This past May, Rob and I celebrated the second anniversary of buying our first home (is that a thing?) — it seems like just yesterday we were crammed in our tiny apartment with Granger, itching to move out. I truly cannot believe it’s been almost 2.5 years at this point! In case you missed it last year, you can view Part 1 and Part 2 — but I think you’ll agree, we made some big changes! 

Owning a home is a never-ending project; there is always something to be fixed or things to be improved upon. Before he started working in the government, Rob worked for a real estate agent where he learned that, in order to keep up the value of your home, you should invest 1% of the sale price into improvements and upkeep each year.  So, we decided early on that that was something we wanted to strive for whenever possible. This year, we took our tax returns and decided to use it towards upgrading our kitchen cabinets — they had this orange-y sort of stain that was popular in the late 90’s/early 2000’s. It wasn’t awful (okay, it was kind of awful — it was identical to the floors!), it just didn’t match the style of the rest of our home. 

And then of course, outside of upgrades, was just filling the rooms! As I mentioned, we came from a small, one-bedroom apartment and didn’t have much furniture. In our first year we were able to do the office and the sitting room; this year we got a dining room set and upgraded our living room! There is still a lot I want to change, but for now, this is home and we’re just happy to be here!

Save the date wall of fame — I love getting these in the mail! 

This is just a small update — we got new chairs! I didn’t like the yellow; I felt like it didn’t fit the vibe with the rest of the home so we stuck with cool neutrals and went grey!

You didn’t think I was going to do a home post without Granger popping up, did you!?

For some reason, I just love this little nook!

Another small update — this Hogwarts Castle was Rob’s birthday gift this year! My sweet friend Abby posted about how one of her groom’s MADE this for his bride and I just thought it was the coolest thing ever. Well, I didn’t make this, but it is still one of my favorite piece in the house!

And this little bathroom had a face lift! We went to Lowe’s and got a new lamp and mirror and voila! Looks like a completely different room for under $150!