well our four-day vacation aside, we’ve officially been in the new house for over two weeks now. woo! and despite the pile of boxes still occupying our dining room, the home feels more and more settled everyday. heck, i’ve already done a handful of loads of laundry (our washer/dryer are a DREAM) and ran the dishwasher!

i thought it might be fun to give you periodic updates on things we’ve done in the house. so here’s the first official update on what has been going down at casa de rivera.

in the past few weeks we’ve…

decorated all of the bathrooms || because priorities. ha! but with three full bathrooms at our disposal, i figured it made sense to get those situated first. we had a few towels and a shower curtain from the condo which we easily repurposed but i also took it as an opportunity to purchase a few new goodies, as well. i snagged this rug and this rug for the two guest baths and these adorable rose rugs for the master. this shower curtain and this towel set is currently in the downstairs bath and of course, i’ve placed this glass vase in each of the rooms as well. they recently had fresh eucalyptus branches in them, but i’m thinking of swapping them out for peonies or sunflowers now that we’re approaching summer.

organized the master closet || thanks to target and their epic storage selection, i successfully created a working his and her closet. for the first time in our marriage S and i are sharing closet space and so far, so good!   i am happy to report we have much less clothes than i originally thought (which just means we can buy more, right?). i love these baskets for storing sweaters and workout tees and these velvet hangers ensure that everything looks clean and uniformed. the next step is figuring out a more efficient way to display our shoes, any suggestions?

and

the kitchen || even before our bedroom, the VERY first order of business we tended to upon moving in was setting up the kitchen because when hanger strikes, nothing good can come from it. as i’ve mentioned before, we have enough cabinet space to house a small army of raccoons so it was fairly simple to find a home for every spoon, cup, and appliance. as recently as this week, we decided to add a little character to the cabinets/drawers by swapping out the white acrylic knobs for black ones with a matte finish. the simple change has given the space a fresher look and i think it’ll compliment the pendant lights we plan on purchasing to hang over the island.

installed recessed lighting in the master bedroom || i had zero to do with this improvement except for the fact that i requested said lights be placed on a dimmer because full brightness is aggressive, especially first thing in the morning.  S installed six recessed lights in the ceiling of our master and it honestly looks like we hired a professional to do it. plain and simple, my husband is a rockstar and his handyman skills continue to impress me on the daily. also now i can see what color underwear i’m picking out in the morning.

purchased a lawnmower || thank goodness for memorial day sales! after researching the best mowers and hedge trimmers, we took advantage of the recent holiday discounts and snagged a small mower and weed wacker to tend to the back and front yards. as the interior starts to come together, our focus will inevitably turn to the exterior, in particular the outdoor living space. we envision adding to the existing vegetable garden (we already have heirloom tomatoes and squash!), planting garden rose and hydrangea bushes along the fence, outfitting the paved patio with some comfy furniture, and of course, putting up our market lights. i see lots of backyard hangs in our near future (grilling season is upon us, too!).

ordered our sectional || i shared in this post that we had planned on ordering a custom sectional from interior define. well i’m happy to report that after recently receiving an offer for $200 off our purchase (we LIVE for a discount), that’s exactly what we did! we ultimately went with the sloan style in the u-shape in the natural shade with natural oak legs and in 10-12 short weeks (probably closer to 8-9 weeks at this point) we’ll finally be able to snuggle together on one couch!

hung a new mirror in the living room || finally, to fill the void above the fireplace in our living room, we recently purchased and subsequently hung this round mirror from west elm (see photo above). i’m obsessed with its simplicity and cute leather strap and at under $200, i think it’s an affordable piece for any room of your house!

the next few items on our to-do list include: building a tv console (my husband drew up plans to recreate this west elm model), purchasing artwork and creating a picture ledge in the living room, selling/donating more of our extra furniture (craigslist has already been very good to us!), ordering the previously mentioned light fixtures for the kitchen (when they finally come back in stock), and finding a good full length mirror because how else am i going to share my daily #ootd? 😉

more house updates to come! i hope this series is something you enjoy. as always, thank you for the love and support!

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