A Year To DisRemember…and Some BIG News

Is it over yet? It’s been a year, to say the least. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m ready to turn the page on this one.

This summer our family was tested to the limit. We faced some of our most difficult life moments to date. Both my daughter and me endured severe health issues that seemed to hit us out of nowhere.

I am beyond grateful to God that we made it through and are back on our feet. Finding Medical Medium saved my life, literally. If anyone would like more information on how I’m beating chronic illness, Lyme, severe anxiety and depression, feel free to reach out. I’d be happy to help.

“You do not just wake up and become the butterfly. Growth is a process.”

Rupi Kaur, "The Sun and Her Flowers"

I know this now, and I began to understand it as I journeyed through dark moments this year that there was an inevitable transformation underway. Never have I experienced so much butterfly symbolism in my life before. Seemed like everywhere I turned a butterfly would appear. One day while coming back from a walk, a gorgeous blue green butterfly perched itself on my husband’s motorcycle hitch—such an odd place for a butterfly landing. It gracefully flapped it’s wings and it’s beauty drew me in—I was locked in with this creature for what seemed an eternity. It was one of many healing moments.

Turning The Tide

How I have missed being here on the blog with all of you. But now I’m back with a new lease on life and excited to create with you.

With all that said, this year will close on a high note. I have been eager to share some news with you. We have moved again! Although we had only been residing in our previous home in Atlanta one year, it was the best decision for us to change homes—for several reasons. I won’t bore you with all the details, but it was simply not the right house for us. Finances, health and location were weighing factors.

During our visit with our realtor to our now new home, I could feel that this was going to be the right home for us. The energy felt different in this house. The natural light flooded in, which was so, so important for me. It was 3 minutes from our kids school and within our price range. But…it had some issues. One being the foundation. We would need to put some money into getting things level and secured. The layout was wonky and all the windows were in bad shape. It was not a tear down, but definitely would need some time and resources to get it to where we wanted.

I had seen several other houses, but this one checked several boxes for us and felt right. I was eager to get in and design it to our liking.

You know what they say about location when it comes to real estate. This played a big factor in our buying this particular home. At first sight there was not a whole lot of aesthetic appeal happening. It was dated, could use a paint job and the front and center garage view was on my priority list for modification.

But I could see the potential. My mind started working on how we could change things. It was also in a neighborhood that we absolutely loved. And a major draw was that it was across the street from one of my best friend’s house.

The interior layout of the home is choppy. The kitchen sits in an awkward location and quite frankly needs to be gutted. The living area is small and one of the first projects we tackled was covering the fireplace. We had somebody remove it and drywall the hole. The fireplace overpowered the space and I needed a free wall for the couch. Our family does not use a fireplace so it was a practical way to make the small living area more functional for us.

One of our renovation plans for this home is to convert the garage into a larger living area. This will better accommodate our family’s needs. By the way, I had never seen poles in the middle of garages until we moved to Georgia. This for sure will have to go. But luckily our architect explained how you can replace it with a beam in the ceiling.

The current dining room will become the new kitchen. We will knock out the wall that currently exists between the kitchen and the dining room. This will open things up for better flow and the new kitchen will be slightly bigger. I cannot wait for this to be completed.

Hubby extended one wall in the dining room to optimize space in the new kitchen. I asked him to make the opening in a curved aesthetic, rather than your typical squared off version. He did some research and figured it out. I’m really happy with the character it adds.

Looking Through A Window Is Healing -Anthony William

Ronny tackled changing all the windows in the home soon after we moved in. The original windows had been neglected. Some were even missing glass parts. The picture below is of one of our bedroom windows which was in seriously bad shape when we moved in. Ronny had to caulk and tape up some of the glass inserts which had fallen out. Most of the windows had water rot and some had moldy parts.

Changing out the windows was a laborious task but we can now feel the temperature difference in the home and visibility has greatly improved. The only design detail I decided to add to the new windows is a single grid on the top half. Although a subtle gesture, I love how it looks and works with the entire aesthetic of the home.

Everyone has their must haves during the house search process. When I look for a new home, one of the first things I check is the location of the kitchen sink. Does it have a window view? Since I spend most of my day in the kitchen, I have to have a view out to nature. It gives me joy and I find it healing to watch the squirrels, birds and plants as I scrub dishes.

The problem with the existing window set up in our soon to be new kitchen, was that the wall where the sink would go lacked a centered window. Instead, two tall windows hung on either side of the wall. Not only would we have to make the windows shorter to accommodate counter tops, but Ronny would need to consolidate the two existing windows into one larger and centered window. And that is what he did—after some help from our neighbor and several days of taking down the wall to rebuild it with a new frame, we were able to install our new 4 foot wide slider.

There is not enough time in the day to do all the things I want to do at Hummingbird. I cannot wait to get my hands on the yard. In the back I’m going to put in a decent sized edible garden. Beyond that, the landscape scenery will involve year round color, some greenery, beds and pathways.

Other projects on our list include things like new paint for the exterior and updating features from the 1980’s—light and bathroom fixtures, door knobs, stair railing, etc.
I am looking forward to sharing our progress as we make Hummingbird ours. We have settled into the community here in Decatur and are grateful to have found a home that feels right for us. I wake up at peace in this home and excited to work on it.