Updates on All the Things

I'm not really sure where to begin here I guess. These past couple of weeks have honestly been some of the craziest, busiest, hardest, happiest weeks of my life. It feels weird to feel so many emotions all at one time, and it's left me exhausted and ragged. 

Since the last time I posted, I graduated from college (!), packed up everything else I possess (that wasn't already packed away), said goodbye to all my friends and sisters and family in Utah, moved across the country for good, reunited with Chin, and started moving into our house and painting. 

I think all the excitement has been too much for me, because I'm writing this post with a sniffly nose, headache, and a big mug of chamomile tea. 

Saying goodbye to Utah was a lot harder than expected. I cried A LOT, and listened to a lot of John Mayer ballads. I spent a lot of time going from house to house saying goodbye to some of my favorite people on this earth. It's just heart-wrenching to not know when you'll see someone again. It's not like you're not still best friends, it's just that distance is hard for soul. 

Regardless, being back with Chin is the best Christmas gift I could ask for, and I've been keeping so busy that the hurt I feel from missing my loved ones in Utah is being masked by running to job interviews and lathering paint rollers in Benjamin Moore. 

I was a bad documenter (is that a word?) and used my iPhone instead of my camera to record what's happened in the last little bit, so here are some shots of life lately via instagram and iPhone pics.

1. Let it snow! We had a few days of heaping piles of snow in Utah right before I left. I loved it and think God gave me one final gift of snowy mountains before I moved.

2. This was my capstone group for the semester. We spent a lot of quality time together and I love them. These kids are the salt of the earth right here.

3. Saying goodbye to AlPal was excruciating. We went out with a bang by watching Where the Light Is and eating costa vida, followed by me crying and Ali thinking I'm insane because I cry all the time over everything so that's good.

4. One last shot of the Brimhall building, where I basically spent every day in college.

5. My love triangle and first real friends at BYU. Kir and Liza got me through just about everything these past 3.5 years and I can't wait for what our future friendship holds.

6. Saying goodbye to snowy mountains on a teary/anxious plane ride back to New York.

 

You probably think I'm a freak and you'd probably be right since I was a mess last week. On a brighter note, things have been MUCH happier since being back home with Chin and my fam. 

7. Chin and I in front of our new place. We look cray because we had been moving stuff all day but we love it!

8. My favorite place, like ever.

9. I'm not made to make huge decisions apparently because picking out paint colors for the rooms in our house has been like, the hardest thing ever. 

Here are some "before" pictures of our place. As you will see, we have a LOT of work to do. The house has a lot of natural charm, but hopefully after we're done with it, it'll look like new. 

That couch came with the house, we're getting it reupholstered with some awesome fabric. I'm obsessed with the fireplace (that we can actually use!), the barn ceiling, and the built-ins in our living room! 

Are those curtains not the most awesome things you've ever seen? They'll be the first thing to go when we get to work on the living room. 

This is our master bedroom. It's the first room I wanted to tackle because that awful yellow paint and tacky window valences are going to drive me insane.

This is our sun room. It's actually pretty awesome and is getting new tile put in over Christmas. It used to have this disgusting plush green carpet. Hallelujiah for tile.

This is the dining room. We're taking down the wallpaper and painting it light grey, and hoping that I can scratch that tacky floral print out of my eyeballs.

Ohhhhh the kitchen. It's by far having the most work done to it. The linoleum floor is being replaced with tile, the countertops are being replaced with granite ones, and we're getting a new sink and some more cabinets. We're hoping it will look brand new when it's all done!

Some progress: I started painting the master bedroom today. It looks blue here but it's actually a darker grey that I'm still adjusting to. Luckily anything is better than yellow. I didn't picture our other 2 bedrooms or bathroom, but they basically look the same. Lots of potential. :)