Our Library

I don't know about you... but Belle was one of my favorite princesses, because she loved to read. (Second only to Ariel, because she's obviously the best princess.) And I totally squealed for Belle when the Beast gave her his library!! So amazing!

One of our hopes for our Ohio house was to have a library space in our house! I'm not talking grand staircases, or thousands of books, but somewhere we could display our books and have a comfy, quiet place to read. Well, we got one and it is finished! (For now.)

The bookshelves are full, so that's a good sign, but a bad thing for future book purchases! So, I have to decide how to fit anther bookshelf in this room. I would like to put them in the cut-out on this wall.

Obviously it's not ideal to have the dog kennels in the library, but you know... real life. We don't have anywhere else on the first floor - or even the 2nd - to put the kennels. The garage is problematic, because of the seasonal high and low temps in Ohio. We are in the process of building a large, indoor kennel in the basement for both dogs to have more room, but it's not done yet. (Or started.) So, hopefully another bookshelf will live here in the future, and maybe a cozy chair or a desk for the kids.

Our sitting area kind of fell together without much planning, but it works. The love seat... oh, the love seat. This was NOT what I was planning on in here. Maybe a Papasan chair, or a chair and a half to cuddle up in... alas, the love seat won. Basically, I ordered this love seat for our living room when we bought furniture. However, it was way too small for the room and we ended up getting a 2nd full sized couch for the space. (I'll show you later.) So, I had a love seat that I couldn't return and a room that needed seating.

I bought this lamp for 75% off - $20 pre-tax - at Meijer before we even bought the house. (Washington peeps, this store is like Fred Meyer without furniture.) I've always loved hanging lamps, and I think having the lighting above the reading material is good placement. We don't have overhead lighting in the library, but we have a ghost switch that I was able to plug the lamp into, so the wall switch turns it on. Plus, I'm a huge fan of adding different textures into a room, so this fit nicely.

I also ordered the hammered brass side table before we bought the house, because I just loved it.

The Harry Potter pillow was just the perfect final touch; thank you Pottery Barn Kids sale!

The desk area really stumped me. I knew how I needed it to function, however I didn't know to translate that into actual function. The desk and chair are from Ikea; we brought the chair on the move. I wanted the biggest desk possible, and I think we accomplished that for the space.

I settled on open shelving for the wall, because it was the easiest solution, with the most versatility and storage. I decided to move the printer up there from the desktop, to open up more space. I may pop the cords in the wall, but they don't bother me much, yet. The shelf brackets were purchased on Etsy from Modern Urban Metals and are secured into studs for maximum security! I also added a couple of puck-lights to the underside of the bottom shelf for additional lighting at night, since the hanging light is behind me when I'm at the desk.

I bought the gold envelope for the command center wall originally, but I grossly underestimated the size of the wall, so that area changed A LOT as we started assembling it. I was going to return the envelope, but I decided to use it for little greeting cards to send out. (I love picking these up in Bullseye's area at Target!)

I needed a GREAT spot in my house for this famed picture. My amazing family gifted this to us before we moved. I wanted it somewhere I could see it, and not just in passing. I kept the placement of this in mind when we hung the shelves, and I'm loving the result.

Aside from furniture (not including the desk chair) and the set of animal pictures, we didn't purchase anything for this room. I have never been able to put a room together using what I already have, so I was pretty pleased by that!

Jordan and I both worked and reworked this area together until we loved it!
I bought the watercolor lion picture years ago in honor of my fierce Leo girl that passed away.

These were originally purchased for the playroom, but I thought they worked better in here.

Justin's Army retirement certificate!
And we updated the thermostat to tie in to our home security system.

Justin brought this giraffe home from South Africa!
She's tucked away in this little spot for safe keeping!

Justin saw something similar to this at the Red Plantation in Pouslbo, but decided to think about it. When he figured out he wanted it, someone else had already snagged it! So, I found this look-a-like at Hobby Lobby and got it 1/2 off. Get it here!

I wasn't sure where our wall ruler would work in this house... I made it - two houses ago - and didn't really want to let it go. I've never actually put lines on it, but we've measured many children, many times up against it. I'm so happy it found a place in our new home! 

Doorway goes into the playroom, which also leads into the kitchen, which gives our first floor a nice design flow!

Overall, this room feels the most "lived in" out of the entire house. I love that the walls are crowded and not everything matches, because this room is filled with so many of our favorite things! Touches of South Africa can be spotted, favorite pieces from previous homes, family, friends, Funko... saltwater. It's perfectly us. My library dreams have been realized!

Hi I`m JOEY and I'm a guest on Detour's blog

Hi I am Joey. I am 7.  I  love Ohio because  I  💗  ⚽ and I 💗 🍕 and I 💗 🐦!

I met  new   friends. 

I love  🍭 (candy)
I   got    a    house!    yaaa!!
I    love   🐼s
And   I  love  🎃 (Halloween)
And   I   love   💀  (deadness) ha!
I   love   to  be  creepy😈  

Have   a    good   day    and   pray     🙈🙉🙏
And   be     cool 💀   

The   end!  
Bye✋✋

Operation: Dream Home #2

House hunting. Anyone that has undertaken this task will surely agree that it's more fun to watch others do it on TV. Even Jordan said so! I will say, though, it's been fun watching our big kids house hunt. They each have different things they look for. They are both concerned about where their room will be. However, they each have a few things they look for:

• Jordan - 
• Library space.
• Property for shooting on.
• Room for a hanging egg chair in her room.
• Joey -
• Basement for fun stuff.
• A fireplace for Santa.
• Remaining on budget. (LOL!) 

You all remember our Orting house:

When we started building this beauty, I started a Facebook album titled "Dream Home #1". I remember the moment I typed that, and thinking to myself, "Hmm... Why '#1'? Are we planning on moving before we've even built it?" God works in mysterious ways. He already knew that wasn't our forever home. 

Fast forward nearly 4 years, and we are house hunting in Ohio. We found a house with TONS of potential! I mean, OOZING potential. I could picture the shining beauty this house would become. 

Sure, it needed a kitchen remodel, every wall needed paint, every door needed to be replaced, the carpet smelled like dog and almost every curtain rod was installed crooked. But the property was amazing, and I saw how beautiful the house could be with a lot of love and even more elbow grease! Alas, it was not meant to be. We lined up every inspection, but only 1 ended up mattering; the septic inspection. As it turns out, the septic leech bed is too close to the well; meaning that the filtered septic run-off could get into the well water. Not only is that seriously gross, but it also doesn't meet code. So, we had to terminate our contract on this diamond in the rough. 

We hit the pavement to tour more houses, while battling the house-bummer-blues. It wasn't pretty. Bless our amazing agent Carrie for remaining upbeat and reminding us that we WOULD find an amazing home! (Seriously Ohio people, if you need an agent, call my girl at Buckeye State Realty!)

Pushing on, we expanded our search area. When we pre-gamed our house search from Washington, inventory here in Ohio was much more abundant. Unfortunately for us, the market here is on fire right now and needing a 4 bedroom has narrowed our options even more. 

The new search area led us to a much newer, nicer house. Very "Washington". Lots of space inside, not so much space in the backyard. It sat on nearly an acre, however the house was right in the middle, so not such a great yard in any one place. But, oh, she is pretty! 

Side-load garage.Wrap-around porch. Sun room. Loft for the kids. Giant basement. It is a gorgeous house! Unfortunately, the sellers want top dollar for it and they apparently aren't willing to negotiate. We submitted an offer - backed by comps in the area - and they refused to even respond. We slept on it and submitted a new offer in the morning, to which they called "insulting." They are under contract on a new house, so it appears that they are going to have two homes, because we decided not to increase our offer and the house is still sitting there, weeks later.  

After the big, pretty house didn't work out, I asked Justin to reconsider another house we saw the same day, on the same road. It was a little smaller on the inside and outside, needed paint in a couple rooms, but it was very well cared for and had everything we needed. He agreed and I took Justin's parents for a look while Justin started his new job. 

It was definitely love. The house was everything I imagined our TLC house could be! After a couple of counter offers back and forth, we were under contract in a couple of days! And, as of today, the house passed inspection with flying colors! Here's the official tour!

--------

Semi-wrap around porch! We originally asked for the homeowners to leave the porch swing, however, it was an anniversary gift and they will be keeping it.

Can we just admire the size of this kitchen for a moment?

...

And the fact that there isn't a sink or cook-top in the island?

...

Just a little paint to tone down all the yellow-orange-brightness and we're good to go!

We have already picked out a new dinning room table, chairs and buffet to hold Jordan's china from her great-grandma Donna. :) We can't wait to start hosting tea parties again! Not to mention, fully extend the dining room table to 112 inches to see how many Detwilers (and Dotsons) we can seat at one time! 

The living room portion of the great room. I have a feeling it's going to be set up just like our Orting house, which will hopefully make it feel like home right away! We are really happy to have an indoor fireplace, so Santa doesn't have to use his magic key to get in. The bookshelves are installed, but we're going to move them out of this room.

Now that IS a great room! I can't believe we're going to have THREE kids growing up making cookies, sharing family dinners and hanging stockings in THIS room.

Since our new dining room furniture will fit in the great room, we're going to use the formal dining room off of the kitchen as a playroom for Skyler. Hopefully, it won't look like Toys R Us exploded in our living room this time around! (R.I.P. Toys R Us)

The formal living room. This room is something I was really hoping for. This is going to be our library. Most everyone knows that I'm a book lover, and that I'm hoping to raise a few book lovers. So, we are planning on moving the living room bookshelves into this room. All we need is to unpack our books and get a comfy place to sit! 

Okay, have I mentioned that my agent is amazing? She suggested this foyer overlook area for a Christmas tree! You guys. I'm totally putting tree #4 here! 

(Don't freak out! 1 of the trees is a table-top tree. Jeez, like a would have 4 FULL sized trees. LOL!)

Master bedroom, complete with walk-in closet! Big enough for a king size bed, nightstands and dresser. I never understood why house hunters want a huge master bedroom. (Can you sneak a peek of that huge soaker tub in the bathroom? It's going to be covered in dust soon! LOL!)

Extra bedroom #1 - Joey's room

This one is the largest extra bedroom, and Joey gets it this time! He's hoping to paint grey and have a huge Nerf target on the wall! I mean, of course he is! Why wouldn't he want a giant target to shoot at?

Extra bedroom #2 - Jordan's room

Jordan decided she wanted a loft bed, and it will fit best with this room configuration, plus she won't lose any floor space, so it's fair that she doesn't get the largest room. She agrees. I think she is planning on painting it a light lavender.

Extra bedroom #3 - Skyler's room

Yay for no painting! I do have a paint project planned for this room, but it's going to be a surprise!

The basement!

It's dry. It's HUGE... like there is even more space than in these pictures. We can't wait to make the ultimate game room down there! 

So, we had really hoped to find a house on a couple of acres... with trees (for the PNW girl in me). However, this backyard is huge. There's some fenced in area, which will be nice for the pups, and then a huge area past that. The kids are excited to have room for a swingset, trampoline and pool next summer. There's no way we could have hoped for a yard this size in Washington, so Justin and I are grateful to have a little more space.

--------

Well... there you have it! For all the stress and aggravation it's caused, that was our house hunting in a nutshell. We ended up in Marion, Ohio... I'm guessing for a reason. God always has a way of surprising me. Thank goodness His plans are always better than mine, because I could have ended up drinking filtered poo-water in West Liberty! LOL! 

I can't wait to get the first few projects done in the new house (painting the great room and moving the bookshelves) and share them with you all! Now, I'm on the hunt for a few more furniture pieces! I'm still looking for a coffee table, a desk, and library seating! Maybe I'll get that Papasan chair I've always wanted... I am concerned I may no longer be able to get out of it though! 

Be on the lookout for a Dream Home #2 Facebook album to pop up soon! Though, I may title it "Forever Home". 

In the Waiting...

Hi, my name is Krystle, and I'm a planner. I make all sorts of plans... event plans, meal plans, camping plans, holiday plans... and I write them all in my planner! Some times I make some pretty lofty plans or "I'll never" plans, and it moments like that when I think God just laughs, rolls up His sleeves, and says, "Oh, you think so? Watch this." But when God messes up my plans for His own, His always turn out way better than mine ever would have!

We are now over one month residents of Ohio. However, we are still unsettled. We knew when we left Washington that we were entering the unknown, where timelines didn't exist and our faith had to be bigger than our fears. We knew. And my in-laws have been so gracious in opening their home - and three of their bedrooms - to us; for which we are extremely grateful and blessed!! But we are in the hallway... doors we cannot even see are ahead of us, and only God knows when they will be visible or open. For a planner and researcher like me, that can be difficult. I know what we need, I know how to find it, but I have to wait. I have to trust in His plan, because He's brought us this far and everything else has worked out perfectly thus far.

I think most everyone knows that we left for Ohio unemployed, with no job prospects in the works. Not everyone knows that Justin has been selected for a position with the Columbus Department of Veteran's Affairs! He is currently in the pre-employment process and awaiting a start date! We are so excited that he was able to find a position with the VA within a month of arriving in Ohio. God is good!

To Do List:

Sell House

Move to Ohio

Get Justin a Job

Buy a House

Now... we wait again. We had a big list of hopes and dreams for our move, to include:

• Me being a stay at home mom
• Justin having a shorter commute (45 - 60 minutes in Washington)
• A house: privacy, no HOA, more land, basement, etc.
• Slower life in general

Now that we are on the cusp of being ready to find a house, we are finding that there is very limited inventory in the area we would like to be in. We did find a house that we loved. It was a fixer, but the layout, size, and land were everything we had hoped for. The commute for Justin, however, was 53 minutes without traffic or weather factors. During our tour of the house, Justin and our agent found a fairly wet spot outside of the house... and we haven't had too much rain for that kind of sogginess. We inquired about it with the listing agent and the homeowner checked it out - a broken pipe from the sub-pump. While this house wasn't going to work for us, hopefully us paying it a visit saved a big problem for the homeowner - the house is empty and has been on the market for 80+ days... who knows if this could have become a bigger problem.

So, while we are waiting in the hallway, we give thanks for the waiting... because in the waiting is typically where God is doing the most work - on us and in His plans for us!