Home, Sweet (Almost Unpacked) Home

Long overdue as it is, I wanted to update you and show you some of the evidence that we're growing up and living in our very own house. I've been waiting to take pictures for the house to be quiet and clean and for me not to be in pajamas. Oh, and also for pigs to fly. Since I can't seem to manage more than two of those at a time (still waiting on those pigs) I bit the bullet, stuffed some drawers and closets and did my best to avoid any reflection of my stunning flannel ensemble.

Here's the front of our humble abode. Not too much to look at, thanks to an epic fail on the part of what I can only assume was a colour blind housepainter.

Here we are on the day we got the keys. Not the day the house became ours, but a few days (of paying interest) later when we found out through the grapevine that the keys were buried in front of the house. Off to a great start.

 I have big dreams of carrying a video camera around the house to give people a virtual tour of the place and a better idea of what's where, but since I've stuffed nearly every nook and cranny with random bits & bobs that haven't found homes, I can't risk tarnishing my reputation for being compulsively neat and organized. (My DVDs remain alphabetized in spite of my almost toddler and I only recently stopped alphabetizing my cereal.)
For now, you'll just have to settle for a few pictures and me fumbling to explain the perspective. The door furthest left is the front door, so when you walk in, you've got The Man Closet to your left, which houses all of Buddy's manly sporting equipment, a half bath further left and what will one day be a sweet little welcome area with coat hooks and an entry bench but is completely barren as of right now. As is the inlet which will one day soon become an organized woman's dream - a calendar nook. *sigh*

On to the living room. What better time of the year to post photos of your house than at Christmas...when no one can judge your everyday decor. Or in my case, the fact that you still don't have any everyday decor up on the walls. And yes, we need a bigger tree. All in good time.

And here's the living room from the kitchen to add a little perspective.

Here's where I spend the better part of my day, ever since I taught Teagan how to sign "food". It's getting ridiculous.

 

At the top of the stairs is an open area, technically a 4th bedroom without a door that we're using as an office for the time being. Sadly, it wasn't ready for its close-up. Nor was the loft, master bedroom or the guest bedroom that are all currently suffering from a severe lack of furniture and far too many unpacked boxes. And you've all seen empty rooms before.
But here's where the little butterball sleeps. Nothing on the walls yet, and after a disappointing attempt at spray painting a picture frame I am less-than-confident in my ability to give the bookcase the makeover I'd intended.

And here's the view from the rocking chair, which I'm thoroughly enjoying...during the day. Not so much in the middle of the night.

A quick reminder of our bathroom in our first apartment, feast your eyes on this. That's it. All she wrote. And we made do, put in our time. One at a time.

But we're moving on up and working with double sinks these days. A thing of beauty. While the tub isn't Brandon-sized, it gets the job done for me. And behind the door, the toilet comes with its very own Wall of Privacy. Bonus!

To further entice you to visit, I can promise you your very own guest bathroom. A luxury we couldn't offer in Provo. And the electricity even works half the time, thanks to some savvy friends who came to visit and helped us fix a few of the house's quirks. Consider this a shout out the HGTV-worthy Mark & Kaylinn! In my defense, the stripe in the shower curtain is the same yellow as the towels. You're welcome to come and see for yourself - Brandon thought brown would have been a better choice.

And last, but not quite least, here's our backyard. The absence of a grill, patio furniture or anything for that matter is glaring. But we have big dreams, people. Big dreams indeed. It's our bank account that seems to disagree. And yes, our house is the smallest one on the street, but correct me if I'm wrong, that's a relatively good thing, burglary-wise...right? And we seem to always be in the shade of the other homes, so in the summer, you're all invited to come and hang out in our shade. Hopefully we'll have chairs for you at that point.

Well that's it. Home sweet home. Still working on making it feel homey and scouring Craig's List for cheap furniture...without a smidge of luck. I may need to turn up the British accent in my voicemails. So if you're in the neighbourhood and you have too much furniture - give me a ring because obviously we're in the market. Of course you're welcome to drop by empty handed as well.