Hello friends!!!

In the last couple of months, so much has changed!
We sold our house!

These photos I am sharing are from the listing. They turned out really pretty and I hope you enjoy them.

If you follow me on Instagram you might know a bit of the story behind this move but I’ll briefly fill you in.

While we absolutely love this house in so many ways, it really doesn’t allow for the lifestyle we’d like to be living. I’ve always thought a hobby farm and a place to do projects would serve us well.

We have the prettiest, safest neighborhood. It’s felt good to know the resale would hold and the kids had good schools to go to. Close access to work, etc.

The manicured nature of our community, while beautiful, it’s not very peaceful.

We moved to this HOA community in 2018 when the boys were in high school. It’s a fantastic place to raise kids.

Fast forward nearly 7 years, we are ready to move to the country to be free to have all the animals we like, spread out on some land and connect more with nature. We’re dreaming of a first floor bedroom, private spaces, garage/workshop, land and chickens, of course! Some place quieter than what we hear in the suburbs.

One main motivator is that several years back we started experiencing behavior in one of our sons that we didn’t understand. Being a teen you might think they are just difficult or going through a phase. This was different.

There was a home under construction directly across the street at that time. It was extra disruptive for us but it affected my son in the worst way. As a family, we were confused and it hurt!

We still don’t fully understand what it is about certain sounds that trigger our son but we know it’s real and definitely not just a phase. So out of respect for that and for the peace at home we are looking for a different set up.

The room on the third floor, essentially the attic, is where we planned to have a media room for movies etc.. Once it was finished a few years ago we willingly gave it up for our son to use. We purchased sound panels for the walls, moved a bed up there for him and let him have his quiet time. It’s helped.

This is his set up. It’s so cozy. It solved a lot of things for us but still, we need a place to do our hobbies that the sound doesn’t permeate through the whole house, possibly a workshop or separate living space.

As you can see this house is very open. So comfortable if you have a lot of people over. Open concept is so great for entertaining. We used to host parties and friends before all of this but no longer do.

In the new place I’m hoping for a more closed off kitchen.

After a trip out west to see family, we had a renewed energy to make a lifestyle change. The boys were actually on board!

Our house had so many undone projects due to our quiet phase that it was a bit of a mad rush to finish them in order to get the house on the market before November. BUT…

We did it!

Patched and painted the laundry room, installed the railing in the attic, repainted bedrooms, cleaned the garage, put things in storage to simplify. It was exhausting and exciting all at once.

We got everything ready for photos then nearly wanted to … stay. LOL! But I was driving the move forward because of my feelings about it in my heart.

Where are we going? Not too far, still Virginia.

I had many houses saved on Zillow that looked like amazing options. But we hadn’t yet had time to explore them.

We sold the home in just a few days and now have begun our new house search.

We are willing to rent a furnished air bnb/temp housing for January & February if we need to. However, there is a lot on the market to consider, surprisingly.

We will be sad to leave many things like the new kitchen, the pergola Marc built without power tools (sawing by hand). The garden was fun to create and grow, even though I only got cucumbers out of it (thanks to squirrels).

As you can see the house next door is nearly finished. We already miss the woods that lived there before. Changes the feel/privacy of our backyard.

I’m sharing the house tours of homes we are considering on Instagram if you’d like to join. Here is the link

I have gotten a lot of messages about the many times we’ve moved. It isn’t always intentional but this house we knew was a good investment and great for kids. Not a forever home.

The longest we’ve stayed in one house is less than 7 years. So, here we are, almost 7 years and we are ready to move again.

My wisteria vine bloomed for the first time last spring. I won’t get to see the blooms mature this years. Same exact thing happened when we left our CT house. Wisteria bloomed then we moved.

This go around I told Marc that I want to see my wisteria mature and grow wild because you know I’ll be planting one.

We will miss the luxury of living here. It’s been a true privilege to call this home.

In our new place I hope for the boys to feel like they can live outdoors more, raise more animals, garden and live a quiet, simple & comfortable life.

We will be sad to leave you, our Tulip Hill House! You’ve been a comfort for us during a vey difficult phase for our family! Thank you for keeping us safe and together.

Hope you enjoyed reading about our journey. Leave a comment if you have any questions. I’ll be sharing the new house as soon as we arrive! Bless.

Love,