Blessings on the Homefront

Last month I was doubly blessed when it came to the home(s) front: We received and accepted a very good offer on the house only five days after listing it, and on that same day, I was chosen for a rental that I applied for that I didn't think I had a good chance of getting given the amount of interest in it--but less than an hour after submitting my application, the owner contacted me and said it was mine.

 All in one day, my housing situation--which had been giving me a considerable amount of stress--worked out, with my house selling quickly for above asking price and other generous things, and finding a good new home to move into. I'm a full believer that miracles do happen and that things can turn out well, especially when you've been praying and working hard for them. What happened with my housing situation is proof of that to me. I don't believe that this was mere luck or a random fortunate coincidence. I know that I'm being watched out over because I can feel it and I see evidence of it in my life. As I live right and do my best and keep my focus on the things that matter most (one of which is home and family), I know that my steps are being guided by God, my Savior, and unseen angels.

The house officially went on the market on April 19th. The pictures for the listing turned out well, and these are some of my favorites. 

Fun fact: The grass color was photoshopped because when the outdoor pictures were taken last summer, there was a drought and the grass was parched and brown!

This picture makes me never want to leave! 😍😍😍 The backyard has been such a lovely, peaceful oasis. 

I'll miss having a grand entryway like this...

...and a formal living room like this. I'll have a dining room in my new place, though it's very basic compared to my current one.

I'll miss my spacious eat-in kitchen. My new kitchen is going to be smaller and is still eat-in, though with a much smaller table.

The beloved wall of shelves in my beloved office! 😁

This family room is a big happy room, and I'm going to miss it, especially at Christmastime.

My bedroom is nice and big with its sitting area. My new bedroom is actually pretty spacious too, but not nearly as big as this.

This closet is a dream, and I'm definitely going to miss it. It even has two side closets for more storage. My new bedroom has a walk-in closet, it's just not nearly as big or as fancy as this one. 

The thing I'll miss most about my master bath is the jacuzzi tub! 😭 

A weekly jacuzzi bath is one of my ingrained health habits and I'm convinced that it does wonders for my physical and emotional well-being. I look forward to it every weekend. My new place has a bathtub in the boys' bathroom, but it's not a jacuzzi. This is going to be a big adjustment for me! I've had a jacuzzi tub for 13 years. {Somehow I'll get one again!} But in the meantime, I plan to keep up with my bath habit, just in a regular tub. It will still be nice. (Knock on wood.)

I'm only including this picture of the fourth bedroom a.k.a. "project room" because I did a post about it the other day and I didn't have an "after" picture. Well, here it is. Much less cluttered (and less cheery!) than its original state!

Well, after all of that, get ready to be underwhelmed by a few sneak peek pictures of my new place that I'll be moving into in five weeks! It's a 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath townhouse. It's about 1700 square feet (compared with my current 4500 sq. ft.!), not including an unfinished basement and a double garage. Not bad, and of the rentals I looked at it, it was one of the best, and it was priced pretty well too. So without further ado, here are a few pictures of it!

I plan to make this main room a family room in the front and an office area in the back. I'm hoping to put the piano between the two windows.

I also plan to put my TV and TV table in the same spot. (The fireplace is part of the table and doesn't stay. That tricked me at first!)

There's a back deck and a small yard that isn't really my own, but kind of is. I don't have to do lawncare or snow removal. I'll miss having a private yard, but it will be nice to not have to do those things.

This is the dining area. I'm going to try to fit my dining room table here (minus the leaf and a few chairs), along with the buffet. The buffet will make it tight, but here's hoping that it might work. 🤞

Carpeted dining rooms are NOT COOL! But at least I don't have little kids anymore.

I should have taken a better picture of the kitchen, which is actually pretty nice, just smaller than what I'm used to. This is the non-counter, non-cabinet half of the kitchen (obviously). 

I'm going to buy a standalone pantry to put over there because there's no way that the food is going to fit in the cabinets with my dishes and things. But I also want to have a little bench in here because this room opens right out into the garage. Plus a small table for two to eat at. I have to figure out how to make it all fit without being overcrowded and looking bad.

I'm so glad there's good space in the basement! I plan to put all of my food storage and emergency prep supplies down here (I have a lot), along with the weight set and...lots of other things that I'm hoping will fit!

This will be my room and I'm happy with how spacious it is. It has its own bathroom and a good-sized walk-in closet. 

I'll be able to fit my treadmill in here, which is not where I'd ideally be putting it, but it is what it is. It can't go in the basement because there are hardly any plugs down there and it's unheated. I know myself and if I want to stay physically fit throughout the year, I need to have good access to the treadmill. Along with my bed and nightstand, I'm also hoping to fit my two dressers and my leather chaise lounge chair in here. And maybe a little shelf and small side table. 🙈😲 

In my heart of hearts, I know not all of that is realistically going to fit. But there's that hopelessly (or rather, hopefully) optimistic part of me that's still holding on to the possibility of it all somehow fitting and looking nice!

I'll still have a tall ceiling in the entryway! It will be a small concession to my previous life and my two former homes. 😀

Home sweet home--in a little over a month! 

It's not beautiful and grand and impressive like my current house is. It's very different from the type of house and life that I enjoyed for many years. But it's okay and it's not even necessarily a bad thing. Some things change in life. My marital status and financial situation have changed, and it's okay. I've gotten through the devastation of it all and have come out stronger and better than ever for it. {When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!} I look to the past with gratitude for the good things that have been, and I look ahead with excitement for the even better things to come. I'm looking forward to having a place of my own that will give me a fresh start for the next chapter of my life. And I'm so thankful for how things fell into place with my current house selling well and then getting this one on the exact same day! I believe a few heavenly strings were pulled on my behalf, and I'll be forever grateful. 🤍

Around the House in April

I sold some things on Facebook Marketplace, like this old coffee table from Target...

...and this wicker corner shelf...

...and this IKEA bookcase that we'd had since John was a toddler in our Connecticut house.

There's a lot more that I need to sell in the next month before I move. Fun times ahead!

I was working at the computer one evening and there was a pretty sunset through the window blinds. 

So I went outside to get an unobstructed view.

John's senior sign went up in the yard!

The "For Sale" sign went up the same week. I hadn't been looking forward to that one, but it had to be done!

My reflection in the oven as I took a picture of the clocks, which both said "42" (my magic number of promise and deliverance!).

I'm so thankful that the promise of "42" has been coming true in my life. It wasn't just me being crazy after all.

I've been using this bulletin board for a long time. I'm not sure there will be a good place for it in my new house. No mudroom, no office, limited kitchen space--all prime bulletin board spots. 😕

Scenes I cherish and don't take for granted with John leaving for college in August.

In addition to John, I'm also going to miss this family room. And don't get me started on the bookcase (again!). 😭

Goodbye to The Project Room

 The biggest room--not in terms of size but in terms of contents--that I needed to clean out and stage for selling the house was the fourth bedroom, or as I've called it since 2010 in my Iowa house and in this one, the "project room." This room is a wonderful catch-all space for things like ongoing projects (mostly scrapbooks and mementos for me and the boys), projects I'd like to do (but have been sitting undone for years), books, binders, articles and magazines, pictures, and my owl collection. Also in this room is one of my most special pieces of furniture--the glider chair and ottoman that I've used since becoming a mother over 18 years ago--and a dresser I've had since the age of 13. So it's a special place where I'm surrounded by things I love, and I wasn't looking forward to dismantling it and depersonalizing it--so much depersonalization--but it had to be done, so I took a few hours one day and did it. I made sure to take pictures first so that I'll always have visual memories of this special room.

This is the aforementioned glider, where I like to read on Sunday evenings with my Jane Eyre candle going and my recently acquired wicker owl lit up. I read and then I usually doze off.

This view from my chair made me so happy, especially because of the owl wall. The dresser in the corner is the one I've had since I was 13.

The painting above the chair is of me and my future husband. 😊

My basket of owls, and other assorted owl things. #crazyowllady 😆

The pictures on this shelf are a beautiful gold-leaf picture of Christ that I made when I was younger, the pets I've loved and lost, a cute picture of me and John when he was a baby, and The Wayside Inn, one of my favorite places.

I can't help it, I've always liked stuffed animals and I still like them as an adult. I don't go overboard with them and I only get ones that really speak to me, so my collection is pretty small (though bigger than what's in this picture 😆). I'm a little worried that when I'm an old lady I'll have them lined up in the back of my car window. I don't want to do that, but I have to admit that I may be at risk for doing so. 😂

My owls and my old dresser. We've been together for nearly 30 years!

I took pictures of a few of the things I decided to part ways with but that still gave me happy memories.

I bought this at a gift shop at Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin Dells shortly after I'd turned 30 because I was finding it to be (unfortunately) accurate!

Pretty jars

I don't have the boring and generic "after" pictures of the room but maybe I'll include some in a future post. Rooms are so much better when they have personality and beloved things in them. I'm going to miss having a project room in my next house!