Pinch Me...Pt. 2

So the last few months have seen us getting settled into our new home. I got right to work painting most of the rooms before we brought the furniture out of storage. The house is much smaller than our last home, but its dark walls made it look even smaller. A fresh, lighter color just brightened the whole house!
The kitchen before...

during...

and after...

Dining room before...

and after...

We were fortunate that this house has freshly refinished wood floors and new windows. Once the new paint color went up, all our furniture seemed to make so much more sense than it did in the old house- what was left of it, anyway (remember, MUCH smaller house...must need to pare down!) We have beautiful hills and open space surrounding our neighborhood. I reduced my commute from well over an hour each way to about 10 minutes, and once the first day of school rolled around last fall, we were pleasantly surprised to find that many of Munch's preschool friends live within a block or two. We have so much more time together as a family, and are within a few miles of Munch's grandparents and cousins. Money is tighter than ever, having sold our first house at a loss and purchased this new one for more than double the value of the last. We're still trying to spruce up the house and yard, figure out our new routines, and have found that driving home still doesn't have that familiar feeling yet. But I NEVER would have guessed a year ago that we would be where we are today- it is so much more than I dared to want.