We've Moved!!!

It's official. Or maybe I should say it's been official. My husband and I moved into our new house on June 1. And no house should be moved into without a little moving announcement going out so people know where they can find us.

Last week, I sent out these moving announcements and this past weekend we officially had people over for the first time. So it's been a month and I feel like we are making progress. I would call the house "livable" at this point. There's still a lot to do, but since we're sticking around for a while, we'll have plenty of time to do it in.

But back to the moving announcement. Here she is.

We had a pretty sweet place we lived in before. I'll admit that when we first thought about moving, I never thought we would find somewhere that we loved as much as that first place.

I was so wrong.

This house just fits us. It has rooms that are just so practical for our lifestyle. It's cozy and comfortable and has so much character and I just can't get enough. I didn't know how to put that all on a moving announcement, so this was the best I could do.

Three of the four colors in this moving announcement are similar to colors that we painted our walls. I thought that once I moved into a "real house", I might use muted tones. Not so.

I thought I'd throw a little snarky comment in there about Luke doing yard work. He loved it, believe me.

The back of the announcements. I love that little house.

So...I am aware this is not a home improvement blog. However, some people out there have asked to see some before/after pics. And I sort of want to show some.

Here is the living room when we first walked through the house in January.

And now.

A few comments:

1. That lamp on the right side of the room behind the couch is there only because we need light there. It will be replaced ASAP with a much cooler lamp. I am slightly horrified that I forgot to hide it, but too lazy to retake these photos.

2. The basket on the ottoman (on clearance from Target about 3 years ago) usually holds magazines. But we've only had two delivered to us at our new house. So lately it holds a cat instead.

3. Yes, I have more planned for this room. We've only been in here a month, people!

Lava couldn't help himself...he had to get in a picture. 

Yes, we have the smallest TV known to man. And it's not even hooked up yet. So that tiny thing is purely for show.

And yes, magazines should be in the little green magazine holder to the right of the loveseat. But in my crazy purging of everything before we moved, I gave all of our magazines away. So now it's just there. I still think it's kind of cute.

Why didn't I move the laptop cord before taking these photos?

Fun fact - those were the third pair of curtains to go up in our living room. Third time's a charm, though...I love them.

Moving on to the kitchen.

Here it is when we did our first walk-through of the home.

And here it is after.

We have a kitchen nook! I love it love it love it.

I hate that I didn't hide the washcloth over the sink.

The previous owners left this IKEA drawer for us. How excited do you think I was about that? It fits perfectly and I can display my Kitchen Aid mixer so proudly on it (a gift from the grandparents for our wedding). 

Hi, Kitchen Aid mixer. {I love you.}

This photo (which I remembered to move the washcloth from) is for Ms. Heidi Rew, who gave me the sweet little jars from Anthropology for my birthday. Aren't they the cutest?

(Also, do you think I need new dish soap?)

Two words: OPEN SHELVING!!!!!!!!!! I was overly excited about these shelves and they were one of the first things I decorated. I do have plans to paint the backs of them. Eventually.

Magma showing you all her yoga moves.

I just took this because I love the clearance towel I got from Target a week ago. I think it matches the kitchen perfectly.

There you have it. Young House Love - Haddad style. I truly fell in love with the house after about five minutes of our initial walk through. But now that we have made it more of our own, I love it even more and it's feeling more and more like home.

Next week - more weddings!!!!!!!

Vivian Elle, My Birthday, and a New House

Let's look at some numbers.

31 - number of years I celebrated living a couple of weeks ago.
3 - number of friends that traveled from Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia to visit me on my birthday.
1 - number of pictures taken with an Oreo in Wal-mart while those friends were in town.

1 - tiara these friends made me wear when they took me out to breakfast on my birthday.
20 - approximate number of people that stared because of my tiara.

2 - number of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) books by Mindy Kaling I received for my birthday.

7 - number of times I considered not posting the above picture for obvious reasons (but then thought, "ehhh...who cares?").

1 - day it took me to exchange one of these books for Bridesmaids.

8 - days it took me to read my Mindy Kaling book.

20 - times I had to refrain from posting every funny quote I read to Facebook.

25+ - number of videos that my husband compiled for me for my birthday of friends and family from all over wishing me a happy birthday.

100+ - number of times I've talked about how much I loved the videos.

40 - number of Christmas cards I've completed so far this year for Vivian Elle's Christmas Collection.
3 - number of samples I will now reveal.

{All of these cards are now available at Vivian Elle's Etsy Shop. Click here to visit!}

54 - total number of days between first going out and looking for a home and signing on our adorable little bungalow. 

2 - pictures we had taken of ourselves in front of our new home right before closing. 

1 - number of pictures I was able to pull off the internet of our new home. 

Sigh. I love it.

16 - days until we need to be out of our condo.
5 - weddings I am currently working on, attempting to get each done in the 16 days before we move.
30+ - boxes I already have packed.
61 - number of days we have between moving out of our condo and moving into our new home.
61 - days we will be bunking it up with my parents, who have graciously offered their home to us.
99 - percentage of time I spend thinking about how I'm going to decorate our new home.
1 - moving announcement that I already have designed, but will keep secret until I send it. :)

too many to count - number of times Luke and I have said how grateful we are for the support we've had over the last couple of months.

There you have it. These are the numbers that have been floating around in my head lately. In the midst of it all, there has also been a lot of Vivian Elle activity - buying another new printer, having boxes of product left at our front door, printing, assembling, stuffing...I love it all. For the first time in my life I can say that I daily love the work I am doing. And all of my brides make that possible. So to them - and anyone who has used me for any kind of invitation - thank you!

Big Announcement!

So...I acknowledge that we're not the first people to have done this, but to us, it's a big deal. So big that I (obviously) had to whip together a little design to share the good news.

We did our final walk through. We signed all of the papers. It's been a crazy two and a half months, and we can't say enough how amazingly fortunate we feel to have the support that we've had. The best part is that even with a very short amount of time to do it, we bought a house that we both absolutely adore. We didn't settle. We love it and can't wait to actually move in.

Also, I'm currently working on getting all of my spring weddings done, which I cannot wait to show you! I am working with some very creative brides. :)

Until then...we bought a house!