We went to visit the new house yesterday. The owners have moved out and it was the first time seeing it empty. It was sort of strange and overwhelming all of a sudden. Of course it's a good thing, but there is just a lot that needs to be done. Some things I'd noticed before but a lot didn't become apparent until the furniture was removed. Like wow there are like 50 wires hanging out of the wall in the living that we assume are for the homes speaker system. Before we thought "Cool! We can play music throughout the house." Yesterday I looked an Nick and said "Um.... do you know how to fix that?"

It will all come together. I'm just the kind of girl who would just assume snap her fingers and sing a song and get that place put together faster than Mary Poppins' can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious but all in time. What was I saying the other day about taking my time?

Yesterday the slipcovers I ordered came and I absolutely love them! I can wait to share some new shots with you! But until then I leave you with one last shot of the old house. I'll always remember the way my first Mothers Day peonies filled the corner of the dining room so beautifully.

Nick sent me this picture of Trixie chillin on the recently made over settee Saturday night. She's such a fancy little thing. By the way The Rust-Oleum Painters Touch Ultra Cover for wicker made the paint job super easy! One coat and then a second just for touch ups is all it took. I used the color Granite in satin to get a grey look over the old white, it's actually much lighter than it appears in the photo. The cushion is from Pier One, and pillows on the sides are from Pottery Barn and the center pillow is from Restoration Hardware. There are two matching side chairs as well and they will all look perfect for the new 4 seasons room.

Now that I'm chalk full of hotdogs, chip n' salsa, festive drinks (thanks Chrissy M!), fireworks and family fun it's time to get down to business this week. The posts might be a little scarce for the next week or two. We get to let our contractors into the new house Wednesday after the current owners move out tomorrow so I've been busy picking out new paint colors, carpet and even a little landscaping will be done before we get the keys next week. Hopefully it will help make the transition into it easier.

I'm going to take my time and be very thoughtful with the big reno's though. I want to do it right and not rush into anything. I feel like we need to live in the house for a year or two and really get to know it to find out what our needs are before we carry out anything that comes with significant expense attached. We want this to be the house our kids will grow up in, another move is not planned for a very long time. To be specific I said I would "die in this house," so that's why I don't want to throw away money on quick fixes. I'm enjoying swimming in all the eye candy that comes with research in the meantime.

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend!

*inspiration via here

Happy Independence Day to my fellow American friends! We pre-partied today with a fun good old-fashioned parade and I just finished making 2 batches of salsa for tomorrow ala Flower Patch Farm Girl here. If you like your salsa runny and fresh (which I do!) this is the best. Hope you all have a safe and wonderful holiday weekend with you're friends and family!!!

In a quest to use up everything in our refridgerator before we move I was inspired to whip up these super easy "petits pains au chocolat" al la Fern Valley Farm. They were so easy and even more importantly soooooooo yummy! I can't wait to try them again and maybe add some hazelnut.