Oh my goodness, you guys.

It’s finally out there. Everyone knows. We finally have the keys.

And the renovation starts today.

I’ve been daydreaming lately about our address change announcements. I want them to be adorable. Artsy. Typewriter-y. Is it old-fashioned to send out address change announcements? Is that what they’re even called? It’s surreal to even consider that I’d need to send them. With Sohrab, no less. *heart-eyed emoticon*

We were in escrow for six weeks to the day. Monday to Monday. I don’t think it’s yet hit me that the place is ours, nor has the weight of what that means sunk in. Our renovation starts this morning, so we aren’t moving in quite yet. Maybe that’s one reason why it doesn’t feel real. But I’m deliriously happy. It’s a strange feeling… it feels like a hurry up and wait situation. That’s what escrow is, after all. Hurry up, sign that paper, now wait for us to go through the motions of this antiquated system. For instance, at first we thought we’d close on the 22nd of January, which would have been a 30-day escrow as advertised. That didn’t work out. The date moved up. The paperwork was taking too long. The seller needed to deal with termites and took their time. The date moved up again. Etc. Etc. Such is life, and it makes our arrival at closing taste so much sweeter.

And now, here we are, on the edge of the renovation, itching to know our move-in date. Wondering what the backsplash will look like. Daydreaming about our soft-close kitchen cabinets.

But first they’re going to scrape the ceiling. Au revoir, popcorn! Then they’ll paint. And then the real transformation begins.

But I don’t know the timeline. A couple weeks, I imagine. They’re taking a wall or two out in the kitchen, after all. Open concept, here we come!

But I’ll tell you more about that later when I have pictures to offer for context. For now I can simply offer the “before” pictures that we took on Monday, putting our glee on the side burner to make sure we documented the process properly. I’d really like to be able to make a before and after comparison, photo-wise. And maybe even a time-lapse photography video to watch the transformation in super speed!

But what blew me away most of all is the response that we’ve received from everyone. The outpouring of love and support and congratulations have us feeling so special. Thank you all for the sudden spike in views (it was the unveiling of the website, too!), and the wonderful comments. You guys rock, and we are so excited to share our journey with you.