House and Home

I don't blog very often, but when I do, I need it.

I'm back for another year of teaching this fall. Tomorrow marks my first official day back. I will be in my room this afternoon setting up once again. I am filled with excitement. My rosters are full of amazing students, my courseload is challenging, yet exhilarating, and I genuinely like where I work.

However, I am sad to see this time go. I need to bury my summer first.

This summer was unlike any other. Alexis and I closed on our first home. I have been yearning to own a home since I was 23 years old. I am now 32. Nine years of pining away finally ended. For much of that time I was working full-time in the theatre in central Pennsylvania. This was great fun, and I still work part-time in the theatres in the area, but I didn't think I would ever be able to afford a house doing that work full-time. Fortunately, I knew I loved to teach, and I knew I had a chance to be in a great teacher training program, one that works especially well for lateral career shifts. All of that worked out. Alexis got a better paying job, though still in the nonprofit arts world. A couple years of saving, a lot of luck and support, and poof: here we are.

Our house is charming and lovely. It's everything we could have wanted in a first home--nothing too fancy, and not without problems, but in all an excellent little house. I am hoping it's our last home, honestly. I, like anyone who ever moves anywhere, feel pretty strongly right now that I don't ever want to move again.

I took a bunch of photos along the way, so here goes...

This is the front of the house:

... and this is the back.

Not bad, right? Pretty quaint. Here's some of what we've done with it.

BEFORE

The patio:

The den:

The living room:

The breakfast nook:

The master bedroom:

Spare bedroom:

The kitchen:

DURING

We did a fair amount of painting. I didn't document much of that, but I have a few process shots from the den.

Special thanks to our intrepid paint crew: Joe G (den and dining room), Brianna D (dining room and breakfast nook), and Zach B (dining room).

AFTER

Once all the boxes were unloaded, round one of painting completed (our breakfast nook, dining room and den were painted--the kitchen is in the plans for painting later), some furniture was purchased (although most of it we already had, or was graciously given to us by our moms)... we had a house.

Kitchen / breakfast nook:

These old ladder-backed chairs were the same ones my family ate breakfast, lunch and dinner on when I was a kid. Those kinds of things mean a lot to me. We have a Barbara Campbell Thomas original on the back wall.

Alexis' mom got us an exhaust fan and microwave--Alexis and I installed it with the assistance of our friend Joe... thanks, Patti!

Living room:

Furniture set (couch, loveseat) from Discount Mattress and Furniture King. No frills, no extra costs passed along to the consumer. We got a great deal. Everywhere else we looked was overpriced, in our opinion.

Alexis had one of our favorite paintings (by my sister Barbara) mounted and framed...

Dining room:

I still want to get a better curtain rod and move those curtains up higher. This room went from a peachy color to this gray. I think paint color names are often silly. This is called "elephant skin." I do love the color, though.

Patti also got us this antique dish hutch... classy!

The dining room is a nice little showcase for several of my sister's paintings, too. The table was my family's dining room table for many years while we were in Huntsville, PA. I remember my mother made my brother a chocolate cake that was shaped like Darth Vader's head, and we ate it at this table, among other things.

The den:

Gamut production posters (Robinson Smith, designer) in frames, all from shows in which Alexis or I were cast...

This furniture came from Rich and Patti's basement family room. Both items are very comfortable. We're lucky to have them. Paintings in the den are by my sister as well as local artist Garrick Dorsett.

The entryway:

Our foyer features another '90s-era Barbara Campbell Thomas painting.

Guest room:

The bedrooms all have curved walls where the roof meets the walls of the house. They are a basic beige, a very neutral color. Our paint choices were pretty bold, so we're holding off on painting them for now. Neutral isn't always boring, I keep telling myself. I welcome any suggestions for color or paint techniques.

This room was a total team effort--knitted afghan courtesy of my mom (I got that afghan over ten years ago--it has held up quite well), beds from my folks (I grew up sleeping on these bunks), one mattress from the Campbells in State College, one purchased, and bedding from Patti. Paintings by (you guessed it) Barbara and her friend Tia Factor. I guess we should get bedspreads, too...

Spare bedroom:

Our old futon, which came to us via Rich, Patti, and Brianna, now lives in semiretirement up in this cool little room with loads of built-in shelves. This room also has a painting of my sister's, one she gave me for Christmas many years ago.

Master bedroom:

Yet another painting of Barb's and a plant we got from Patti adorn the far wall in here, along with many shelves of family and friend photos. The bedside tables and tv stand bookshelf were my grandfather's. They're oak, but they'd been pretty banged up after I had them for a few years (I moved with them quite a few times), so I gave them a black lacquer treatment. The Japanese prints were also my grandparents', a memento of a trip they took to Japan. Alexis uses my grandmother's dresser, and I have one that was handed down from my brother Matthew.

The patio:

When I was little, my grandmother used to always tell my sister, "Someday this will be yours." I asked my mom what I was getting one day. She said, "What do you want?" I gave it some thought, then said I wanted Nana's porch furniture. This summer I got it. I love having items from my family. It makes me think of them more often. I think of my grandparents when I sit out here, and that makes me happy. Nothing store-bought could ever compare. Special thanks to my mom, Ellen, for weeding the patio brick on the day we moved in.

So that's it for now. I have a whole horror story / saga of struggle, redemption and triumph to share about the basement, but I'll do that another day. We're surrounded by art and furniture from family that stretches back to before we were born, mementos of times with the family and friends we hold so dear. Friends and family are welcome--just give us a heads up when you're coming. Be blessed. I know we are.