SOLD!

It's been awhile since I've posted but I'm back!
 After months of having the house perfectly clean and ready for potential buyers to come through at a moments notice, the house finally sold! I'm still in shock but so excited to move on.
Putting the house on the market was a tough decision, the current housing market isn't the best for sellers and we haven't lived there for too long. Keith has had the home for 3 years but I just moved in, in September. But on the other-hand it's a great time for buyers, the interest rates are so low and house prices are equally as low. Even though I know we would have been happy in the house for a couple more years we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. It's been a dream of mine to build a house and Keith wanted a house that would still have a "project", so when we found a development that had great floor plans, an unfinished basement for Keith, and a price we could comfortably afford we had to jump on it.
I'm so excited to start the building process and I feel so lucky to have supportive parents (who are letting us move in with the dogs until the house is done) and supportive in-laws who made it possible to even do this by helping Keith buy the house 3 years ago.
Now time to start packing!!

If it's meant to be...

With Christmas quickly approaching and the end of another year not far behind, I can't help but think about everything that has changed in the past few years. In just a few short years, I got engaged, got a dog, lost my job, got another dog, became a landlord, got married and moved out of my parents house. I'm feeling really grateful for everything in my life right now and it makes me truly believe that everything happens for a reason.
Last November I lost my job, it was my first "real" job and I was devastated, however it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It made me realize my previous job was not the right fit for me and the wrong career path. I just wasn't cut out for the stressful world of public accounting and I now have an accounting job that I love. A job I never would have known to look for had I not been laid off.
Around the same time, Keith and I tried to sell his current home in order to buy a house we thought was out ideal home. It didn't work out and we were so disappointed but it ended up being another example of something that was just not meant to be because there was something better to come.
Life isn't perfect and doesn't always go as planned, but I'm excited for whatever is to come and when things get tough I hope I always have faith that what is meant to be will be.

Love it or List it

Things have been busy lately and I haven't posted in awhile, but I thought I'd write something about one of my new favorite shows "Love it or List it"! It's on HGTV which is one of my top 3 fav channels. I love all things house hunting and home decor! I swear someone at HGTV has been inside my head the past 3 months and figured out this would be a great idea for a show. It's about couples who are torn on whether to renovate some of their current home or to just list and find a new home to fit their needs. I've been struggling with this decision since before Keith and I got married. We had his house listed for sale this past summer but took it off the market once it got close to the wedding. Now we are deciding what to do. I do like Keith's house (now our home) and we've done a couple renovations to make it more homey, but its really only practical for the 2 of us. And while we don't have kids right now, it won't be long and I just don't want to feel stuck and unable to move when we do have kids. The interest rates are so good right now and we can get a lot for our money and it's always been my dream to build a home. Even though it's not a good time to sell, it's a good to to buy and we feel it's worth it to take advantage of that.
The other part of me feels fortunate that Keith was able to by this house 3 years ago and we should just stay a little longer and be happy we have a nice house to live in.
So should we love it or list it?!

The Wonderful World of In-Laws

I met Keith's family a week or two after we decided to actually admit we were dating lol. His mom and I got along from the start and his brothers treated me like a sister instantly. I've been pretty lucky in the in-law department but I can't help but feel a little guilt that I took Keith away from them. I'm pretty sure it's all in my head but I feel like we are treated differently being in Allentown while everyone else is 2 hours away in Waymart. While it was Keith's choice to stay here after graduation, I know I'm the reason people think he stayed. I feel the guiltiest at this time of year when the talk of "where are we going for the holidays" comes up. This will be the first year we can't just go our separate ways and make both family's happy, we had to decide whose family we will spend each holiday with. 

Almost every marriage article I read in Brides magazine said in-laws and money are the 2 most frequent arguments and now I understand why! Being 2 hours away makes it even more difficult, especially when we are the only ones who are far away. I feel left out alot, I worry and get upset that my kids won't have that side of the family to be close with and that it will be my fault. I get upset that the rest of his family helps each other out with everything and Keith and I are left here to fend for ourselves or that we are always the ones who have to make the trip, rarely do they visit us. 

I know that it could be worse, I have married friends whose in-laws are real monsters but sometimes I can't help but wonder if it's worth it to just move.

Newlywed

I'm not only new to the blogger world but I'm also a newlywed! It's been a huge change but I've been loving every second. It's amazing to me how different it feels and how things have changed about me just from saying "I Do". 

Keith and I had been together nearly 5 years before getting married and while I felt like I knew everything about him, we had never lived together (besides with 2 other friends for a short time in college) so the hardest adjustment was moving into his "bachelor pad" that he had lived in by himself for the past 3 years, I had tried to slowly make it a home over the years but I just couldn't get that "homey/comfortable" feeling so I had a lot of anxiety about moving in after the wedding. To my surprise it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated! After a wall to wall, floor to ceiling cleaning, some new furniture and a few female touches it was a great starter home for newlyweds! I still dream of building our own home (sometime soon) but until then I"m grateful for the home we have. While the moving part went smoother than expected, the transition of living basically by ourselves with our own rooms and routines to sharing everything and being together 24/7 is still a work in progress. 

I have to admit this is not where I thought I'd be at this point in my life. I always planned to be a little older when I got married and never really had a huge desire for kids. Now that I'm married, I love being a housewife and my uterus aches just a little when i see a baby lol It just makes me believe even more that whatever is meant to be will be and the best anyone can do is just try to enjoy life!