oh, your furniture looks lovely in the new place. So exciting! Congratulations!

Congratulations! I agree that the lamp could be better used elsewhere. Remember to leave negative space so that rooms don't feel crowded.

How exciting Jen! I'm so happy for you.
Love your dining furniture.

So excited for you! I'd want to unpack everything and just tinker around for days too! It looks very nice!

Congratulations!

Woohoo. Enjoy your new home.

Looks wonderful and you sound so very happy!

Congratulations! I really like the chandelier

Enjoy! I am so happy for you!

Such an exciting time! You'll probably be moving and rearranging things for some time. Know you must be thrilled with all your new rooms. Enjoy the adventure...And welcome home, aunt and unclejen. :>D !!

How wonderful and exciting for you! Very, very happy for you!

I don't know about "cheap looking" but if you feel the chandy is LARGE..then why would that light fixture be needed? SLOW down, enjoy the move in!! It should be FUN and exciting. Once your bed and kitchen are set--the rest can be settled into more leisurely IMHO!!

So much fun when everything is new. Enjoy!

Your furniture looks very at home in that space,many the wall color is a perfect foil for the wood tone! Maybe you could keep the lamp if you put the chandelier on a dimmer----which is a good idea if it doesn't already have one. Congratulations on your first night in the new house!

How beautiful!

Congratulations!! Enjoy your beautiful new home. Looking forward to seeing many pictures as you continue to set it up.

How fun that time is! Everything is beautiful and exciting! Lovely!

How exciting! Congratulations on your new home. Your dining room furniture is gorgeous and looks great in its new space.

I agree, you don't need the lamp. All you need are a few pieces from your great art collection. Enjoy!!

Congrats.

Keep reminding yourself that the world wasn't made in a day either. You'll get there. Slow but steady wins the race.

Congrats.....so exciting! Love your DR. Don't wear yourself out...you won't enjoy your new place if you do!

You work fast! Congratulations on your new home. Nice job on the dining area. Your furniture looks like it was made for that space.

Congratulations! That looks great. I agree, get rid of the floor lamp and then I would count it done! Simple, clean, shows off your blue and white china beautifully. Really, the only thing I would add is fresh flowers on the table and that is a maybe. Your plate looks nice there, too.

So happy for you!

Beautiful. Congratulations again on your new home. It must be torture to leave all that for work . :)))

Love your furniture and it looks perfect in your new DR, including the paint and size. I too agree with removing the floor lamp. It doesn't add a thing.

Congratulations! May you have good times and make many happy memories in your new home.

So, did you sleep well? :^D

Glad you are so happy and excited. Now get some rest!!

Congratulations! Very happy for you to finally get into your fab new home. Enjoy!

What fun!

I had a similar chandy issue, I shortened the chain by 3 links and it worked...for my situation. Good idea to move the floor lamp, the chandy provides enough light...yes?

yay!! hope you made it to bed!

I am overwhelmed by your kind comments! Thank you all so very, very much.

Yep - the floor lamp will go, and we'll put the chandelier on a dimmer (good suggestion).

We've got the kitchen pretty well set up, and as nutty as it probably sounds, one of the things I was most looking forward to when we finally moved was unpacking the Cornishware. I may fill in the blank spots with some other family pieces (my Grannie's beautiful old crystal wine glasses, for instance), but for now I'm really just enjoying the clean, uncluttered look of the blue and white.

You know the kind of exhausted where you're physically just SPENT, but your legs are so tired that they ache and you can't fall asleep? That's how I felt last night. I finally drifted off and slept very well in the new house. The cats are still at the old house -- we have a couple more installers coming out this week and we don't want to bring the animals to the new place until the workmen have all come and gone -- and I almost hate to admit that last night I was reveling in how wonderful it was NOT to be dealing with shed cat fur floating along the baseboards, litter tracked through the kitchen, the young one jumping on every horizontal surface, a butt in my face at 2:30 a.m. ;-) This morning when I woke, I missed them desperately. I craved a little furry purring machine on my lap as I had my morning coffee.

I don't think I ever want to move again. It's nice to have new digs, but the actual process of going from one place to the next is no fun at all. I won't bore you with the details of how the security system wouldn't shut off yesterday while we had $200 an hour professional movers waiting to unload the truck. Ugh ... Moving has been frustrating, and I think that's why I just NEEDED to have my dishes on display last night. I know many of you can completely relate to that. :-)

Thank you for thinking of the cats. Ihear you about the cat in the morning - the feline alarm clock is the most effective device known to man.

Having recently been involved in a cat search of my own & active on a lost cat forum - by far most go missing because of a move - they're accidentally let out, or all the craziness scares them. Well think about it - from their point of view, its like a tornado rearranging a town is for us. Im sure you know the drill about not releasing the cats from the carrier until they are in a room where they can be kept confined a week or 2 or until they are acclimated and/or the craziness is over.

I get everything you're feeling about the move! You're in the home stretch, though, so take heart.

Love your dining room. Congrats!

Jen, if your legs get like that tonight, try taking an over the counter antihistamine. The kind that causes drowsiness. A pharmacist once told me they are the best over the counter muscle relaxer and he was so right! If you tend to get over drowsy, like I do, half a dose will do.
I use Equate ChlorTabs from WM. They are a life saver as I often get restless achy legs after an extra busy day.
I'm with on moving. It's not fun. At all.

a butt in my face at 2:30 a.m. ;-)

Ha ha! I've had that happen in the middle of the night from a kitty and it's like,"C'MON!" I wouldn't trade mine either. :)

I enjoyed reading your story and the one about how you came to buy the house - I don't think I got around to replying to that thread. I can understand why it was desirable and felt great to have the dishes displayed in the hutch before bed. You'll have to let us know how the kitties adjust after they move in.

Jen, the furniture looks awesome in the new house! Sometimes the things we've used in an old house don't work in a new house and it can be very disappointing. Love the dishes too. It's starting to look, and probably feel, like 'home'!

kashka_kat - I am praying that our kitties adapt easily to the new place. They'll certainly have a lot of newness to explore, but I also worry. Having gone through the search process when my dear little Molly got out during an ice storm several years ago and was missing for three days, I know all too well that sick, panicked feeling when one goes missing. That's one of the main reasons we're keeping them in their familiar surroundings at the old house for now, until the initial dust settles in the new place. It's funny to watch them walk around the old house now that it's devoid of furnishings. There's a good deal of curiosity - sort of a "Hey, I never got to sniff HERE before!" thing going on, and I also would SWEAR that my Molly is ticked off about the whole thing and is giving me dirty looks. Honestly, I am quite certain that cats have facial expressions. ;-) If all goes as planned, we can bring them to the new place this coming weekend and both be there to spend a lot of time with them. Definitely know about keeping them sequestered for awhile.

justgotabme - thanks so much for the antihistamine suggestion. I hate to take anything that makes me drowsy, as that generally renders me worthless the next morning. But if the lack of sleep is going to do that ANYWAY, I'd rather be worthless and have gotten some sleep. (I'm not sure if any of this makes sense, but I'm hitting the submit button all the same.) ;-)

Indulge me for one more photo? I took this picture to send to my mother this morning, as she was by my side when I bought several of these pieces in Cornwall (although, technically speaking, Cornishware isn't made in Cornwall, I still managed to find quite a few good buys on it there). The little dormouse tea cozy was handknit by a sweet lady in England who makes the cutest things. I couldn't resist it, of course.

Mum replied that she sees "gaps" on the shelves, and it looks like we probably need to go back across the pond and buy a few more pieces. Hey, any excuse for a girls' trip.

Beautiful and homey at the same time!

That looks so lovely, as does your dining space. Congratulations and many years of happiness in your beautiful new home

I'm glad you shared a closeup and now I too see a couple of gaps. The Cornishware is gorgeous!

Aunt Jen, love your blue and white, it is just wonderful. Actually think your dining room is lovely. You know, for the block window, I would find a plant you really like and it there. Helps the air and would love the filtered light, I think

So nice to hear that you and your mom can go on girly trips together. My sisters and I do that on occasion and it is a blast, but alas my mom is no longer earthbound. Take advantage of the opportunities with your mom.

Diane

Diane - absolutely! I know how fortunate I've been to have made these wonderful trips with my mother. On our most recent trip, we took my niece who just turned 13 with us. It was a very special experience for all of us, and while I've been so blessed to have taken these trips with my mother, I'm so happy that my niece also got to do so with her grandmother. We made memories that will never be forgotten. I'm sure it's the same with you and your sisters.

:-)

Beautifully expressed, patty_cakes! I can tell you truly cherish your girls - and I'm sure they feel exactly the same way about you. A close mother/daughter bond is indeed something to treasure. I know that not everyone has that. My own mother did not have a close friendship with her mother, and I think that made her all the more determined to be a friend to me. Oh, she was a parent when I was growing up and needing guidance - make no mistake about that -- but over time, the respect I had for her as my mother blossomed into a deep connection that makes me proud to call her my best female friend.

I hope your New York trip is the best by far. You should absolutely plan on taking that European cruise. Oh, that just sounds fabulous!

Hi Aunt Jen, I'm a bit late to the party, but wanted to say your new home looks really lovely.....do hope you, DH and your kitties are settling in ok! Love your super Cornish ware collection - my parents had these too, collected over many years, but unfortunately they went through a phase of selling off their stuff at flea markets in the '90s and got rid of it all :(

Your holidays with your mother are moments to treasure - lucky niece too! Although it didn't happen too often in my case I was fortunate enough to have a couple of trips to the States with my mum a few years back. We did a wonderful whistle-stop tour of the West Coast when I was in my mid-teens and more recently we visited New York with my DS.....DH, DS and I also spent a few happy holidays with both my parents in Europe. Before they passed away both my parents sadly suffered from Dementia, but I have some great memories of those happier times!

Enjoy your new home :)

Mimi x