"home"

In June, we started looking for places to live. Yes, we got married in July. Didn't give ourselves much time, I know. We looked at a number of places, and finally settled on the one we are in. There was a lot of negotiation and we didn't think we would wind up living here, but we did. I was really not ever sold on the idea. It's narrower than I wanted, the entire place is painted white and we are not strongly encouraged to paint, it was really really dirty, it's not exactly the location I had in mind, the "master" bathroom is small, etc. But Patrick said this was the place and I went with it.

The day we got back from our honeymoon we had no power. Then the week after that they painted all week so we couldn't even unwrap our new furniture. We had boxes everywhere. Even once we finally unpacked, we had very minimal furniture. The place just didn't feel like home. For weeks after we moved in, I would need to get something from my parents and tell Patrick I needed to "go home". He wasn't a fan of that; this is our home. But it sure didn't feel like it. It has since grown on me, but especially this weekend.

Patrick did a LOT for me this weekend. He helped me put up the Christmas tree, climbed on the roof to put up the lights, decorated our small back patio, built me a butcher block to add to the counter space, and tried a number of things to finally successfully hang a shelf on our wood-paneled wall. It all looks very homey. We have lamps in our living room that at one time had no lighting. I no longer have to put food on top of the washer and dryer because it is no longer the only available "counter" space in the kitchen. We have a little table in our breakfast nook. We have a bedskirt to hide the storage under the bed. We have a coffee table. We have very cozy Christmas decorations and a tree full of ornaments that all mean something to us.

It's not at all perfect, but it's home. Largely in part because Patrick worked all weekend to set things up for me and make it home. I love him.

Also, on a side note, we spent lots of time with our family this weekend. It was nice. I saw my grandmother and we had two Thanksgiving dinners and then tonight we got to spend the evening with our wonderful small group. I also talked to two of my former roommates. Oh, and we didn't work for four days. I am ridiculously blessed.