We moved.

We did it.  We moved.  We packed up everything we owned and moved it 2.9 miles down the road to a new apartment.

And when I say "we", I mean I didn't move a single box.  I packed up and I did a little cleaning, but we had some wonderful family and friends step up and haul everything, alongside my husband, while I was at work.  It was pretty strange to leave one home for work in the morning and return to a different home with all of my things there waiting.  In boxes.  Stacked.  Heaped.  All over.

Moving is the worst.  It really is.  It's so awful to have to box up everything you own, saving all of the daily essentials until the last moment where you will toss them randomly in boxes and bags and hope you remember where they ended up, and then move them to a new place where you will just have to unpack and reorganize everything.

I came home to a ton of boxes everywhere, so very grateful that they were there waiting for me.  I started unpacking the kitchen.  It's right there when you walk in so I figured it was a good place to start.  Also, we have to eat, so we need our kitchen in order.  I was able to get it unpacked and organized fairly quickly, which was great.  Then I realized it was after 9 and I didn't want to do anything else.

Except move the ginormous dresser that is in our new walk-in closet.  I noticed right away that the dresser was put on the opposite wall than it needed to be put on.  This only presented a problem because with the massive size of the dresser and the rest of our bedroom furniture being in place, we couldn't pull the dresser out, flip it around, and get it back in the closet.  So we got creative.  We picked up the dresser on one end, sat it on it's side, and turned the entire thing until it was in the right spot, then we brought it back down.  Genius!  And exhausting.

Have I mentioned how awesome it is that people came and moved my extremely heavy things for me?  Because it really is so awesome.

Before settling into our new home for the night we ran and got a few things that we needed, and we got a couple of large drinks because we were thirsty!  Ayla even got her own big drink {bigger than usual, but smaller than ours} which she totally loved.

I am so excited to be in a new place.  I'm excited about our vaulted ceilings and our 2 bathrooms and the huge laundry room.  I'm excited about our patio!  I'm excited for the next home that we share together and all of the adventures that we have ahead of us.

Yay for new beginnings!

This is the view from our new patio.  Not bad.  We still get those beautiful mountains!

Ayla dipping her fit in the pool.  She can hardly stand that we aren't ALWAYS swimming.  She sits on the patio and stares longingly at the pool.

{A super big thank you to Rick, Debbie, Charity, Jaycee, Scott, Joey, and my amazing husband for moving all of our stuff while I sat in an air conditioned office working my day away!}

Movin' On & Feelin' Crafty.

Over the years I have developed a love for lounging on a patio in the evening.  It's so nice to sit outside and unwind from the day.

The past two years I have not had a patio.  I've lived in basement apartments {which have been wonderful and suited our needs at the time.} and sitting outside in someone's yard that is not your own isn't quite the same as relaxing in your own little space.

Kyle and I decided that it was time to move out of the basement and to a 3rd floor apartment complex.

Our new apartment complex.

We put a lot of thought into this decision.  There was a lot of agonizing.  We really love where we live.  Our landlords {they live upstairs} have been so, so great.  Ayla is going to go through some MAJOR Barbara and Ryan withdrawals.  And the ward {neighborhood church members} has been the best I have experienced since the ward I grew up in.  And it's beautiful being up at the base of the mountains.

But, it's time to move.  We need a little bit more storage space.  And we need to spend a little less on gas.  And it will be a little closer to family.  And we will have vaulted ceilings!  And a fitness center.  And a swimming pool.  And a playground for Ayla.  And a basketball court for Kyle.  And we will have a PATIO!

There are many exciting things about a new place.  But aside from the massive walk-in closet and the two massive bathrooms, I am most looking forward to the patio.  I can't wait to lounge on our patio in the evening, have some ice water or lemonade {maybe a dirty diet coke!}, talk about the day, look at the beautiful mountains, and unwind.  It sounds so dreamy to me.

The only problem is that we don't have any patio furniture.  I have some folding camp chairs, but that's not my idea of cute patio furniture.  So I did what any other red-blooded girl would do and I turned to Pinterest.  It had to be cute.  It had to be unique.  It had to be DIY.  And it had to be CHEAP.  {We are on a MAJOR budget, folks.}

I turned to my trusty board where I have pinned crafts using wooden pallets and I found this beauty:

Isn't this great?!  I am picturing brightly colored pallets and brightly colored cushions and pillows.  I need a little bit more happiness on my patio than is pictured above.

Kyle and I have already started cruising around looking at pallets and planning how we are going to go about accomplishing this.  I am so excited to get crafty and make this little sitting area for our new patio.  Look for a tutorial-type post in the future!

Looking forward to August 1st; a new place and new beginnings!

Xoxo