… enough said. xo

As I was packing last week, I was thinking about how I’ll adapt my blogging and crafting to my new atmosphere.  The majority of my studio is packed into boxes and stored away, including my lighting kits, supplies and desks (yes, I have more than one – ha!).  I’ve made a plan to pack everything from my studio in the front of the storage unit, so if I need something, I can easily access it.  Originally I wanted to take my entire studio to my dad’s house, but later decided that it would be better to keep things as simple as possible.  I have all of my computers, Wacom tablet, and cameras with me so that I can continue blogging – of course.  I’m guessing that this experience will make me be even more creative and force me to work with what I have.

Now that I’m settled, I plan to focus more on blogging both about Chickiedee and this new adventure that we’re on.  Ron and I have made it a Sunday tradition to go and visit our new home site.  Why Sunday, you ask?  Well, we signed on the house on Sunday May 5^th – Cinco de Mayo!  We took our first photos of the site right after signing and have been back every Sunday since to capture the progress.  Within the first week it went from a shallow dirt hole to a concrete foundation.  Two Sundays ago they filled in the large holes around the foundation and filled the garage floor with dirt.  This last Sunday they laid the pipes and filled in the garage floor and basement with concrete.  Then I snuck over on Wednesday and saw the framing supplies in the front yard!!! It’s making progress.

I’m also excited to work on a few projects that I’ve had to put on hold when we started this new house venture.  One is just about ready to launch with the exception of a few minor details.  It was scheduled to launch in April, but when the house selling and buying fiasco picked up faster than expected; I chose to push the launch date.  I didn’t want to launch knowing that it wasn’t completely ready.  Quality is the most important part.  I’ll give you a hint on what it is: it’s a website that once was private and now will be open to the creative small business community.  Are you excited?!  I know I am!

Well, we’re wrapping up week 5 on the home building process.  I drove by this week to find all of the framing materials out front.  How exciting!  I’m hoping when I go check it out this Sunday that the framing will have already started.  It’s pretty exciting to watch the process, but it makes me wish it was built so that we can move in already!

{Backdoor // You can’t see Brutus, but all three of them had one last run in the old back yard before we left.}

{Kitchen // Our kitchen was small, but got the job done…}

{Stairs + Front Door // Well, not much to say about them… they did their job.  haha!}

{Hallway // Ron’s office was to the left, my studio in the middle and the laundry room to the right.  The bathroom is out of view.  I loved how open the hall was.}

{Master Doors // I will miss the open-feel of our old french doors.  They were the best!}

{Master // Our master bedroom was HUGE!  We actually got pretty spoiled and found it very difficult to find one that even compared in size.}

{Master Nook // This is probably one of the hardest things to let go.  Our cozy little nook was one of my favorite places to be.  I’m sad that I didn’t get more time there, but I do have photos to look back on.}

{Front // With a freshly painted exterior.}

Monday at 10:08pm, we packed up the last of our things, loaded up the pets and drove away from our old home.  I took one last round of photos and we called it a night.  What a bittersweet feeling.  We’ve spent the last 7 years (nearly to the day) of our lives in this house and it was our home.  So many great memories were built here and each one will be with us forever.

Tuesday at 4pm, we closed on our house and it is officially sold.  I had no idea that our old home would sell so fast, but I’m relieved that it did. We met the buyer and he seems great.  I’m sure he will love it just as much as we did, if not more.

We can now check this off of our list and wait anxiously for our new one to be built.  The countdown has already begun.  But in the meantime, we are nesting with my dad and we are so grateful to have a roof over our heads for the next few months.

Above are the latest photos of our new home.  The foundation is in and dry!  We plan to visit the site each week to take photos of the progress.  It’s become our Sunday tradition since we signed the contract on Sunday May 5th.  It’s moving along smashingly.

Then, I just got a new wire in my braces on Wednesday and bought some moving boxes to continue packing.  I spent part of Wednesday evening calling around for free boxes.  It’s a lot harder than I had thought.  Most stores want you to come early in the morning, before they compact the boxes in the recycle bin.  My mom and her friends have been gathering boxes for us, too.  I’m so grateful, because at this point, I feel like there just aren’t enough boxes in the world to pack all of our things.  Sheesh.

Today is a bittersweet packing day.  I’m at the point were I’m packing all of the little knickknacks as well as our photos.  The walls are becoming so bare.  I’m going to miss so much about this house.  I’m going to miss watching the fireworks from our back yard every 4th of July, our raspberry bushes in the back yard, our hot tub, our HUGE master bedroom complete with a cozy little nook, among many other things, including the fact that this has been our home for the past 7 years!  This was our first home that we bought and we built so many memories here.  At the same time, I’m super excited for the new memories that we will create in our new home.  I have tons of photos from our current home to add to our new home.  I’m such a sap!

Since our new home won’t be ready for a few months, we plan on staying with my dad.  He lives super close, so it’ll make moving there easy and it’ll be an added bonus to save a bit more money before the big move.  My biggest concern right now is how I’ll be set up to continue crafting without my studio for the next few months.  Once we move in, I’ll figure it all out, but I know that I probably won’t be able to spread out like I do at home.  Ha!  I’m excited and a bit nervous to see how it will all work out.  We haven’t lived with anyone else in nearly 9 years!

Oh boy, we only have two weeks to pack and move out of our house.  I can’t believe it!  Thankfully when we staged our home to sell, we packed a lot of little things.  This should make moving seem a bit easier, right?  When we packed the first half, we bought a ton of totes, which makes moving so easy.  We need to go buy more totes and possibly gather up a few freebie-boxes, too.  I haven’t been able to find any free boxes online, so it must be moving season.  Any good tips on where to look?  The thing that I’m most worried about is our furniture.  I like HUGE furniture, and it’s going to be difficult to move… and store.

It’s estimated that it will take anywhere from 4-6 months to complete the build of our new home.  This means that we will be between homes for a short time.  It’s going to be a change, that’s for sure, but it’s an adventure!  It’s really the best time to do this, because we don’t have kids in-tow… just three squirrely animals.  Ha!

Needless to say, I have a lot to do right now.  It will all get done – I just have to hold strong to that thought.  What new is going on in your life?

How was your Mother’s Day Weekend?  Mine was wonderful!  My momma and I started it off strong with the Spring Horseshoe Market in Denver on Saturday.  It was so busy and wonderful to see so many of you there.  We didn’t get to take as many photos as we wanted to, but we were able to snap a few iPhone ones.  We got caught in a strong 30-second wind and dust storm, but came out okay.  Then the rain held off until 10 minutes after closing, then it was a down-pour.  We came out okay with little damage to our things, but not all of the vendors can say the same.  My mom was so smart and brought plastic sheets and shower curtains, and we moved everything to the center of the canopy, covered it with plastic and dropped the top of the canopy down to the ground and waited it out.  Once the rain passed, we loaded up and headed home.

Then Sunday morning I called my momma to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day, then Ron and I drove down to Parker, CO to see the model of what our new home will look like.  Then we met my mom and brother for some fabulous vegan food and Froyo.  It was a lovely day!  Such great company and lots of laughs.  My mother is the strongest and most caring woman who I’ve ever known.  I hope to be that strong and loving one day.  There is never a day that goes by that she doesn’t tell us that she loves us.  It means the world to me to have her as my mother.  Mom, thank you for all that you are and all that you do.  You are a blessing in my life and I wouldn’t be where I am without you.  I love you to the moon and back.  xoxo Reebies