A whole new home, in less than 7 days!

It has been a whirlwind week! Last Monday, we decided we needed to move. This was due to a whole host of issues, but the deciding factor was that James has decided to go back to college and work on getting his degree. None of the colleges in our small coastal town offered computer courses, so it was back to the big city! Well, near a big city anyway. :)

We decided to see what the rental market looked like, so on Tuesday we hopped in the car and drove 3 hours to Albany, Or., with rental list and phone numbers in hand. We liked 2 places, and so we applied to both. Surprisingly, Wednesday morning, the place we liked best called and said we were approved (that was FAST!)
We went ahead and put in our 30 day notice at the current place. The landlord said if we moved before the 1st of August, we wouldn't have to pay any money for next month pro-rated at ALL! So that saved us about $350 if we moved within a week or so.

Thursday we came back to Albany and signed all the paperwork and payed the move-in fees and got our keys, and reserved a U-haul for Saturday. Friday we packed the whole house, it was near nonstop packing all day until bedtime.
Saturday my dad came up in the morning, and helped load the U-haul. He couldn't stay for the unloading though, so we drove the 3+ hours to Albany, got here around 5 pm, and James and I unloaded everything ourselves Saturday evening. Poor Liz was bored stiff during the loading, and miserably hot in the car with me on the drive down, but she got to go and play outside in the new fenced yard while we unloaded, so that helped. :)
We got most of the house unpacked and put away Saturday by about midnight, and I went to bed. Sunday, we unpacked everything else, and James even got all the pictures hung up. Today, we took the U-haul back, and got all of the utilities transferred and set up. What a week!!!

And so, please take a brief tour with me of our new place. First, Liz's room:

I managed to finish sewing up some lovely curtains last night as well. My friend Jillian had sent these to me mostly sewn up. I just had to even them out in size, finish the edges, and hem the bottoms. We don't have a curtain rod yet, but will get one this week sometime.
I like them so much, I'm trying to figure out how to get curtains for the living room, now. They really improve the look of a room.

Next up, our room. It's pretty sparse, since we don't spend much time in there. I think we need a few posters, just so it doesn't look so much like a monastic cell, lol.

We do have the most gorgeous closets, though. Mirrored, and 2 full closets! No more fighting for closet space. :)

Honestly, these pictures make the living room look downright cluttered, but it is so open and spacious! There is a good 6 feet of empty room between the TV (not pictured, it is off to the left) and the couch. And for the first time in ages, all of our books have are on a bookshelf, and all of my Disney figurines are out. James made his little nook in the corner, books and computer ready for college!

Oh, and let us not forget...the gas fireplace. Not that we'll need it anytime soon, lol, but this winter, I know it'll be a wonderful thing. :)

Looking at our decor, I realize we are a bit eclectic. Also not pictured are the large medieval paintings and the beautiful tapestry of Ireland, but you can see we have some Asian influence, and quite a lot of celtic and medieval, with a touch of Africa (the drums) and even a bit of Native American, with a sprinkling of Disney, lol.

And for the first time since we were married, we have a real dining area! So our nice but tiny dining table has a place. Of course, I was sewing on it the night before, but it cleans up easily and quickly for dinner.

Clearly, this will serve not only as dining room but as my sewing area, as well as a play area for Liz. She loves her toy kitchen, so she can play there while I sew.

I am happy to have my 1954 antique dress form out on display, as well as in a great place for actual sewing use and for pictures. The sliding glass door gives great light, and there is a LOT of room on the dining floor for laying out and cutting. Not a true sewing room, but it'll work well.

We do need some dining chairs though, for when I'm NOT sewing in here, but that'll come after the washer/dryer. :)

Oh and look, we have a ceiling fan!

There is a mirrored closet in the hallway with the water heater tucked back inside it, but someone installed shelves on the right half. Since there is a linen closet with plenty of space inside the bathroom itself, I actually got this closet to unpack and organize (sort of) my fabric and other sewing things!

So this is all of my fabric stash, it's pretty decent. The 7 largest pieces are sheets, but they are all nice ones (except one which will be used as muslin). I also have 8 pillowcases in there, which I can use as accents or smaller things for Liz. A large portion of the nicer fabrics here were gifts to me from my mother in law, and from 2 other very generous people who have become good on-line friends. :)

As I organized everything by color, I realized I have almost as much blue fabric as all the other colors (baring whites/browns/tans, which I also have a lot of) combined. As you can see the red, orange, yellow and pink is all stacked together, with only 1 or 2 pieces of each of those colors. I guess it's pretty clear my color preference leans towards the blue/green purple end of the spectrum.

At any rate, I also got my notions, iron, all my sewing books, crochet box, and my patterns (in the file box on the lower left), all in the same space. I have never had everything unpacked and easy to get at and go through. I love it already!!

I sort of skipped over the kitchen, but it is big and lovely. Lots of storage, tons of counter space, and a stove that I'm guessing is as old as I am! lol. It's a GE, and it works great, I think it is at least 30 years old, and it adds character to the place. I love old stoves, I do not know why.

Last but most certainly not least, here is the little fenced yard. It isn't huge, but it's big enough for plenty of plants, and outdoor dining. The cat just LOVES the chance to get outside. James made sure there were no cracks he could ninja through, so it is nice and safe. Also, Liz is enjoying having a place to go outside and play. Another thing on our list, an outdoor toy for Liz. For now though, it a nice place to sit in the evening when the heat starts to die down.

There are a lot of trees all around the condo's, so the entire area is very shaded all day long. It's such a beautiful neighborhood. There is a nice children's park close-by, a grade school, and not too far away a whole host of shopping. You have no idea having lived on the coast for years, having a Safeway and a variety of other shops (including a large Jo-anns!)just 2 miles away is amazing! :D

Well, it's been a rough, busy week. but we really love our new place. It really feels more like a home instead of just a crummy apartment. I hope we get to stay here through all of James' schooling. I hope my disability benefits aren't cut next week. :/ I'm scared and elated, and basically exhausted. Time for a few days rest, then back to sewing. Next up, one of the nicest fabrics I've ever sewn, the turquoise brocade dress for Liz.