It’s moving day! Yay!! This little Cape Cod-style cottage, built in the 1960s on a quiet cul-de-sac in Amherst, MA, is finally ours! We got the keys from our realtor last night and this morning we’re ready to move in. Can you believe it? It’s a dream come true for our family… The house is humble yet charming, small enough to retain a certain storybook feel yet spacious enough to comfortably shelter our little family of three. It also comes with a pet hedgehog, Cordelia, who built her home years ago right under our backyard porch. A few bits of apple and some kibble and we’ll be best friends in no time! As for the interiors, the elderly couple who lived here for the last decade or so took really great care of house…We don’t plan on knocking down walls or anything, just make the house a better version of itself with a few upgrades here and there. First on the list, landscaping…

I just realized that it’s been a long time since I last posted about our home. I don’t know about you but I blinked and it was Valentine’s Day!! January passed way too quickly, leaving me with a long list of unfinished projects around the house, like painting our bedroom walls or ordering  fabric for our new bedroom shades. I plan on posting about my design plans for the bedroom soon, but in the meantime, I thought you’d enjoy a peek into our refreshed living room.

Only three days left until Christmas!!! I hope life is not too crazy for you right now, although not the same can be said about our home and life in general. December has been a whirlwind month so far and we’ve been busier than ever with out of town guests, my mom’s visit, shopping, school, work and the usual responsibilities. At times it felt like too much was happening and there were not enough hours left at the end of the day (it still feels that way) but, in reality, Ivan and I strive on chaos and madness. We love the adrenaline, the rush and the busyness of life in general. We’d rather be too busy than bored. We’re crazy that way.

My daughter is the happiest this time of year. She still believes in Santa and the Elves and her innocence makes these magical holidays that much more exciting for us grownups. And now with her grandma visiting, Christmas will be extra special. For her and for all of us. I’ve enjoyed my mom’s company more than anything these days. She’s sweet, easy-going and funny. She also has a sweet tooth so she’s been sharing with us old family recipes that my grandma used to prepare for me when I was little. I want to stretch these moments as much as I can… The cold weather didn’t stop us one bit. We went antiquing and acted silly. We found nothing  but it was still worth it just for the time we spent together. 

Anyway, I think by now you realized that this is my long winded way of saying that there’s no proper post today 🙂 Lack of time. Instead, I’m going to share with you some leftover photos from Wednesday and Thursday, of my living room. A corner of it anyway. The rest is not blog-ready yet and I don’t know that it ever will be 🙂

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Six months ago we moved into a sunny apartment in Amherst MA. I was immediately taken with the views and the amount of natural light. The forrest is literally our backyard. However, it is a rental and it lacks any architectural embellishments. It’s a blank canvas without crown moldings, wainscoting or a fireplace – you know, all the good stuff. However it has amazing views and a semi-open floor plan which we liked. It also has a 6-foot window seat that soon became our favorite spot for watching the wildlife  in front of our window. 

As I mentioned before, this place will be our home for one or two years, until my husband gets a tenure track and we move to someplace more permanent. Investing too much in a home we’re going to leave so soon made no financial sense to us. However, the decorator in me still wanted to cozy-up the place and make it look pretty, even if on a budget. 

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