From New Construction to 3 Years

December 2012

3 years.

Well, technically it's been almost 3.5 years. But I digress. Can you believe it's been almost 3.5 years since I've done an update on the state of the homestead? Mercy. I thought we'd take some time today to remedy that. 

In case you were wondering, you can find the link to that old update here.

But for now, let's talk 3 years in!

March 2016

Here's the house today. Since that day we moved in, the grass has grown and we've put in a driveway and an entryway. We painted the porch white. We planted some little shrubs in front of the house. But for the most part, there's a serious lack of landscaping.

The hubby and I live on one income, and we try to live debt-free. That means if we can't afford something without charging it, we don't do it. That first summer, we put in the driveway. You'd be downright shocked at how much a driveway will cost you. Besides adding multiple raised beds in the backyard, that driveway was the big expense that first year.

Last year, we planned on fencing in the yard and doing landscaping. Then the computer crashed. And we got another dog. Needless to say, a new laptop and a new bigger bed were what we spent money on last year.

This year, we are planning on building a raised bed along the front of the house and along the side. We are also adding hanging flower pots to the porch. I think this will help make the property look more established. 

December 2012

March 2016

Now, as for the back yard- we are definitely doing that fence this year. We are also planning on adding 2 more raised beds as well as multiple flower pots. We are also getting bees, which I know I've already shared multiple details about.

Week 1

Now

Let's talk interior now! Decor is another thing that we add as we can pay for it. Lately, I've come to a place in my life where I'm done (for the most part) buying meaningless junk for decor. I want my decor and art to mean something. So, the decor is coming along slowly. My goal for this year is curtains  in the living room. 

I guess I could have picked up the house a little more before I took pictures, but you know what? This is real life. My house is not a museum, we actually live here. And we like to be comfortable, and the things we use on a daily basis need to be handy. So yes, there's a jacket lying on the chair that's always there to grab when I take the dogs out. There's dirty dishes around the sink because some days I just can't bring myself to empty that stupid dishwasher till 5 o'clock at night. Dog toys are never in their box, because as soon as they are in there, the puppy pulls them out.

I like my house this way. It feels comfy. 

This wall was one of those first year expenses. It was previously giant and empty, and annoyed me greatly. I still love the collage I made, almost 3 years later. 

The aforementioned dog toy box.

Annnnnnnd the reason toys are never in their box :-)

Week 0

Now

The kitchen and dining nook are some of my favorite spaces in the house. In July of 2014, we added the coffee bar. It's still one of my favorite decor projects I've done. I still have my winter centerpiece and runner on the table, I'm going to have to fix that soon!

Week 1

Now

The kitchen is probably where I spend the most amount of time. Imagine that, huh? Haha. The kitchen is always a work in progress, as I'm constantly finding new kitchen gadgets that I just have to have. There's seeds all over the counter, because it's that time of year. There's a few pieces of mail sitting out, reminders of action needed by me. I hang up whatever I want on the side of the fridge. It just looks and feels like real people live here.

A gadget I just had to have :-) Well worth it, if you ask me!

I know some people loathe, hate, despise, whatever you want to call it- but they hate fake flowers. I'm not one of them. I love the beauty of flowers, but if I can't have the real thing (and let's face it, a house full of real flowers is not cost-effective or realistic for me), I'll take second best. I put this arrangement in an old whisky jug that previously lived in my parents house when I was growing up. They were getting rid of it, and I got a kick that it's from Kentucky. So I took it. And I love it.

One thing a kitchen of mine is never without- wine!

My place where I stick coupons, family pictures, and homemade Valentine's from nieces. Oh, and always something for the Ducks. 

The kitchen is one of the places where the dogs love to check out the world. We stacked their training cots up so they can sleep there and look out the window. They love it. This would also be something that's out of place, but functional in my home. 

Week 0

Now

The entryway is seldom used. Most of the time, we leave the garage door open and guests come through there. That being said, I do love the entryway and I'm most excited when people come through it.

Decor here hasn't changed dramatically since we moved in.

Form the entryway, you can see into our den. We rarely use the den. I keep books, DVD's, and office supplies in here. I store all my photo props in the closet here, but for the most part this room houses a broken elliptical I'm dying to get rid of and another watch post for the boys. 

The boys love it here :-)

Week 1

Now

I'm sure you all remember the great master bedroom update of last year. This is a more functional look at the room. I don't add all the throw pillows on a daily basis, because why? I like to just crawl into bed at night. That feels more... like me. We've already switched out the heavy winter comforter for the more spring-like quilt.

Makeup and nail central.

You'll always find plenty of books in my house too. 

This is my reading corner. Haloti uses it more than me, but I still enjoy it. I think I need a piece of art to hang to the right of that lamp...

Floating shelves by the reading chair.

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I still love my necklace and perfume display. 

My vignette on the other side of the bathroom calendar. Also, functional. 

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Looking down the hall from our room, we have the guest bath and guest room. 2 rooms that have not changed much...

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Now

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So, our old bed is now in the guest room. The guest room has taken low priority over everything else though, so this room seriously lacks in decor. It's a never-ending process, isn't it?

The guest bedroom is Haloti's jam. He loves it in here. 

Annnnnnnd, the puppy loves to bug him in here :-)

So, that's my official tour for the day. Quite a lot of changes in 3 years don't you think? Slowly but surely, that's my motto.

I have an ulterior motive for posting today, a Sunday, a day upon which I rarely blog. I am here to let y'all know that I'm taking a sabbatical. It's that time of year when I've become burned out, and need to recharge my creative batteries. Right now, I'm planning on taking 2 weeks off. 2 weeks to play in the garden, get some reading done, and brainstorm stuff to talk about that I haven't talked about already. I really just hate when my blog starts to feel like work. Because it is most definitely not work. Usually a short break is all I need to get this train back on track.  

Until April, my friends :-)

December 2016.