Most of you probably already know by now, but...WE ARE MOVING!!! For many years we have known that we would eventually move to Chattanooga, TN; although, we thought that move was still several years away. Well, after visiting the "Noog" (as the locals like to say) in August, we decided to "check things out" and "prepare" for a move in another year. Shawn thought he should at least take a peek and see if there were any job opportunities, and boy was he surprised. Apparently, Chattanooga is trying to make itself into the new Silicon Valley; so there is an abundance of jobs in the computer field. Well, he figured it didn't hurt to apply for jobs....and before we knew it he was being offered several; and we were looking at moving our family in three months instead of the year we had previously planned! God is good, and he has moved mountains to make this move possible. I am simply amazed at His goodness.
I'm excited at the chance to start over in a new place and redecorate, too. We are officially debt-free now (more on that later), so I feel like I will finally have the opportunity to express myself creatively. It was an interesting experiment, trying to decorate on a budget of $75/month, but I would call it a "fail." I found that the money didn't really stretch that far, and I was limited to purchasing small decorative items.
My conclusion: $75/month is not enough money to sufficiently re-invent your house. It would probably take me about 10 years on that budget to get all the furniture and accessories I would need to give my house that "WOW" factor.
Sooooooooo...going forward, I will be beefing up my budget. I am still going to try to keep purchases reasonable. This means Craigslisting and DIYing whenever possible, but I'm not going to feel guilty about spending a little more on a good quality piece. I look forward to sharing all the changes with you. See you in Chattanooga!!
