Just in case you wanted to know....

What I've been up to.

And I want to photo-dump big time, so here's a recap of the last few months.

I never updated on the actual moving part of moving....

 

In November (how is it already almost March!?) the GIANT moving truck {don't worry it wasn't all for us} pulled up ready to be filled with all of our stuff. SO MUCH STUFF. Seriously... how!?!? Mind boggling I tell you, we just got rid of SO MUCH STUFF in our yard sale, and still had twice as much stuff as we'd like.

Once the truck was loaded like a game of tetris, we hit the road & made a pit stop at my mom's for the night. She had Lucy for the last few weeks while we were packing and trying to sell the house. Poor thing was so confused when we up and left again the next morning. 

Then the next thing we knew the giant truck was back to unload it all. 

  

And here we were. Home sweet new home. We made do with what furniture we had available.... a futon & camping chairs. Unforunately, this house isn't big enough for our furniture that we had in Nashville. So we had to sell it all.

  

THEN a few days later we got BACK in the car and went to Black Mountain for a conference with our region. It was weird being there, but I was glad to connect with fun friends... like Kristy & her baby Parker and sweet Shannon.

And then we climbed back over the mountain to finally pick up the dog, and stayed for a night or 2 in Johnson City.

 

Then Lucy came back with us.... let me tell you, she STILL doesn't like our house. This first picture I captured during her nightly pant session when we go to bed. Who knew a dog panting in your ear could be unnerving when you have to hear it for 2 hours when you're trying to fall asleep? She eventually stops. She has at least stopped trembling with panting now, and has cut her pant time down significantly. I don't blame her, our old house had AMAZING windows that went to the floor. Her bed was right under the window sill. Now she feels like she's stuck in a windowless box. I'm pretty claustrophobic, so I'm sure I'd hate it too if I were only 2 feet off the floor.  

Then we celebrated Thanksgiving by ourselves. It was a lovely giant meal that we had to eat for days.

We got a few days in to just enjoy our new fun yard & the greenways of Raleigh.

Then I took a last minute trip back to Nashville to take care of the last few things before we closed on selling our house. That was..... hard.  

AND THEN...... 

As soon as I flew back in to town, Jules picked me up & we went to see the So You Think You Can Dance tour in Durham. It was wonderful. I LOVE the show, and they did most of the dances from this last season and then some. LOVELOVELOVED it. 

And Christmas season was under way.....

and we continued to get to know our little area. Santa made a pit stop at our local coffee shop. This house packed more inflatables than ever should have fit. 

Before we headed out for the holidays, one of our dear friends from EA came to spend Christmas with us, and we went to get REAL Chinese food with old friends. 

The next day we set out and made it to the end of the street before we had a flat. Boo. 

We finally made it to Columbus where we spent time enjoying our family there. Austin (our nephew) wanted to be like Lucy and drink from the dog bowl. It doesn't help that my brother in law encourages such behavior on a regular basis ;)

We spent a day at the national air force museum in Dayton. Adam has talked  about it for years, and I never imaged it would be so awesome. I could have spent days reading allllll about the last 100 years in aviation.  There were so many planes of all shapes and sizes, many that have flown in wars. If you're ever in ohio and not too far, it's definitely worth the drive..... 

which we made back to Columbus in a snow storm. Not fun.

Our friend made the whole fam real Chinese food that was delicious! 

We opened presents..... and we got our most awesome gift- the segway tour AND in return, we finally got Alex back after his years of re-gifting. These aprons have now been passed on to the other Mr. & Mrs. Strouths. 

Then it was off to East TN. I haven't been in Johnson City with my dad on Christmas day in 12 years so it was such a blessing to be with him. 

I also got in some good time with my Mama & dear friends like Jami. 

AND then to a big student conference to bring in the new year. 

As soon as we got back, it felt like I turned around again to head to Denver for... you guessed it, a conference. 

And 2 days after I got back, 2 of my best friends Eve & Marisa (and Tyler too) came to visit for my bithday! It was wonderful! 

AND THEN we went to Spain. And then I went to another conference. And then Adam left. And then And then And then........ I'm ready to SLOW down. March is looking promising. 

Congrats if you made it this far. 

New Found Treasures

So while at my dad's house in Johnson City in July, I started discovering some pretty cool stuff. My dad lives in my Grandparents old house that they built in the 60's. My grandmother died 9 years ago, and my dad moved into the house a few years later. While he did change several things around, he left some things the same.

I used to try really hard to convince him to change everything. I thought that most things were old and out of date for my early 20 something taste. But with the way that trends have recently changed... old is now the new new..... I'm glad that a lot of things are the same. 

While she was visiting, Jamie was looking through the living room and came across these books in my Grandmother's old desk hutch.....

I was in the other room when she said, "Ummm Haley.... do you know what you have in here!?" A collection of old Reader's digests books. Which a year ago wouldn't have meant anything to me, but due to the blogosphere & Pinterest, I've discovered that these are little decorating jems. 

I mean look at the covers.....

So fantastic. Who knew that these would be so trendy decades later?

I'm pretty pumped about this find. 

For now, they are back on their old shelf, but I look forward to putting them to great use in the future. 

Next.... 

This chair. It isn't a new find.... it has been sitting in the same spot for the last 26 years. I've always been obsessed with it. 

I haven't noticed the light fixtures in years.... in fact, the last time I looked at them I probably tried to convince my dad to change them. I'm glad he ignored me tho. They are elegant. This one is in the hallway. 

And these 2 that are very similar are in the entryway....

and the dining room. 

This wall shelf unit has been at the bottom of the basement stairs as long as I can remember with this set of old encyclopedias

But I just noticed how much i love this clock.....

Continuing through the basement......

My grandfather's old collection of beer steins.....

.....and into the basement bathroom. 

Now let me just say, I was never a fan of this room as a child. I actually was terrified of their basement.... simply because my first nightmare that I can remember took place there when I was barely 5. I'd be lying if I said I no longer get the heebie-jeebies when I'm down there at night. Lame-o i know. 

This bathroom.... in the basement.... was my grandfather's bathroom. Why the basement bathroom? I have no idea. But here is the proof, 20 years since his bum last touched the toilet......

Yes. I'm pretty sure that has been there for like 40 years. We all know that no woman would ever have a scene painted on the underside of BOTH the seat and the lid..... 

He was just claiming what was his.

His old radio still sits on the shelf. 

The original cabinet {with awesome doors & hardware} is still there...

AND the best part.... dundundada....

The original wall paper THAT is most definitely textured in a short crushed velvet material. 

I mean, how amazing is this!? I kid you not I would have BEGGED my dad to rip this off the wall 8 years ago when he moved in. But that would have been a crying shame.  

Seriously. It is awesome. Pictures don't do it justice. 

The old steam room is now just a regular big shower, but not much else has changed! And I think I like it that way. 

Back upstairs we go.....

Another unchanged area of the house is the dining room with these fun pieces among many:

Elegant candlestick holders that match the chandelier....

and a giant candy bowl looking thing. 

I also found this FUN old cookie jar {that might be fun to spray paint turquoise...or just leave alone}. 

The furniture in the dining room is pretty cool too- even though it is a little out-dated in finish. When we bought our house 4 years ago, I was adamant about buying new dining room furniture and not using this old stuff. But today I would definitely reconsider... with a paint job of course. 

Now to the kitchen. 

{Don't mind the mess... my dad is a bachelor and lives alone ;) }

So these OLD cabinets. I used to hate them and thought they were SOOO old and out of date. I mean, they did install them in the 60's. 

BUT they really are pretty cool. 

All of the handles and hardware look like this:

And I think with an oil-rubbed bronze paint job, could look really cool. I would go with a different stain color for the cabinets, but with that awesome wood grain getting rid of them would be a sin. 

So Dad, even though I still think some things could stand a little change {the brown carpet on the back porch has got to go}, way to hold strong in the line of my old "modern is best" opinions over the past decade. The classic look can stay. 

There are so many other fun things that I didn't get a chance to take pictures of like BIG old mirrors, my Grandmother's jewelry chest, a big old secretary desk that I used to play banker with as my desk, some other great old pieces of furniture, and a wall of really cool grasscloth wall paper {that 8 years ago THANKFULLY the painter refused to take down & swore we would regret it later if we did}. It also just occurred to me that one of the guest rooms {that is now an office} had really sweet old twin beds that had a little built in book shelf in the headboard.... what happened to those?! I sure hope they're still around. 

Joyfully Treasuring,