The Urban Acres is moving!

The last few months have included some BIG changes for Andrew and I. Just to recap, I stepped down from my part-time job to work as a full time blogger AND I won the Mrs. Meyer's Home Maker Hunt -- two things that I am wildly excited about.

Andrew and I are still settling into our new roles (and budgets), but we decided to make things even more fun by buying a new house!

A little recap for those of you who may be new readers. Andrew and I moved into our 1950s home almost 4 years ago. It was a complete renovation. This house was definitely the eyesore of the street and possibly the entire neighborhood.

Here's a little bit of photo evidence.

This house had fallen into foreclosure when my brother-in-law bought it to remodel. We happened to be looking for a house right around the same time, so we bought it immediately after they had finished the work.

Andrew and I moved into a completely redone home without having to do any of the work ourselves. We have loved this little house while we've been here and have really made it our home.

Fast forward, we've been talking casually about moving for the past few months but haven't had any solid plans. We love our area, our neighbors, and our house but we have found that we need a little bit more room.

I've been searching Zillow for available homes in our price range and three weeks ago, a house popped up that was exactly what we were looking for! It was love at first sight and an obvious decision that this was the house for us.

We haven't closed on the new house so I have to wait to show you pictures, but trust me, you will love it! It's a fixer upper, but it's got major potential. We are taking more of a DIY approach with this house, so hopefully I'll have some great tips to share with you over the upcoming months!

This does mean that my dreams for the backyard of this house are cancelled, but it's ok because the new house has a covered patio with a pergola and 2 mature trees in the backyard! Plus it has a HUGE sunroom in the back of the house.

As with any move, it's also really hard to say goodbye to this house. It's Andrew and I's first house together, and we have so many great memories here -- it's almost like saying goodbye to a member of the family. I have been praying for whoever buys our home, that they will love and care for it as much as Andrew and I have.

Here's to many more homemaking adventures! 

Sallie

Home Goals 2016

Today, I'm sharing my list of Home Goals for 2016! Every year, instead of resolutions I make a list of home improvements I want to make, and furniture I'd like to purchase. I've found that by prioritizing the items I would really like to purchase, I am less likely to make questionable or compromising decisions.

When it comes to items for your home, you don't want to settle! Unless you really know what you want, you are very likely to end up purchasing something cheap that temporarily serves your needs instead of waiting to purchase something that will last longer. My friend Courtney wrote a post a couple of weeks ago about #Homegoals With A Small #Homebudget. She talked about the difference between improvising and settling, and being willing to save for the nicer item instead of settling for a temporary fix. It's a great read -- go check it out now, I'll wait for you here.

Are you back? Good. I hope you found that enlightening, I surely did! And now without further adieu, I give you....

Home Goals 2016

Holiday Home Tour

With 11 days till Christmas, my holiday decorating wrapped up yesterday! Just in the nick of time! This year I spent a lot of hours hand making new decor for my house, some of which was shared on the blog and today I want to show it to you! Welcome to Christmas at the Urban Acres!

Big changes in here are the tree of course -- and if you've been following me then you know that the tree's name is Theresa. 

And Theresa looks beautiful.

Home Tour: The Living Room

Three years ago this past September, Andrew and I packed up our first apartment and moved into our first home. It was so exciting! We purchased a foreclosure that had been completely remodeled and had all the charm of an old house, with all the modern conveniences of a new home (like HVAC!). I absolutely adore this home, and God has been so good to us while we've been here.

Like I said, Andrew and I have been here for almost 3 years, and it has taken EVERY bit of that time to make this house look the way I want it to. Not because we had major cosmetic work to do, but because it has taken this long for me to define my style. Andrew and I have had a lot of help -- my parents have been so generous in giving us some of their old things, but we have also thrifted, foraged, salvaged, and crafted every part of our home. And somehow, through all the mismatch, and variety, we have pulled it all together and created our own funky little style. So, without further adieu, I give you, the living room!

This is our living room currently, well almost. I have a new lamp on that table, and a split leaf by the piano, but it's pretty darn recent! To contrast, this is our living room three years ago.

Big difference, huh! That's what I meant when I said it's taken some time to put this together! Here are a few things we did to make this space better. 

We found a piano! Notice I didn't say bought, because we actually found this piano on Craigslist for FREE! All we had to do was move it (thank you Nick, Matt, Jordan and other various friends for helping!)

My mom decided to replace a rug in her kitchen, so we inherited this one. I wasn't a huge fan at first, but this has become one of my favorites. It's an 8 x 10 which is a much better fit in our space than the old 5 x 8. 

We also purchased a couch. You might notice this is the Peggy Sofa from West Elm, but we actually bought this couch 2 weeks used on Facebook for $400. Not. Even. Kidding. It was a huge answer to prayer, and not to mention fits our space a lot better than our old Pier 1 couch. 

Next to the couch we have a couple of side tables. Our main coffee table is actually an old trunk that stores all our Christmas ornaments, so it's handy too! On the side table you'll notice my love/obsession of ceramic dogs. Ceramic animals in general are welcome in my home. I may or may not have a large vintage ceramic chicken collection. *cough cough*

Next up is the fire place! I found these old paint by numbers pictures already framed at one of my favorite local antique shops. It's called River City Trading Post in Jenks, OK and about half of my home is from them. We purchased the ladder there, one of my favorite things, as well as more ceramic dogs on my fireplace.

 I also love old books. We have a great used book store that sells old encyclopedia sets by the foot. Basically, you grab a stack, they measure it and it ends up costing about $12 for a set of encyclopedias! A steal of a deal. And a few more ceramic dogs *sigh*

                                    

Next to the fire place we have an old yarn holder with some Anthropologie accessories, and a mid century modern chair. The blanket is crocheted, by me, and it is probably the warmest blanket in the entire world. 

And lastly, the top of the piano has some of my most treasured old clocks, and a funky glass head I found at River City. It was too strange not to buy. The mirror I found at our local flea market, and our wooden bowl is from an estate sale. I would also like to point out that our TV is mounted to the wall. I always think a mounted TV looks better than one on a stand. I can say that because we started out with one on a stand, so that gives me the right. 

Anyway, this is my cozy living room. I love it so much, it's been such a treat to style and decorate. A HUGE thank you to my dear friend Rachel for taking these pics, and also for encouraging this blog. Without her, this never would have happened! 

xoxo Sallie