Welp! Life is all sorts of crazy… and if you subscribe to my newsletter, then you already know this….buttt we are officially new home owners! Phew, as someone with serious commitment issues, I never thought I’d be married, with a kid, and owning two homes in one place, but here we are haha! I’m not going to lie to you guys— this decision has been stressful and nerve-wracking as hell! But also exciting, new, and hopefully beneficial too. We’re figuring it all out– that’s for sure! Because we have to— because now its official official, we are officially downsizing into a tiny condo downtown!

I’m very much looking forward to downsizing into a smaller home. I know that might seem weird to some, but I actually prefer living in a smaller space (as long as it’s an open airy space)! Does that make sense? I just feel like it’s easier to keep everything organized, tidy, uncluttered. You spend so much less time cleaning floors or other larger unused space. Being in a smaller space keeps us super mindful of everything that comes in — and helps us to get up and out in the world more too. 

You know, if I’m being honest, this wasn’t our first choice plan. Our first choice (for me and Marlowe anyway)  was to pick up and move to Mexico. But Alex is pretty adamant about staying here in Florida for at least a few more years. But if we’re staying here in Florida, this seems like a smart option too (you know, because Alex was not having the tiny home RV situation haha). Invest in two properties, rent out our home (and stay local to manage it this time), downsize, and *hopefully* be able to create a bigger savings for the future. It’s tough and scary because obviously we have to put down a big chunk of our savings to buy this condo– I’m not a big spender (I’m the saver of the two of us) so I’m doing my best to try to not let it keep me up at night, haha. But this is what we’re doing and fingers crossed it all goes really well.

Try our best and hope for the best, right?

So while the financial side of me is nervous, the creative and design loving side of me is really excited. We’ve picked out beautiful clean paint colors, put in an order for green flooring today (the bedrooms were carpeted- bleh), and I’m in the process of making a lot of design elements for the home. We debated on tearing down the upper cabinets and putting in open-shelving, but I think that might have to wait until another time. We have to be careful with the projects we want to carry out vs time we actually have since we’re DIY-ing so much of it. And while we wouldn’t have picked those cabinets or countertops if we had the choice, they really aren’t awful. The microwave is going to be kicked out ASAP though. (Anyone want it?)

It’s a small space, about 1,000 square feet. But nothing we can’t handle, we’ve both lived in much, much smaller studio spaces. Honestly, space wise, the only thing we wish is that the bathrooms and closets were smaller, haha. We feel like too much of the apartment space was dedicated to those spots that we really don’t need. Collectively, Alex and I don’t have enough clothes to fill one. But we have a good-sized kitchen (very important to us), we’re in a great location, the place has decent all day light, and other than the floors, the apartment is really move in ready (unless we make more upgrades), so what more could we ask for?

Even though we were just handed the keys this week, my mind has raced and planned with loads of design ideas. I know when I started this blog, so many of the posts were much more home design heavy and that has much slowed over the years. It’s just that I’m not one of those bloggers (or people in general) who rearranges a room and often buys new furniture. I make a space cozy and functional and live with it— then the design part of my life is done and so are the blog posts, haha.  But expect a bit more design again soon– at least until our place is fully set up, then it’ll drop off again 😉

 

So yes, if you’re reading this and you were hoping to rent out our home– it’s now available again! Well, starting soon! We missed spring break rental season (I KNOW), but summer break, winter break, a weekend getaway, a month-long sabbatical, all the florida vacation time you need is available in our cozy home 🙂

So yeah, this month has been crazy for us. We’ve bought this property (so much paperwork), packing up our home, and prepping it for rent, and now designing and prepping this space— you know on top of home school, working, eating, sleeping, all the important things haha. I’m tired, that’s for sure 😉

You can check out the listing for our vacation rental, ohdearcasa, HERE. And please forgive me, as the photos aren’t up to date yet, but I promise you guys, it’ll be beautiful and cozy once it’s all done 🙂 The garden will be deliciously waiting for you, the bed linens will be organic and clean, the kitchen will be filled with tools to cook, the records will be asking to be played, and more. It’ll be grand!

Alright friends! Looking forward to sharing more details and photos soon– but for now, I have a butt-load of errands to accomplish. Gotta make a (small) house (apartment) a home 😉

PS. Speaking of downsizing…this is absolutely hysterical and totally me and Alex. Guess which one is me. Hahahaha.

4 Comments

  1. So excited for your new plans and space and can’t wait to see how the decorating/renovating comes along! I find it a really fun challenge typically to have the canvas of a smaller space to work with and personalize.

    • I’m excited to do it! I feel like the hardest part im working with right now is creating a workspace for my desktop– I dont want it in my bedroom, but there’s no other choice– except the giant closet, haha. But it’ll happen!

  2. Hey, Drea,
    I was wondering why I haven’t seen your posts on instagram in a while and thought it was due to an algorithm problem…butwhen I try to search for your profile I can’t find it. Have I been blocked and if so, why? I’ve been a reader of your blog and follower on instagram for years and I’ve always loved your posts and would really appreciate to still be able to see them. I don’t usually comment on anything (neither here nor on instagram) but maybe you’ll see this and could help me?

    XO