1 year

i cannot believe it's already been one year since we moved into our condo.  i remember all the stress, scheduling of dates, and constant paperwork leading up to the closing date.  then, when those keys were in our hands, we quickly made our way to our new home and stood in the empty place and just looked at what was now ours. 

it's been fun to be a home owner.  of course there are there are those things that we used to be able to call our landlord to have taken care of that are now our responsibility.  but, the freedom of doing whatever you want to the place is amazing. 

in the past year, we have painted the kitchen and dining room wall.  we have added a buffet and hutch, desk, and new sectional sofa to our furniture collection.  we have hung and rehung numerous pictures around the house.  we have learned that it's a pain to hang ANYTHING on our walls.  we have gone without closet doors in the master bedroom for nearly a year (after the previous heavy oak doors came out of the wall within a week of moving in).  we have learned that do-it-yourself doesn't come naturally for us.  we have installed ceiling fans in the living room and master bedroom.  we shopped for months for the perfect floor lamp.  we have created a long to-do list for ourselves and the home.  we have learned to compromise our tastes in order to come up with mutual solutions for furniture, paint colors, etc.  and most importantly, we added another member to our family. 

we love our home.  we enjoy sitting on the couch watching tv, sitting at the dining room table to enjoy a home-cooked meal, entertaining friends for a night of games, and most importantly we enjoy unlocking the doors after a long trip to see our cute, furry em meowing to welcome us home. 

it truly is home sweet home.