Before we get into how messy my current situation is right now….let me just revel in how much I love it when Will does his monkey walk.
I love it. more than a lifetime of bacon.
And yes, when he does it, I sing the “Wanna be like you-ou-ou…” song from Jungle Book…
I’ve been getting sad eyes lately. Apparently his antibiotic didn’t get rid of both ear infections (or it did and then he got another one) and now he is back hittin the meds. Poor guy.
Now let’s talk about the trainwreck that is my life lately. First up is the small improvements we have been making on the house lately.
We have had quite the to-do list for the new house and the old house and literally it feels like the world is exploding into pieces of chaos and we are chasing those pieces down and then desperately grabbing at the other pieces, juggling everything at once and trying not to drop anything. It’s like survival by the skin of our teeth.
A week ago they started installing the furnace….if you are new to join us, our new house was a foreclosure and it qualified for a rehab loan. This means that there were items that required ‘fixing’ by a government approved contractor immediately upon closing…one of these items was a basement furnace. I got a couple pictures of the space before…where it looked like a cartoon telephone tube type porthole…
to finally this fully functional furnace with what looks like a high ponytail of dredlocks:
Hopefully having the furnace now means that we will have less chance of any reoccuring mildew issues. Although washing walls with bleach means supersoft hands…so there is an upside 🙂
The other big item that was on our contractor’s list was the water heater. The house didn’t have any hot water while I was attempting to clean it…so you can imagine that I became quite familiar with carrying jugs of water from one house to the other and my neighbors became quite familiar with seeing me head for the woods (no running waters equal no flushing toilets). Thankfully it only took four days to get one installed. I will never take running water for granted again.
Our new water heater is electric (which we found is not as efficient at gas) but it is an energy saver model and with the rising gas prices, we hope to save a little bit in that respect.
The garage was robbed of it’s garage door openers….
So the first chance we got, we scored some garage doors in order to utilize the space while we moved. We figured that the garage would be a perfect ‘dumpin ground’ – so that as we unloaded the stuff from the move, that we just have to open the doors and all of our junk would be safe and sound from any rain or weather while we figure out where to put it. It also means less trips up and down stairs – my knees are thankful. I gotta also thank Boots…my sister’s main squeeze for helping out with the installation.
Before we officially moved in, we knew that it would be vital to invest in new appliances for our kitchen. A fridge is absolutely necessary with a little one in tow…so we couldn’t waste a single moment in our search.
For the fridge, Jeremy wanted a french door style. I have never been unhappy with the side-by-side style, so we knew that we were in for trouble with two differing opinions. In the end, I gave in to my darling boytoy. Let’s remember that fact honey when I ask for a little girl, mmkay?
The dishwasher was a compltely different story. We were totally on the same page. We wanted a dishwasher that met only two qualifications. One – it had to clean well. Two – it had to have the controls hidden. Will is really into pressing buttons. Enough said.
We found the best prices over President’s Day weekend at HHGregg. They were willing to negotiate prices…which most places don’t do…and offered next day delivery. I can share more details later.
Yes – this is the delivery guy. And yes, you can imagine me with the camera saying “work it! oh yeah! say I make this look good!”. that really happened.
What else happened is the carpet. We decided that it was the best decision to replace the carpet in the bedrooms right away…before we moved in furniture and made a small job into a gargantuan job.
I can give you the full-blow-by-blow later…but just know that we took out the weirdly colored carpet and brought in a neutral (and supersoft) new carpet.
Now for some moving info….
first, shortly after our Valentine’s Day closing, we decided that every single time we visited the house, that we should load up the vehicle with odds and ends.
Will (and Cole) became quite familiar with riding alongside Laura Lynn boxes and random furniture.
We originally thought that we would be those normal folks who rented a moving van and would buy boxes and bubble wrap and organized and labeled and all that. Then we got to multiple trips everyday back and forth from the house….each time moving small boxes and random vases and teddy bears and christmas decor.
Then we got to thinking….maybe we could just do it all without a van?
And so we did.
It was crazy….seeing the house filling up with items….seeing the other house shed picture frames and chairs and dishes.
Stuff landed where it did….nothing in order…nothing planned. Just stacks of pillows in a corner, baskets in the corners, bedding in the middle of the rooms.
We got help from different strong friends for the big stuff…
But most of the little stuff just made it’s way into any free square foot we could find. It was this mess of chaos. A trainwreck in every sense of the word picture.
One thing I am very thankful for in the new house is big opening doors. We had zero trouble getting stuff in.
Every night our home was getting more and more bare. It was sad. Very sad. I had moments where I cried…times of weakness…I even considered chaining myself to the big oak out front…and asking Jeremy if tearing up all the papers on the new house.
During the day I was cleaning, walking Will in the new neighborhood and by the creek, administering meds, packing, unloading, crying and reminscing….and at night, we slept on the mattress on the floor. It reminded me of our wedding night. The first night in the house looked very much like this. We had no furniture…just a mattress on the floor and twinkle lights strung up on the walls and rose petals strewn everywhere. My boyfriend is very romantic and I will always hold that memory dear.
Will was a champ during the entire process. Even with a slightly hormonal mother and two ear infections and bronchitis, he would attempt to take naps anywhere and everywhere….although most of them were in the carseat on the way back and forth to the new house. I did manage to capture this picture of him just after his last nap in his old room. I love the grin with the paci still in…(but is there anything that this kid does that I don’t love?!)…
Jeremy worked. That’s it. He worked and worked and worked. He worked his job like he always does – a long day with focus and commitment. And every free moment, he squeezed in fixing, moving, driving, picking up and putting down. He worked like a mad man.
Our very first night in the new house we snapped a photo. It was random and lovely and hilarious and exactly perfect. We set up the camera and the timer was counting down and I cuddled up to Jeremy…his hand was around my back and I pulled him closer…not realizing that I put my hand right on his ‘goods’. He of course was like oh-la-la…and I couldn’t help but laugh. The fact is that even though we were both dead with exhaustion, boys are never more alive than when you grab their youknowwhat.
We had friends over Saturday to help set up some stuff…it was so nice to have company…and to create memories in the new house. I think that is what I miss the most and what I look forward to the most….memories. I am nothing if not ridiculously sentimental…and I thrive on a room spilling over with memories. The matching jackets of Will & Ethan are definitely getting added to my memory-bank.
Monday morning, we handed over the keys to the new residents of our old house. I have a video of the empty house…it’s strange and foreign to see it that way. But I couldn’t have asked for a more special family to live there. They are literally an answer to prayer…for a lot of reasons…but mostly because I feel like the house is loved by them as much as we did. It makes handing over the keys to our ‘first baby’ a wee bit easier.
Of course, I did take a moment in between all the crying and moving to break in the new neighborhood…yes…I picked my new neighbor’s trash and am proud of it. I found quite the treasure too.
We also had our very first houseguests. Our friends Brook & Kent came over to mount our television and share in a good ole fashioned friend’s night. They have two little girls who joined Will during bathtime. He didn’t enjoy bathing with two girls as much as I thought he would. I can’t wait till they are teenagers. Will is gonna brag about this photo then.
So that is what is up with us lately. A little bit of everything. And a whole lotta mess.
Oh and I did want to talk about one thing while I’m talking about our trainwreck of a house. I know that many of you can’t wait to see what we do to change the new house. And I want you to know that I legitimately would love to do everything right away. But we are not. We are not planning on even unpacking for a while. We have made very little plans. We are not even planning on making plans. Our only plan is to live with it. Live with the mess. Live with the boxes and the bad paint colors and the crazy knobless cabinets. We are gonna live with the trainwreck. No design plans. No making perfect. No decorating. And after the dust settles and we do make changes…they are going to be with things we already have. Maybe with a little tweaking. very cheap tweaking. I know this news is a little disappointing to some of you hoping that we would tackle our new digs quickly….but this is our reality and with new carpet and new appliances, our bank account is screaming in pain at us.
Now that you got the good, the bad and the ugly…tell me…anyone else attempt moving without a van? Or have a lovely sleeping-on-a-grounded-mattress memory? or perhaps buy something from HHGregg or get new carpet recently?
You make me both cry (empty first house) and laugh (the pic of you and your BF charmingly smiling at each other on the sofa and the way you told the little story behind it :)).
Although I follow your blog daily, and am always excited to see any changes you make in your home, I must say I reeeally like the idea of not going into any redecorating your new place the first couple of weeks (months?). I always like to live in a place for a while, see how it works, how I move around it, where I need what to be handy, before I start really moving things around and decorating. Moving to a new house is always a big change (duh me) and it’s ok to leave some time to get used to the new surroundings (and organize your things around, like here goes the cereals, and the glasses go over there).
Take your time, enjoy your new place, get to know it, and keep writing to us, even if the latest news is just a brand new level of dust – I like your writing style, whatever you talk about! Big virtual hug to you.
I was sooo EXCITED to this post : ) I just love how real you are my dear Katie. You say it like it is, shoot (pics.) it like is and live life as it’s presented. With that being said I look foward to your family’s musings everyday. I love it that we aren’t the only ones that recently moved Flinstone style —(look out bedrock)
Hugs to you all sista!!
Tam— a.k.a. Fred & Wilma –teehee
I absolutely loved your post. You have a way of writing that just makes me feel like you are talking directly to ME and that we are friends. Honestly, I think of you as my friend, and you don’t even know me. My good friends just moved out your way, so maybe one day, when I go out there to visit, maybe you and I will actually be friends! 🙂
Congrats on your beautiful home. I love the picture of you and Jeremy cuddling and smiling. What a perfect photo. You should print that up and frame it.
I love love love your new house. I love my house I just bought 6 months ago, but after following your house journey I’m a little jealous! The moulding is what gets me. It’s just so amazing. I want moulding like that.
You so deserve this!
Congrats again, and thanks for allowing us to follow along on your journey with you and be your friends.
exciting!
I totally agree with the comments above, I think everyone understands not being able to go at every project immediatly and at full force. None of us have the funds to redo a whole house! Making a home takes time, and imperfectly perfect memories. Thats what makes it feel all warm and fuzzy everytime you walk in the door 🙂
And did you know that moving is one of the best workouts you can do? Theres always an upside somewhere!lol
Katie: You nearly had me in tears as well with this post. So real and so down to earth! I love love love yal’s picture together and that is SO something my ‘boyfriend’ and I would have done! I too read your blog on a daily basis and hope one day when we have our first child KBP will do our photos! 🙂 Love your work. Thanks for keeping it real everyday and letting the rest of us in on life in the Bower family!
Bower Family,
I am so thrilled for this chapter of your life. Congratulations on surviving the transition. Thank you for taking the time to update your internet family with how you are doing. I hope you all can rest and sweet Will gets better soon.
HAHA! Im up feeding my five month old in bed next to my Sleeping husband and I almost laughed out loud when I read about taking the picture. You are hilarious.
Anyways, reading this I was getting teary eyed! It made me remember when we had to move from our first home, well apartment, and it was really hard! And on top of that my dog died the day before the moving truck came. Not cool.
AND your precious little boy is sick! 🙁 I will be praying for you guys. I really will. I don’t even know you, but I love reading your blog everyday, and I love that you are so honest and real.
Keep looking to Jesus for strength, He’s with you and His grace is sufficient.
God bless you!
So glad you all are in the new house. I know it is so exciting yet exhausting at the same time. And doing all that with a baby- I know how that is! We moved into our house last April with an almost 4 year old and a 4 month old, so I know how it is. We did it without a moving truck too. We only moved about 5 or so minutes away, so we just used my father in law’s pick up truck and made many trips. Cant beat not having to rent a truck! I know living in the mess is hard, but you will work on it little by little and be able to take your time figuring out where everything goes. Heck, I am still doing that almost a year later. I have new dining room chairs coming next week that I am excited about. I still have so much to do in my house and am just trying to be patient and we just do what we can when we have the money. I love the new carpet. We pulled up all our old carpet to expose the hardwood floors, but have a couple of areas that we decided we want to put carpet down and I am thinking about the one you used b/c it looks like what I was wanting and it is cheap!
Will is just adorable. He reminds me a little of my littlest one who is now almost 15 months. The little smiles, the feet… So cute.
Hey Katie – First, congrats on the big move. What carpet brand and style did you guys end up going for?
It is amazing that you did all that you did with a sick baby. What a trooper he must be? I can understand waiting to make any changes to your house. I really like the idea that you are going to use what you already have. Plus, it will be neat to see it used in new ways (wouldn’t it be fun to compare where you used it in your old house versus how you put it to use in the new house?) That makes the challenge of decorating more fun as you find a new place for things and you don’t have to spend any money!
To say you’ve been busy is an understatement!! My goodness you must be exhausted. Everything is looking great, regardless of what you think. It’ll happen with time 🙂
We bought a couple appliances from hhgregg last year and were extremely happy with them. Still are, as a matter of fact. Glad you were able to use them, too!!
hey girl….great job. we moved right before christmas. moving is so much work! i feel you. i was so emotional about it as well. i’m not a big fan of change so it took me a full month to get over it. we had lived in our previous house for 5 years so it was chock full of memories. anyhow, take your time…rest. that’s so great that you have no plans. that’s such a good move. blessings! enjoy your new house!
sara
You’re right – the monkey walk is pretty darn adorable.
Congratulations on the move and the new house. The Army moved us cross-country this summer, and I loved the final moment when everything was off the truck and piled into the house. However disorganized, it meant we were over the last hurdle and able to start creating a home again. Enjoy!
Hi… I am new to your blog (referred by Young House Love)… anyway… I love your post. I have move two times already in my marriage and I have only been married 2.5 years. Both of these moves were across/semi-across the country so we had to use a moving van as multiple trips isn’t really an option ;-). The second place we lived (Maryland).. and recently moved from was awful at first… and although we weren’t sleeping on the floor .. we were sharing a full-sized mattress that was over 10 years old.. heehee. It was still sad to move from there…
Anyway, we just bought our first house in TX…and I know the feeling of “wanting” to do everything at once but not being able to… I so can relate!!! Oh.. so maybe you mentioned this in a previous blog… but what does your hubby/boyfriend do? My husband also works from home.. so I was just curious. 🙂 I am totally loving your blog.. can’t wait to see what is to come!
We moved almost a year ago and didn’t hire a mover or a van. Instead we had 4 or 5 men from our church volunteer to help us out with their trucks and trailers. We kinda looked like the Clampett’s moving in I am sure. We had furniture, mattresses, tables, boxes and all sorts of other things piled high on those trailers. It was a sight but it was cheap!
Totally understand how exhausting it is to move with a small child. My son is 3yrs old now and from the time he was born we have moved 3 times [first two were rentals, the 3rd time is our first home so we’re staying put for awhile lol]. We didn’t have a lot of help either because our friends were always working and our family lives to far away. Luckily this 3rd time my Dad flew down from the Northeast to help with the move. It was hectic because we closed on a Friday and our landlord wanted the keys back that Saturday morning… We literally had ONE day to move an entire home and because the commute between the two homes was 30-40mins, we had rent a large U-Haul truck and luckily we got the entire house in that one truck. It was chaotic to say the least!
Glad to hear you guys are now in the new home! Totally understand not wanting to unpack or do any planning for awhile. We’ve been in our home for a year now and are just now starting with plans lol 🙂
Katie!
Things are looking great. Im sure you are OVER-WHELMED!!! I have two seconds to write (10 day old baby yelling she needs a new dipe) but we recently got a french door fridge with the bottom freezer. We DID NOT want one. We wanted the traditional side by side with no water hookup. Let me tell you how hard it was to find the NON bottow freezer type. Eventually we said to ourselves…well, if theyre making them this way so much they cant be all that bad. Well, three months later, we LOOOOOVE it. I never realized how often Id open both sides just out of habit while looking for a snack? You will realize how little you need in the freezer, but oddly how often you used to open that side. I hope you like yours too, just wanted to share our situation with ours!
Good luck. Breathe, and I cant wait to see what you are working on next.
Lynn
Oh Katie, once I moved about 10 times in the span of 18 months and I can TOTALLY relate to your just moving things a truckful at a time and everything being all over the place. It’s a little more chaotic but you’ll get it all sorted out in plenty of time. Congrats on your new place!! : )
Thanks for sharing. We just moved into our first house last summer and I vividly remember the mess and mass chaos that followed. We’re now experience that screaming bank account feeling too as we’re in the process of re-carpeting two rooms and re-doing one of the others. Slow and steady is the best way to go because being in debt just isn’t worth it. Happy Thursday!
I am so excited for you. You are in your Dream Home, making new memories, and starting this chapter of your life. AND you only have to do this ONCE. (Being an Air Force wife, I get to do this every 3 years -orless).
I was so sad to see the empty picture of your living room, but then again, I’m maybe too sentimental. I cried when we left our first house in Colorado, and I’m sure in a year I will cry when we leave our second house in Oklahoma (even if we do get to move to Germany).
Congratulations Bower family!
Of all the pictures on your blog this one of you and Jeremy is my favorite ever.
Taking your time with the house will absolutely save your sanity. We bought our first house this past August and I only unpacked my last box in February. Take it slow and enjoy putting your house together, it’s a home not a museum.
I don’t know how you military wives do it…Just another reason why your whole fam is my hero!
xo – kb
I love your blog and how honest you are! You are entirely too hard on yourself. Moving is a GIANT Pain. And just think you won’t have to do it again for a VERY long time, if ever.
My Mattress on the floor memory was when we bought our house 2 years ago. Our closing date was in January and our lease on our Apartment didn’t end until April (paying a mortgage and rent at the same time is not fun!) But we would spend weekends at the new house on a futton mattress on the floor so we would be their early to get all of the painting and moving in done. It took us 2 months to move in, but I think we did pretty good considering we had a 6 month old at the time.
Hi Lindsey! Welcome! Any friend of Sher’s is a friend o’ mine 🙂
And Jeremy works for Equifax. You know…the credit score people. Not the most exciting work in my eyes but he is extremely good at what he does….and incredibly hardworking…so it’s nice that he works from home because otherwise I would probably never see him 🙂
xo – kb
I think you are wise to live with everything for a while. Opinions, ideas, thoughts, desires, etc. can really change after you’ve been in the space day-in & day-out for a while. We can all wait. Your new house is beautiful and will be a wonderful home.
You nailed it right on the head – I am not a fan of change. And this time it was a huge change. Hopefully you are feeling more and more like “home”…please tell me it happens that quick?!?
xo – kb
He’s such a trooper. My skinny little sideburnless trooper.
xo – kb
We ended up going for the Martha Stewart brand carpet that I talked about in my last DHBSR 🙂
xo – kb
Gosh I wish that I had lost a pound or two…but my stress eating was totally out of control. Hello box of Krispy Kreme. Goodbye box of Krispy Kreme.
xo – kb
Congrats on the big move!! And take your time getting settled, we can wait 🙂
I’m so living your life, Katie! Well, a similar version where everything is up in the air. We’re getting our first home ready to go on the market in the next two weeks, we’re looking for a new house in a new town away from all our family, my husband is away at his new job during the week while I’m working full time here, coming home each night to our 2-yr-old, and I’m 34 weeks pregnant. It’s hard to keep it all in perspective, but the memories and family are what it’s all about and it seems like you’re doing a good job of keeping that the focus. Good for you! God’s blessings to you and your Bower Power crew!
Your post makes me exhausted just reading it! It also makes me sad to see your old house go, and happy to see what your new house is going to look like.
When we moved into our house a bit over a year ago we just used our truck, a friends van, and lots and lots of trips, so chaotic! Hopefully y’all get settled in quickly!
xo- c
Like you, we closed on our house a few weeks before we had to be out of our previous place (ours was a townhouse, rented). And we definitely had that ‘rule’ about bringing stuff over. Every day after work, we’d go to our townhouse and load up the cars before heading over to the new place, then unload everything from the cars before beginning the evening’s housework (for us, it was painting the ceilings and a few other spaces that would have been difficult with furniture in the mix). We still needed a UHaul eventually, but only for the big stuff (since we don’t have a pickup or trailing for our mattress, couches, etc). Good luck in your new home. You’ll create tons of memories!
So glad you’re moved in- now, breathe! 🙂 Will is such a sweetie, you are blessed in so many ways! Love hearing your stories, and though I can hardly wait to see what you do with this gorgeous house, please don’t feel pressured to go beyond what you are able. I can tell you from experience, when you get in a rush, you end up redoing things after you’re settled in and realize what really works for your new space.
Wow! But you wouldn’t be doing all this if if wasn’t. totally. worth it. You’re new house looks like an absolute dream. Also, just curious, did the couple end up renting or purchasing your old house?
As for moving.. my husband and I have done our FAIR share, with a mix of stuffing all our worldly possessions into an Element (did you know you can fit a queen mattress into one of those things?!) But when we moved into our house last year (after doing a we-don’t-plan-on-moving-for-at-least-10-years dance) we used his company’s cold truck. Yes, it was free. If you don’t count those extra pairs of gloves we had to buy because all our stuff was cold to the touch.
I love all the pictures. So glad you guys are in the house and I totally understand not being able to work on new things…just enjoy it and do what you can when you can. It’s going to take a while and it doesn’t need to all be done all at once. Just the important stuff done that makes everything livable. 🙂 It’s going to be a great experience.
I would have cried leaving that old house, I’m not a big person on change either….but I know it has to happen sometime….we don’t own a home, but we hope to buy next year and we can’t wait!! Soooo do you think Jeremy can bump up my credit score to something awesome??? hahahaha totally kidding.
You guys are making great progress, in my opinion! We moved two years ago when our son had just turned 1. We sold our first home faster than we anticipated and were forced to put most of our belongings in storage for 3 months while we rented a 1000 sq foot condo while our current home was being built. We moved everything in 1 day, had boxes everywhere and slept and showered in rooms with no blinds or curtains. Oops! But like you guys, we lived with it for awhile. We did paint our great room and most of the first floor right away b/c we absolutely knew what color we wanted and we have 20 foot ceilings in the great room and foyer. It required scaffolding and we wanted to do that before we had furniture and toddler toys everywhere. But we aren’t even close to being done with things 2 years later and that’s ok. We’ve made better decorating choices than we did in our first home, and that’s b/c we let the house grow on us first. You’ll get there! 🙂
Awww… I hope Will feels better soon! Poor baby.
I just bought my first house end of November and we did the say thing you guys did – any chance we got we filled the car with our stuff. We still ended up needing a moving truck though… treadmill, dresser, etc needed a larger vehicle. Your house is beautiful though I know once you get everything situated it will look lovely!
I can relate – my hubby is always ready for some lovin’!
Felicita
Great post, Katie! Can can I be nosy and ask if you got an extra discount from hhgregg for you mentioning them in your blog? I am curious, of course you can always tell me to mind my own business! 🙂
What a sweet, heartfelt post. And I can totally identify!! When we bought our first house it was a registered “vacant house” in our city, so we had to bring everything in the house up to code before the city would issue a certificate of occupancy (letting us actually move in). Our house is 87 years old, so there was very little in the house that was up to current code! We spent 8 weeks working around the clock so that we could move in before we lost our lease on our rental. It was exhausting and emotional but OH SO WORTH IT! We did the same thing, though – collapsed as soon as we got that certificate. We didn’t do anything else to the house for quite a while. (like, a week. lol. there was still so much to do : )
But yes, it WILL feel like home. Soon. You’ll be creating so many new memories so quickly. You can do it, Katie!
I get weepy thinking of leaving our first house and that’s not even for a few years yet! Your new house is so amazing and worth all the change though, I drool over all the pictures and know exactly what you mean about being at peace when you’re off in the woods! What became of your first house, did you go with renting it or did it sell? I hope Will is feeling better soon, I’ll keep him in my prayers. Enjoy the new house!
Ditto everyone Katie. Loved this post and I’m so happy for you guys. I hope Will is feeling better for both your sakes! Side note, please do a post on what fridge/dishwasher you chose and your whole experience with HHG. I want to know how to deal with them and get a good deal! Also please review your MS carpet. I’m in the market.
Wow Katie, you’ve had a crazy couple of weeks. Wishing you guys all the best and a few relaxing weeks at least 🙂 you deserve it!
Love the pic of you and jeremy, will in the moving boxes, and the cutest little monkey ever 🙂
We moved into our rental house using my Subaru. That’s it. Bit by bit. And then when we bought our house we used a small Uhaul. Made a big difference.
Great post! Your impromptu photo with your husband was hilarious! Thanks for keeping it real 🙂
Haha. I think that they would probably be like “Who are you and what is a Bower Power?”. Seriously. I tell people that I blog and they are like “what’s that?!” Remember, we live out in the country…I would probably get a discount if I could announce them over the loud speaker at the auto auction…but a mention on the blog? they would laugh me outta the store. all that to say – NO…no extra discounts on anything here. And just so everyone is clear…it is like a law now that bloggers must reveal if they got something for a mention on any blog.
xo – kb
I wish he could…and yes – I do threaten family members with promises that Jer can change their credit score (even though he can’t even if he wanted to).
xo – kb
No God’s blessings TO YOU! Seriously…I would not be able to do this 34 weeks pregnant. Unless we hired someone to take my place…like a big burly man who could have lifted several boxes. Although his place breastfeeding Will would be a little awkward for Friar Tuck 🙂
xo – kb
Katie! WOW, my husband and I are in the process of building our dream home and it is expected to be finished in the very same week as our 2nd child is due to arrive! I was feeling very stressed and overwhelmed (not at all related to pregnancy hormone imbalance, right?) and then I came across your blog as you began to post about your home adventures. First, you are a crazy superwoman! I have not laughed out loud that much in a long time! I sympathize with you and totally admire you at the very same time. Thanks for making me realize that if you truly love the new home, then all the stress, decisions, and bumps in the road to getting in the darn thing are all memory makers and worth it in the end. Congrats on getting all your life’s possessions into the beautiful Dream House and I wish you the very best on making it your home!
Congratulations on the big move! You are going to love your French door refrigerator. 🙂 We just got one when we moved and it is insanely awesome.
Can I be the first to say I’m glad you aren’t doing everything right away? I always see home decor/remodeling/renovating blogs and think HOW are they doing all this NOW? Do they have endless amounts of money? A money tree? So this makes me feel like you are normal, like me! Amen to taking it easy! It’s already a really super gorgeous home so it’s not like it’s going to be hard to live in:-) Enjoy!
Wow! So much work but so glad you are getting settled. I think everyone will just be interested in seeing where you put the stuff that you already have and how you tackled negotiating discount appliances 🙂
Awhhh what a great post… I’m sure its such a catharsis to write and take pictures of the process. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
My little Mary crawled just like Will… The Mogley walk…. I always said she was just too good to crawl on her knees:-) She only did it for about 6 weeks before she went straight to walking so watch out!!
I made my last move without a van (or movers) and I hated it. I don’t mind moving without movers, if I’ve got some help. But, when my boyfriend and I bought our house/moved in together, he insisted that we could do it without help, and without a van (he drives a pickup). We closed on our house on the 15th, but each of us had leases running until the end of the month, so we could take our time in the move. At the same time, we had plenty of work to do on the house to make it livable–the bathroom sink was cracked, and therefore unusable; the carpet in our bedroom was urine stained (from a cat) and the subfloor was weak; there wasn’t a working stove; the entire house had to be cleaned–I mopped to walls(!); and the list goes on. So we made our move very much like yours, bringing over a load of stuff and then staying to do some work while still going to work everyday. Even making multiple trips in some nights, it took over a week to move everything–it was pretty brutal.
Oh and 4 years ago this week I was packing up my first house that I remodeled to move back to my hometown. I put everything in storage, stayed with my parents and started my new job. The new owners closed on the house and I started to go househunting although I had to put it on hold for a few weeks cause I went into labor;-) Yup…. I sold my house, moved, started a new job and had a baby all within a 2 weeks time period. Not something I would ever want to do again or recommend to anyone else:-)
You are so hilarious! You made me feel that aching feeling in my chest and laugh in a matter of seconds
I feel your pain! I also tend to get attached to the homes I live in. When I moved the first time, I cried like a baby. When I moved the second time, I cried like an even bigger baby. It’s the memories that are sooo hard to leave. We’ve now lived in our current house for a year and it took awhile, but it slowly began to feel like home. Once it did, the sad feelings of what you’ve left behind turn into happy memories. When you start making the memories in the new place, it makes it much easier.
And poor Will…my little guy suffered with constant ear infections for his first 2 years, then he ended up getting tubes and poof…ear infections gone. Hope he’s feeling better soon!
You are totally bringing me back to my own move a few months ago. I was actually leaving Atlanta (moving north!) and the day before I was supposed to leave (the cleaning day) the water was shut off in my apartment complex! It was so hectic and frustrating and we left early and the stuff that wasn’t in the moving van didn’t fit in my car and my cat tried to escape and I pretty much just cried. And then laughed.
Congrats on the big move! You two have done so much in such a short time! Picked out new carpet and had it installed! New appliances, new water heater, etc! Wow, you guys did a TON!
Your new house already looks loved and lived in! Even though the new house is HUGE it looks cozy with all your stuff there! Yea! Enjoy making new memories with friends and family!
~ Ali
I love you, Katie and Jeremy Bower. Because you are real. Keep doing what you’re doing. xo
Thanks for sharing all of this, Katie! I am exhausted just reading it. I have commented on your blog couple of times, especially lately since we bought our first house at the same time that you and your hubs bought your second house.
You may remember me sharing that my husband lost his job about a week before we were scheduled to close. It was a crazy, emotional time for us, especially because we had spent six months building our home and already had tons of memories in it, even though we hadn’t lived there yet. But we pushed back our closing date, reorganized our finances, and things worked out. I had also originally planned to be organized and move everything in a U-Haul, but like you, ended up making several trips in the CR-V and didn’t have to spend any money on moving (except for gas). We bought the necessities — a bed, refrigerator, and washer and dryer, but nothing else. The hubs is still job searching, so we are doing things just like you guys — living with what we have. I so badly want to decorate, buy new furniture, etc., but am being strong and resisting.
Thank you for sharing your hard work and faith! It is so comforting to know that we are not the only ones experiencing things like this. Love, love, love your blog!
Kate,
I am thrilled for you that you are in your new home 100%! I know what peace that can bring (even amidst all the boxes and stuff – that seems to come from no where!). My family, made up of my hubbie, sweet girl and myself, moved to a a small town in Texas, from Chicago, about 6 months ago. Up until a month ago we were living in temporary housing (provided by our church, my husband is a pastor) and it feels so wonderful to have a home again!
I think I can speak for a bunch of your readers when I say, don’t worry about getting everything picture perfect right away! We love going with you in the process and can’t wait to see all the little changes you make along the way! 🙂 It inspires all of us to do what we can, with what we’ve got too!
Thanks for blogging – love the house stuff, Will stuff and life stuff you share!
Sarah
P.S. I had a french door fridge in Chicago (Where we used to live) and LOVED it! I hope you do too!!
Oops! Sorry, I meant Katie! My fingers missed the “i” 🙂 lol
Um yeah. Talk about superwoman…you are pregnant? Enough said.
xo – kb
Aww our littles are so similar! And the funny thing is…Will is already walking…but then outta nowhere he pulls the monkey walk out. It’s like he is going backwards….which is exactly what he did in utero 🙂
xo – kb
Hi Katie,
Congratulations on getting the move behind you! I too am not a lover of change and moving is one of the top “life stressers” out there! So good call on not worrying about diving right into a bunch of home reno projects! Give yourself some time to get to know your house. I really do feel like buying a new house should be like starting a new relationship! 🙂
And on a random note, I actually really like where your green chairs landed in the family room! Even though everything is kind of scattered, it already looks really good!
Holy tamole.
xo – kb
We moved (oh geez, almost a year ago!) and I still have boxes in my garage and basement. We were living with my in-laws when we closed and took our time for the first 2 weeks or so emptying our storage unit and unpacking. Then we realized being that meticulous would take us forever. So we threw the stuff at the in-law’s in random bags and hurried over, dumping stuff in the garage and deciding that hey! we have our first house and we’re going to get excited and enjoy it!!! All of that extra fixing and unpacking can wait! We didn’t unpack the “random bags” until this fall, when my husband finally figured out where his missing sock collection was… stuffed in a pillowcase on the floor of the garage. Whoops.
We did zero interest for a year on our appliances and recently paid our debts, so now we feel we can tackle another major purchase. Just trying to figure out what the bank account drainer of 2011 will be!
As we always say, slow and steady wins the race. Just enjoy it for now 🙂
It’s fine Sarah, some of my closest friends call me Kate…so consider yourself officially a bestie 🙂
xo – kb
Katie, I absolutely loved this post its so “real” and lets everyone know that you have messes just like the rest of us. I know sometimes in blogging I see these fantastic women and they seem to have every inch of their home clean, kids taken care of, and hubby happy, its acutally nice for a blogger star like you to admit that they dont always have everything together, so kudos to you for sharing.
On another note, I see a pillow in your pile that I have been looking for for the past 6 months. I even blogged about it today. Its the white pillow with floral pattern with red orange, blue and a whole bunch of other colors. I have one and two of the smaller version, but I need its twin.
I agree with many of the comments above! This was one of my most favorite posts so far. I’m not sure why, except maybe it’s because you shared all–the good, the bad, the ugly (and the cute! and the funny!) I love that first picture of Will in the box! I hope that he continues to feel better, bless his heart!
We moved without a moving van (we thought we didn’t need one because our new rental is just around the corner from our old one, ha!). It turned out quite disastrous in many ways, like the previous tenant of our new place wouldn’t leave until the evening, even though we had to be out and clean our old apartment by midnight, etc. etc., but lesson learned!) I won’t bore you with the rest. It sounds like you guys were able to manage it much better that we did!
Katie,
I have moved about six times in the past seven years, albeit most of them were from apartment to apartment in college. When I purchased my condo, I had about a week between my closing date and the lease ending at my old apartment…so I had a week to move. I’m a single girl. Well…then I had a not so greatboyfriend who didn’t do all that much to help…but I moved almost everything little by little with my 2000 Mitsubishi Mirage(aka Mitzy aka NOT-A-BIG-CAR). A friend with a pickup truck helped to move my sofa, mattress and dresser. Now that I’ve been settle for over a year, moving does not sound fun…and if moving is in the future…it will be a far one!
Such a new and exciting time! God Bless you Bowers!
Oh Katie! So excited for you and your family… but pretty please don’t stop blogging! You are my absolute favorite blogger. You are hysterical, down to earth, normal, extraordinary, hysterical, a great writer, a beautiful person (outside and guts too), compassionate, and did I mention hysterical. Love your sense of humor. I am so interested to see what you do to that fabulous house WITH THE STUFF YOU ALREADY OWN! I really hope you’ll post stuff like “tweaking.” Those are some of the most inspiring posts!!! I am a stay home mom = just one income = not much extra $ for decor.
-Looking forward to seeing you make that house a home,
Sara
That picture of you and Jeremy is so genuine and sweet…even if the reason for the laugh is a little less than PG.
So exciting! Your post makes me feel like I’m right there, carrying a box. Sounds like living in the house for a while is a wise decision- we’re reeling from our home improvement and working in waves definitely makes it easier on the ol’ bank account.
I also love you emphasis on how your first house is going to be so loved by the new residents, and on the memories just waiting to be made in your new house. So positive! And that picture of you two on the couch- so real, so cute. You guys are just too much 😀
Katie, I love this post, thank you for sharing the emotions behind your move. I also hate change – when I was little I cried when my parents painted the house trim a different color. The. house. trim. What 8 year old cares? 🙂 So I feel ya. But as my dad says, “Home is where the bed is”, so when you snuggle up to your BF at night just think that you are home.
Can I ask what brand of fridge you got and how much it was?
We’re looking for new appliances now – I’m convinced prices are lower now than they will be in the summer when we begin our remodel.
I really enjoy your blog and can’t wait to see the changes you make on the new house. We recently moved completely on our own with no van (or much help) with two kids 2 and under (nursing one) it was ton of work! So worth it but I can actually relate a little. It will hopefully get better soon. Your old home was fabulous so I can only imagine what you’ll do with the new place. Thanks again for keeping your posts so funny and interesting!
I’ve been reading ever since you and Sherry did the video on table settings on YHL, and you’ve quickly become my favorite blog. I always look forward to your posts. I love the variety and the fact that you keep it real.
I’m loving the new header, too!
Moving is exhausting and definitely emotional…at least it was for me! Hang in there and take your time with things. You’ll get there. 🙂
My husband and I have lived in our current tiny house since we got married over 3 years ago. I know we’ll need a new house eventually, but it’s going to be so hard to let go of the place! It has so many good memories!
We move all the time for the Air Force! I totally understand needing to make a new house feel like home. The biggest thing I can do to make it feel more like home is just to start making memories in it. To remember the awesome memories of the old house, but really starting awesome traditions in your new home. A big one for me is holidays. So many people around us go “home” to where they are from for all holidays, but I feel like that just makes it feel even more like a “house” and less like a “home.”
Unpacking usually helps too 🙂
Aw Thanks Katie, that just made my day 🙂
My dad always says to me “This too shall pass” so I pass that along to you. One day you will be comfy and at home in your new house (with everything all fixed up) and youll have to come look at this post to remember how stressed you once were! PS – my favorite picture from this post is the one of the delivery guy – not that I dont love Will pictures all the time – but that delivery guy picture is hilarious
What an emotional rollercoaster you’ve been on, girl! Praying for some great rest for you and peace in the midst of the craziness! 🙂
can we say BUSY????????????????? I love how you keep things so real!!! just remember you will NEVER move again and from now on it is just unpacking! Congrats on your new forever home!!
Girl, I’m glad you came up for air. I’m trying to do the same thing.
The last 3 months have been a blur. We moved, and are still trying to feel settled. We moved into a house that hadn’t been touched since….um 1970. We HAD to replace all of the floors right away b/c it was just nasty. They couldn’t put the carpet in upstairs until 2 days AFTER we moved, so that was fun having all of our stuff on the first floor, but we survived. The tile on the bottom floor wasn’t finished either, so yeah, lots of fun.
I am currently painting, but only b/c of the horrid wallpaper everywhere.
I think you are a smart lady to just move it and let it be.
Rest up!
Oh, and the monkey walk is precious. My little Henry hasn’t started walking yet, but it will be soon, very soon.
I know you are super tired and exhausted and an emotional roller-coaster, but I gotta say I’m WAY jealous! All the excitement and “newness” of a move and the possibilities it holds! And there is no greater feeling than falling asleep exhausted and content after a day of hard (and rewarding/purposeful) work. SO MUCH FUN! Makes me want to move right.now.
But I can’t. So I will live vicariously.
I know you are super tired and exhausted and an emotional roller-coaster, but I gotta say I’m WAY jealous! All the excitement and “newness” of a move and the possibilities it holds! And there is no greater feeling than falling asleep exhausted and content after a day of hard (and rewarding/purposeful) work. SO MUCH FUN! Makes me want to move right.now.
But I can’t. So I will live vicariously. I know, I’m weird.
Hi Katie!
We just moved eight kids in Sept. – While 6 mos pregnant ( on bedrest! ) – with no moving truck! Fortunately we were just moving to a larger house one street away and were able to take two weeks to move EVERYTHING bit by bit via truck! What an experience. The bonus in the beginning was I was doing a lot of work at the new place ( dont tell my OB, please!) so I got to drag kids along to move items while I worked, an a LOT of the stuff got put in the right rooms right away ( but not unpacked! )…. glad we wont be moving again anytime soon is all I can say!
( The pic of you and the BF ala hand-on-junk is adorable. You guys are a gorgeous couple!)
Your new place is stunning, I’m so happy you’re giving yourselves a break and enjoying your new house as is…which is a dang beauty!
This last move we made (about 10 months ago-ish) was the absolute first one where we actually used a u-haul. Every other move I have made since college (I’m only 31 but I’ve moved 11 times or something insane since I left home for college) has been done trip after trip after trip with friends and cars and the occasional minivan. It’s tedious and a bit chaotic, but I’m nothing if not frugal so I’ve always just done it this way. This last time we just didn’t have it in us to move all the furniture we have acquired in the last few years without the u-haul. I hated paying for that truck, but it did save my sanity (somewhat) this time.
And for the record, I hope to not have to move ANYTIME soon. With or without moving vans. I’m so over moving.
P.S. Your story about the “goods” was a classic. LOL. Thanks for sharing that. 🙂
My very favorite pic is you and Jeremy on the couch. Thats a picture that will being you right back to that moment 50 years from now. Congrats on the new house!
Just like ‘Chef Law’ on Top Chef – don’t steal a recipe, and don’t forget to disclose a blog freebie! 🙂
Love your blog, and your new house!
Totally random, but I am JEALOUS that you live in a place where your little one can hang out outside barefoot in March!
I love your blog Katie, your so upbeat and outright! I think the new home is looking great already! How wonderful to take the decorating and unpacking a day at a time. We’ve been doing that in our new home and are much happier for it.
I am green with envy over that gorgeous kitchen of yours, that extra space and high ceiling just screams “come cook for your friends and family”! What a wonderful place to make all of those new memories.
As for moving trucks, we’ve never moved with one until we bought our new home (which is our first house). It seemed like an occasion that called for the simplicity of a moving truck. Plus the new home is a ways out of town where as the old apartment was smack dab in the middle, it seemed more economically and environmentally smart too 🙂
I can’t wait to see you settle in, over time of course…
Sigh…we start moving on Monday & I have packed maybe 10% of what we own! We’re selling our house (the first step in moving away from this area entirely…hooray!) & moving into a smaller apartment for about 6 months (& no longer! I hope, I hope, I hope!). That also means only taking the stuff we actually use & the rest is being sent to the in-laws for storage. It’s so hard to decide what I will/won’t need for an indeterminate amount of time!
Add to that we have rambunctious 21 month old twins, I have to get started on my (very small but still a pain) business inventory so we can do our taxes (yuck & yuck), & I promised to give a talk at church the week after we close (still not written).
I’m starting to get sad about leaving my first home. I’ve been writing a letter for the new owners, telling them all the great things about this house (like the crazy “useless” hillside that sprouts all sorts of flowers from spring through fall) & it makes me so nostalgic! This new couple better love this place!
Totally unrelated, but I had that same Gap polka dot onesie for my boys. I never put it on them cuz I thought it might look girlie…After seeing your little guy in one, I realize I was wrong! What a (masculine) cutie!
& thanks for the ‘last night at the house’ picture idea! I will definitely be doing that (& my DH would be thrilled if I accidentally did what you did).
Totally, totally love this post Katie ~ thank you so, so much for always keeping it real! I’m an Army wife who’s moved from IL to FL to GA back to IL and then to HI and back to IL again 🙂 I’d say our move to Hawaii was probably the hardest ~ we lived in a motel for six weeks while our base housing was getting remodeled and didn’t get our things until the shipping crate arrived a few weeks later. But you know, those few weeks spent on an air mattress or lumpy hotel bed were some of my most favorite memories, just my sweet hubby, our curly-haired little man and me. 🙂 Oh, and our beloved mutt, who arrived a few weeks later after a very loooong plane ride 😉
My handsome husband is currently deployed to Afghanistan right now, and so our little guy and I moved home back on the mainland to be near family. All of our worldly possessions are in storage in HI, except what we could fit in our suitcases and the few priceless treasures I just couldn’t leave behind and do you know what? I discovered it doesn’t matter ~ we’ve made new memories in our temporary rental “home” and although I’ve done my best to decorate it cute, what’s more important is that we’ve realized our material things will come and go, but our family is what truly matters. Only four more months to go, yeah baby! 🙂
Thank you again for sharing your lives with us, I know you probably hear that alot but seriously, logging on and checking my fave blogs sometimes gives me the smile to push through another day (especially if I don’t hear from the hubs that day!) The memories you share with your BF and Will remind me so much of Noah’s first year and the wonderful memories my hubby and I shared. So thanks again girl!
My husband and I moved into our first home when I was 4 months pregnant and we did it your way…small trips across town and with lots of help from friends and family. Of course, I didn’t do much beyond directing where to put things, but there is something ‘fun’ about doing it that way…the memories! Best of everything to you all in this new home.
Ooohh, Ahhhh…LOVE the new header!!
I can totally relate. If you’re ever in the mood (and finally have the ability to stop for a breather again), you can read about some of my first-night-in-the-new-house stories HERE. The moments aren’t always fun when the memory is being made, but at least they make you smile when you look back, right?
Hehehe! 🙂
I am right there with you. I posted a few weeks ago about how we moved in two days and that you could definitely get it done. We also haven’t done much. Ours was a short sale and also in poor condition. Worst house in the best neighborhood that you can afford.. right? Just a few words of encouragement… it will eventually get done. Do a little bit at a time. After the stress of actually getting into the house, it is hard to build up the stamina and energy again. Things will get done. One day you will just be inspired to re-grout your kitchen tiles at midnight like we did 🙂
Congratulations! So exciting, thanks for sharing! 🙂
What color carpet did you get? It looks great!
Congratulations on the new house!! I can relate to the need to just live in the house as is and accept it. I get so frustrated that we can’t afford to just do everything we want to do all at once!! But you have many many years to get it exactly how you want it. It will come together over time.
Oh, and my husband and I moved without a moving truck!! We did borrow my mom’s mini-van. At one point, we had our guest room mattress tied to the roof of the van and it fell off in the middle of a major road. We had to stop the car, run out in traffic, and tie it back onto the car. It MAY have gotten run over once. But…we cleaned it off and continue to use it! It’s still comfy!
Katie,
Congrats on the move! Also, I like the facelift that Bower Power got, I wondered if you’d change it immediately or wait 🙂 I’m sure it’s stressful, but I’m SO jealous! My husband and I have been married almost 9 months and we’re still renting 🙁 but I have 2 more years of college and then we will be ready to buy our first house!!! I can’t wait…so for now I’m living through you 😉 God bless and good luck!
I love how you’re focusing on the memories! After 6+ months of renovations, we finally finished the upstairs of our house and moved upstairs. Monday evening found me making “carpet angels” on the newly laid carpet, and our first night (with the mattress on the floor) upstairs is a special memory for us, too! Thanks for letting all of us in on your special moments 🙂
Congrats on the move! We moved into our house with a U-haul and the help of about 20 fraternity boys – being married to the chapter director kind of has it perks 🙂 I think our moving in did cause some initial alarm with the neighbors as they weren’t exactly sure who was moving in 🙂
We have been living in our house for 3 years now, and still don’t have walls up in our downstairs!! Plus we have been without TV for the past 2.5 years. You deal with what you have, and do a little at a time as you can. We are lucky enough to have such beautiful homes, and even more beautiful families. Everything else will come with time and fall into place exactly how God plans!! Keep up the good work!!
bahahahaha!! I looove the “goods” picture description! You are hilarious {and so right ~ haha}!
I’m sorry things are so difficult right now, what with the moving from your home and having a sick baby, but I know that God will definitely bring you through it and you’ll be so relieved and excited to see everything He has in store for you in this new chapter in your life!
Wow that sounds cheesy but I really mean it. 🙂
Oh my the pics of Will in the boxes are just precious.
I think it is great that you will take things slow with no plans. I just can’t wait to see how you put your old furniture into the new spaces 🙂
Hi,
I just started reading your blog and LOVE it! You are too funny and your son is adorable 🙂 Do you remember where you got your green kitchen rug? It is exactly what I am looking for. Thanks!
As an HVAC engineer I’m very disappointed to see all flexi-duct used for your furnace! That is such a big no no I can’t believe that didn’t put in at least some hard duct. The air is clearly not balanced right because every piece is the exact same size! Even if the ductwork was balanced correctly you couldn’t ever put in manual dampers to make future adjustments easier (you know when you find out one room is too hot and another is too cold) in flexi-duct! Ah this is just painful to look at. Flexi-duct bends there is no way to properly support for a long distance without getting kinks in it…which increases the static pressure…which your furnace can’t overcome…which means the air is not getting to your rooms. And those sides are so easy to accidentally puncture if you ever do any other renovation or maintenance work near them. Flexi should only be used for small ducts running a short distance.
Sorry to say but maybe next time you should go with a higher quality contractor.
Katie, first of all I have to admit: I’m a Bower-Power..holic!!! I don’t miss a day and since my husband works on a rig again, I sit there in the morning by myself with the notebook on the table, reading your newest post and eating some cerreals… That’s quite the first thing in the morning 🙂 I moved this year to the U.S. and can so relate to this post. Leaving memories behind, packing, getting sentimental. I had to pack literally my whole life in two suitcases…pretty small..You think twice what you take with you…Another scrapbook of your friends or the hot new pair of heels.. In my case it was definitely the memory stuff… In the first month our bedroom was full of pictures! Thank God my husband is very understanding and I could move every little thing around…My husband already lived 3 years in our home without me and “decorated” it by himself. I love him, but I definitely had to take charge of this section!!! I couldn’t wait to start painting, crafting, looking for new furnitures etc…But of course our last year was full of surprises… A wedding, trips to Germany and our honeymoon, paying the government for my visa, a new roof and a new window…So of course my exciting projects got pushed away…Seriously, isn’t a new roof so boring compared to a lovely fresh painted and decorated relaxing bedroom??? I hope this year will be a little bit more easy-going…No major things, just small touch-ups here and there…So I can definitely understand your part. One step at a time… I really adore your new house! I love the huge windows in the living room and can’t wait how you guys arrange everything..But just sit back and enjoy the ride for now 🙂
Just curious…why did you decide to use an electric water heater?
Don’t worry, Jenna — the house won’t actually be finished the week your baby is born. Houses always take longer than they say. Always. It’s the law. : ) My husband and I built a home last year, and even though construction started two weeks ahead of schedule, it was still six weeks late. Good luck with everything!
Totally know where you’re coming from on the feeling totally overwhelmed. I’ve been there recently and feel for you.
A couple years ago I moved from a third-story attic apartment all by myself with my dad’s truck over Memorial Day Weekend. NO ONE was around to help and my then finace lived 2,000 miles away – I moved a queen sized mattress by myself! I took apart a dresser to fit it down the curved staircase! It was a disaster. My husband is in the Navy so never again will I have to pack or lift a box, we have packers and movers for that. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
p.s. I know you don’t want to do any projects, but you may consider a hot water heater blanket, which are pretty cheap. It could help you save a few more of those pennies for bigger projects 🙂
Three years ago my husband & I moved into our first house from our first apartment. The basement flooded the day we moved in. Water was gushing in and as my Dad came to tell us the news, I just turned around and walked upstairs. I didn’t know what to do, so I went to another room. My Dad & Father-in-law cleaned up the mess, stopped the waterfall of water, and set up a dehumidifier. Its a funny story now.
As our family left after helping us move, my husband & I ate our first meal together in the house. Enchiladas on the dining room floor. He kept laughing at me for staring at our neighbors house as I tried to get a glimpse of who they were. You should know, I am not a subtle when trying to stare. I bet they thought I was crazy!
Next week will be 3 year exactly since we moved in. So far, each year I’ve wanted to eat enchiladas on the floor on the anniversary of our move in day. However, this year I’ll be 31 weeks pregnant and may need some help off the ground!
Enjoy your new house!
We moved into our first house almost 2 years ago with my dad’s PIG HAULING TRAILER and his truck.
A few months later after meeting new neighbors, they asked what were were doing with that bright blue thing backed up to the garage every day for about a week. Uh, moving in. Oh, we thought you were gutting the kitchen.
Katie,
Take all the time you need to rest and regroup! We all know how taxing moving is!
But, knowing you (via your blog) you’ll be unpacking and organizing before you can stop yourself!
Just fyi, we’ll be thrilled to see you how you unpack and decide where to put your pantry items, etc!
You don’t need any “expensive projects” just your creative self to make you house a home!
Enjoy and take lots of pics!
~ Ali
We (my hubby, kiddos, wolfdog and me) recently moved too! My inlaws just built their retirement house, but aren’t retiring for another year, so we moved in while we fix up our old house to sell and build our new house next door. We bought our house the weekend we got married, and brought all three of our kids home there, so it will be missed because of the memories, but I’m so excited to be moving on to the next stage in our life. We moved without the moving van too – invited a bunch of church friends over (and invited them to bring along any trailers they had) and had a moving party. Got everything moved in one day and the kitchen and bedrooms unpacked as well. Whew! I’m glad it’s done, but there is still plenty of work to be done. Good luck with your new place! I’m sure you will love it there.
So does that last paragraph mean the end to Bower Power? I sure hope not!
Hi Brittany,
It’s from Shades of Light. And I love it too. I think it was called Green Trellis or something like that.
xo – kb
Hi Robin,
That is what our contractor said too…the duct work was already done in the basement (left by the previous owner who just took the furnace). So it makes sense that the previous owner was the one that hired the lesser quality contractor and probably was cutting corners when it came to the basement renovation. When it’s all said and done, we are just gratefull that there is a way that we can make the basement a little more comfortable. It is a bummer though, huh?
xo – kb
Hi Devon,
We actually went with the electric because it was already wired for one. The gas lines were run to the area but to retrofit the fittings and to extend all the gas lines would have quite a bit more and we didn’t want to spend the money right now. We figure that down the road we can always get an additional gas water heater and run both. The great thing about the electric one though is that it is high efficiency (has a small tank and a large tank)…we only heat the small tank all the time…and the large tank is ready to be heated if the need exists. It stinks that we have to keep the electricity running all the time to heat the small one (vs. a gas water heater which doesn’t run constantly) but since gas prices are on the rise, we may just break even.
xo – kb
Ohhh thanks for the recommendation Felicity!
xo – kb
Awesome 🙂
xo – kb
Oh heavens no Erin. You can’t get rid of me that easy. I just was merely prepping everyone for what is surely going to be a test in creativity (vs. spending moolah for things that would look good). I plan on not spending money on pretty much anything. I have so much stuff already (came to realize that on the move!) that I should really be using what I have instead of going out and buying things (even cheap things from Ikea, Target, etc) to create a perfect room. And yes, I use the word perfect loosely 🙂
xo – kb
Thanks for taking the time to post…even though you’re exhausted. I love your pretty green armchairs in their new spot!
We did the whole bit-by-bit thing and it worked out great for us. A little slow going, but we did all the big stuff in one fell swoop so we could have my burly brother for the heavy lifting!
Can’t wait to see which fridge you went with as we are currently in the market for one.
Oh my God! I’m exhausted just reading all of this! Please go to bed!
You two are so strong and awesome. I know your new house will be so blessed.
I have loved reading the journey of you and Jeremy finding, buying, and moving into your forever dream house! I am so happy for your family. 🙂 I love that you will be waiting to make any changes immediately. After everything you’ve done in the past month, it makes so much sense! Rest up!
When we bought our first house (in North Carolina) we didn’t use a moving van either. We used my hubby’s S-10 pickup and my Jeep Grand Cherokee to move all our belongings. What an experience! lol
Darn you, Katie. That reply up there made me immediately think of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OkcucXIuVI
It makes me both cringe and giggle a bit.
My husband and I moved in October, and while we had a truck to move the big furniture (we don’t own a pick-up and all but one person flaked out of helping us to use theirs for a couple hours one day), we moved 80% of our stuff over in car trips. I am talking a teetering stack of books on top of a tray on top of a box of candlesticks. I would walk past neighbors into the new place balancing a pile of picture frames in one hand and a stack of Pyrex baking dishes in the other. (Feel free to judge me for being so pathetic. I felt shame at first, but was overwhelmed by the sheer panic of the move so the shame died off quickly.)
I do NOT handle change well at all, so we’re lucky I didn’t just curl up in a fetal position in a corner someplace. Since I had only been in our previous apartment for a year, I still hadn’t really unpacked in that place and made it home yet, so thankfully some stuff was still boxed up. I have decided even if I have to sell a kidney to handle any rent increases, I am not moving again unless I am moving into a much more permanent place of our own. And I’d love to say I would just hire people to move stuff, but I didn’t in any of either of my 2 other big moves because of $ and because I can be a bit of a control freak when it comes to people touching my stuff.
I, for one, am excited to see how you use the stuff you have (and may have unearthed) in your new place. I’d imagine you do have almost everything you need for it like you say. And if not, those things can wait until you’re ready for them once your bank account has recovered from this financial sucker punch.
Enjoy taking some deep breaths and playing with Friar Tuck and the boyfriend in your new place and we will still be here when you’re ready to show us any progress you make. <3
My husband refuses to rent a moving van! He will rent the u-haul trailer (no mileage fees) and hook it up to his truck. He sees moving as a challenge — seriously, he plans it all out, how to wedge each and every box and piece of furniture in so it’s packed tight like a rubik’s cube, motionless and using every inch of space possible! I act like it’s annoying, but I really love it about him. Plus, *I* don’t have to worry about packing up a truck!
We’ve had a lot to move the last few years — my mom passed shortly after I had my daughter (she just turned 3!) so selling and emptying her house with my husband on hand really eased the blow for me. We also moved into our *forever* house about a year after that.
I’m happy you’re so happy! Leaving our first home, leaving the nursery I specially planned for my little baby buns was the hardest, but our new home is perfect for us! It was “home” the minute I walked in with the realtor for the first showing. Enjoy your space and thank you for sharing it with your readers. Your optimism is contagious and being about the same age as me, I appreciate your perspective so much 🙂
Ok my move in mattress on the floor story goes something like this… Close on first house 5 weeks before my “daughter” was due to be born. Spend 4 weeks painting, replacing, moving… With no u haul or paid movers, carpeting, tiling, etc. First night in the house we wake up and I am pre-eclamptic and have to be rushed to the hospital. Several hours of inducing and one c-section later our beautiful SON is born. Lol. So our second night at home with out mattress on the floor we had a bassenet next to us. :-).
That little monkey of yours is such a cutie!! Reminds me of my brother when he was little….our family and friends always wanted him to do his “monkey show” when they’d visit. He’d get in that position like your little guy and then put his head on the floor and run across the room!
Unbelievable. I pretty much hyperventilated when I read that middle sentence. You are amazing.
xo – kb
Your story reminds me exactly of my past couple of months. My husband and I found our “dream home” (aka. a place we could never imagine owning if it wasn’t a foreclosure) in November. Our house actually resembles your new crib quite a bit except that it’s in the burbs and not the beautiful country). We were scheduled to close on it only two weeks before we got the old house placed on the market…it was drama and stress and a pretty miserable month that followed. We managed to get an offer on the old place the same day as closing on the new one. We decided to keep our old house “staged” until officially selling it, however. That meant we moved by taking several trips with our SUV loaded to the top with junk from closets and drawers. We had to borrow a trailer, later, to get the big furniture, but it was all done without big boxes and a moving van. 🙂
The next few weeks were still chaos just trying to get everything in the new place in a state that we felt comfortable with. Our friends and family were a huge help. Trust me, it will all be better in a couple weeks!
Been reading YHL and your blog for a little bit now – I love both of your styles and awesomeness!
My boyfriend and I moved all of our stuff little by little, but it was just us two and an apartment size collection of stuff. Instead if cancelling our apt. contract early we just paid the first month of the new rental so we had a month to move. Everything smaller was literally corralled in boxes and thrown in my car, bigger stuff in his truck, and we used a friends trailer for one laod with the couch, bed, fridge, table, etc. Every trip we tried to put some stuff away and then use those same boxes for next trip – it was a bit crazy and cluttered, but we made it work!
Thank you for your wonderful post reminding me that it is totally OK to live with the chaos for a while. I’m moving in about a week into my first home, and it was a foreclosure, so there is A LOT of necessities to be done. But as far as the decorating and perfecting, that will all come with time.
I’ve followed over here from YHL, and started from the beginning and just got to this point in time–thus the over-three-years-later comment.
When we moved into our first home together, we too slept on a mattress on the floor (for the first few days). And we were in our sixties!!!
Yes, I can vouch for adventures/challenges even at this age.
Isn’t it amazing how new spaces can spur new adventures?! I mean, mattresses on the floor are like a ritual to break in a house, right?!
xo – kb