Goodbye Old House

Today is the day where everything is supposed to be final on the sale of our old home in Spring Hill.  I say "supposed" because nothing about this process of buying and selling has been easy.  It has been filled with stress.  We have felt so very unsettled for awhile now.  And, honestly, I haven't felt like sharing.  It started out as a very fun and exciting process to search for a new town and a new home.  It lost its luster.  We found our new town and our new home just in time.  We have been in our new (old!) home in Maryville for a couple of weeks, but there has been so much traveling and unpacking and stuff that we have a long way to go to feel really settled.  But, more about our new old home later. Now, I would like to give our first family house a proper goodbye.

We did a lot to this house.  We painted and painted and painted again.  I think the kitchen was the biggest overhaul that we accomplished (and my favorite.)

When we bought the house, it was a week before our wedding.  The night we closed, we came back and painted the dining room first thing.  We moved everything else in 2 weeks later.  It was such a chaotic time with so much going on at once.  

Our living room changed the most often.  We put in wood.  We painted a couple times. We changed the tile around the fireplace.  We changed out furniture.  We spent so much time in here.  

I will miss my flowers the most!  I am hoping that I can start a cutting garden next year, so I can have fresh flowers all the time. 

The one room that I spent the most time looking around and feeling the memories was my little guy's room.  This is where we brought him home.  It was such a relaxing and cozy little room.  He was a baby here.  He will never be a baby in the new house.

We (the Mr. actually) built the deck and we really enjoyed our backyard.  We planted lots of trees (for a subdivision anyhow.) We played ball.  The baby hughes learned to catch back there. The Mr. planted a veggie garden.  

We had many meals out there.  We had parties and dinners and I will miss our outdoor space.

This was a good house.  This was a home.  Our new house will never have our Kokoa.  Our new house will never have baby hughes as an actual baby.  We had so many happy memories there. 

We are so happy with our move though.  We love Maryville already. We had a great first full weekend here.  And, I love the new house.  It is smaller. And older.  And with that, there are some changes we have to make (hello one bathroom!) But, we love it and can't wait to fill it up with happy memories.

Goodbye old house!  Goodbye Spring Hill!

Hello Maryville!

What is up

Well, I certainly never meant to stay away from the blog for quite so long.  We have been quite consumed with house stuff, both buying and selling. We have been all over for the past few months trying to find a town that was as close to our criteria.  And, then finding homes we liked within those towns was pretty daunting. It became un- fun quite quickly.  It was nothing I really felt like sharing here on the blog.  We have finally found a place we love and hope to move there very soon.  And, once we get settled, I will feel like sharing (over sharing!) I'm sure.  My boy finished up preschool recently and will be starting Kindergarten so soon.  I have such mixed emotions about that.  I'm not ready to give him up for that much time per week.  I closed my booth at Winchester Antiques to prepare for the move.  I loved being there.  Of all the places I have had a booth, it was most definitely my favorite.  I haven't decided what the future looks like for a booth or a store once we get moved.  I do miss having a booth and maybe once we get settled I will want to open something again.  

I will keep my etsy shop though.  My work was actually featured in the recent Cottages and Bungalows.  I have several designs that I am working on, but I just haven't gotten them all worked up and tweaked exactly how I want them. 

I am still knitting.  I think it may be my go to hobby.  That and reading.  I seem to always have something on my needles and my kindle.  My personal goal this year would be to knit a sweater.  I think I am there.  I am just a little apprehensive about gauge still.  So, I have been working on smaller projects like these fingerless mitts... my first go at colorwork.  When we get settled, I am hoping to join a knitting group.  The Mr and the boy and most of my close friends aren't into knitting.

And, as if I needed another hobby, the Mr. bought me and the boy ukuleles.  I am not musical.  I think I can probably peck out Chopsticks on the piano and maybe a little Heart and Soul, but that is about it.  So, I am hoping to be able to pick it up and not get too frustrated. 

I hope to update the blog more often.  Lately, I haven't felt the need to write more than a caption on Instagrams.  Right now, we are in the in between, the middle. We have had a really busy Spring and we are hoping for a little more relaxing time soon.

Dream Home- Interior

The other day I showed you what I was looking at exterior wise in this post.  Honestly, the space on the outside is somewhat more important to me even though I know the best stuff is on the inside.  I can work with a less than pretty interior.  An exterior usually requires more than just painting the sides and doors.  Still, there are a few features I would be thrilled if our new home had them.

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Allow me to be perfectly honest with you.  If I find a home with floors like this, we are buying it.  I don't care if I can see the sky through the roof, herringbone floors like these can make me call that a skylight.

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Of course, I am realistic and will settle for any old original wood flooring like these.  We have wood downstairs and carpet upstairs now and my goal is to never have any carpet ever again. (Those walls are pretty awesome too!)

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Now this is something that I am sure that my Mr and my friends who care about this sort of thing are tired of me talking about: this layout.  This is one of the main reasons I want a bungalow.  Two small windows over 2 low built ins with a fireplace in the middle.  This is my favorite living room layout.  Let me be sure you know.  I WANT this.  And, bungalows usually have it.  It is perfect. 

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 I also like the substantiality of this fireplace.  I wouldn't mind a painted brick one either,

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 I love Kate Spade's kitchen.  Or her former kitchen if she redecorated it.  It is perfect.  I would really love to have a classic checkered floor.  So many times they can look retro and that isn't the look I am after.  This has just the right balance.

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 It is just perfect!

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This kitchen is pretty incredible too.  I love the absence of upper cabinets and those windows.  I love black windows!

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 I may be burned at the stake for saying it, but I am not a big fan of islands and peninsulas.  I really only like islands if they aren't built in.   I love galley kitchens like this and u-shaped kitchens that have an area for a kitchen table.  And, if you have figured it out already, I love white cabinets.

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 Ahhh, enamel appliances.  I would love to have some.  I think I would give up a dishwasher if I could have a stove and fridge like these.  Either in white or the green.

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 I love built-ins.  Love them.  I would be super excited to find a home with a butler's pantry.

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I love the look of a banquette.  Even if there isn't a space for a table in the kitchen, it would be nice to have a little corner like this.

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 I want a bath that has great original tile.  I want this sink.  I want less toilets to clean and no shower stalls. My ideal house has no more than 2 bathrooms.  Ideally, 1.5. And fewer sinks.

Dreaming is fun, huh?  I think the most important thing that the interior of our new home has is quirks and character.  I want molding that has patina or looks like it has been painted 5 times over the years.  I want light switches that click like my grandma's did when you flipped them.  I want a room that you don't know if it was a bedroom or a dining room or what.  Something that makes me come up with creative solutions to make work.  I will give up things like walk in closets and floors that don't squeak and siding that is easy to upkeep.

In the midst of moving out of the shoppe and getting this house ready, I am planning a 5th birthday party.  5th.  How did my baby hughes become a skinny little boy?

more soon~

Dream Home- Exterior

The most exciting thing about moving is finding a place that you love that fits your family.  Now, we really don't know where we are going, but we have been doing some internet drivebys of some homes in our favorite places.  We like what our house here as become, but we really want something older this time.  Here are some images from my pinterest boards Dream Home and Rooms I Love.

My dream home is a bit smaller than some... in fact, it is smaller than what we have now.  I said it.  I want a smaller home. Not that we live in a mansion.  I want less to clean.  No one really needs 3 toilets and a double vanity in their bath.  At least, not our family.  I want a house that works better, layout wise and doesn't have as much wasted space.

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Everything about a bungalow appeals to me.  I love the small, compact shape and the front porches.  I love the simple details and the built ins they normally have.  I am not a fan of some Craftsman details like Stickly Furniture or lots of oak for myself, but I do love bungalows.

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I also love classic Four Squares and farmhouses too with white wooden siding and black shutters.  It is all about proportion to me.  

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And, I also adore little weathered cedar shingled cottages.  We don't see many around here.  

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We are only looking at traditional type homes.  We would also love to find an old schoolhouse or church to convert into a great place to live. 

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 As for exterior colors, I am pretty classic.  I like white and I like grey for siding colors.  It leaves you the possibility to change your front door's color on a whim.  My little guy loves yellow. 

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And, I love green.   I do think I would love to change the color back and forth though.

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 A front porch is pretty necessary for me because I love potted plants and hanging ferns.  And, sitting outside and reading or knitting or stitching.  Or margariting. (that is drinking margaritas)

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Plus, I want a front porch that has a ceiling I can paint (ours now is vinyl and that isn't so easy) And, it will be haint blue.

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I really want a home that has some beautiful trees all around... my yard, my neighbor's yard, all down the street. I hear raking is a good workout.

Okay, I will be back soon to show you the details I would love the interior to have.



Some of the pins I repinned didn't link back correctly, so if the image is yours or you know where it came from, please let me know and I will edit it so it links correctly.

Bell Buckle and Chattanooga

Well, once again we had a  fantabulous weekend!  We were going to go to NC to check out places for the Plan but, baby hughes has been, how do I put it.... less than agreeable lately.  So, a 7 hour car trip did not sound like a good time for Mommy and Daddy.  So, we decided to go to Chattanooga to the aquarium with a few stops along the way to antique... I mean, let baby hughes stretch his growing legs.  Our first stop was Bell Buckle.  That is right, Bell Buckle.  This little tiny town is adorable.  The above strip is pretty much it.  It is famous for it's Moon Pie and RC Cola festival... we are in the South people.  So, we went to the 4 antique shops here... some reasonable, some, not so much.

I want some of these vintage chairs and a glider.  I recently saw one that someone completely restored... so cute.  I like the rust too!

I really want to use one of these.... never mind that I have never mowed a lawn, let alone with one of these babies... some how, I don't think that Mr. Hughes will go for it.

We didn't take any photos in the affordable antique stores... too busy grabbing stuff!  This one was and antique store/ ice cream parlor... does it get much better?

Kicking myself for not getting these cafe chairs!

This place was an old pharmacy... the built in stretched across half the back wall.

Each drawer was labeled... LOVE these.  Not for sale!

Really cute booth...really expensive...

On the strip of shops going to the next one

This booth made me swoon!  These numbers were from an old grocery store that they left on all the shelves.  And, all of these booths were arranged by color, this was my favorite...

oh boy!

This was part of a church... I think it was reliquary...

drool, drool. drool,

Then we strolled around a little more after our lunch before we got back in the car to drive to Manchester.  Manchester's antique stores were disappointing.  So disappointing that we left the overpriced fine antique stores without taking photos.

We arrived in Chattanooga and had dinner and tried to keep our monster quiet so we wouldn't get kicked out.  He was in rare form!  The next morning, we got up early so we could go to the Knitting Mill Antiques before our time to go through the aquarium.  This place was HUGE!

I so wanted to take this chicken coop home for herbs... $35!  But we didn't have any room in the car.  I cried a little inside leaving this.

So, do you believe me when I tell you about the size of this place?  Now there were about 4 aisles like this, and here is the best part....

They had shopping carts, more than likely to allow you to spend mucho dinero, but it allowed for some hands- free shopping for Mommy. 

So much stuff to look at, I am sure I missed so much

More vintage goodness!

Then, we drove around the North Shore area and saw so many cute cottages and bungalows. We don't even have photos of the best ones... these are just few that we snapped so we could look them up on zillow when we got back to the hotel.  I have to tell you, I loved this area so much.  Like called a  real estate agent kind of love.

Alot of the houses were built up on stony hills.  It is very hilly in Chattanooga, so the yards were very small... the backyards either went up hill or way down hill.  All the houses were different from one another.  We even figured out where this one was and what is wrong with it.... terrible, junky neighborhood.  The main problem with Chattanooga is the crime.  Mr. Hughes (who has a knack for these things) figured that we would have a 1 in 25 chance of having our house or car broken into.  And, that just isn't the place for our little guy.

Then, we went to this place:

It is incredible!  They have built another building since I had been the last time.  We have a video instead of photos and I won't bore you with me saying..."oh my gosh, look at the turtle, shark, nemo fish...."

But, trust me, this aquarium is great! Two buildings:  the River Journey and the Ocean Journey.  They have a penguin exhibit along with a great jelly fish one too.  The butterfly exhibit was awesome and I even helped one escape (not on purpose.)  Very, very cool.  baby hughes loved the butterflies and the birds, but the fish were kind of lost on him after the first little bit.  He mainly liked the light up photos showing what kind of fish were in the tank.  

After we finished, we found a small pizza chain that we adore, Mellow Mushroom.  That is one thing I would miss if we moved too far away.... but, they do have one in Savannah too *wink*

So, there it is, another great weekend  I will try to get some photos this week of the small treasures that made it home with us.  Now, I need to go brush my monster's teeth!  Bye for now!