Christmas in July

I loooovve Christmas, I really do, but I do not like to skip over my favorite season and holiday to get to the craziness that is Christmas. I am Fall obsessed, you will learn this about me in the coming months. I could have pumpkins out all year long and wear sweaters and boots while sipping my hot cider everyday of the week. But, since it is July and the theme is not Fall in July, I want to remember some of my Christmas decor from last year. Am I the only one who forgets where I put stuff last year? Or worse, what goes back in "that spot" after the Christmas decor comes down? I hope not, because it is a little embarrassing. 

These photos are from our first Christmas in our home, just about 6 months after we moved in, so I am hoping this year is a lot more exciting. I hope......

I have 2 million, ok, maybe 1 million, Christmas pillows and only so any couches. So it is a struggle to choose which ones to use.

 I love my kitchen chalkboard and the kids love the countdown to the big day.

My favorite comfy chair, and I think this is my new favorite pillow. 

I went with real garland this year and just strung some lights on it, I like the way it turned out so I think I will do it again this year 

Choosing the Finishes

There is nothing more exciting than a new house. While the home buying experience can be difficult and crazy at times, it is also thrilling to pick out finishes and upgrades and colors that will come together to create this place where your family will live. 

I LOVE to decorate and redecorate. So when it came time to choose my finishes I was like a kid in a candy store. Thanks to Pinterest and a plethora of magazines and HGTV shows, I had a picture in my head of what I wanted. I budgeted it out and I walked into that design center ready to spend!

Check out what I picked, fingers crossed it all comes together in the house as well as it does in my head!

I chose a light colored granite and a white shaker style cabinet with a brown sugar glaze. I love subway tile, so I went with a beveled subway tile in white that will be disjointed on the wall as the back splash. And my flooring is there to just to make sure it all flows. LOVE!

Our New House

We have lived in our "firehouse" as we now call it, for over 9 years. That is the longest I have ever lived anywhere. I have been ready to move for about 4 or 5 years, but the market was bad and it just wasn't happening. Our new house is big, it is beautiful and it has exactly what I want in it......because I picked it all out. 

I have endless Pinterest boards and hundreds of home blogger sites bookmarked, and I am crossing my fingers that it all comes together as I hope. 

This is the picture just days after they started construction. I am SOOOOO excited to have trees behind my house instead of a messy neighbor's condo kitchen window.

Coming along nicely. As you can see the house is Craftsman with shingle returns in the gable and a 3/4 front porch. 

There is a lake in the neighborhood and it is beautiful. The kids are excited to use those boats for fishing. 

And the clubhouse......

Kitchen, Nook and Great Room. The fireplace will be stacked stone, which I am so excited about!

The kitchen

My trees again

My coveted front porch.

My favorite picture of all, my sweet boy staring longingly at the lake. 

The House Fire

We had already decided to move further south. The house had been purchased, the packing had begun. We decided to go to dinner one night, and when we returned, our house was on fire. After a frantic 911 call, the fire trucks arrived (yes, I said trucks, as in 8 of them) and the kids were hysterical, we stood in the front yard as our possessions burned. 

The firefighters, God love them, saved our house, but I honestly think they made a bigger mess than the fire. They tore holes in the ceilings, they kicked in doors, and they tore the boys room apart, but they put out the fire and kept everyone safe thank goodness. 

Luckily for us, the fire hadn't been burning long, and they extinguished it quickly, but it had done a lot of damage. It started in my boys' room from a defective light bulb and the boys lost everything. One nightmarish experience with the insurance company and a crappy rental house later, we watched our new house go up, while our old house sat burnt, black and smelly.

Check out these horrific pics of the aftermath- I apologize in advance for the poor quality, these were obviously taken with my phone. 

The house is now being remodeled and the new house is almost done and we can't wait to move in. Onto bigger and better things (literally). 

-Nichole

Let me introduce myself.....

Hi there, I'm Nichole. I am here to chronicle my life and my move with my three sweet little monsters to a location further south. My goal with this blog is to share my ideas, photos, recipes, decor, events and occasions with all of you. I have a regular job, I have lots of laundry to do, I have bills to pay and what seems like endless pairs of socks all over my house, but I am hoping this blog will provide me with a creative outlet to escape from all of that. Stick around if you can, and let's be friends. Thanks! XOXO