Around the house

On March 1st, the fiance moved into our rental home. This little brick house has a lot of charm, and we love everything about her (I've decided it's a 'her')! The craziest thing? Everything we prayed for, this little lady's got it; a fenced in back yard, at least 1 guest room, hall bathroom, open kitchen.

I've been here for a week, unpacking and decorating. Finally all my daydreaming and wishing up and down the housewares aisles at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Home Goods have become a reality. Wonderful friends and family threw us a joint engagement shower earlier this week, and the fiance and I were able to use a their generous gifts to start making this house a home.

I've talked before about budgeting and how the fiance and I have been working on being smarter with our money, especially as we prepare for our life together. Thanks to the shower and some gift cards saved from past birthdays (what up $75 Bed Bath and Beyond gift card from 2009), we have been able to decorate and furnish our home without having to spend any of the money we have been saving for our life post-wedding. I spent a lot of time doing some price matching and research online, and woke up earlier than usual just so I could spend ample time shopping and comparing prices, even when it meant going back to a store more than once to snag a deal. But once I had a plan, it was so much fun shopping and not having to take out my credit/debit card to pay for anything out of my own pocket.

We still need some pieces of furniture, but for the most part, we have everything we need. The one thing I love about this house is that a lot of the pieces you will find are hand-me-downs, with a whole lotta character. So without further adieu, I introduce you to my future home:

Hand-me-down dining room chairs...would you LOOK at that fabric!

And yes, that is an old school high chair...

Gifted china my parents never used; hand-me-down arm chairs and an awesome produce box

My love for patterns and designs exploded too.

Clockwise from L: spoon rest, drapes, rug, measuring cups

Linen napkins (on sale!), mason jar mugs

...and that's just the beginning (!). Can't wait to show you the rest of the house!!