ONE YEAR in Our Home!

We’ve made it one whole year in our house!! I can’t believe it! It feels like we JUST moved in… but at the same time, it feels like we’ve been here for decades.

I remember putting down a deposit for a new build in March 2020, right as COVID cases were growing. We planned to relocate closer to family and move into a home with a driveway and a decent-sized backyard, both of which our first home did not have. Due to the uncertainty of our jobs and the economy at the time, we withdrew our deposit and were devastated to give up the idea of upgrading our home.

Several months into the global pandemic, Vince and I both realized that our jobs (luckily) were stable. We decided to reconsider the move and began searching for houses again. We put down a deposit for another new build (just a few houses down from the lot we originally reserved) early August, packed up and put our house on the market in 2 weeks, and moved into an apartment to save some money while we waited for our new home to finish building. After 6 months of learning to adjust to a small space with two big dogs and only a quarter of our belongings after being spoiled with WAY more space than necessary, I was ecstatic to move out of the apartment into our new home.

Soon after moving into our first home, we already knew it would not end up being our “forever home.” We quickly realized that a courtyard style home with no driveway and a zero lot yard would not work for us long term. Will this house, our second, be our “forever home?” Well… That’s undecided for now. We love this house and can see ourselves here for at least another decade, but we’re also both open to moving if something better comes along!

To celebrate our first year in this home, I’m sharing some before and after photos of some of my favorite spaces.

Yes, I’ve kept myself rather busy this past year, but it has all been worth it! I have quite a few more spaces in our home to transform… so I can’t wait until I revisit our progress another year from now and see how much it has changed!

Until next time,

Emily