Moving and Home Improvements

   Two years ago, I posted that we were moving out to Tom's parents' place. It's hard to believe that it's already two years later, and we've now moved back to our little house on the edge of town!

(this photo is not a representation of the current state of my flowerbeds.)

   As odd as this may sound, we're actually enjoying living back in our humble little double-wide! Don't get me wrong, Dan's house is quite nice, and we really did enjoy our time there! But there's something about taking ownership of a place...even if it's a little tiny house, with fake wood kitchen cabinets and water that requires a Brita pitcher to make it drinkable. It's ours, and we can dream and paint and remodel, and that's worth something at least! 

   Due to some apprehension about how we would squeeze back into the little place, we did a little brainstorming about some changes that we could make. The kitchen, especially, makes me feel cramped, since I don't have a pantry. I also thought it would be very convenient to find a way to add a dishwasher. So, we decided to remove the patio door on the back side of the house. It wasn't hard to give up the patio door, because being on the west side of the house, it let in a lot of sun (and heat) in the afternoon. So, my amazing husband strapped on his tool belt and made this happen:

    The plan is move the fridge to the other side of that little wall. Then, in the spot where the fridge was, we'll install a dishwasher, and a section of upper cabinets. That will be a big improvement, in my opinion! 

   We also painted one of the extra bedrooms, and now Zoey has a room of her own! I wasn't sure how that adjustment would go, but so far she doesn't seem to mind at all...in fact we all seem to be sleeping more peacefully! :)

   I'm hopeful that at some point we will change the carpet to something that matches with the grey walls. I also have a good deal of pinterest-ing and decorating that I hope to do before I call her room finished!

   All of the above happened last week, from Monday to Friday. We spent every evening here at the house, and each time we came, I loaded the trusty minivan with boxes and other debris. So, while Tom worked on his projects, I unpacked. A big thanks to my mom and sisters who spent a day helping me with painting! By the time Saturday arrived, we just had the furniture and one more van-load of odds and ends to move!

   The last improvement that we wanted to make immediately when we moved back, was to change the flooring in the master bath. It was carpeted, and I much prefer linoleum when it comes to keeping a bathroom clean! We found a nice little remnant at Menards, and last evening Tom put it in. (Zoey tried to be very helpful too!)

   While the trim was off anyway, I gave it a fresh coat of paint...that should be going back up before too long!

   So, that's the latest around here. There are still a good number of boxes to go through, and flower beds to make pretty, and walls to decorate, so I probably won't be bored for a while. I'm just glad that the actual move is over, I don't get the biggest charge out of packing and stacking and hauling boxes. :)

   

   A side note: That big house that we just moved out of....it's for sale. So, if you're looking for a lovely home in Northern Wisconsin, there ya go! :)