HAPPY EASTER! It was one unlike any other, right? Since we couldn't go anywhere, we made the best of it with our little domestic church here and it actually ended up being an Easter we will never forget. We forged some new traditions and, because it wasn't quite as busy as it usually can be, I feel like we were able to soak in the tradition and could be even more mindful of Christ's sacrifice for us. I hope you felt that too. There really is beauty to be found in this whole pandemic situation if you have the eyes to see.
There is also beauty in the fact that Lent is OVER! We are obviously still very much living a pandemic lent of sorts but I feel a breath of fresh air has filled my lungs with the Easter season. I gave up being on any form of social media during the day for Lent and, while it was surprisingly hard in the beginning, I'm resolved to make it my new normal going forward. When I did take the time to post something at night during Lent, I felt like it was much more intentional and not based on some passing whim or obligation to show the internet something during the day. Maybe that makes no sense at all but I feel like overall, I ruled social media instead of it ruling me...something that I think happens all too often these days with all of us.
Anyway, I'm here today with a big update - how we've progressed on our house thus far!! We closed on the house a smidge over a year ago and so I've been slowly taking pictures of the current state of each room over the past few weeks to put together a slew of comparisons.
Hopefully this barrage of before and so-fars is as fun for you as it is for us. :D A lot of times, we get stuck in the thought that we're not really making any real progress or we're not progressing and changing things fast enough. Yes, our pace is slower thanks to the DIY nature of how we do things around here and the fact that we pay saved-up cash for every upgrade, but sometimes it's hard to accept that the before isn't going to be blown away by the after in a matter of days or weeks. But then I write things like this post, where we can actually see the progress we've made from the start, and all of that not-going-quick-enough fades into the background because really, we've made some good progress over the past year. Scraped, smooth ceilings are probably the biggest winners but also the most understated because the ceilings aren't usually the first to be noticed. In their new state, they help bring more light into the house which amps up the after-factor. Everything else is a matter of new paint in a lot of the rooms and just bringing in furniture with a little bit of styling on the side. We've still got a long way to go (and really, we'll never be totally finished because you know those winds of change can getcha...) but we have had so much fun planning and making and designing in between that we're almost glad we're not there yet. ;)
So, come on in!
The entry before:
It's hard to see, but there was wallpaper all over in here. The pattern is too small for my older phone to pick up but it was straight outta the 80's.
So far:
Before:
