House-aversary

Well folks, in just a matter of days we will have lived in Tiverton, Rhode Island for a YEAR! May 17th  marks the anniversary of closing and moving into this little gem. Although its had its ups and downs and deep pockets, we are so grateful to call this place home. I know I am grateful for a place to call our own, and it will mean even more once we share the same name in less than four months! It has been a lot of work (and still is!) but worth the effort. It is a team effort and although I think its hard to admit, we will be sad when its "done" (are houses ever done?!)

We can also now say that 4 months after gutting the upstairs bedroom and office, we have completed that project!! Here is the reveal (well, some of it, the rest will come in June when things are more moved in!)…

BEFORE

AFTER

Landscaping is another task we can check off the list - or at least for the front. This massive, ugly pine tree blocked the whole view of our house and was threatening to choke off the power lines. You know its a small town when the landscaper who came to cut it down grew up in our house and his dad planted that tree when he was a kid!!

BEFORE

AFTER

In the 3 hours since its been down, almost all the neighbors on the street have stopped by to say how great it looks. Its amazing now to notice how crappy everything looks on the front when its wide open:)

Oh, and check out the new sweet grill that my godmother gave us as a wedding gift…LOVE. We put this to good use Saturday night with a BBQ, some beer and bocce ball in the backyard! Thanks to Andrew for leveling it off and building the perfect platform for it and Cousin Margaret & Ted for the gift that keeps on giving. Absolute score.

And so the next three weeks have a lot of work in store. I am off to the BVI to work (or "work" as Andrew says) while I leave Andrew with a cupboard full of boxed mac & cheese and cans of ravioli. His goal is to gut the guest room back to studs and do it all over again - new windows, remove midget window, insulate, sheetrock, resize closet, etc etc etc. And in that, also finish the hallway walls and ceiling.

Luckily we hired a plaster team to come in and skim coat the downstairs walls this week so that the walls are ready for the paint department (ME:) when I return the 2nd of June.

It will be a busy busy 3 weeks at Middle Ave. Don't worry, Andrew has promised to document the whole thing while I am away and get all the dirty work done:)

Happy House-aversary Middle Ave!!

Reflections on 27

I wrote a bit of reflections on 27 yesterday morning, on the eve of turning 28.

"I should be sitting answering dozens of emails, but I decided that a bit of reflection on the past year was more important. These silly emails, our way of communicating these days, consume our time and I just want it to stop. At least for 20 minutes so that I can sip my hot chai tea latte and journal in peace and quiet on an overcast, foggy New England morning. I never journal anymore. I used to do it every day. Or at least attempted to do it everyday. Now a days, if I journal once every three months I have truly made an effort.

I don't know exactly how I got here - to this point in my life - age 27 on the eve of my 28th birthday. Life was moving at a normal pace - fast some days and slow the next, but it all evened out. Nowadays I feel my life is moving at a incredible speed that I only hope to keep up with. Is this the new normal? The time in your late 20's when you realize life is real and the fun, easy going, time for journaling each day, stress free days are a thing of the past? I don't' know exactly but 28 feels monumental. Like I am entering this new stage of life.

27 was a good year. Lots of new friendships developed. I gained new family members. Friends and family got married, had babies, and we celebrated each wholeheartedly. Andrew and I bought our first house. That has been an adventure I never could imagined the day I signed the papers. I spent another summer in Nantucket - picturesque, yet challenging in the realities of appeasing rich owners. I realized in that summer that flexibility is key. That some things work out and some things don't. It all balances out in the end. I traveled near and far. I learned what hard work owning a house requires. I gained new skills and was challenged. Thanks to my dear friend Maaike I launched my own photography business, Maria Burton Photography, and am so encouraged to see it grow one client at a time. Andrew and I enjoyed one last hurrah in the yachting world aboard Spartan. I watched my sister marry her best friend and love of her life - I surprised myself and cried through the whole thing and the days following. I opened my heart, I closed it. I had highs and lows. I believed in the great days and had doubts in the gray ones. And then we got engaged - what I thought I ruined turned out to be all the more perfect. And so 27 was great. A truly blessed, humble, and challenging year."

I am hopeful for 28. I think it might be one of the best yet. My horoscope at least thinks so. I have a lot to be thankful for.

And so I start a new goal for 28 - to post a quote every day. One that inspires me, gives me perspective, or makes me laugh. I don't necessarily have to post it on the blog, but for certain around my house, to remind me of what is good in this life, who I aspire to be, and what I dream for.

So in honor of feeling old at 28...