insta-house.

I always enjoy seeing the various Instagram photos that the girls post, along with the varied filters that they apply. While I am an Instagram user myself, I am not as adventurous.  Thought you might enjoy these "views" courtesy of Abby and Hannah.

some kitchen firsts.

Last night featured some memorable firsts... Mike's first bread baking in the new Wolf range... and the first dancing in the new kitchen.

three cheers for kitchen organization.

Since it took us a full week to unpack even one dish in the new kitchen, it is a source of huge satisfaction to have stuff in the cupboards.  I love the expression "the way you start is the way you finish" so we have tried to be thoughtful about placing items around the kitchen.  These nooks bring the biggest smiles.

sneak peeks.

Many of you have sweetly asked for pics... so here is my best effort today to share a few. I promise I will do more later - but I still have not moved my office and clothes are not unpacked.  Baby Grace has not made her arrival yet, so I am going to try to get many more boxes unpacked today.  The girls get back from Alabama on Sunday, so I am working to get their bathroom stocked & organized.
Hope you enjoy the random pics... more to come.

 The kitchen is done! The soapstone island top was set yesterday. We ordered it from the same company that made the old soapstone sink in the basement. More later.

 Girls Bathroom. Toilet set. Remaining fixtures in. Where are the girls?

 New back door! Finally.  When Mike gets the brick back steps in, it will look even sweeter.

 Grandma's Reading Corner at the top of the stairs, with the favorite books she read her bunnies when they were little.

 The beautiful grand staircase. Thank you Jens Andersen for the beautiful wood floors.

 Living room spaces BEFORE furniture.

 Living areas AFTER furniture. The slipcovers aren't even on the sofas yet, and we can't put the rugs down on the floors for another two weeks. The floors are so beautiful, we don't care.

 Dining Room BEFORE furniture.

 Dining Room AFTER furniture. I opted NOT to show the more recent photo which features unpacked boxes and baskets scattered throughout the room. ha.

Photo of the first bath. This is where I regain my sanity every night. It is like a soothing, healing medicine... only better than any medicine. We have hung the plantation shutters since this was taken.

Many more photos to come. Back to unpacking! Thanks for wanting to see them and sharing our joy.

long time no post.

Sorry for being MIA on the blogging scene. Moving is HARD. The good news is that we have survived.  It was touch and go for a while, but things are looking up and I am thinking we might be settled before Christmas. Smile.

This is what I posted on FaceBook mid-move. ha.

It was a full week after moving the stuff into the house before one thing was put away in the kitchen. (Well, to be honest we did have a Target wine cube and 6-pack of Corona in the refrigerator.) Hannah cooked for us every night at The Little House for which we are truly thankful!  I would walk into the kitchen and think about getting it organized... I was so exhausted that I would be immediately become emotionally flooded and just shut down. After a few minutes I would think "wonder why I am standing here in the kitchen?"

It is easy to take the simple beauty of a daily routine for granted.  I also learned that it is very unsettling when you cannot find any pockets of order around you. But things are looking up. My organized cupboards are making me so happy that I will probably post pics of them in the near future.

yippee.

Jens Anderson applied the final coat on the wood floors on first floor on Thursday morning.  They are drying / curing today.  We are moving in tomorrow!  I poked my head (and camera) inside the back door for a photograph.

For the record: When we moved in there was multiple layers of linoleum and tile in the kitchen, hallway and downstairs bathroom.  We dug down and restored the wood throughout the entire first floor.  You like?