A Downstairs tour

A tour of my downstairs. Upstairs is only half unpacked (read: things are strewn everywhere and Ava messes from 13 days ago still linger) so you don't get to see it yet. But here's the main floor!

When you walk in the house and look to the right, this is what you see. A foyer of sorts?

The door on the left side of the hall leads to the kitchen - which hasn't been updated since probably the 60s or 70s.

Yummy linoleum.

And here it is. (You can see into the dining room and family room from the doorway.)

Wallpaper detail. Aloha.

And this. This is the door for the milkman. You put your jars in on your side and the milkman can pick them up and give you fresh milk on the other. From the outside of the house. You know, if we still did that kind of thing. Quaint? Yes. Do I want to get rid of it? You bet. Various X-File characters could fit through that door, easily and a lot of energy is probably lost through that door in the winter/summer. I'm mostly worried about the winter. And the X-File Monsters.

Right in front of the front door you have the staircase:

If you turn to the left from the front door you have the living room:

Don't mind the random objects strewn everywhere.

Looking into the foyer from the living room.

Looking into the dining room from the other side of the living room.

The dining room: (there is a door on the immediate right you cannot see that leads to the place where children and grown adults alike race up the stairs in terror at what is lurking behind them basement.)

Looking into the family room from the dining room. An addition from the 70s. Word.

Turn left to go out the back door.

Retro bathroom. Is that.....a shutter used as a cabinet door? I would venture that they were trying to save money...but I don't think they were.

Be jealous of this fixture

And this vinyl flooring.

Needless to say we have a lot of updating to do. A LOT. It's going to take a while but we will get there. But you know what? It's OUR HOUSE so I love it and I know all the work we're going to do will just make me love it more. Le sigh. Le content.

We jumped off the cliff and became grownups.

It's been long enough that I should probably update this here blog. So I will. Even though I only have like 3 brain cells left for today and I need at least 2 to get ready for bed. You're welcome.

Weeeee mooooooved. Again. For the third time in 10 months. BUT we are finally putting down roots. We bought a house (!) and Danny loves his job and we love St. Joseph, MI and it feels goooood, my leedle friens. I feel like I can breathe deeply again. It is weird to have our own house and exceedingly AWESOME. I'll give you a tour soon. But don't get too excited. House needs work.

The community is so cute and our neighbors have been very welcoming and friendly, even offering the use of their yard tools and clothes lines. Our ward is fab and also very welcoming. We have done so much with ward members already and we haven't even been here a week! I will just take a sec to rub in the fact that we have playgroup every Tuesday at the beach. You have some jealous on your face.....other side.....a little to the left....there. You got it. Anyway, I just love this place. It's been a hard, long road getting here but we made it and we couldn't be more excited about it.

Even though we ARE in enemy territory now.

Sleep well my little cabbage patch dolls. After an afternoon/evening working on the yard, I know I will.

Moment of Zen

Just centering myself before the craziness of this week starts. You know. Packing and signing away our lives and moving and unpacking and new house wah wah wah. I'm so happy about this week. IT'S! EXCITING! (and exhausting just to think about. Why are excitement and exhaustion besties so often?)

So I just had a chill day. Sundays are usually chill but this one was exspecially lazy. I wanted to get all the laziness out so I will be itching to be productive tomorrow. And I am. I watched my current BBC masterpiece infatuation, Bleak House, took a nap, made some no bake cookies (and opened 3 taped boxes to do it HIGHFIVE!), played some Mario, tickled and hugged my tiny human, and flirted with my husband. Ready to be productive? Ehhhhhhh???? READY OR NOT.

LET'S DO THIS.

After I watch a few youtubes....

Constant Vigilance!

Ava is a total water baby.

We've gone to the beach a couple of times since it got warm and she loves it. There really wasn't much hesitation on her part - she's got sand, water, a shovel and a bucket, and she can make as big of a mess as she wants. What's not to love?

I just have to watch out for her safety and well-being more diligently. I'm not the kind of mom that hovers, usually, but in the water?  Game face on and defensive stance assumed. David Hasselhoff has nothing on my life-guarding skill and I will. B-E A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E! because she likes to just wade out into water up to her thighs and scoop up the sand with her shovel, nevermind the fact that she just shoved her face into the water. She also thinks she can run in the water as well as she does in grass. Oh, Ava.


Glad we're moving even CLOSER to the beach. Like only a couple miles away. She will be in heaven.