the first year

yikes. it's been awhile since i've written! i completely missed our year anniversary in the house!

i have loved this year. we love this house and our life in it. yes, it is too big for just the two of us. that's why we have a housemate in the basement. yes, it is a little inconvenient since we're not on the metro. that's why i can finish my reading for book club during my quality bus time.

we recently went on vacation to peru. it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. we ate well, hiked it the glorious sun, met friendly people, and relaxed in a real way. i'll do a full series of posts detailing our adventure... hopefully! but one of the best parts of the vacation was coming home. phil pushed me to pack early so we had time to clean the house before we left. walking into a clean house (our house!) was so calming after 11 days away and a red-eye flight.

there are a lot of projects planned for year two. we've spent the first year getting to know the house. does that sound crazy? i can't paint a room (and be happy with it) until i've lived it in all types of light. there's no way i could really work in the garden until we'd been through all the seasons together. so now, we have a better idea of where we want to go with our home. we also have a better handle on what it costs to run the house for a year. we've watched the local real estate (phil is a hawk!) to see how much we should invest in improvements. we've entertained groups of all sizes - from a single friend to a party of 75, from a neighbor dropping in to multiple overnight guests - and know better how we can best make the spaces comfortable for us and others. i can't wait to share each project as it unfolds!

cheers, beloved house, and here's to many more happy years together!