Moving on is Bittersweet

After making one last trip to the condo to check that everything had been taken to the house, Kristina asked me if I was sad to leave. I said that I was but not anymore and that’s the truth. After the first deal fell through on the sale of the condo and the home we thought we would move into disappeared from our grasp, we didn’t have all our eggs in the basket this time around. We were cautiously excited when the offer came through on the condo and then relieved to find another home we wanted to purchase and very happy when our offer was accepted. But because we knew it could all go away any minute, the idea that we were really going to leave our first home together didn’t sink in right away.

When we made it down to the final 2 weeks without even so much as a hiccup in the process, then it hit me. My condo was the first home I purchased for myself. It was the first home Chris and lived in together and as a married couple. It was the only home that Ares, Chaos and Little O had known. We made some pretty great memories over the 3+ years we were there and looking back on them, I did get a little sad to leave. But by the time moving day came around, it was all excitement about the new home and all the new memories to be made.

 

 

The last few weeks in our first home were spent having last snuggles on the couch, lasts baths in the tub, last walks on our route, last lounges in the bedroom and last moments just being together there. I think it’s always a little bittersweet when you close one good chapter of your life and move onto the next. But change is what keeps life interesting, what keeps us young at heart and what keeps us learning about ourselves. So we begin this new phase with open arms and happy hearts.

We've Moved!

 It’s been quiet around here because we’ve been busy moving into our new house! Last week we signed all the papers, handed over our old keys and got our new ones. Our wonderful families and friends helped us pack up and then unpack (thank you mom, mother-in-law and BFF) so much over the weekend and we celebrated with, what else, pizza and beer.

Everything is now at the new house, but everything is not where it’s supposed to go.  Anyone who has ever moved I’m sure can attest to how overwhelming it is at first, just trying to figure out how to arrange your stuff in a new place. Of course this is just one of those things that takes a bit of time. We actually had some demolition going on the first 2 days knocking out built into TV shelves in both the master bedroom and living room. Our bedroom actually had a window into the stairway for a little while so that was pretty funny. But thanks to my dad, my father-in-law, my brother-in-law and Chris, all the built ins that just didn’t make sense are gone. Men loves power tools and knocking shit down with sledge hammers.

I am so excited to really get everything unpacked and start decorating! And you guys, the backyard is FENCED IN. It was so fun to see Ares and Chaos running around back there for the first time. I had forgotten how lightning fast of a runner Chaos actually is since he’s typically laying around in the most comfortable spot he can find. We have a really nice wooded view too so I’m looking forward to pretty snowfalls this winter.

I promise to do a house tour when we get settled in and do updates on our decorating progress. I’m pretty certain the yard is Ares’s dream come true and as much as Chaos does love to run it (for about 1 ½ minutes), he has found his own favorite place in our new house. 

New House News

Late last Friday night I was sitting on the couch watching Scrubs on Netflix, half falling asleep, when Chris walked in the door. It was the perfect start to the weekend. I’ve been hinting at it the last few posts but I’m now officially sharing that we found a new house and are set to close in a few weeks. Chris had only seen the house from the pictures in the listing and the ones I took when I went to see it before putting in an offer. Saturday we headed over to see it along with my parents, Chris’s dad and brother. The new home we are purchasing is owned by a relocation company so an inspection had already been done but I wanted the guys to double check everything. We even sent Chris to the attic to make sure there wasn’t anything living up there. Luckily, there wasn’t. It was a chilly fall day and standing in the backyard I could picture us being out there with the dogs and our family and friends. 

 

Sunday we took a trip to a local pumpkin patch and went out into the field to pick some big pumpkins. And of course we said hello to all the farm animals and bought my most favorite apple cider ever. It pairs amazingly well with a  little maple flavored whiskey if you’re looking for a sweet fall cocktail. Slice up some thin pieces of honey crisp apple and you’re good to go.

 

 

 

 

We celebrated our niece Miyah’s 3^rd birthday in the afternoon with family and even though they were serving chili they made mac n’ cheese for this vegetarian. Our gift to the birthday girl was a toy dog park with these fat little puppies that sort of waddle around. She and her cousin were so cute playing with it together and doing a pretty good job of sharing! It’s really hard to share when you’re 3.

 

 

And what better way to end the weekend than with snuggles? I went to get Ares for bedtime and he did the sweetest thing. I told Chris to hurry with my phone and take a picture. Immediately after this picture was snapped he popped right up. At least I had that fleeting moment.

Is it Friday yet? Nope. Okay, happy Tuesday!

What's Happenin' Wednesday

 So much is going on around here I don’t even know which way to look! A week from the day we got the offer on the condo, our offer for a new home was accepted. I’m knee deep in all the paperwork and e-mails that come with selling and buying homes but I am grateful we have some really good people to work with. Once this is all said and done I’ll go into more detail on our experiences and things you might want to know if you’re headed down this road in the near future. I really wish I would have known a lot of things beforehand but, as always, hindsight is 20/20.

 

 Over the weekend my mama had a birthday and my sister was in town. We went shopping with her Sunday and had dinner at Terry’s Turf Club where you can get ginormous burgers with a million toppings (or portabella mushrooms for the non-meat eaters). I literally couldn’t eat it stacked with all the toppings so I had to improvise. It was messy but so worth it.

We are back to the weekly grind and already wishing for Friday. Chris will be home for good and that is definitely a happy thought. Although this cooler weather really makes for nicer evening walks with the boys so I can’t complain too much. Plus I found straws with bats on them literally from like 4 years ago that I bought at the dollar store. I’m 28 and I was pretty excited to stick one in my iced coffee Sunday morning. It’s the little things. And speaking of little things, we had a few small holes in our screen door from last year. Saturday morning as I was getting ready to clean I walked by and saw Little O escape through a hole in the screen like some kind of Houdini cat-tortionist. He just stood there and looked at me and of course I ran out and scooped him up. I dashed off to get duct tape and by the time I came back this is what I saw.

 

 Don’t worry I did a quick hillbilly fix and there have not been anymore hilarious incidents. Seriously we could save the world with duct tape one piece at a time.

At least the rest of the fur gang hasn’t been into mischief. Ares was too busy watching Big Bang Theory during the coveted couch time. It looks sweet but he wasn’t actually snuggling me, he just wanted the best view of the TV. He tried the other end first but I guess my legs were in the way. They drive me nuts, crack me up and melt my heart all at the same time.