Happy New Year, friends! I hope the holidays were restful and joyful for you and that you are excited about a shiny new year. We've had some changes in our personal life that are bittersweet but also very exciting (hence the silence around here the last few months). After much thought and deliberation, we've decided to move back to Raleigh. It seemed like every weekend we were going back to Raleigh for family, friends, or work, and it became clear over time that a move back was going to be the best long-term plan - at least for the foreseeable future.
We also decided with a heavy heart to sell the Myrtle House. We didn't want to rent it out (managing a long-distance rental sounded pretty awful) and I felt like the Myrtle House deserved a loving new owner instead of tenants potentially destroying it. Guys, I thought selling our first house was going to be the most difficult home to say goodbye to (true story - I sobbed hysterically on our front porch on our last night there), but man, the Myrtle House sale really pulled at my heartstrings. It's hard to put into words, but this house encapsulates the end of an era for us. Literally, blood, sweat, and tears. So many tears, haha. We've been working on this home little by little since 2013 and it was such a huge part of our lives for so long. So many amazing things happened during the renovation, along with many trying and difficult times. This house was the catalyst of our flipping side venture and created incredible opportunities for us I could never have imagined including a TV show interview (that didn't pan out) and a magazine feature that should be published in the spring of 2018. The knife is dug a little deeper when you consider the history within the walls of the Myrtle House since the home belonged to Brian's grandparents for decades.
To me, our move to Morganton was like going off to school. We needed this move to gain the education and hands-on experience we did and I am so thankful we took a chance and for the handful of friendships we gained because of it. Of course, not everything went to plan (in fact, very few things did) and we definitely thought we'd be staying put much longer, but that's life; things rarely go as planned. You have to adjust as you go along.
It feels SO good to be back in my home town and I am excited to show you guys our new house! In true vintage Elizabeth + Brian style, we'll be doing quite a bit of renovation and trying to keep costs as minimal as possible. The Denmead House was built in 1997 (so to us, basically new construction, lol) but most of the house is the original 90s finishes. We do plan on staying put in this house a while (i.e. not flipping it) so our projects will be slow-going but I plan on sharing everything with y'all in hopes that it helps with your projects! We've spent the majority of our time post-closing scraping popcorn ceilings so I'll let you know our thoughts on that task next. (Spoiler alert - it sucks, haha.)
Here are the before photos from the listing - a lot has already changed (follow along on Instagram stories for some of the live action) but we've got a ways to go!
Happy 2018, friends. I hope there are wonderful things in store for you this year. xo