Two years later…

Two years ago, this very Labor Day weekend, Andy and I were beginning to move into our first house.  We knew there were some serious issues, some things that made us crazy, but we knew that our little one income family couldn’t afford to do a whole lot at the time…at least without going into debt, which we are completely committed to NOT doing.

So we made do.

For the past two years, we’ve made do.  We had a carpet that we hated.  So we made do by painting the living room a bold color that complemented (though a few who have entered this house have disagreed) the burgundy monstrosity.  And it worked.  We had a kitchen tile that was atrocious.  It is pale pink bathroom tile with grout a mile wide, so it never looks clean.  We had the sofa that Andy’s parents gave us….it came with their house when they moved in 14ish years ago.  We had the loveseat my parents gave us….they bought it when I was in about kindergarten.  It’s worked.  It’s been our sweet little eclectic first house.

We have worked hard.  We paid off all our debt (my student loans).  We built an emergency savings.  And we are paying off our mortgage and saving for retirement. 

So now we’re having some fun.

Our house is going to be changing in the coming weeks.  The burgundy carpet will soon be gone.  It will be replaced with a lovely frieze carpet in a nice neutral color.  The walls are changing too.  I still love the green, but the paint was cheap, and it looks bad.  They will be a light neutral tan color as well.  Andy’s parents gave us a tv stand, so we won’t be using a secondhand coffee table for our television.  And we have replaced our sofas.  They will arrive shortly after the carpet.  And we have a beautiful 90 year old library table that was built by Andy’s great-grandpa—Andy Cook—that my husband has carefully refinished over the past three weeks.

We had intended to stop with the living room now, and wait a few months for the kitchen.  But we were met with an offer that was to good to turn down this afternoon.  Sometime this week we will be heading to pick up the hardwood flooring that will go in our kitchen.  We (Andy) plan to install that ourselves, so the only cost will be in the supplies.  We will paint the kitchen to match the living room, replace the countertop, put in the new faucet we bought on clearance last winter, and paint the table and chairs we were given by friends.  And our two biggest house projects will be complete.  I’m so excited for all of the changes coming in the next few weeks.  It’s such an exciting time.