memory lane (our first house)

four years ago, we were packing up the final boxes. cleaning out the last closets and wrapping up the remaining breakables.   a little rental house with paper thin walls but a big fenced yard awaited us in champaign.  i wasn't terribly excited about it as i was saying goodbye to this much-loved home.  the home we had lovingly updated, pouring sweat and tears into each corner.  i had no idea what the next chapter held.  no idea.

let's take a walk down memory lane. . .

yes, my style has changed a lot. or maybe i just didn't know yet what my own tastes were. this was the time for figuring them out.  when we moved in, i still thought buying new (at a great price, of course) was the way to go.  by the time we left, i had a much clearer idea of how i wanted our next home to look and feel.

oh i adored those velvety gold curtains.  i remember the night i found that chandelier at tj maxx.  unseen from this perspective is the buffet that we still use in our current dining room.  dark wood then, it is sporting a few coats of turquoise paint now.

how the hardwood gleamed after refinishing.  we really fixed up this place from floor to ceiling.

the kitchen was completely gutted.  completely.  the transformation was huge, but we barely had time to enjoy it.  a labor of love for the future owners.  :)
(this post makes me smile.)

 the second floor had all sorts of lovely slanted ceilings.  and aren't those bedsheets wonderful?  i wish i had bought multiples.  

we worked so hard on the only bathroom the month we moved here.  it was so dated.  the large cast iron bathtub had no shower and jesse was thrown into the deep end of plumbing woes that first week.  nearly everything was replaced except for that huge tub.  but we did recoat it.  my knees hurt for days after tiling and grouting the floor by myself.  i designed and helped build that wall cabinet.  man i loved that plum wall color.

we brought our first babe home from the hospital to this house.  abundant memories of those early years.

and our precious baby girl's room!  gia was only 14 months when we moved.  i adored this tiny space for my tiny princessa.

under the snow, hundreds of flowers waiting to bloom in the coming months.  i was terribly sad to leave this backyard.  the gorgeous tulips and peonies.  our first little vegetable garden in the corner.  the fence designed by me and built by my dad and jesse.

all of it was so special.
it was such a gift to live in that first house.
such a gift.

today, i am thankful for fond memories and photo reminders.