Well, it’s been almost 2 months since I last posted…lots has been happening these past two months that have kept us very busy, traveling, etc. We did get the main level bedrooms popcorn removed and walls smoothed in June – we spent some time that month painting, repainting, moving back in furniture, etc. We also switched the rooms – Zoey’s room is now the guest room and vice versa. It works a lot better. I will post pics of that soon, I haven’t even taken any yet.
We also finished the front entry revamp that I posted about here. We like it loads better, and I love how our wedding album is front and center. Some days with a crazy two year old I need reminding of how this all started 
So here is the entry before:
and now:
Don’t look at all that dust, eww! I took these pics before I cleaned up after some drywall repairs (from nail pops) we did in the entry!
our wedding album!
So, I was planning this post for early to mid July but then my dad passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on July 15th. We’ve spent a lot of time in Katy, where my parents live, since then, trying to sort out my dad’s affairs. His passing reminded me how important photos are. Take lots of the people you love, even if they are just snapshots. And answer their calls. So many times my dad called and I was too busy or overwhelmed to really talk to him. I wish I had. This is one of the last photos I took of my dad (with Zoey of course, she was the light of his life, apart from my mom). I will cherish these photos always.
Some other things that happened this month – failed DIY concrete countertops. I am still too bitter to talk too much about that. Mike spent all day making a form for the countertop for our bar downstairs…we poured it and then let it set for about a week. When we went to take it out of the form, it broke in half at the weak spot. I about cried. We are too frustrated to try again for now, so I think we are going to go with butcher block.
We also celebrated Zoey’s birthday this month! She is 2! We forewent the big party due to all the craziness that took place in July, but we celebrated with our annual cupcake at Sugar Mama’s! I love that she ate her cupcake exactly the same way as when she was 1. I hope that never changes 
And lastly, this is sort of a big deal…but we have been secretly house hunting for the past 6 weeks or so. I know, I know, we are crazy. This is a fact that we realize. We are finally almost done with the renovations on this house and now are ready to leave. Figures. But, we have been here over 4 years now and we have been thinking a lot lately (especially with recent life events) about simplifying, downsizing a bit, and better schools for Z. Ideally, we would like to be closer to Mike’s job – because the shorter his commute, the more time he can spend with us. We absolutely love our house now, but we have a lot of space that we just don’t really use. It’s a pretty big house, but it’s not big (for us) in the right areas. So, we’ve started looking at houses with our realtor and starting prepping our house for the market. Who knows, we may chicken out, but if all goes well we may have this house on the market by September. I am really sad about the idea of leaving because we really really love our neighbors (shout out to the MacLeods, Kathy and George, Karen, and Julie and Tim) and our house in general, but it seems like everything is leading us in this direction.
And no worries, if and when we buy another house, I am certain it will be a project house because we really can’t see ourselves moving into something already remodeled unless it is our taste exactly. We have probably toured about 12 houses so far and have liked about 3 of those enough to consider an offer (but we also don’t want to actively have something under contract until we have a contract on this house). So, we will see…
For anyone curious and in Austin, we are looking in Balcones Terrace and Balcones Summit as well as Allandale, Crestview, Shoal Creek, Mueller and French Place. And, if you are looking to buy a house East of Travis Heights in Southeast Austin and like our house, let me know and I’ll put you in touch with our realtor
