Hello beautiful people!
After a much longer than anticipated hiatus from this blog, I am back and have so much to share with you. Today, I thought I would do a little blog post to catch you up on all that has changed, and also provide a preview of the content I plan to share in the coming months.
First, we moved! After 17 years in our last home, we decided the time was right to sell and move to a new neighborhood. The decision to move was not made quickly, though. It was well thought out and deliberate, and involved at least a year’s worth of focused preparation. I’m a planner, and I spent most of 2021 getting our home ready to sell. We had accumulated a lot of stuff after 17 years, so purging and organization was in full force. We also completed a few big projects (new fence, new water heater, new front steps) so the house would be in tip top shape. The home sale preparation process really kicked into high gear last January and our home hit the market in March. I learned so much about the home selling process along the way. Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post on how we sold our home for almost 65% over our asking price (and received 28 offers!). It was a crazy ride, and I have a lot of great tips and information to share.
Our home on moving day
Our new home
Our new home is in the lovely community of Edmonds which is just north of Seattle. It has been my dream to live in this neighborhood since my kids were babies. We just sent my oldest off to college this fall, so I’ve been pining over this neighborhood for a long time. The home is new construction on a nice sized lot (definitely a change from our postage stamp sized city lot in Seattle). The neighborhood is peaceful with towering evergreens and gorgeous views of the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains. The home’s size, layout and flow are wonderful, but it is definitely lacking in the charm and character department (which our last home had in spades). Every single wall and ceiling in our new home is painted the same color beige. It’s a good thing I love to paint! Many of the finishes are “builder basic” which I intend to update. The style and furnishings of our new home will be a bit different, too. More to come on that. I am so excited to make this home feel like ours, and I have already begun to make changes. I will have so many projects to share here on the blog.
Here is a little peek of the front of the new house.
And a photo of my family and me enjoying an evening out in our new neighborhood.
Upcoming furniture makeovers
For those of you who follow along to see my furniture makeovers, I have a couple great pieces to share with you as well. Below is the “before” of my current writing desk. It’s a vintage table that I picked up at the Goodwill for $20. With so many moving expenses, it’s nice to be able to DIY some pieces and save money. Be on the lookout for a blog post with all the makeover details. It’s a beauty!
Some new furry family members
There were a few difficult times last year as well. We lost both of our family pets. Sadly, our cat Louie developed an extremely rare autoimmune disease with no treatment or cure. He passed a year ago in September. Just two months later, we lost our sweet senior dog Kiko. It was definitely a gut punch to lose both of them last year. It was the first time in 25 years that we did not have any pets in our home, and they were definitely missed.
A couple of months after we moved into our new home, we adopted two rescue kitties from the Kitsap Humane Society. They are bonded brothers from a stray litter. Let me introduce you to Pancake and Flap Jack (“Jack”). They are a silly, lovable and playful duo! They aren’t camera shy either, so I’m sure you will see them from time to time in my posts.
Our kitties are the two in the back of the photo above which was taken on the day we adopted them. Just look at those sweet faces.They are rarely apart.
My health journey
In addition to selling our home and moving, I devoted time and energy over the past year and a half to my health and physical fitness needs. I had been neglecting myself in a big way, and I just didn’t feel great. I started eating clean, I began running again, and I rediscovered my love for hiking. I can honestly say, I now feel the best I have in many years – both physically and mentally. I haven’t decided whether I will blog here about my health journey. Let me know if that is something you would be interested in.
With all the recent changes, this blog will look a little bit different going forward. I hope you enjoy seeing our new home, a slightly different decor style, and all the projects that will soon be coming.
Finally, I want to say thank you to those of you that checked in with me. I really appreciated hearing from you! And thank you all so much for still being here with me. It means so much to me that you read my posts. I truly hope that they are helpful to you in some small way.
Much love,
Susan
Good for you! Lots of hard work that has paid off. Your health journey would certainly be of interest. Much happiness in your new home!
Te sigo desde hace tiempo, tus cambios de imagen han sido toda una inspiración para mí y he utilizado algunas de tus ideas. Yo también estoy dedicando tiempo a mi salud, pues me he resentido mucho de la pérdida de mi marido a principio de año y el salir a andar y un perrito que he adoptado me están haciendo superar este año tan horrible a nivel personal. Me encantaría seguirte en tu viaje de salud. Muchas felicidades por tu casa nueva, estoy deseando verla por dentro.
Welcome back! I missed you.
Congratulations on your new home! I’m looking forward to seeing what’s your new decorating style is.
Congratulations on all the wonderful changes in your life! You’ve been busy! I have no doubt you will make your new home spectacular looking. However, I’m going to miss your old house. I can’t even began to count how many times I would scrutinize each and every picture searching out every little detail! But, again, once you start to post pictures of the new one, I know I’ll do the same.
I would also be interested in your health journey if you decide to share.
I’m so very happy for you, and thank you for taking us along with you!!
Such a great lovely surprise to see your blog again. I was concerned when I didn’t hear anything from you. Looking forward to your pictures of the adorable kittens….would also be interested in your health journey….take care.
Susan, I almost sent you a message on Instagram the other day because I was wondering! So glad to hear from you and can’t wait to see your creativity at work in your dream home.
Good work focusing on your health….that’s really the most important part that makes everything else click.
Susan, you’re back! So nice to see your “Saw, Nail, Paint” in my inbox. I look forward to hearing about your adventures over the past months and am so happy about your move and new place.
Yay! I want to hear about it all! Congrats on the new home!
So glad you’re back and look forward to hearing more about your new home, community, and what lays ahead. I live in Portland, Or and have visited your area from time to time. Just gorgeous!
Excited to read future posts. Having lived in Seattle and Mukilteo and working in Edmond, I was excited to be able to picture where you moved to. Edmond is lovely. Enjoy your new house.
Looking forward to following along as you make this house yours! Would love to hear about your health journey as many of us are in the same boat!
Good luck in your new home!!!
Yout kitties are sooo cute
We have 2 rescues too
Missed you, Susan. Welcome back!
Wow. I wondered where you were. So happy you’re back! Congratulations on your new journey!
Following you for the first time and I’m hooked already…I would be interested in your health journey as well as the other ladies are. Can’t wait to see your new home inside and those fur babies are sooo dang cute!! My Baby Girl is also a rescue kitten that my sister had visiting her porch day and night, so I took her in…almost 11 years ago already! Looking forward to your next posts…and thank you for sharing!
A big smile when I saw you in my email this morning. Looking forward to your posts.
Excited for you. Can’t wait to follow your journey. Love your style and creativity! Good luck! Congratulations!
I knew I was missing something all these many months! I am so happy you are back with all of us. Thank you for showing us your new cats. Right now, with the cooler temps, they look like a warm purr-pile. I look forward to your future posts. Many thanks from Palm Springs…
I was thrilled to see your post! Your posts were definitely missed. It will be wonderful to see what you have planned for your new home. Congratulations! I commuted from Kingston to Edmonds for several years and love the area. It is beautiful!
welcome back on my screen. I had been wondering why there were no longer any of your wonderful inspiring posts. Only last week, I was taking about how you staged your last home for Xmas… I am confident you are going to be very happy in this new home which you will no doubt make as beautiful as the previous one even if totally different. Congrats on the fitness program too ! best wishes from South West France where I need to do not only some decluttering but lots of “purging” too !
I’m a NW transplant to Southern California but I always love seeing pictures of the NW. My husband went to college in Seattle. Look forward to seeing your journey in your new home.
Wow! It’s like a whole new life for you! I’m glad you found a home in your favorite locale. Edmonds is a lovely place! I missed your posts and look forward to your changing style. I’ve always loved your painting projects and natural Christmas decor! All the best to you!
So happy to see you again!
Welcome back! Can’t wait to see more of the new house
I’m so happy you’re back and I am excited to see you make your new house a home. I love your style and beautiful painting projects!
I’m happy to see you’re back! Moving is such a huge job! I look forward to seeing what you do with your new home. I too am interested in your health journey.
So glad you are back and look forward to all that you share to make our lives complete, interesting and fun!
So great to have you back! I look forward to your posts!
Love that your kittens love each other! My oldest is also in college and your comment of neglecting yourself struck a nerve. Being a mom and also having one in college and another one on the way and a middle school child, I feel like I have totally neglected myself. I feel heavy and can tell I’ve gained weight. Trying to find the time has been my biggest challenge. How can I fit this in?? Will also love to see what you do with builder grade new home!
Congratulations! So much exciting news! Glad you’re back. I failed at a recent cabinet redo and have been thinking about reaching out for a recommendation.
PLEASE blog about house prep for sale! I too am preparing for empty nesting in 2023. I need to clean up my past 17 yrs.:/
Miss you and so glad you’re are doing well! The family looks great!
Best,
Cousin Gina
Was so happy to see an email in my inbox from you! So many good things happening in your life and that’s great to hear. I always enjoyed your Christmas home tour. Will you be posting one this season? I look forward to it!
Missed your posts and so glad you are back…take good care of yourself and look forward to many wonderful new posts on your new home.
I just discovered you blog today! I’m in love with your house tours and the whole overall vibe. What an inspiration. I can’t wait to read your blog slowly and savor it. Lovely! Thank you.
So many congratulations to you and your family! Child in college, new home, old home sale, health journey, etc. !! Very excited to see how you put your stamp on your new home. We sold our Woodinville home last Jan. (that wasn’t even for sale) so I can appreciate the crazy Seattle market. We are in a rental in Charlotte, NC still looking for that dream home, so I’ll happily look forward to any posts that show up in my inbox. Hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving. p.s. Did the chickens make the move ?! 😀
I somehow missed THIS post in my inbox…can’t imagine how!!! As I said in my comment on your Christmas Home Tour…so glad you are back. So sad that you lost your fur babies, but those two new ones look like they promise a lifetime of sweet love! Can’t wait to catch them photobombing your pictures!! Very glad to hear you decided to take the offensive on your health, before anything goes really wrong !! I’m glad to know you are feeling fit and strong, and ready to start blogging again. Very best regards!!!