Oh, hey website. It's been a minute.
Like so many people, my world changed during Covid and I've been doing the work of finding equilibrium again. Last year, I dove headfirst into writing and content creation and most of my time has been spent in those spaces. Last year, I wrote two books (ghostwriting projects) and edited 3 more--all good and worthy work that I deeply care about and love. This year, I have more writing projects and work in the content creation space that I've been balancing with:
a.) Being a present mama for my girls.
b.) Dreaming and working toward beautiful dreams alongside my Greg.
c.) Hosting a baby.
d.) Healing and growing as a human within community.
e.) Renovating a 1960s home.
f.) Laundry. Always laundry.
I haven't always succeeded, but I'm growing--more about all that later. I want to be more present on this website too, because connecting with people in this space has always been very life-giving to me.
But back to the topic at hand: the house we bought.
It's a 1960s home in a neighborhood filled with cape cods, colonials, ranches, maybe a couple of which border on midcentury modern style. It's funny how this 1960s house feels remarkably newer than the 1920s homes we've lived in before. We almost skipped looking at this home because it looked too small on the outside to fit our family of six. (Maybe it was the garage or the slant of the roof that made it look small?) But once we checked it out and I could see the potential, because, well, that's what I do best. Something in me just can't quit old, tired houses--perhaps it's my ministry to the world? Hmmm.
I present the 1960s special:
The Exterior: Lots o' roof dwarfed by the giant garage. Roof replacement was imminent and general feelings of orange everywhere. The deck/gazebo combination and yard size was pretty rad, though. We considered an addition on the front of the house, which would add enough room for a master suite (in the roof slant area you see below). The addition would also make each side of the house appear more balanced. In the yard, we planned to tackle the landscaping work ourselves.
The Kitchen/Dining: These are original kitchen cabinets and the general orange feelings are on repeat here. The stove, dubbed Petunia, was likely original and also, broken. The fridge followed suit and broke almost immediately after moving in as well. The water pipes leaked toilet water from the ceiling into the kitchen cabinet upon our second day in the house and general despair and panic ensued. We knew the kitchen was the highest priority for renovation, but we lived with this kitchen for a year while I planned, threw out said plan, planned again and overthought every last detail.
Main Floor Bathroom: It is original and Pepto Bismol pink. However, it was functional and did not implode or leak, which we called a win after the kitchen fiasco. A+ for the Pepto Bismol bathroom. Peptol bathroom is now our favorite room in the house. We haven't done substantial updates to this bathroom yet, but plan to within this next year or two.
Living Room: This room is a large and we liked the large window that faces the backyard. Our plan was to install overhead lighting, remove the wallpaper, paint the walls and trim, update the fireplace, and replace carpet with hardwood flooring.
Master Bedroom:
Entry:
Family Room: South-facing, lots of windows, and bright. This was my favorite space in the house. Plus, exposed beams. Boom.
Basement: A clean slate for hangouts.
Second Floor Bath: Toothpaste green, but not necessarily in a bad way.
We've wrapped up most of the renovation this past year and I'm excited to walk you through our process, how we pulled it off, and the mental and emotional breaking points. (Spoiler alert: we're still married.)
Thanks for sticking around.
