It's Alright To Be Little Bitty

So, we are now living in our condo in Eagle Mountain, Ut...and LOVING IT! Not that condo living is perfect (the lady next door already flooded my kitchen), it's just perfect for us right now. My husband and I looked at LOTS of places online from 3 story beautiful homes, to mid-range townhouses before we decided on this little place we now call home.

This place was the obvious choice when we asked ourselves which places were most in-line with what our real goals were. Our goals we to not be stressed out by our mortgage payment, to have more money for fun as a family, and to live with as little impact on the environment as possible. So, yes, we are 30 somethings living in a condo complex with a bunch of newly-weds...but that's alright with me. Last night we hopped on a Trax train, got dinner and went to a Utah Jazz game and I wasn't stressed out about how much money it would cost. What a great feeling! We live on the bottom floor and use very little energy to heat our tiny place, it makes me feel good. I can decorate my place with most of my old furniture and by re-doing almost everything that was already here, it makes me feel great. It's our home, it works for us, and I love it. I bet more people would find happiness if they really thought about what they needed to make them truly happy, instead of what they needed to keep up with the latest trend in McMansions. I live small, and that's not only alright...it's happiness.

Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock

I just don't know if time can go by any slower. I am still in Southern Utah. I have been moved out of our Ivins home for weeks now but still have not closed on our new place up north. The good thing is we have found a place, we are now just trying to wait for it to close. The problem is...I am SO tired of waiting. I have officially lived apart from my husband for a year and a half, and now these last few weeks are just dragging. I know it is because I can see that light at the end of the tunnel and I want to make a sprint for it, but can't because I am waiting on paperwork (which I have decided is one of the most annoying things to wait on).

I can inform you that we didn't end up in any of the places we thought we would...no Daybreak, Herriman, or Saratoga Springs for me! We are going to be living in The Ranches of Eagle Mountain. And no dream house or fancy upgraded townhouse for me either. My husband and I have decided to put our of goals of green and simple living where our mouth is and buy an over ten year old condo.

Now it wasn't just the green, simple lifestyle that lead us to this choice, but also what would be best for us and for Noah. Buying this condo will make things much more comfortable for us financially (and who can't use less financial stress), and there is a charter school just a mile away that Noah will be able to attend clear up until he graduates high school. We did a tour of the school and he is excited about the things the school has to offer which makes it much easier for him to deal with the thought of his having to leave his beloved Vista, were he has attended for the last two and a half years. It is just such a practical choice for us. Now practical does not always lead to thoughts of excitement, but I am excited...let me tell you why. I am so looking forward to making this place our own. It is so bare-bones and plain right now and I just can't wait to get my hands on it. We of course do not want to accumulate debt right as we are making things more affordable for us, so I will save up and do projects one at a time. This is also exciting for me because it should give me lots of future blogs to post as I keep you all updated on the changes I make.

So, here is a little preview (please ignore all decorating and furniture as it is not ours, but the previous owners and our taste are not alike) so you can see how much work I will have to do to make this place our own and give it a personality,  but I am so blessed that we will be together as a family again and that we will have a place to call ours.

Movin' On

My house in Southern Utah has sold. We will be moving out in February, and then it will take us awhile to close on our new place in Northern Utah. Once that happens I hope to take lots of pictures and post about transforming my new place. Hopefully I will be keeping this blog up much better soon, until then I have to pack. So, for those of you wondering if I would ever post on this blog again, it's coming soon. I can't wait.

Altadena Beauty

Here it is, my first friend feature! My feature person is a girl who went to Citrus College, joined the dance team, and later married a cop. Sound familiar??? But I swear it's not me, it's my amazingly beautiful friend Kin-Ming. We met while on the dance team at Citrus together in 1996. (We are the two on the left) (And here she is in her beautiful kitchen)

I have always dreamed of owning a small Spanish style house in Southern California with fun details like arches, wood floors, curved windows, and a fireplace. It would have a cute little backyard with a place to dine and a little water feature, and maybe a fruit tree or two. I also love to decorate in blues and greens, and I LOVE white kitchens. One day while looking through Kin-Mings pictures (after we had reconnected on facebook) I saw she had an album with pictures of her house. I was amazed to see that her house was my dream house. It had everything I had always wanted, and she has decorating tastes that are so similar to my own. I feel in love with her 1926, 1050 sq ft, Spanish style home in Altadena, California. I will warn you now that there are a lot of pictures in this post, but I wanted you all to see the little charmer for yourself. Kin-Ming and her husband made such smart choices when doing the remodel on their home. They kept things like the original curved window in the living room, and the arch in the living/dining room. (Two of Kin-Mings favorite parts of the house.) But when they did total re-do's on the kitchen and bath they mimicked that original arch, and made smart choices to stay with the period of the home while giving it all the modern conveniences of today. They were true to the house when they put down new wood floors instead of choosing tile or carpet, and they picked beautiful wall colors when they painted the whole inside of their house. Everything is beautiful without distracting from the gorgeous bones of the house. Even the landscaping (which Kin-Ming's husband did himself) just makes the house a complete package and looks like it belongs with the neighborhood. So well planned. I just love pretty much everything about this house, and thought you guys would too. Congratulations to Kin-Ming and her husband on creating such an amazing place to call home, and thanks for letting me spotlight all your hard work! (Isn't it so charming?) (Such a warm welcome, and the "S" is one of my favorite little touches.) (I love the fireplace)

(I love a kitchen with a desk)

(Sigh!...Even a Sun Porch!)

(What a beautiful place for a warm So. Cal. evening)

JUST GORGEOUS!!!

Feel Like Sharing?

Until I can get in my own place and start decorating I am living vicariously through others. This has given me the problem of having very little of my own decorating stuff to write about. Want to help??? (You know you do!) I would like to start to feature some of the cool things that you, my friends and family, do to your spaces. For example, my sister Kim got some used chairs for her back patio that needed a little pick-me-up. She re-painted the metal on them, and bought some cute outdoor pillows and they turned out so cute!! Send me your photos and a few words about what you did and you just might find yourself in my blog.

My first guest spot will be coming soon, and it is an amazing one!! I can't wait to share my friend's amazing house with you. Hope you will enjoy it as much as I do, and that you will be thinking about what you might want to share with me. :)

Daybreak, how I love you so!

I talked in a past post about how I loved this community in Northern Utah called Daybreak, but that Jon and I were thinking we were going to move to another community instead... yeah well! I think we are changing our mind again and are leaning back towards Daybreak in a big way!! I can't wait for spring and so hope to be moved up there in our own house by next spring so I can enjoy views like this!! This community has style in everything they do from the design of the houses, lake, and landscaping to the fact that they only build houses that exceed some of the highest "green" standards out there. I just can't wait!!

UtahStyle

This post will be more for those that live in the state I now call home, Utah. I have already said this on my facebook, but I love this magazine so much I thought it deserved a post on here as well. I love the design magazine UtahStyle!! It's awesome. It comes out quarterly, and I can't wait for the spring issue that will hit the stands on April 1st!! Here is a past cover that was a fav of mine.