home sweet home

So 3 weeks in to our marriage we finally have a home!  ha ha But really it is very exciting and so great to have a place.  It has been quite the adventure these past few weeks but we are really happy and excited to be on this adventure together.

Now we are trying to get settled-getting the basics done like changing our address with everyone, setting up utilities and stocking our empty home.  We came out here with nothing in the way of food or household items because we just didn't have the space.  It's crazy how much STUFF we need, but we are making progress.  We are starting with the basic necessities (toilet paper, dish soap) and we have a few more shopping trips ahead of us.

We had an epic day of shopping on Saturday, it was exhausting, but fun.  Bed, Bath, and Beyond had this event we were able to go to where we could save 20% off anything we didn't get from our registry (but really they let us get anything we wanted) so we were there bright and early to spend our giftcards.  After that we met with our new landlord (we love Jose!) to go over and sign the lease.  Our new town is Northborough and we love it.  It's a small community, they had Apple Days over the weekend with a parade and everything, but we are close to major shopping and restaurants if we drive just 5-10 min and Boston is just 30 miles away.

Our next stop was IKEA and it was crazy.  It was so busy, but so is everything on a Saturday afternoon.  We were there all afternoon, but we picked out a couch, a chair, an office desk and chair for John, a sweet bed and mattress and a few other odds and ends for our home.  We are going back for the bed and couch, but at least we have 2 chairs in our home for now :-) (we have an air mattress we have been sleeping on...it's not so bad).

By the time we got to Target our brains were mush but we needed pillows and toilet paper and such, so we made a quick trip to spend some more gift card money (we have the best friends and family ever!).  We were gone more than 12 hours and most of that was shopping-John was a real trooper!

We cooked our first meal in our new home last night and it was great.  My first instance of home sickness happened at the grocery store though-it was frustrating and overwhelming to not know where anything was and to try to be price-comparing with brands I'm not familiar with.  Overall food prices are a little higher out here, but not too bad.  Gas is cheaper than Utah, so that is something.  Another thing is that Walmart and Target are not "Super" like most of the ones in Utah.  They each have a grocery section with some canned and boxed food and some frozen but no produce or deli or bakery or anything, so that will take some getting used to.

Today I am home alone trying to get our kitchen organized and the few things we do have put away (and blogging) while John is working.  Until we have our internet set up he will be driving back out to his boss's house to work with Jim in his home office.  Oh, and I'm also job searching.   I'm very excited to get back into a regular life routine that doesn't involved planning a wedding or a move or packing or anything.  Wish me luck on finding a job fast!

And for those that are curious, the cats are doing great.  They did awesome on the drive out here and then they hung out in the barn at Jim's last week and now they are loving exploring our new place, free to roam the house.  We haven't decided if/when we're going to let them outside...they may be inside cats again for now and then we'll see in the Spring.

Oh, and it is fall.  Somehow the summer got away from me (I think because of the wedding-things went by so fast!) and leaves are starting to change.  I'm excited to experience a New England fall!

I will take and post some pics once we are out of boxes. :-)  Sorry for the long post, but I've had lots on my mind!