Well... We're Homeowners!

It's been a few weeks, and if you don't follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, here's the big news:

We closed on our house! As of June 26th (one day after the originally anticipated date), we signed many many pieces of paper and received two shiny sets of house keys to our very own home. The last few weeks have been spent settling in and getting to the point where the house is livable. We still have lots to do, but we've gotten a lot done and it's really starting to feel like home.

Jesse, me and our realtor, Jody at our house closing.

Proud homeowners!

We also decided on a whim to adopt a dog. His name is Clyde. He's a Border Collie / Hound / Pointer mix. He's a total goofball and has already become Jesse's best friend. He's a wonderful addition to our little family. He's won over one of our two cats, but I have hopes the second one will come along in time. She's just an old grump.

Anyhow, back to the house - I must admit, buying a home was WAY less stressful than people have told me. I think we got really lucky for a few reasons: those of you who know me in real life know that I have a bit of OCD when it comes to researching, planning and preparing (it's my job, I can't help it). That being said, it all paid off because we were prepared for the few minimal road bumps that came our way. We were also lucky because along the path of researching, we found an AMAZING realtor. He's absolutely phenomenal and I would recommend him in a heartbeat to anyone looking to buy in-town in Atlanta, specifically East Atlanta. He had the most amazing "crew" of people to utilize for all of the steps in home buying (loans, inspections, etc.). If anyone needs a realtor, I strongly suggest checking him out. Shoot me an email if you want his details.

I need to take some more better photos of the house and the progress, but here's some eye candy for you for the time being...

Adding the stylized house numbers.

Living room, mostly set up.

Relaxing in the back yard after a long day of settling in.

As always, thanks for reading!
Courtney

Hey Look, It's June! A recap of the last few months.

Well, looks like my sabbatical from blogging went into full effect... for a little longer than anticipated. Whoopsie!

As usual, when I take a long break, lot so of things happen in my real life, so I needed some time to get those things in order before I started writing again.

Let's see, where shall I start? I'm thinking a quick summary of things that have happened would be a good starting point.

I got hired full time at the ad agency I'd been freelancing for since September. This was HUGE for me. While I've loved every company I've worked for during my career for different reasons, this company is everything I've dreamed of. An amazing workspace, inspiring co-workers and projects that make me strive to always learn more and more, it truly is perfect for me. I have never been so happy and felt so accomplished at the same time. It's the most supportive experience I've ever had. Getting hired full time also took a lot of strain off of me mentally since I was always having to be prepared that things could change at a moments notice. Not that life ever guarantees things to be stable, but being freelance when I've never been comfortable as a freelancer was very taxing on me. That being said, it leads me to the second point of my summary...

Once I was hired on full time and had a stable salary, Jesse and I decided to take the plunge and start looking into buying a house. As of two weeks ago, we are under contract on an adorable mid-century atomic ranch in East Atlanta. Obviously, we're aware that anything can still happen since we're still under contract, but things are moving along swimmingly and our fingers are crossed that everything works out. Our closing date is slated for June 25th. We're absolutely elated that this opportunity came about at such a perfect time.

Those are the two biggest things that have happened recently aside from a trip we took to Palm Springs, California at the end of March to see my sister-in-law get married. That was an absolutely fantastic trip, which was filled with SO MUCH AMAZING ARCHITECTURE. Jesse and I fell in love the moment we drove into the city limits. I'll be doing a blog post sometime soon recapping that whole adventure. Such an amazing town with so many lovely people.

That pretty much summarizes everything for the moment. I'm excited to be back blogging, especially now since we're buying a house, there will be lots of home blogging to come.

Happy June, everyone! I think it's going to be a great summer, filled with new experiences, baseball games and lots of friends and family!

Resolutions for 2012

I typically don't make resolutions. The concept of making a laundry list of things that, most of the time, I won't actually accomplish (ie. I have a tendency to go a bit overboard with delusions of grandeur) is counter-productive to me.

That being said, I do have a list of goals I'd like to accomplish or at least make a good deal of headway with. I'm not going to pressure myself in saying any are final resolutions that MUST be accomplished, but instead, call my resolution list more of a personal improvement project.

• Take time for myself. I have the most trouble with this, which is why it's first on my list. I have to really focus in order to not let time completely slip by without taking a moment for myself on occasion.
• When taking time for myself, make it quality time. Instead of just taking a moment or doing something for myself, I want to make it count - I want to enjoy it and make it worthwhile.
• Learn more, read more, & write more. First order of business, which will help with the next item on my list, is to re-learn French. (Also on this note, anyone have any book suggestions?)
• Travel. I need to actively set out to travel more. We started out the new year travelling for a short weekend to Jekyll Island, GA and I'm hoping to make a trip to the mountains sometime soon. We also have our first international trip planned in June to visit Lille & Paris, France.
• Slow down and enjoy life.
• Take more photos.
• Simplify. 
• Redesign Musings and Nonsense.
• Learn to play a new musical instrument.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and rang in the new year with enjoyment. Here is a little Instagram photo-recap of our New Year's beach trip.

Goodbye, 2011.

Today is New Year's Eve Eve. Tomorrow we leave for four work-free days in Jekyll Island, GA - a much needed respite from the daily grind.

2011 was a very "full" year. Full of extremes - both good and bad. It's been a year of change for Jesse and I to say the least, some of which I've shared here, a lot of which is too personal to share outside of my closest friends and family. I must admit, I get a little choked up when I think back on a lot of what has occurred.

I'm so thankful that we get to spend the end of the year with two of our dearest friends in a serene environment. It's a calming way to end a very tumultuous year.

Here's to 2012 bringing lots of good things - love, luck and happiness. I have an immense amount of hope that it will.

I leave you with a Gaelic New Year's toast and a playlist of my favorite songs from 2011:

Athbhliain faoi mhaise duit, go mbeire muid beo ar an am seo arís!
(A prosperous New Year and may we be alive at this time next year.)

Driftwood Beach in Jekyll Island, GA (Image courtesy of http://theycallmesausage.blogspot.com.)