welcome home!

Right now I'm sitting in my newly built (still unstained) breakfast nook while my husband is painting "gentle rain" gray onto our walls.

It's the weekend. We have imagine dragons turned up loudly. I have a homemade mocha sitting next to me in my "everyday white" teacup.

There are pink peonies in a vase where I can readily see them from nearly anywhere in the house. They're so pretty I'm tempted to match their shade to a paint color & designate an accent wall.

I'm wearing jean shorts & one of ben's t-shirts because my summer clothes are still boxed up. I'm comfortable, but definitely not trendy. We'll work on that one later, though.

So this house! It's ours. And we love it. Uneven floors & all.

We're slowly transforming it from a refurbished structure into a home...a home that best represents us & our life together. The home we talked & argued & pinned about. The home we believed God would provide so graciously.

We've named it the rothwell square as its dimensions are that of a perfect square! Yeah, we're really creative.

First thing we did when we moved in was set up our coffee station. This included the: grinder, brewer/pot, keurig, k-cup drawer, & "today's roast" container. This was an important step toward our happiness & civility.

Next I had my mom come over & help me organize my kitchen (she's had 27 years of kitchens so she is a pro). Then I made baked goods. Which I've never been good at. But my new kitchen is so lovely that I couldn't help myself! We even bought a stand mixer -- on a whim. And ben keeps begging for muffins, scones, cookies, breads, & poundcake.

It got dark before we knew it & we suddenly realized how hungry we were. We couldn't tear ourselves away so we ordered chinese take-out. Without chairs, we sat cross-legged on the floor. Between slurping lo-mein noodles and piling fried rice onto chopsticks, we dreamt of everything this place would become. While our voices echoed across the hardwood floors.

It's been fun to settle in & inconspicuously figure out how to be a homeowner. Which has meant doing trivial things like researching the most affordable trash company, bribing my brother to mow our lawn with chick-fil-a combos, spending hours poking around home depot, & hosting the plumber with strawberry lemonade while he makes our toilets flush.

The story of our rothwell square is in the beginning stages, but we are are confident it will always be one of faithful love that conquers whatever threatens to come against it. We'll fill it up with reckless laughter, local produce, good people, God-given grace, vintage everything, favorite photos, natural lighting, & eventually....mini rothwells!

It's just our little place. And I want to be here all the time. Just my heart & his.