New Beginnings...

As I sit here coffee in my left hand pecking the iPad with my right hand my mind is inundatedwith where it is I see this blog going and why I'm even attempting this outlet...again. As crazy as this might sound, I've contemplated this blog for quite a while now. It is almost hard to believe the last post on our former blog was over two years ago. Our lives were so different then. For obvious reasons like we only had one little boy at the time, we were living in a different town in our first home together ( our little cottage that belonged on the shore somewhere)! And we really knew nothing about those vows we took saying "for better or for worse." This to say, we have had our share of better in the last two years, for example the birth of our second son, who we so affectionately refer to as "Babe"; the chance to move back to our hometown near our family; an awesome house that we were able to buy that was way more than we thought we would have at our age- with a great neighborhood; And overall just feeling like we "had" this...you know, like our life was feeling pretty perfect. Sure we had some tough times but we really had nothing to complain about!

On January 23, 2012 our lives took a completely different direction. While we still had our family, our health and the things that we truly needed we experienced a living nightmare at 4:00 AM. Our home was pretty much destroyed(along with most of our neighborhood) by an F-3 tornado.  Just typing that sends chills up my spine and my eyes instantly fill with tears. While it is not my intention to constantly dwell on this event the realist in me knows that even almost a year later it is still very fresh on my mind. The tornado certainly does not define me but it sure did help to 'refine' me if you will. It helped refine me into a woman who knows what it is like to completely depend on her personal Savior . It helped refine me into a mommy who got over always having the most perfectly matched children down to their socks (even though I still do this it is not to extent it once was!). It also helped to refine mine and B's relationship that has weathered(no pun intended) more in 5 years than many will in 30ish! At the one year later mark I feel certain that I am better because of what we have endured in 2012. 

     

So with the background laid, I'll get to the point of my blog title. New House, Old Soul.  As I mentioned before our first home was a little "cottage" that belonged on the shore somewhere, I'll never forget the first time I peeked through the windows of that little house! It had tongue and groove wood from top to bottom. Literally, you could not tell where the floor stopped and the walls began! But it had good bones! Speaking of bones, we worked our fingers to the bone on that house!! I have an unhealthy  attraction to all things old. Old books, buttons, furniture, dishes, fabric etc. I love to find something that most would see as trash and be able to see past the coat of dust, grime or lack of initial appeal and transform it into something that is perfect for my china cabinet or mantel. Something that has soul! So with that being said, when we lost our home and most of our "stuff" I knew when we rebuilt I would not want to go by all brand new stuff. Where's the fun in that?!  So considering I would have about 9 months to find what I wanted for our new house I made it my mission to A. Buy things that I really liked -not just buy to fill up space B. Find unique items that fit our 'style' (imagine a melting pot of shabby chic, French country, OBX old school beach charm and practical-we have two rowdy boys under 4--who will break things-- lots of things) and C. On a Major  budget. Fast forward a couple of months and you will find my partner in crime (my mom) and I hauling two kids and countless 'treasures' we wheeled and dealed and scored and squeezed into the back of my bus  suburban. Let's just say I'm on a first name basis with the guy at the local paint store and I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm an idiot to say the least. But, I don't care. We pretty munched decorated an entire house with items we found at thrift stores, yard sales, "antique" and junk stores and my grandparents basement. Yep, that's right. We might as well be dumpster divers at this point( there was this one particular junk store that I was pretty sure I wasn't going to make it out of...but that's a post for a different day-stay tuned!) When it's all said and done I can tell you where every piece of furniture and accent in our new house came from and the story behind it. You know, what gives it Soul! I am living proof that you can decorate on a budget and turn a tragedy into a challenge to be better in the end! So next up I'll give a little over view of our new house and include some tips on where to start when looking for 'treasures'