Homeownership!

Welcome to the new life of Jon & Julie - a mortgage, a mailbox, and our own garage! We closed on our house last Monday and moved all of our belongings in on Wednesday. The last week has been a whirlwind of moving, unpacking, painting, installing, and minimal amounts of sleeping. Thanks to the amazing help of my parents, we were able to make quite a few improvements to our home already. Jon would tell you that this is no surprise when you gather a few Dickmans together for a weekend. We painted four rooms, installed five new light fixtures, wired a bedroom for a ceiling fan, wired new lighting in the attic, changed all of the bathroom fixtures, as well as several other minor improvement projects. I can officially say that the house has now been "Julie-ized" - it's starting to feel like home! Jon and I learned lots of home improvement techniques from my Dad and we relied on my Mom for style expertise. It's been super-fun to "bond" with our new home through this process and start to really make it our own. Here are a few pictures:
It was fun to see that sign disappear as the house was signed into our name!
Hmmmmm...what shall we tackle first?
Just one of many light fixture changes...
We also took some time to celebrate Mom's 60th Birthday a little early since we can't be there with her on the 19th. Happy Birthday Mom!!!
Here is the work crew dressed in their best Carolina blue! It felt like a TLC reality show - four people, five days, one new house! We'll post more pictures as we get things unpacked and settled in the house. :)