Hi everyone! I have neglected to tell you about Moving Into My New “Cottage In The Desert” apartment. I have been documenting the process, and gradually sharing it on my Instagram account, but haven’t been sharing it here on my blog.

Maybe not the best picture quality, but you can see my excitement! Wow, I have so much more space! It felt like a mansion in comparison.

We had everything packed, organized and ready to go early on a Thursday morning. With my favorite donuts and a Twisted Mango Coke, I was energized and ready for this new adventure!

We hired someone to move us, so THAT stress was alleviated. A little costly, but worth it. We only moved about 25 minutes from where we were living, but not having to load and unload EVERYTHING helped SO much.

It was fun to sleep in our new place the first night. I could hardly sleep because I was so grateful, feeling so blessed, I said several prayers of thankfulness each time I woke up. I also thanked my husband several times for moving us into a fresh, new place for us to live. And I have SEVERAL times since. (Almost daily)

I was excited to get unpacked and to start decorating.

But, my body had another idea…

I got sick. And when I say “sick” I MEAN, sick! I was down, in bed, for 10 days. Feverish, nausea, coughing, freezing, sleeping, tired, sick. I was very sad that I wasn’t unpacking. The boxes were surrounding me as if to say, “Let’s get going!”

While I was still in my jammies 2 weeks later, I made some string fringe for the Thrifty Style Team.

That was my first craft in our new place. The unpacking still hadn’t even begun. It was SLLLOOOOWWW!

I DID feel strong enough to spend time out by the pool. The temperature was warm, and the water felt good on my recovering body. Although, I did take a nap every time when I came back in.

On my walks to and from the pool, I enjoy the landscaping. It’s like we have our own personal garden right outside our front door. Once again, feeling so blessed.

Finally feeling like unpacking, I began to purge and keep what I REALLY wanted to keep for this new place.

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I am someone that HOLDS ON to THINGS. And in the past few years, I see that is exactly what they are: THINGS. I have decided to let someone else enjoy them, instead of just keeping them in a box, in a closet.

It’s been a fun and easier process than I thought.

And, of course, I kept precious and meaningful things like my father-in-law’s missionary bible.

And, tea cups, hand sewn napkins from my grandma, the floral tin from my mother-in-law, sea shells and a cake pedestal from a friend, plus much more.

I also kept my vintage table cloths, crystals, fairy lights and chandeliers. I am excited to share them with you VERY soon.

So far, as of today, I have given NINE large boxes filled with THINGS to my local thrift store and FIVE have been thrown in the trash..(as they were papers, useless puzzles, games, etc…)  There are actually TWO more large boxes waiting to be taken to the thrift store today. I am so proud of myself. Yes, I also gave so much away before we moved. But, I brought things with me, “just in case”. Now I can see that I did not need to at all. Do you do the same thing?

Once the full boxes started leaving the house, I was ready to decorate the back porch. It was a fun trip to the local nursery with my husband. There was so much to be inspired by.

Both of us picked out our favorite flowers and flower pots and started planting right away.

You can see more porch details here.

I have used my vintage wood drawers, barn wood boxes, fairy lights and a sweet angel as part of this tiny porch garden.

My hope is to grow veggies and fruits here, to create a container garden as well.

For right now, my seeds are being displayed. Just for fun, not forever.

I have also had a few days to do some thrifting for my “vision” of this new place of ours.

I found this amazing barrel table at Goodwill for a steal of a deal, along with a few more pieces to incorporate here in our new “cottage in the desert”.

But that story is for another blog post.

More ideas, color scheme and design style in my new place are coming VERY soon…

Thanks for joining me today and letting me share about Moving Into My New “Cottage In The Desert” apartment. It is always fun to read your comments, thoughts and ideas.