Fixer Upper

So I've been binge watching Fixer Upper on Netflix. One thing I really like about the show is how it make the "american dream" of home ownership possible, even for a family with a $100,000 budget. Granted, it's in Texas and house prices are different in every state, but still I can dream, right?

The part I love most is seeing how the house is transformed not only through construction but interior design. Since that is something I can control more in our rental apartment, I thought I'd post the latest pic from my ongoing wreath project:

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

2014 in Review

JANUARY

Where we started out: House-sitting by Timpview High School, muddling through the middle of graduate school, enjoying life as newlyweds:

FEBRUARY

Matt went to a Psychology Conference in Las Vegas, and I attended a Writing Conference in Provo. We still had time to celebrate Valentine's Day, though:

MARCH

We enjoyed spending time with the Hiatt side as they all came for the wedding of Matt's oldest brother:

APRIL

It was the Lund's turn as we celebrated the wedding of my younger brother:

MAY

We didn't announce it for two more months, but this happened on Mother's Day:

JUNE

New jobs for Matt and I! Matt started working at the Church Office Building, and I split my summer between two immigration Law Firms.

JULY

We moved and we found out the baby's gender!

AUGUST

Matt's birthday and our vacation to Oregon.

SEPTEMBER

Sister Lund returned from her mission!

OCTOBER

We enjoyed attending General Conference and celebrating Halloween at home.

NOVEMBER

We were thankful for family and friends who helped us get the nursery stocked:

DECEMBER

Where we ended up: In a basement apartment by Provo Center Street, seeing the end of graduate school in sight with a dissertation approved and one semester of law school to go, anticipating parenthood.

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

We moved!

Okay, so you already knew we moved if you read June's "month in review," but here are the lessons we've learned from moving:

• Always assemble your furniture beforehand!! Matt and I thought it would be easier to move if we just left everything in boxes. We just didn't realize it would take 23 hours to assemble everything, which really pushes back unpacking if you don't have a place to put things. 
• Get lots of helpers. We were blessed with some awesome ward members who helped move everything in one night, and they even helped assemble our table, chairs, and couch, which saved us half of the 23 aforementioned hours of assemblage. 
• Know where you want to put things. Luckily we were able to tour the apartment beforehand and we saw how the last couple set things up, which helped us in deciding where everything should go.
• Don't save cardboard boxes. The last house we were in was completely furnished with kitchen items and everything (the joys of house-sitting) so we literally had all of wedding gifts and personal things still in their boxes. We must have had a full room just of collapsed cardboard, which seemed to be half of the battle of clearing out the apartment. So don't save your boxes. 

It took us a week to get everything assembled, unpacked, and thrown away. Matt and I both hate clutter, so it seemed like every spare moment we had was dedicated to making our place livable. And, after seeing the following pictures, you may understand why:

June 26: Our house looks like this. And this is just one room. The boxes were strewn throughout the other rooms, just like this, in a never ending obstacle course. 

June 29: Starting to improve, although we've still got some unpacking to do. Hey look, a bookcase! Just one of the many items we put together that week.

July 2: It's a home!! With decorations and stuff!!

We're glad to be finally settled in. While our new home is much smaller, here are some of the perks:
- Right next to the highway (no more 20 minute commute through the valley!)
- Our bedroom has no windows, which means I don't wake up at 5:30am with the sun

Rhetorically,

Rebekah