We're All Moved In...

Welp, we had the big move this past weekend. My mom and I moved out of our family home of 15 years and into a teeny, tiny apartment. Like two girlfriends taking on the city.

Actually, it really sucked. First, it's not fun moving out of a really nice home that your parents built and into an apartment with your mom. Thumbs down all around. Second, our apartment sucks. It's nothing like the model that they showed us, its a lot smaller, and it's apparent that they haven't done any work to maintain this place since they opened the complex. It's safe to say I was a mess on moving day...and the day after.

So Momma Simps and I are doing our best to spruce up the place. With a little paint and some decorating, I think we can make this little hole in the wall somewhat cozy. But first we need to unpack everything, and let me tell you, we got rid of a ton of things when we moved and it's still not fitting in this tiny place!

Speaking of painting. Justin and I dove head first into painting my room.

Needless to say, we won't be opening our own painting company in the future. A lot of paint ended up on the floorboards and the ceiling. Oh and a little paint on the carpet and the doors. See, we're sooooo good at painting! If you need any painting done, just hit us up!

I just have to say, I don't know what I would do without my love. I loved him a lot before this weekend, but I definitely love him so much more. Not only did he spend his weekend helping move boxes and boxes of heavy things, but he's been by my side when I needed him the most.

You would think that moving wouldn't be so emotional, but this weekend was really hard for me. I think it was the combination of the past year with my parents divorcing and then having to move out of our home. But Justin was there for me no matter what. He even turned down tickets to the Michigan game. THE MICHIGAN GAME! That's a big deal and a whole lot of love on his part. I could go on and on about what an amazing person and boyfriend he is, but all you need to know is that I couldn't be more thankful. I'm the luckiest girl in the world...well, in my opinion!

Now that all the major moving stuff is over, I'm excited to get back into my normal schedule and that means consistent blogging! I've missed all you lovelies so much this past week. I can't wait to catch up on what's been going on in your neck of the woods!

Oh How Pinteresting

Oh ladies. I'm stressin'! Only TWO days until the big move. So many mixed emotions. I'm so sad to be moving out of my family's home for the past 15 years and having to say goodbye forever. But I'm also excited to decorate a new place, even if it is a tiny apartment. And I'm ready to get this whole shebang over and just move on!

In honor of Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday, I'm linking up with Michelle and sharing some of my Pinterest finds that are the inspiration for the vision I have for my soon-to-be new room. Join me, will you?

 

I'm going with darker walls for my new room. My first option? A deep plum. I'm in love with this color!

Second option? A dark charcoal.

I'm loving this metallic paint stencil idea. I would go with circles instead of squares. But let's be honest, this it waaaayyyyy too much work for an apartment that I'll probably only be in for a year. 

I bought a gorgeous 8-drawer dresser from Ikea to recreate this look with an old mirror from my grandparents. And on this dresser, under the mirror...

...I'll be recreating this gorgeous long box of hydrangeas. Faux hydrangeas of course. Who has the money to keep up with real ones?

And for the little extra hints of character...

Door knobs used as curtain tie backs

Mason jars covered in lace or twine as a candle holder

Distressed letters to hang on the wall

And don't forget! Today is the last day to enter my 300 Follower Giveaway. So click here to enter for your chance to win!

Happy Wednesday, loves!

The House That Built Me

This, my friends, is my humble abode. Well, at least for another couple of weeks. My parents built this house 15 years ago, and has been my absolute favorite place on earth. I had thee best childhood in this house. With my cousin/best friend living right down the small private drive, we spent so many days swimming in the pool, riding through the woods on four-wheelers and dirt bikes, and making so many amazing memories.

Obviously, this place is huge. A couple years ago, after my sister and I both went to college and my brother was getting ready to, my parents decided to put our lovely home up for sale. There wasn't going to be any need for such a large home in the near future, and with the state of the economy, it was getting hard for my parents to keep up with the bills.

It took two years, so it shouldn't have been such a huge surprise once the house sold.

But, with everything that's happened in the last year, it's been pretty difficult. Last October, my parents decided to get a divorce. I wasn't completely surprised. Things hadn't been good between them for a while and honestly, I was bracing myself for it. But no matter how much you "prepare" for something like that, you can't. I've come to terms with my parent's not being together since then, but having to move out of our house is a new level of mourning the brokenness of my family.

This house is the last physical thing I have that holds memories of my family when things were good.

I was doing pretty decent with the house selling until this past Saturday. We have to be moved out of our house the first week of September, and before this weekend, my mom and I had nowhere to live! Thankfully, we found a nice looking apartment at a decent price to rent, and it just happened to be the last apartment in the entire complex with an early September move in date.

Feeling relieved that we have a place to live and won't be homeless, I was on a mission to get ready for the quickly approaching moving date. I spent a good 8 hours cleaning out my room and a few other rooms. I was surprised at how easily I was able to just throw away or donate my belongings, but thankful for that strength at the same time. Moving from a 3,800+ square foot home to an apartment is not an easy thing! We have a lot of junk! The sadness didn't hit me until later.

Oh, and did it hit me.

It's hard moving away from the place you've called home with your family for the last 15 years. Once I graduated college, I moved home to be with my family, and now I'm moving out. It sucks.

As much as I would love for time to stop so I can enjoy my home for a little while longer, I also just want the next couple of weeks to get over with so I can move on. As hard as it's going to be to move away from our home, I think it's going to be good for my mom and I. Especially my mom. It will be a good time to heal and move on from the past year.

I'm just trying to think about all the positive things about this move. It's definitely hard and I tend to be a Negative Nancy, but I don't want to walk around all depressed for the next couple of weeks. I found this quote on Pinterest yesterday and have decided it's going to be my motto to get my through the hard times to come.

I promise happy Jenna will be back tomorrow! I just needed to get this off my chest, and what better place than my blog; a place where I can be me and be real. Happy Monday, lovelies! I hope your week is off to a great start!