Hello, Stranger! Big Change Number One: Our New House

Big things have been happening in our lives. If you've been here before, you know that we were gearing up for a move this past summer. Himself had the unenviable job of picking out our new home without me. Most of my friends thought I was crazy to leave him with such a responsibility, but our agent and my dear friend, Becky, was on the job with him, so I felt okay. Also, Himself rose to the occasion and picked out a winner.

This photo crops out the garage, which is to the left, and sports new, fancy garage doors. Oh, and the sparkling new driveway is lovely, too.

Honestly, I love it.

However. The interior is nothing like the exterior. Almost everything needs to be updated.

The first week after closing, we all lived in the (finished) basement while we had the floors redone. We put hardwoods everywhere except for three of the bedrooms and the bonus room, which is the schoolroom/study. We put hardwoods in the master. There's nothing like the pervasive odor of polyurethane to make sleeping a challenge.

After we moved in, Himself painted the dining room and the living room. (Photos to follow. Soon.) I started painting the kitchen cabinets in ASCP Old White. This has turned out to be a much bigger job than I thought. My kitchen cabinet doors and drawers have multiplied, it seems. Also, I tried an antiquing treatment that failed miserably, so I had to repaint some of what I'd already painted. Live and learn.

Of course we suffered your garden-variety moving disasters, which no one escapes:

- Our lovely vintage secretary desk cracked down the side and needs repairing.
- A drain on the water heater clogged, causing water to flood into the basement storage room, where we were temporarily storing all our rugs. Our gorgeous wool dining room rug --which we'd had for years -- was ruined.
- The piano seriously needs to be tuned.
- A few items broke, including a coin bank Himself had received as a gift when he was a child.

And now the dishwasher is spewing water all over the floor.

Strangely enough, I'm still happy.

I've been perusing decorating blogs for weeks now, because I need inspiration and help. I know what I like but have trouble making it happen. Our new house needs real help. I'm excited about the prospect, but have unrealistic expectations, like wanting everything done NOW.

Check me out on Pinterest to see what I've been pinning. I've been really busy on my Gorgeous Home board. You might see something you like, too!

We are still living amid boxes and general disarray. Funny how life goes marching on, isn't it, whether you're ready or not.

And in the middle of all this, we also underwent a major lifestyle change, which I'll tell you about in a couple of days. Hang tight.