Surprise! We bought a house!

I think I'm still a little bit in (happy) shock here, because Devon and I finally closed on our very first home!!

The kitchen:





We are so thrilled to be homeowners after many years renting houses with lots of "character" and limited amenities (like, you know, improper maintenance and lack of heat). This new house not only has more than enough room for us (3 bedrooms - including a brand new office for Jessamyn Harris Photography that I am going to make so beautiful! - and an extra room in the garage, perfect for Devon's late night music experiments), a big living room with a picture window, a sweet kitchen with the original 1955 green tile, a garage, and a back yard with several fruit and flower trees already planted. People, we have a pomegranate tree! And several things that seemed like a fantasy (central heat, a dishwasher, washer and dryer hookups, and a big bathtub!!) after years of living without them in our 1920's apartment, have all come to fruition in this new place. Plus a fireplace - hooray!



I am so eager to start decorating and finessing... but of course we have to do the boring stuff first. Keep in mind these photos are all "befores" (as well as taken in a rush in between errands and painting) - hopefully we'll have some great "afters" in the coming months to share!



(If you look at the doorknob, you'll see my keys still in the lock. I looked for them hours later and realized I had never taken them out of the door - that's about how my state of mind is going this week! I also just realized you can see our realtor bending over the steps in the first shot, ha ha, sorry Carol!)

View down the hall to the bedrooms:





The only disappointing factor is that we were supposed to have gotten the keys 8 days before we actually did (the housing market really is so crazy right now, so while it was the perfect time to buy, it required even more patience and paperwork than usual - very intense), so now we are scrambling to paint, clean, and move with much less time than anticipated... right as it is about to start raining for weeks. I am also shooting my last big gig of the season on Saturday, and will let nothing stop me from giving my all (and having fun!) at Amy and Brent's wedding. Rain or shine, it's going to be phenomenal. I am totally predicting a perfect window of clouds-but-no-rain for the afternoon photos... fingers crossed that I am right.

This is my office-to-be, which in reality is almost painted a lovely blue... it's going to be a late night! Expect many many cute details to come (I've been very inspired by Design*Sponge lately, as well as running my ad there again starting this Saturday).



Okay, back to a bit of work before I go buy curtains, get back to painting, and, you know, move everything we own across town. Please bear with me if I take a bit longer to get back to you in the coming days - I'm hoping everything will be back to a more normal schedule mid next week (after the Election - oh my goodness!). I'll be checking my email periodically, but may be without internet for a few days, so if you have something urgent, it'll probably be best to reach me by phone at 707-235-8953.







Big thank you to all of our parents and families - without whom none of this would be happening, for sure!!





A few quick shots of cute Painter Devon taking a lunch break - look at those curls!