I announced my big move from #wfwhitehouse last month and one of the things I didn’t mention was where I was headed next. Thankfully, I had just finished remodeling another little house in West Monroe so I had somewhere to go. It was my 7th house to remodel in 2.5 years. (I’ve done 8 total.) I had just finished it and posted a “coming soon” notice on my Facebook when I got the final news that I would indeed be selling my beautiful, old white house. I pulled it from the listing que and decided to just hold on to it for a bit. My intention had been to sell this one and yet if I needed somewhere to move quickly, this would be a good spot.

I posted the before pictures of this one so that everyone could see its transformation. In the post I told stories from its previous owners and I never would have imagined that I’d end up here with kids baking cookies on those countertops myself! So far we’ve tackled cupcakes and pancakes, despite all of the boxes still left to unpack! Cookies from scratch are going to have to wait a bit longer. 

I’m pretty happy with this little house’s transformation overall. As usual, I saw what it could be when I first came to look at it. This tendency is both a blessing and a curse. It’s not my dream home (Goodbye, WF. ), though I’m quickly learning to love it anyway. I love the big windows and the cozy living room, and I might be most excited about bringing back my closet room! There’s a big, fenced yard for Hood Hound Hank to play in and the shop out back has lots of room for storage. 

Though it was unintentional, this little house will be my third place to live in a 6 month period. I left the condo at the end of September and got to be at Whites Ferry for just 5 months. Now I’m here. I’m becoming quite the professional at moving! I was at the condo for 14 months before these most recent moves, and even though that’s a decent length of time, I never fully settled because I always knew it was temporary. I hadn’t really settled at WF because I was still working on projects and I got the call from the police jury that I might be moving, less than two months after moving in. Rewind even further back and I had to move from my flooded house, just to move back in and go through a divorce shortly after. I say this to note that I haven’t really felt settled or like I had a stable home base for quite some time now. For years actually. I’m longing for that stability.

Many have asked what my next project will be and I know that there certainly will be one. Whether it be a home I remodel for myself or for someone else to love, I know that I’ll be back to picking paint colors and moving around walls in no time. As for buying something new for me personally though, I’m not actively looking at the moment. This little house where I’ve landed isn’t a permanent home for me, though I’m about to treat it like it is. I very well could find my next right move tomorrow, and yet I am pretending that I’ll be staying put for a while. I intend to settle in, to find a spot for everything, and to decorate how I would a permanent home. I plan to land here for now, open to ideas on what’s next, yet not actively pursuing anything. I want to be still and wait. 

I never say never and I won’t be nieve in thinking that I won’t stumble into something new soon enough. The difference is that I’m treating this new house as if that’s not the case. I’m approaching this new place and this new chapter as if I could very well be right here for years to come. Whether that’s true or it isn’t, I’m settling in. Eventually. There’s a lot to go through and figure out what to do with. This house is smaller than the last and it filled up quite quickly. 

This will also be the most inexpensive place I’ve lived in quite sometime and let me tell you, I. Am. Here. For. It. While not my dream house, it’s giving me a nice, cozy place to live for a fraction of the price. I am thrilled about the opportunity to save some extra money for a bit and that in itself is one of the beautiful parts of this entire transition. The decision to sell and move again didn’t come easy (I shared some of that in the last post.) and yet I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge how much of it boiled now to a financial decision. The entire plan made so much sense from a money standpoint and when I sat the emotional aspects aside, it was truly a no brainier.

So here I am. I have a new place to call home and it’s feeling more and more right every single day. There’s so much about this little home that’s perfect for me and my current world and I haven’t once regretted it since all was said and done. 

I must say, I so appreciate everyone’s thoughtfulness and concern for me once I broke the news. I can truly feel the love and for those who have mourned with me, rest easy that I’m in a great place with it all now. I truly haven’t looked back. It’s been a simple and easy transition and I’m so happy to have the opportunity to reset and regroup. I get to spend some time thinking about what I want the next several months/years to look like and I get to do that from a place offering me a fresh start. Most people don’t get that opportunity. I’ll never be able to fully express my gratitude to you all though. You are a wonderful tribe of faithful supporters and I feel so lucky to have you sharing in both the ups and downs with me. You’ll never know how encouraging that is to me. If you’re not already following along on Instagram, do that. I typically break all the exciting news there first. I am also launching my very own personal newsletter THIS WEEK so sign up for that too. There’s a signup box on the right side on this screen. (Or at the bottom if you’re on mobile.) This is a simple way for me to keep everyone in the loop with what’s going on in my crazy world. I intend to share sneak peaks of what I’m working on, things I’ve learned/discovered, links to resources, what I’m reading, etc. If you care about any of those things, be sure to sign up!

Onward, my friends!