WHERE have you been?

I know, I know.  I've been missing.  For a long time.  Almost two years.  Where have I been?

To begin, we put our house on the market almost three years ago.  After about a year, we finally sold it!  We then bought a 37 acre farm that was under foreclosure.  It had been abandoned for several years.  To put it simply, it was a MESS...which might just be the understatement of the century.

Here are some before pictures that we took on the day that we closed.  Outside:

House

Detached Garage

Barn

Horse Stables:  we turned this into a shop for my husband.  It is one of the reasons we bought the property.

Inside the house:

View from living room into dining

View from dining into living

Kitchen

Kitchen

As you can see, there was just a little bit of wood paneling in the house.  Just a bit.

We closed in May.  For the next THREE MONTHS, we lived in our camper as we gutted the house.  I mean, we took it back to the studs. Thankfully, my husband is a contractor and we were able to do most of the work ourselves.  When I say "we," of course I mean "he." 

Here are some outside after pictures:

The garage with new roof and shutters

Barn with the beautiful barn quilt that my sister painted for me

 Here are some after pictures of the inside:

View from dining into living.  You an see that we took down the wall  between the kitchen and living room.

The new and improved kitchen.  I love the concrete counters that my husband created.

Of course, we have SO much more to do.  We keep telling ourselves that the farm was abandoned for years, so we won't be able to have it in pristine condition quickly.  It is definitely a work in progress!

Now you know where I have been for a huge part of the time when I was missing.  I'll be back soon to add to the story!

Happy Sunday!