Apr 25, 2016

Welcome . . .


image via pinterest


As of this morning, Chip and I are officially homeowners! We closed on our house this morning and will be moving in this weekend - just as soon as we have a few updates made to the place and fresh paint on the walls!  

Last week I shared the exciting news that Chip and I were getting married, and we have less than six months to plan everything.  And to add to the craziness, we decided it was a great time to buy a house too!

Not really. . . but things just fell into place and we felt we just couldn't pass up this little charmer.  A little background for y'all.  I moved to DC back in September and moved into Chip's studio apartment (yes, I had to significantly downsize my closet situation) with the idea that we would stay here until things were a bit more settled (he was transitioning out of a role at work and I was transitioning to a new office). We gave ourselves till the end of the year and then would start to look for a place.  Well, over that time Chip had a few potential job offers that would have taken us out of the area, so we decided to hold off moving until we knew if those were viable options or not.  

After a few months of going back and forth, and living in 600 square feet together (what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, folks!) we decided that the DC area was going to be our home and we would plant roots here for the foreseeable future and go from there.  We both really liked this area and felt that both of us had great jobs and stability, so why not stay here and see how life turns out?  

Over Easter weekend, we went to an open house for a townhome in Arlington, Va.  For those who don't have a frame of reference to where this is to DC - it's about a 10 minute drive from downtown DC to the area we were looking.  So, we went in, looked around and just fell in love with the place.  It's at the end of a quiet road on a hill- super quiet.  That was what grabbed us from the start.  We spoke with the realtor and she advised us to look at a few other places.  We toured a few other homes, but kept going back to the townhome on the hill.  It needed a few updates (from my perspective), but for the most part, was move-in ready.  We saw a few other homes in the neighborhood that had been updated and although that was really enticing and ideal, you just couldn't beat the location and charm of this house.  

So, we made an offer on Easter night and it was accepted Monday afternoon!  I have never bought a house before, so I had no idea what we were getting in to and ALL the paperwork that goes into getting ready to close on a house.  From the stories I have heard from others, ours went pretty smoothly, so I can't complain.  

We are now at the house testing paint colors for the walls in the living room and bedrooms.  Who knew there were so many 'Whites?' Goodness! And for most of the week, we plan on doing a little bit of updating each day and moving things over when we can.  The movers come Saturday to move all the big stuff and we will officially be out of apartment living and in the new home! (Champagne will be involved here)  

I cannot wait to decorate our new home.  I have so many ideas for things that I need to rein it in a bit.  I can't wait to fill our new home with pieces that represent both Chip and me.  Stay tuned for fun updates, before and after pics, and design ideas.  

If you want to look, I have started a Pinterest page of lots of inspiration and ideas for our new home.  Some of them you just may see in the new house! 
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Apr 21, 2016

Bells are Ringing

It's too early for Christmas, so this can only mean one other thing . . . 

Wedding Bells!!

If you follow me on Facebook or Insta you saw that Chip and I got engaged back in February! I had no clue and was totally surprised!! He picked out the ring himself and kept me totally in the dark! Which for a planner and someone who doesn't like to be surprised or caught off guard, was totally shocked and stunned.  I could not be happier and feel like I am the luckiest girl in the world! 

After taking some time to enjoy our engagement, we starting talking about what kind of wedding we wanted to have.  Large hometown wedding or something a little more intimate and somewhere that we both had a connection to.  We knew we wanted to get married this year, so that was a determining factor as well.  We would have to move quickly if we wanted to get the place we wanted and vendors, etc.  

So, after talking it over and thinking things through, we have decided to do a destination wedding in Florida.  It was a place we have vacationed and visited numerous times and just felt like the perfect place for us to become husband and wife.  The area we were looking at having the ceremony is a place that books up at least a year in advance, so we went back and forth with a handful of venues trying to get a ceremony venue and a reception venue to line up on the same day.  September and October were our first choices, but there were also everyone elses so that ended up not working out.  We were left with late summer or late fall. Late fall is definitely cooler, but our whole idea of getting married at the beach was for us and our guests to be able to enjoy it. And in fall the water is definitely on the cooler side and you aren't really able to get in or spend much time at the beach.  So we weighed the options for late summer.  We had been warned about it being miserably hot,  and were told to steer clear, but we totally ignored those warnings and have set a date for late summer! Less than six months to plan a wedding isn't crazy, is it? 

Once we had the date set, I huge weight was lifted.  We were able to book just about every vendor that I had wanted and the venue I was hoping for.  Both our ceremony and reception are going to be outdoors.  It will be gorgeous, as long as we don't have a hurricane come our way!  I can't tell you how many nights I have laid awake worrying about that.  But at the end of the day, it is out of our hands, and it will all work out, one way or another.  As long as I get to marry Chip, I will be fine! 

Over the next few months, you will see posts relating to our wedding.  Some will be updates, some ideas and others will be fun things I am learning along the way.  

As if planning a wedding in five months isn't crazy enough, we have other exciting news to share very soon . . . So stay tuned! 



image via Pinterest
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Apr 19, 2016

Lately . . .

HAPPY NEW YEAR! . . . Only four months late!  I swear, I get on a roll with blogging and think, FINALLY I can devote time to this baby, and BOOM life happens.  And in this case, A LOT of life has happened since the new year started.  And what better time to jump back in the swing of things than when you have a few big life changes and work is going ninety to nothing? Ha, when it rains, it pours, right? 

Stay tuned for all sorts of great news and adventures going on over here! xo
image via pinterest

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