As more and more empty boxes make their way out the recycling bin, I thought it was only fair to continue to show you the progress we’re making in our new home.  You guys have assured me that you really DO want to see detailed pictures of exciting things like our bathroom.  Hopefully this post doesn’t make you change your mind!

Behold – my favorite room in the house!  The vanity side has a wall to wall granite counter top that is soooo beautiful and easy to keep clean.  Our old bathroom had cheapo laminate and disgusting off-white countertops that always looked filthy, no matter how much you cleaned them.  I’m trying to keep this countertop as clutter-free and clean as possible!

The other nice thing about the giant vanity is all the storage – so much that we have his and hers sides!  I am actually really good about not having an overly girly or frilly decorating style, but the bathroom is my one indulgence.  In fact is is the only room in the house where we have any pink at all.

For whatever reason, I cannot stop myself from wanting to display my makeup on beautiful ruffled cake stands.

I am a slave to Bare Escentuals eye shadow.  I can’t help myself.  (And it looks like I have the perfect spot for one more!)

Pretty brushes in – what else? – tiny ball jars.  As long as makeup is clean and displayed nicely, I think it’s fine to set it out in plain view.

The other side of the bathroom houses this amaaaaaaaaaazing Jacuzzi soaking tub.  (Still haven’t hung our pictures on the walls yet!)

Gorgeous views with pretty pink flowers just outside the window.

And more pretty pink flowers just IN-side the window!  This is my one remaining table arrangement from my wedding – my mom literally spent months making 20 of these with nothing but paper, wire, and her bare hands.  So gorgeous, and it brings back such fun memories.

Next to the tub we have our glorious stand-up shower.  I love having just glass walls and no shower curtain or liner to get slimy and gross.  Also love the dual shower heads – feels like I’m in a spa!

Leaving the bathroom for more civilized parts of the house, we can head down the staircase to our sun-filled living room.  I am SO excited about how well it has come together.

To the left side, we have our seating and living area.  We are still shopping for something fabulous to put on the wall behind the couch – any suggestions?

On the right side is our big bookshelf / TV area.  Also still shopping for a lampshade for the headless lamp in the corner (a victim of the moving truck.)

In moving to a smaller space, I have found that I appreciate each and every square inch much more than I did before.  Rather than use our old TV stand, which served no purpose other than to hold a TV, we used these bookshelves as a multi-function entertainment unit and storage space. 

I tried to incorporate a mix of things that are useful with things that make us happy. 

Things that are important and relevant.

People we love to see every day, even if just in pictures.

Things that are both pretty AND useful.

And things that are simply just pretty…

And if you peek through the top of the front door you can see a flutter of Old Glory…

Finally, on the inside wall we have a glorious (working) wood-burning fireplace!  I won’t bore you with the story of the fireplace in our last house – lets just say it involved a giant wasp nest and an emergency effort to board it up on Christmas Eve.  Let’s hope this one is a little more friendly to us.

And just down the hall, a sneak peek into the glory that is the kitchen.  But that one will have to wait for a post all of its own.

This house is definitely starting to feel like a home.  What is your favorite room of the house?  Any bathroom fans out there like me?

For today’s lunch, I thought it would be interesting to take two of my favorite things in this world, and see how they worked together. 

Fresh organic strawberries…

And perhaps the most treasured food of all – avocado.

Artfully arranged on absolutely delicious Whole Foods whole wheat smeared with a thin layer of red pepper hummus.

Two amazing and nutritious fruits that work so well on their own – but would they work as a combo?

Some things are simply better together.

By far one of the best sandwiches I have had in a very long time.

On the housing front, we got our security alarm installed yesterday, which involved a lot of alarm testing and horribly loud screeching noises (burglars take note).  Since then Indy has been his usual active self…

Not seeming to mind one bit.

While Huey, being the more sensitive of the two, has been petrified ever since – shaking and hiding in closets and under tables, refusing to be part of the family. 

I’m not sure what has him so spooked, but I thought if I could just convince him to stop burrowing he would realize that things aren’t quite so scary. 

Even though today is actually Huey’s 7th birthday, sometimes he still needs his little brother to show him that everything is going to be okay. 

Because just like strawberries and avocado, some things are just simply better together.

Happy Birthday, Huey! 

We have a fabulous new addition to our home.  Can you see it?  I love that I can see it from the reflection of Casey’s computer next to me…

I’m willing to take the risk of showing a tiny peek of my house from the outside, because I am so excited about our beautiful FLAG!  There are flags everywhere in Old Town, and the old brick buildings with all the flags makes it feel so colonial and charming.

Every morning I get up and walk the dogs, and I’m truly waiting for someone to reach out and pinch me because this neighborhood just seems too good to be true.  Maybe part of it is that we HATED our neighborhood in Charlotte soooo much.  Either way, I am in heaven.

One of our biggest gripes about our Charlotte house was that we were literally trapped in the suburbs.  You couldn’t walk anywhere, and even walking within the neighborhood itself was dangerous because there were no sidewalks.  Our number one priority for moving was a safe, walkable neighborhood.

One of the tools I used when we were looking at potential homes was the awesome website Walkscore, which calculates the “walkability” of an address based on all of the surrounding schools, shops, restaurants, libraries, etc.  Our current house has a walkscore of 92, or as they call it “A Walker’s Paradise!”  By comparison, our old address has a walkscore of 17 and the description, “Heavily Car-Dependent.”  I’ll take the paradise, please!

One of our goals for our new life in Virginia is to drive as little as possible, and rely on our feet or the Metro for most of our transportation.  Last night was our first opportunity to test out our most recent purchase – a tiny foldable shopping cart!

With so much shopping and several grocery stores less than a mile away, it only makes sense to walk there – it’s so much safer, and we get all sorts of bonus incidental exercise!  Last night we took the cart out for its inaugural stroll…

To another Whole Foods!  I am definitely making up for lost time having not had Whole Foods all last year.

Our grocery strategy here is to go to Whole Foods once a week for one push cart load of bulk items and essentials like Almond milk, canned goods, etc.  Once a month I’ll go to Trader Joe’s and stock up on frozen fruit, rice cakes, and other TJ favorites.  And then twice a week we’re hoping to hit up the Wednesday and Saturday farmer’s markets!  The bulk aisle in WF is small, so I may also look into a few other drive-able options.

Since our kitchen is smaller here, we don’t want to have quite as much excess pantry stuff that we had before.  Our little cart is a good way to ensure we’re only getting what we need, and what we can fit.

With our cart all filled up with goods, we headed back for a nice walk home.

And after a delicious dinner, we all camped out on our new comfy couch.  LOVE those wide cushions!  It feels like a giant bed.

I am sure you were all so sick of hearing me gripe and complain about our Charlotte living situation, so prepare yourselves to hear me oooh and ahh with excitement about our new digs from now on.  :)

Walking to a Farmer’s Market this afternoon – can’t wait to finally have some fresh, local produce.

How important is your neighborhood to you?  Am I the only one that thinks walkability is a BIG deal?