forty days and forty nights

After my post about the house, I wanted to back up and talk a little bit about where I've been for six weeks. On Ash Wednesday, I decided to take a break from social media to observe lent. Father S urged us to give up something that was enjoyable but did not allow us to lead a purposeful life. I was going to go the easy route and give up candy or chocolate or add something like working out, but once I got to thinking, I realized that I would do myself a bigger favor if I gave up something that took up a lot of my time: cue social media.

For lent, I ended up giving up facebook, instagram and pinterest and I found out some pretty interesting things.

1. Life went on. After the initial shock, I realized that my life went on and I didn't miss anything that social media offered in my life. Sure, some people texted me and asked where I was and what I had been doing, but for the most part, I found that people I didn't need to keep tabs with generally fell by the wayside, and it was okay. 
2. I became more productive. At school and at home, I was able to devote more time to things I wanted to do. I went to yoga more often, read five books and felt like I was balanced. 
3. I felt better. Oddly enough, I felt better about myself. I wasn't trying to compare myself to people I've never met. 
4. I was sensitive about phone usage. I found that I was really in a league by myself. I noticed people on their phones instead of having authentic conversation. I was bothered when someone would pull up their phone, talk while scrolling through instagram, one eye on the phone. I felt disconnected, or like people didn't want to have a conversation. It was an interesting feeling. People I liked and respected couldn't tear their eyes away for even a minute. 
5. I saw more around me. I noticed all sorts of things I wouldn't necessarily. I spent more quality time with people and engaged with people around me. It was nice to really remember what life was like without distraction!
6. I got into grad school! This isn't directly correlated, but it was still an exciting event that happened during my time off. 
7. I didn't have a need to tell the world my news. I told people close to me, kept my thoughts to myself, and really didn't have the urge to tell 500 of my closest friends that I got into grad school, planned a vacation, brushed my teeth, etc. 

When the time came to reengage with social media......

....I wasn't interested. 

I was underwhelmed with the people I follow and the lives they lead. With the exception of my good friends, I was able to really purge myself of toxicity I didn't know existed in my life. I don't have plans to be very active in social media, but I did miss tweeting the things my students say! I realized through this social experiment that I didn't need to be attached to my phone - in fact, I should take the advice from my friends that have it figured out - that its okay to leave it sitting around unattended. I will survive!

a house is not a home....

...until it is fully renovated! 

Well, my friends, it has been a while since my last post! Between signing off of social media for lent and trying to find a purpose for this space, I have been procrastinating waiting for inspiration to strike.  

I realize that not everyone will ever want to read this, but that is okay! I have promised my family back home in Washington that I would send photos of our house renovation and then I realized I am quite possibly the laziest person ever, so this is as good as it gets. Voila! A purpose for this space. Lucky for you, dear reader, the renovation is close to complete (ten days and counting).

Back in October, we bought a cute little ranch style house in the middle of suburban Oklahoma City. The mister put a bid on it and we were halfway through closing before I even SAW the inside. Luckily, I was sold once I saw the kitchen (which also happens to be the only room in the house that is virtually untouched). We moved into an apartment mid-October and by December, we were under contract to start demolition. On Christmas Day, our house was torn apart. Welcome to our renovation journey! 

Let's work our way through the house, shall we? Here is our front entrance, before renovation and now. Reminder: this reno is not done and these photos are usually taken in poor light with an iPhone. Our electricity isn't in any canned lights, so just pretend with me! 

Welcome to our entryway. The left, as you can see, had a lot going on. That black-looking stuff on the bottom? It's tile. It is also green and HIDEOUS. The floor is a wood/brick combo which, while interesting, is also an eyesore. We stripped it, got rid of the gold vent (that wasn't actually venting anything) and painted the walls grey. The red walls you see are also grey, and beautiful. The flooring, throughout the house (minus the bedrooms and living room) is a nice hardwood flooring.

To our left, we have the Offbrary. A LOT of thought went into this space. 

As you can see, that carpet is something else. Want to know what is under it?! Round two found this:

We sanded down the hardwood and made everything even. After the sanding, you can see off to the right that there are posts where an opening used to be. This room was open up to a guest room - in a split second decision, we sealed up the wall and so far, are really delighted with what we see:

Currently, we are waiting for some fireplace work to be finished and our floors to be stained. Let's move on to our dining room, which MAY be my favorite transformation so far! 

This is actually a terrible photo because you see two different sides of the dining room. On the left, we widened the doorway and got rid of the swinging door leading into the kitchen. We took down the chair rail, put up some wainscoting and painted it a sharp navy/white combo. There is a pop-out window that faces the street, which lends a lot of natural light. We got rid of that ugly floor and will have hardwood floor throughout. 

Here's a photo of the kitchen that isn't changing:

Well, I take that back. we are changing the backsplash, and removing the steel plate behind the range. Other than that, nothing is changing and right now, the whole thing is draped in plastic. It looks like a war zone! 

Next stop: Living room. Don't judge me for my picture stitching. I'm trying to give you a good idea here. 

Here's what you need to know: Dark wood. Everywhere. Marble on the fireplace, and a general feeling of outdatedness. Fast forward to now:

It was painted yesterday, but since I haven't been there, it doesn't exist! We pulled out the built-ins and built new ones, painted them white, updated our electric through our fireplace and extended the fireplace a tad. 

For today, that is all I have. Our four major front rooms are slowly getting there, and our bathrooms are in progress! Once we have electric in the house, we will be able to take some better photos and get some more put up. For now, enjoy what we have and pray for us - our move in date is only 10 days away!