Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Settling down . . .

   Our hallway is littered with empty boxes. You have to nearly brush the wall with your shoulder to get by on your way to our bedroom. Right now, in the living room, three feet before me and between myself and the television sits four packed boxes and another three, also waiting to be filled. I've already taken three massive bags of clothing to Goodwill, though I suspect there will be another trip or two or four before this venture is complete.

   Mike dropped off an early lease termination letter and a money order to the office today. We have till June 30th to pack, clean and vacate our first apartment as a married couple. The apartment I unpacked my wedding china in, filled my drinkware into, got my first dining room table for. 

   We are moving into a house. A home. With a backyard and a door bell and air conditioning. Two car garage! Ice maker! No neighbors living above me, below me or hogging all the open parking in front of us! The excitement is bubbling, but the dread of moving, YET AGAIN, is quelling that excitement at the moment. It is, to say the least, overwhelming.

   I have never made it a secret that I am third generation packrat. A horrible, stifling habit that I am really wanting to break, if possible. I managed to only get my bedroom closet cleaned out and packed yesterday, but that would be because I also was going through everything, creating two piles. One to keep and one to donate. My policy has been to have split second decisions on everything. Keep or get rid of. If I have hesitated, clearly that is nod in the "get rid of" pile. I am hoping that it all goes smoothly in the downsizing of the posessions as we upgrade our living space.

   Ideally, we'd be able to paint and ease on into the new house, come back to the apartment and clean it before the end of the month. This of course, would be in a perfect world, when I don't have to work. So instead, I'll be making the most of my time off of work (you know, in the mornings, evenings and days off) to accomplish as much as I can. The painting will have to wait until after we are moved in.

    But here we are. About to take this step. I knew this year would be magical.

So here is the front, obviously. Not sure how long we'll keep that house color. We are having the siding redone on the sides and back of the house and it may be enough to warrant a complete color change. If not, I'll at least paint the front door.

Front

The living room, entry and a peek into the mud room. The mud room leads into the garage.

Living room and entry

The kitchen . . . ahh the kitchen. Bright, open and with an island. I'm thinking red for the walls, as long as it doesn't make the formica look too pink. Yes, formica. Yuck. But that can be changed. The fridge, gas range, dishwasher and stools all come with the house.  

Kitchen

One of the bedrooms . . . most likely to become the guest room/office/my craft room. 

Bedroom 2

The other bedroom, which will probably become Mike's "Mancave". Sigh. Yes. I married a dork. 

Bedroom 1

Our bedroom, which is about the size of my dormroom in college. And while two people will again be sharing the space, it is in somewhat different circumstances. Now, we'll be able to have our dressers in the same room with us. Also . . . there's a walk in closet. Walk. Inside. Closet.

Master bedroom

Our sweet little backyard. I'll hope to extend the patio by next summer, since we really hope to have plenty of bbqs and get togethers for all our friends. 

Back of house

I cannot wait. 

3 comments:

  1. LOVE IT! I'm so jealous...we're not quite there yet :0)
    Good luck with everything!

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  2. So does this mean your home owners? :) So nice to be moving into a house that doesn't have to have everything done. Don't get me wrong, I like remodeling, but it's a pain in the rear as well...waiting to have money to take the next step, that kind of stuff. Congrats on the move and you have a good "to do" list started. I think i'd wait on the paint and think about that patio door... :)

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  3. The entire siding is being redone. As for the patio door, I see nothing wrong with it, personally. Maybe you see something I don't? After living in apartments where it was such a pain in the arse to paint and then paint back to white when moving again, I'd like to have a place that truly does feel like mine. Seeing as how I'll be looking at those walls everyday . . .

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