Goodbye Old House, Hello New Place!

Oh Friends, it has been so long since I’ve shared with you on this blog! Phew, it’s been a journey since I last wrote about connecting with the grandchildren of the original owners of our little castle. There is so much I want to share with you, and I’m sure I’ll write several blog posts about the selling experience and all the life stuff that has happened. But for today, let’s do a quick catch up, shall we?

So, we sold our beautiful castle at the very end of January, and we absolutely adore the family who bought it! They have the sweetest little girls who are now “the princesses of the castle” and the new owners send me pictures of all their house updates and beautiful home décor! The new owners love and appreciate old houses and original architecture, and it makes my heart so happy to know that they are taking such good care of it.

A lot of people have asked me if I was sad to sell the castle, and of course it’s not a simple answer. I’m so happy that we bought the castle at an auction and poured our hearts into restoring it. Living in that house was an adventure and I’m incredibly grateful for the experience. Before we bought the castle, I used to drive by beautiful old houses and feel an ache in my heart. Restoring an old house was such a dream of mine, and to be able to fulfill that dream was absolutely amazing!

When we bought the castle we intended to live in the house forever, but life had different plans for us, and that’s okay. At the time I was a stay-at-home mom and I was able to work on home restoration projects during the kiddos’ nap times and late at night. Those house projects kept me sane amidst the never-ending work that is caring for three young children. In the fall of 2018, my husband started working at a new position within his work and I opened my cute little shop Whimsy & Blue, and life got very busy for both of us! We didn’t have the same amount of time or energy to spend fixing up our house. We wanted to simplify our life and focus the time that we did have at home on our family. Also, as it turns out, I like change, and I get the itch to move about every five years. I honestly did not expect to feel the urge to move once we bought the castle, but I was actually the one who first brought up the idea of selling the castle with the goal of simplifying our lives and moving closer to both of our jobs. We took our time thinking it over and fixing up our house as best we could (old houses are never actually done). Then we worked up our courage, listed our house for sale with an awesome realtor, and crossed our fingers!

We had so much interest in our house and I cleaned it what felt like a gazillion times (which, I can assure you, is not easy to do with five people living in an almost 3,000 square foot house). We had great feedback and tons of positive interest, but for one reason or another it just wasn’t selling. I was working so hard trying to keep up with the shop, the house, and our family. I distinctly remember lying awake in bed one summer night wondering why the house wasn’t selling. I went through my mental checklist for the reasons we were trying to make this change for our family, and they were all positive reasons. I knew our motivation was in the right place, and that this change would be good for us. I instinctively felt that this was the right thing for us to do. Which made the fact that our house hadn’t sold yet very confusing.

And then it occurred to me that maybe something was coming, some life change that I wasn’t aware of, some other reason that had nothing to do with our house. I’m not one to allow myself to worry excessively or invite fear into my life, so I considered the thought and then put it to the side, reminding myself of one of my favorite mantras, “Trust the process.” If there was a bigger reason, I would deal with it when the time came.

I’ll never forget the phone call that came early one the morning at the end of the summer, waking us from our sleep with a jolt and turning our world upside down. My husband’s mother, the person who brought so much love and joy to all of our lives, had passed away unexpectedly in her sleep. We believe she passed from complications due to diabetes. It was a devastating loss to our entire family, and one that we are still grieving. Someday I’ll share more about the amazing person she was and how her love continues to carry us through the loss.

I realize now that if we had sold our house when we first put it on the market, we would have moved our children to a new home and a new school right before they experienced such a devastating loss. I am grateful for the comfort of their familiar surroundings while we navigated their first real experience with the death of someone they love so much.

It took all of my strength to keep our family and my business going during that difficult time. Everything extra, including blogging, had to be put to the side while we worked through that challenging phase in life.

The right family for our house eventually came along, and now that we are on this side of the experience we are so happy that they are the ones who get to call the castle their home!

The timing worked out perfectly, as we were able to rent a beautiful apartment located above one of the businesses within walking distance of my shop. Our new home is in a historic late 1800’s brick building with soaring ceilings and tall windows that flood the place with tons of natural light. It’s absolutely dreamy! Downsizing means I have less to clean and maintain, and thankfully we were able to significantly reduce our living expenses.

Soon I’ll share more details and pictures of our new home. I’m still unpacking and decorating it, but it is working beautifully for our family. I am so grateful to you, friends, for following along with us on this journey and cheering us on as we tackle these restoration projects!

Please take care of yourself and stay safe and healthy with all that is going on in the world. I’ve missed you, and I’m so happy to be back.

Have a beautiful day!
Sandy