On January 4, I closed on a house. I moved in on January 21. It has been a whirlwind of stress, planning, and hard work. The house needed a large amount of somewhat cosmetic work that does not seem minor when there was a huge volume of it. My parents are extremely supportive and hardworking to help me get comfortable and settled in this house.

My parents and I enjoyed this House themed ravioli meal! 3 Cheese Ravioli (cut with a house cookie cutter) that I made and put in my freezer weeks before my move. I used my favorite pasta dough, the filling was Ricotta, Parmesan, Asiago, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Wegmans fresh tomato sauce, roasted zucchini (cut with a key cookie cutter)

Some of our activities during the past month:

• Removed carpet in 4 rooms to reveal beautiful hardwood floors. (involved removing tack boards, tacks, added wood door transition boards, and cut the carpet in pieces for disposal).
• Removed a huge amount of paint splatters / spills from the hardwood floors. (My Mom has done the brunt of this work.)
• Replaced and standardized light bulbs throughout the house. This became complicated by the many dimmer switches and odd fixtures. (My Dad took on this task).
• Deep cleaning just about everywhere.
• We painted my bedroom.
• I painted the plywood floor in my hidden room.
• I painted the laundry room white and my Mom refreshed the trim. We will eventually put up wallpaper on 2 walls when it arrives.
• My parents installed beautiful cabinets in the laundry room. There were wire shelves before. (They replaced the existing light to make room for the large cabinets.)
• My parents renovated my kitchen pantry to transform the existing wire shelves to beautiful wooden shelves with leaf trim. They mostly followed this.
• My Dad has assembled a lot of furniture:
  • My green velvet bed
  • L-desk for office
  • Office printer stand with files
  • Cricut table
  • Sewing table
  • Dresser for guest room
  • Cube shelving for my cookie cutter collection
• The closets barely had systems. My parents painted and Dad installed new wooden closet systems in my closets and the guest room closet. They used existing closet systems to renovate closets in my craft room and office. (I painted my office closet).

Of course this is just a start. Soon I will paint and decorate my office. I expect the craft room will follow. I ordered mural wallpaper for one wall.

I am working with a designer to design two rooms – my library which will take the place of a traditional living room, and my formal dining room. Eventually she will help design my kitchen refresh.

I am not ready for final reveals of any project yet but here are some sneak peak photos.