I’ve talked about moving, and even written a good-bye ode to our house, so now it’s time to share a peek at our new little cottage near the sea! By bicycle, it’s less than a mile to the beach. {squee!}

We’re downsizing.

This little 1960’s ranch-style house is 40% smaller than our current home and although it does have a carport, there is no garage. We’ve packratted away a ton of stuff in our garage — plus a large attached storage room — so we’ve had to be brutal in cleaning out. Since we’re also losing that storage, I think that counts for another 10%, which means we’re moving our family of five into a house half the size of our current home. And I’m giddy about it!

This is not merely an issue of what we could afford. We specifically wanted a smaller home. Ironically, the buyer of our 2,500 square foot home is a single older woman.

Want to see some inside pictures?

Note: these are all just photos from the real estate listing, so this is not our furniture. We haven’t moved in yet!

The part I’m the most ridiculously excited about? The screened porch! It’s swoon-worthy, and I plan to spend exorbitant amounts of time there.

Although the house is small, the living space isn’t. I love the open feel. And yes, that’s a washer and dryer in the kitchen. Let’s just call it European; isn’t that sort of thing common there?

Yes, it has bedrooms, but no good photos, so we’ll skip that for now.

We’re moving to an island, and therefore the lots are small. There’s only so much island to go around. In fact, they’re usually measured in square feet, which is not something I’d seen before. However, this house sits on two lots, so we’ll have about 1/3 acre, and the back yard already fenced for the dogs. Another thing I love about the whole area is the abundance of trees!

I’m already planning things to do inside and out to make it more ours but we’re off to a good start. Since I figure the only thing worth photographing for at least a few weeks is going to be boxes and chaos as we get settled, it’s fun to share these photos for now.

And hey! Want to hear something I think is kinda crazy? You’ve now seen just about as much of this house as I have! I did have Ken facetime me while he walked through a second showing so I could see and ask questions about a few things, but I’ve never stepped foot in it.

Let the adventure begin!

Ken and the kids drove out with all our STUFF yesterday, and if all goes as planned (I’m writing this ahead of time!), today Kathryn and the dogs and I are on the road after taking care of some last minute details in Georgia. I won’t have a week-end post on Friday but I hope to be back next week, posting from our new home!

Jamie

Wife, mom, J-ma. Introvert who enjoys good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand – unless it’s lost yet again in the microwave. Read more »