We’ve been here a year!
A year ago on this date, we were moving in to our home! (All photos below are from move-in day.)
“Where the hell am I going now?” I learned from our first move it’s better to take Data to the new place FIRST and let him explore (rather than take him after the stuff moves in), so we did that at this house.
Someone recently asked me if I have any regrets moving where we did. NOPE. We wanted peace and quiet and we got it. We were unhappy and on edge in our townhome. We’re not at all, where we live now. We’ve had one of our best years here.
Overlooking his new kingdom.
Steven wanted more projects and he got them! We’ve accomplished so many things at the house in the past year, all with his leading and planning (and some times, ALL his labor and very little of mine). And there’s always more to do. He’s happiest planning, solving problems, and building. It makes me happy to see him in his element and help when I can. And I’m grateful he takes the lead with that stuff – it’s not my forte!
I am so happy we hired movers for move #2. They rocked.
We have longer commutes now, and have put many more miles on the car, but a year in, we’re doing fine with it. We’ve adjusted our schedules accordingly and gotten used to it.
Powered by chai lattes!
I’ve also gotten used to running out here. We live off of a country road with a high speed limit – not ideal for running on anytime, really, but especially when it’s dark or the road conditions are bad. But I’ve found safe routes. And I luckily live between two thirty mile+ trail systems, a forest preserve, and a two+ mile lake trail loop. I have lots of awesome options, and even more if I hop in the car to get there.
We were unpacked in a few days, thanks to some help and smart packing!
We live “in the country,” but we’re actually equidistant between three decently sized cities, and it’s only a fifteen minute drive to each. We’ve figured out where to shop, and more importantly, found the good Chinese and pizza takeout. Ha!
We’ve met quite a few of our neighbors. We’ve yet to hang out with any of them, but we always have nice conversations when we run in to each other. One couple described our street as everyone being really nice, but mostly keeping to themselves, and that’s perfect for us. We also have some fur neighbors too, like Denali above. A lot of our neighbors have horses and we’ve seen plenty of interesting wild life in our backyard.
Again, so happy we hired movers.
We love having guests stay over, however, our house is actually the same square footage (plus a basement, woo hoo) as our townhome. So, we only have one guest bedroom! We plan to be here for a long time, and hope we can expand someday.
Move-day project – cutting closet rods so we can hang up our clothes and feel like we really live here!
But I love how the house is set up now. I like how the entire first floor has one big circulation loop. It feels spacious. And I like that the kitchen is NOT next to the living room. And that the living room has two story ceilings (that seemed like a waste when it was an option at the townhome, but I just love it here). And I love my huge soaking bath. And all the gorgeous windows. And I could go on and on…
“I’ve had enough.” The end of a long move day!
So yeah… you guys already know we love our home! Thanks for reading about it over the past year! There is definitely more to come – we still have so much we want to do!
Themocracy
I’m glad you guys have settled in so well. I kind of love your house too! You never mentioned your multiplying numbers of kitties tho :p
Thanks! Ha ha, I should dedicate an entire post to all of the wildlife that visits us. Last night we had two huge raccoons on the back porch. Data was going nuts!
Glad you two are loving your home and the location 🙂 Hope Data likes it too.
He does, actually! He liked it right away – I think because there are so many floor to ceiling windows for him to look out!
Wow – has it been a year already? What is very clear from your post is that you guys made a great choice that is really working for you – awesome!
Crazy, right? Cliche to say, but time flies!
Wow – has it been a year already? What is very clear from your post is that you guys made a great choice that is really working for you – awesome! I’m curious, what are the three cities?
We’re really close to Zion, Gurnee, and Kenosha. But I went back and changed my post from “major” to say “decently-sized.” LOL! Not sure why I wrote “major”! We’re a lot closer to Milwaukee now, too, and the same distance from Chicago as our old home.
Do you have any regrets?! What an odd question! I’m happy that you guys love your house so much! I’ve enjoyed seeing its progress over the past year. You guys should be so proud of how much work you’ve put into making it your own.
I was wondering about the “major cities” LOL – like what major cities are around here that I didn’t know about! 🙂
Bad choice of wording – just like when I wrote “major”! 😉 Ha!
I am happy you’ve enjoyed seeing it! We are proud!!!
And thank you for making the trek so many times to come out! 🙂
Yay, that’s awesome how much you guys love the place after a year! You’ve put a lot of hard work into it. I’m really impressed at all the changes.
Thank you! 🙂
It’s nice to see how well this move worked out for you guys, plus you added to your pet family! That picture of Data in the carrier just speaks volumes to cats and moving, LOL.
Right? Data is such a talker when he is in the carrier in the car. Poor guy! Thankfully he’s happy at the house!
Yay! Congrats on one year in 🙂 I’m so glad you two are so happy!
Thank you!
I really liked this recap of your first year, especially since I could “remember” some of the things that happened from your excellent documentation of the move and projects. I didn’t realize that Steven had wanted to do more projects (To me, they sounded so daunting and stressful), so I’m glad he has been in his element in the new place.
Congrats on year 1 and here’s to many more!
Thank you! And thanks for reading all that!
Oh yeah, Steven is SUPER in to projects. He was so bored at the rental house cause he couldn’t do any (not that that house didn’t need them!) and frustrated at our old townhome because he didn’t feel comfortable doing them in the garage (cause the neighbors were so horrible). He’s so happy now. Currently he is working on a schweet cat house for the outside cats!
Wow, that year went by quick. Nice celebration of a year. Thanks for sharing the photos, too. Poor Data had to be carriered (not an actual word, but that’s how to came out)
It did!!! Thanks for reading about all of it!
Ha ha, Data got the royal treatment on that move!!!