It's beginning to feel a lot like...

...Christmas and a cozy new home! 

The beginning of our move-in. 

You'll notice I've been a bit absent on my blog, but I promise it's been for good reason! In the past week, we closed on our new place, my mom and I cleaned it from top to bottom then we all moved our entire lot of belongings into the house in about two days, unpacked, decorated, painted, shopped and cooked. I am so very, very, very grateful that my mom and Louis Dean came down to Katy and spend a solid week helping Mike and I get unpacked and settled in. They were a wonderful encouragement and motivation, and it made the house seem so much more homely to have loved ones sharing it with us. Needless to say, the husband and I are beside ourselves with happiness over such a great home. We love it here! 

Tonight everything was quiet and it was our first evening in the house alone. We heated up leftovers for dinner after organizing the garage a little bit, then plopped down onto the couch and caught up on a few TV shows (we enjoy Hawaii 5-0 and all the CSI's). The little things really make our days right now, it is nice to look around and see all our things, watch American TV on a big screen, prop up our feet in our leather reclining sofas and have our animals with us (our two dogs will come home after Christmas).

He and I went from being packed into a guest room (graciously provided by close friends of ours during the near four-month house process)...

...to a beautiful home fit just for us!

You might recall reading about my two kitties while the husband and I were living in Scotland. My white cat, Snowball, became deathly ill while staying with my cousin - though the circumstances as to how are still unclear - but she has made a fantastic recovery. She prowled around the new house for awhile before finally deciding it was okay!

My older cat, July, is about 18 years old and took an immediate liking to the dwelling. She rolled all over the carpet and ran from room to room exploring!

Then my mom and I lit our "ceremony" candle... it's a Yankee Candle dubbed "Christmas by the Beach." It's packed with holiday aroma and a hint of coconut. Perfectly me. I had purchased a fall candle months ago thinking we'd have a house by then. When we didn't, my mom picked up the Christmas candle hoping we could light it together in my new home before the holidays were up. And we did! It was truly a special moment and made the whole experience that much more memorable. Then again, mom's just have a way of doing that, don't they?

The "movers," aka some of the husband's buddies from work, my mom and my step-dad, were wonderful and helped us move in both storage units. We couldn't have done it without them! The entire event took a matter of hours.

Whether you follow my blog or are just passing through, you must know that I love to cook. I post my recipes on here frequently (and intend to more often now that I've got my own kitchen!) and putting together good food is an enjoyable hobby for me. I also like to cook for people, so having my mom and step-dad stay with us for several days was the perfect excuse to break out my never-used Spode Christmas china (a thoughtful gift from my mother-in-law). I whipped up a two-minute centerpiece for the table, using materials I found in nearby boxes, like those oversized ornaments you're supposed to hang from your outdoor tree limbs. It was easy to locate all the Christmas supplies since everything was sitting in the garage! 

While I never require things to be picture perfect all the time, I have missed my "stuff." After reading so many great interior design blogs over the past year (like this one and this one) and sitting in a foreign flat with ideas swirling through my head, I've just been dying to get my hands back on all my things and be creative. Whether it's dressing a table in record time or working on handmade Christmas ornaments or hanging up new picture frames, I'm all about the nesting and the "pretty." Hence my Spode Christmas china for our very first dinner after moving in.

We chowed down on a quick and easy hearty meal, made of whole grain pasta, Prego's three cheese tomato sauce, freshly sauteed halved baby tomatoes, ground beef and artichokes. Yum!

Our down time was spent hogging the remote control...

 

...enjoying the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls that my step-dad made from scratch (using a wine bottle as a makeshift rolling pin!)...

 ...and enjoying a little sunshine during moving breaks. Or all the time, if you're a furry white critter.

Now I know I haven't shown you much of the house, but I do intend to! It's just a ways from being ready yet. I have several posts planned over the coming weeks that entail DIY window valiances, our Christmas trees (yup, we managed to put up more than one!), a shelf makeover, big paint plans for the office, a seaside guest room theme, our new Texas china hutch that holds some of our favorite dishes (which are on display for the first time ever) and more fun, country and otherwise cowboy-inspired details that we're working to implement throughout our home. We love that rustic, hill country touch - it's our personalities to the core. Relaxed, fun, a little bit country and a whole lotta comfy!

In the meantime, though, I will give you a sneak peek of our newly-adorned bed in the master, which I took the liberty of outfitting with a bit of Christmas cheer...

Christmas cheer is all around this place and it's merrier than usual. We are blessed to have come into a home that feels so "right" for us and we are equally grateful for generous family, like my parents, who could come down and help us out. My husband's parents are still keeping our dogs until we can get to Dallas for Christmas and retrieve them, and we appreciate all the TLC they've been given while we've been gone! God is good, and he's been really good to us.

Now I just can't wait to share it all with you!