Moving!

Moving day is here! After what feels like a summer of waiting and waiting to move into our new house, it’s all happening! To be quite honest, I’ve been so excited, but now feel like I just got a swift kick in the feels. This house holds so many special memories for us. It was the first home we ever bought thanks to renting for nearly ten years in NYC. Deacon was only six months old when we moved in here, we had hardly any furniture, and knew only a handful of people in town.

Fast forward to nearly five years later and we’ve done countless projects on this charming, yet quirky 1974 ranch house. I don’t think I’ll ever forget our first couple of years here and getting an idea for an improvement, calling my Father-in-law or my dad and tackling it together with a frenzied excitement. We certainly made our mark on this home one project at a time. We painted the brick, changed floors,wallpapered as many rooms as Al would let me, updated the patio, replaced the windows, dug my own flower beds, swapped out light fixtures, and bought a whole bunch of furniture (some of it good, some of it bad). My taste has evolved over these five years and I truly feel like I know my “style” finally. I also know what is DIY-able and when I need to call in the pros.

But a house is not just the walls and the yard. This home has been a place for celebrations, parties, new arrivals (talking about you, Emmie Sue!) quiet nights at home, picnic snack movie dinners, afternoons in the front yard with neighbors, first steps, first words, and first birthdays. This house has seen it all - fingerprints, meltdowns, dance parties, witching hours, all nighters (me nursing, Al working), nesting like mad, and two sweet babes becoming grown-ass children in the blink of an eye. We will miss this house and will hold these memories close forever and ever.

And while moving during a global pandemic isn’t advisable, I will say it has given us a nice distraction and sense of hope in what otherwise has been a very long and sad season. I’m excited to have new walls to stare at while we ride out this weird time. Now that my emotional spiel has concluded, below I’m answering some frequently asked questions about our move!

Q: To where are you moving?

A: Not far! just a mile and a half away. Same general area of Dallas, just a neighborhood over to a new elementary school.

Q: Why are you moving?

A: Deacon’s program moved to a different elementary school (he’s in a Pre-K program through our school district) so we had talked of getting over to that elementary zone by NEXT summer to stay consistent for his Kindergarten year. But one work-from home pandemic later, we were starting to get antsy and just casually started looking. In true Katie form, I’d had my eye on this house as it was being built and had some time to kill one day and asked my friend (and the best realtor in all the land) if we could go walk it, “just for fun”. Lo and behold, six hours later we had put in an offer. When you know, you know! You know?

Q: What are you most looking forward to in the new house?

A: I’m excited for the storage! There aren’t many basements here in Texas and that has made this Kansas girl perplexed as to where everyone keeps their holiday decor. I love the finishes of our house, but truly it was the amount of storage that sold me. I think I can actually fit all four of my Christmas trees in our storage closet! That and I can’t wait to organize every drawer and cabinet in the place. Bring on The Container Store!

Q: What are you going to miss from the old house?

A: See rambling sentimental rant at top of post. :) But besides the memories here, I’m going to miss our street. We have some of the best neighbors ever and such a friendly community here. I’m hoping we’ll have some new nice people in our new neighborhood, but it’s hard to top some the friends we’ve made on this street.

Q: What are you NOT going to miss from the old house?

A: Two words - TEXTURED WALLS. I love this weird old house (even its odd light switches behind doors), but I am so over looking at these 1970s highly textured walls. Yes, we could have skim coated them ourselves but…$$$$. And it probably wouldn’t have been worth it with these two hooligans running around. What’s funny is that while I never liked them, they really didn’t start to enrage me until this spring. Perhaps a little too much time at home in isolation staring at them?

Q: Any tips for moving with small kids?

A: SCREENS! Haha, joking (but not). It has been hard keeping them entertained while I pack. Al works a lot and we’ve had some other important things happening this summer so it has been hard to focus and buckle down. But somehow, thanks to Daniel Tiger and our moms we got it done!

Other big tip is to get a realtor who knows her/his stuff. Our dear friend Jenn has helped us with all three of our moves in Dallas (we rented a townhome our first year) and she is a total rockstar. Having a realtor who knows the area well, has a fully-loaded contact list of every service person you could possibly need, and understands the process inside and out makes all the difference when buying and selling a home. If you’re looking to move soon, call Jenn!

Here’s to all the love that went in and was fostered here in this home. And cheers to all the new memories and projects to come. Can’t wait to take y’all along for the ride as we decorate, organize, and entertain in our new space.