Derek and I built a house together in 2013. I’ve had a few questions about how things are going. So here’s an update for those of you who like to follow along.

We moved in on a rainy, gross day in January 2014 with the help of some very supportive family and friends. Seriously. It was such a gross day with cold rain and tornado warnings. Our friends and family labored HARD. We’re forever grateful.

After moving in last January, Derek and I had quite a lot to tackle.

Not only did we have a lot of our own stuff, we’d somehow accumulated a LOT of things from other people. Most of it made sense at the time. Like when my parents settled their divorce or my grandmother passed away. Then Derek’s parents moved recently. And so did my mom.

We accumulated everything because we needed it or wanted to protect it, without really knowing what we would do with all of it. Most of it’s awesome, like a table where my grandparents ate breakfast together almost every morning. But there were other things that didn’t quite work in the new house once we got there.

So we spent the better part of this year processing everything. Processing takes forever but I may have perfected the system. (OK, I may have become a little obsessive about it, too.)

It went something like this:

1. Does this item work in the new house?
   1. Yes? Awesome!
   2. No? Then does anyone we love want or need it?
      1. Yes? Awesome! Let’s give it to them.
      2. No? Is there a charity that would want it?
         1. Yes? Awesome! Let’s give it to them.

There were a few things we sold on Craigslist. We’ve even swapped some furniture back and forth with our parents who also moved recently. But most of the stuff was given to family, friends, people I met through Abandoned Allies, and local charities.

Now we have considerably fewer things. It feels great!

But we still ave a lot of work to do.

The first floor the priority when we moved in, since that’s what our guests would see first. We knew we were having a wedding shower about three months after moving in, which meant things needed to be in tip-top shape ASAP. We had a few overnight guests staying, so that was also very motivating.

We thought the move-in, get settled process would be a breeze. But it took a lot more energy and effort than we realized. It’s also taken a longer than I thought it would. Silly me.

There were, however, a few rooms that seemed to require very little effort. The dining room, guest room, and guest bath were three of them. We had a lot of hand-me-down furniture and decor that seemed to work well in each of these rooms.

There’s a nice mix of old and new in most of our rooms. Antiques blend with new, modern stuff. It makes me quite happy.

There have been a few refinishing jobs throughout the year, too. Some furniture shapes worked well but the colors or knobs didn’t quite do the trick. So I tackled some of that head on to save some effort in shopping and, more importantly, our hurting wallets.

The sideboard in the kitchen breakfast nook is actually an old dresser Derek had as a kid. I refinished it (with his permission) so that it suits that room better. It’s a little darker to coordinate with the kitchen cabinets and flooring. It also has new metal knobs from Ikea that compliment the stainless steel in the kitchen.

Here’s a terrible “after” pic but you get the idea. It’s a very different piece now. But it has so much character and it suits that part of the room perfectly.

The living room, however, has probably been the most intense to decorate. It’s much bigger than I realized, which dwarfed everything we put in the room. Including the couch.

So we went couch shopping. While shopping one day, Derek and I counted couches. We realized that we’ve gone through eight couches in the last year.

Yes, EIGHT couches. What?!

Most of them are hand-me-downs, and only one of them was a recent / new purchase. But, really, EIGHT couches? Crazy. Sorry I don’t have photos of all the couches. Maybe one day.

‘Til then, here’s my corner office:

The chair and ottoman in the living room are from Derek’s parents. It’s really cozy. I sit there in the wee hours of Saturday mornings working while the world sleeps. It’s awesome.

The living room still needs some attention (curtains, artwork, a slightly bigger rug, etc.) but it’s in pretty good shape now. I can sit on the comfy new couch and feel at peace. Especially when I look at the pretty mantle. So there’s that.

A lot of work has been done on our back patio, too. It has become quite the little haven! I love it so much.

We bought patio furniture from Target. Lots of plants came from the local farmer’s market, as well as Lowe’s and Home Depot. We also have some plants from previous homes, like a hanging basket that we bought to sell one home and some hostas from my very first house. The herb garden is phenomenal.

Derek also installed a ceiling fan so the patio always has a breeze. It seriously is a haven. If the weather’s quite right, we sip on a cocktail out there.

Now. On to the studio. Where I do most of my filmmaking stuff.

Last October I told you a few plans for the studio. Read it here, if you wish. There’s also this one with pics.

Once we got the first floor relatively settled, the first task in the new studio was getting rid of stuff. I purged a lot of papers. Some of it had gone untouched for at least 10 years, so I found peace with throwing it out. I’ve spent DAYS going through old stuff to get rid of it.

If you haven’t sensed a theme yet, let me spell it out. Lesson learned: don’t let stuff accumulate. What a waste of time.

Those efforts certainly freed up a lot of space. With less stuff in the room, I was finally able to start thinking about decor and furniture.

I’ve made huge strides recently.

Here’s a pic of one side of the room that’s not a complete disaster. Just be glad you can’t see the mess that’s out of the frame. Ha.

The table (being used as a desk) is one I used to do homework on as a child. It was our kitchen dinner table, where we most often ate as a family. I have refinished it so that it’s white, bright and feels like new. I love it!

The painting on the wall is a self-portrait my mom painted. She may ask for it back one day, since I was holding it while she moved. But I’m secretly hoping she won’t since I’ve loved it my whole life and now it’s so perfect in that room!

The globe is something that sat in my grandparent’s living room my whole life. Seriously. It was there my entire life. I love it.

The boat underneath the painting was a wedding gift from my mentor and EP on Allies, Surry Roberts. It has all the names of our wedding party written on it. On the back are our names and wedding date. I love it, too!

There’s still a lot of work to do in this room but I feel like I’ve made some serious headway. It’s starting to feel relatively peaceful, so I can actually get some work done in there. Now I can find most of the things when I need them, too. Huge victory.

Conclusions?

The past few years have been filled with a lot of moving and unsettled-ness and just getting by. It’s been pretty stressful. So I’m very, very thankful to have a place where we can be still. And where I can do creative stuff and think clearly about what I’m working on.

Yes, so very thankful!

(By the way, if you wanna check out my old studio space — used while I worked on Abandoned Allies — I wrote about it here.)

SO, there you have it! We’ve made lots of progress. Derek and I have made a lot happen in very little time. We hope to have a housewarming party — even if it’s a year after we moved in, haha.

To say that we’re a little worn out is an understatement.

That being said, we undoubtedly know how lucky we are. Not a single day goes by that we aren’t incredibly grateful for a roof over our heads — especially one that we built together as husband and wife.

We’re so happy to have a home that we can open to our loved ones, too. It brings us nothing but joy. I look forward to more of that as soon as possible!

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