piece of beautiful junk) makes me happy every time I see it.

Here's a closer up view of the hutch, as well as the gray side table from JaLayne that I painted.

And here's the entryway table I painted as well. This is on the wall on the left when you walk in the front door... across from the green hutch.

Upstairs, on the left we find the master bedroom, that at first BJ and I did not think we were going to like because of the unique set-up of it all with the bathroom that's right there practically in the bedroom, but we (especially I) have really fallen in love with it. After living in our little apartment in Utah, and then in the Pugmire's gorgeous, but small apartment, I feel like this is a grand master suite.

...and there's Ellie!

Here's Ellie's nursery. My mom's coming next week and I really want to make some soft, light, feminine curtains for her window.

This is the room next to Ellie's that will be her room when the baby comes. We'll definitely add some more young, girly touches to it before then. If the babe is a boy the nursery will obviously need an overhaul. I already know that I would keep the crib yellow and add blue and white. (I'll use the blue and white fishy sheets from Land of Nod that I love so much.)

This is the loft next to the two kid rooms that we'll use as a playroom.

And this is Ellie's bathroom that has quickly turned into one of my favorite rooms in the house, but it's so darn small I can't photograph all of it in one shot.

Here is the kitchen. When my mom comes next week we're going to remove the horrible wood/flourescent light fixture in the ceiling, and in a few months I'm hoping to hire someone to paint the cupboards a steely, bluish gray.

And oh doggy, you just wait til you see the next room in the house... the family room right off the kitchen...

We're anxiously awaiting our pewter colored velvet English roll arm sectional for our family room. We need a rug so we don't freeze and so a little sound can be absorbed, and perhaps some blinds, drapes, or some kind of window covering. My mom and I are going to remove the glass doors from the fireplace next week and paint the brick of the mantel white to get a nice beachy feel going. I'll put something pretty in the exposed fireplace like candles or sticks on end or something.

The backyard, however, is in pretty great shape...

...although the garden needs quite a bit of work, and I'm on it! I've already planted lettuce, spinach, basil, onions and peas. I've definitely got my work cut out for me.

It makes me a little sad to post this because I am so proud of my home. I love it and it makes me happy. I do have a lot of projects in mind, there are a lot of things I want to change and improve, but in spite of all that, this feels like such a warm, happy, beautiful, joyful place to us, and I'm not sure if the pictures really portray that. Come visit any time. Ellie and I are home basically all day every day. I cannot gurantee that I will be showered and dressed in normal clothes, more likely I will be covered in dirt, grime, and goldfish crackers, but I know that if you stop by, you will be able to feel the love and happiness that live here.