2 year anniversary of homeownership + visual diary

Over the weekend, I checked Facebook and it alerted me to the fact that I’ve owned #mytinybungalow for TWO years. Wow. Aside from all the clichés about where time has gone, it’s flown by, etc etc, I can’t help but feel extremely sentimental over my two year homeownership anniversary. I’ve never had the opportunity to put this much of myself into a space and make it utterly, completely my own. Now that Sean has moved in with me (almost a year there, too!), the bungalow is even more meaningful. It’s rapidly become our home, our tiny shitshow, our fun project that is the gateway to even more adventures for us.

it's the 2 year anniversary of buying my first house, a fixer upper! What a year it's been... lots of adventures, renovations, makeover reveals, and yard work! Check out the full visual diary on Jojotastic.com it's the 2 year anniversary of buying my first house, a fixer upper! What a year it's been... lots of adventures, renovations, makeover reveals, and yard work! Check out the full visual diary on Jojotastic.com it's the 2 year anniversary of buying my first house, a fixer upper! What a year it's been... lots of adventures, renovations, makeover reveals, and yard work! Check out the full visual diary on Jojotastic.com

The year started off auspiciously enough. We finished the bedroom renovation and it officially became my favorite room in the entire house. During this project, I also learned so much about my house — both good and bad!

it's the 2 year anniversary of buying my first house, a fixer upper! What a year it's been... lots of adventures, renovations, makeover reveals, and yard work! Check out the full visual diary on Jojotastic.com

On a whim, I decided to dig up half of the front yard for a veggie garden, which also led to flower boxes. And then came the chickens!

it's the 2 year anniversary of buying my first house, a fixer upper! What a year it's been... lots of adventures, renovations, makeover reveals, and yard work! Check out the full visual diary on Jojotastic.com it's the 2 year anniversary of buying my first house, a fixer upper! What a year it's been... lots of adventures, renovations, makeover reveals, and yard work! Check out the full visual diary on Jojotastic.com it's the 2 year anniversary of buying my first house, a fixer upper! What a year it's been... lots of adventures, renovations, makeover reveals, and yard work! Check out the full visual diary on Jojotastic.com

I’ve always wanted chickens, so this year I plan to get a bigger coop so I can have MORE! And, hopefully, no more accidental roosters this year.

it's the 2 year anniversary of buying my first house, a fixer upper! What a year it's been... lots of adventures, renovations, makeover reveals, and yard work! Check out the full visual diary on Jojotastic.com it's the 2 year anniversary of buying my first house, a fixer upper! What a year it's been... lots of adventures, renovations, makeover reveals, and yard work! Check out the full visual diary on Jojotastic.com

Last year I started a check list of what had been done and what was left to do. Upon review of that list, I feel SO behind. Breaking my leg did not help much in the way of finishing renovations, but 2018 is gonna be a BIG year — I can feel it!

Rooms to be renovated:

  • living room – done!
  • dining room – done!
  • bedroom – done!
  • kitchen – this year, baby! stay tuned for more.
  • bathroom – we’re thinking of doing this at the same time as the kitchen.

Exterior:

  • chickens — check, but now I want a new coop so I can get even more ladies.
  • veggie garden — check!
  • refinish the deck – done!
  • new roof – done!
  • paint front door – done!
  • paint french doors – done!
  • new shed — done!
  • strip, prime, and paint exterior trim – this summer, for real this time.
  • refinish front porch
  • new mailbox
  • chain link fence removal/replacement
  • new privacy fence in the backyard
  • new (more visible) house numbers — purchased, not yet installed.
  • landscaping: planter boxes in the front, veggie garden in the back. Maybe even some planter boxes in the parking strip!

it's the 2 year anniversary of buying my first house, a fixer upper! What a year it's been... lots of adventures, renovations, makeover reveals, and yard work! Check out the full visual diary on Jojotastic.com

As you can tell, I have a very ambitious year ahead of me for renovations, but I’m feeling good (physically, too) and just want to finish the house.

If you’re new to the blog, you can catch up on my story of homeownership with these posts:

Thank you guys SO much for following along on my journey. You are a constant source of inspiration and advice!

Here’s to another year!

Behind The Blog

Joanna Hawley-McBride is a Pacific Northwest-based social media strategist, content creator, and former textile designer. Joanna is the founder and editor-in-chief of Jojotastic, a lifestyle blog focused on Joanna’s work-in-progress cabin, finding the best pair of underwear through #UnderwearThesis, and empowering women to explore nature — all in her signature unfiltered style. Her work has been featured in Domino, CNBC, and Eating Well.

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3 Comments

  1. 3.7.18
    Leigh said:

    congrats ! it looks amazing. fellow Seattle home owning woman here ( old house in west seattle) and I have been following along with house adventures. I was wondering if I could ask if you have a good recommendation for attic ventilation, I think I need to put in a couple of intake vents. not sure of who may be good for that !

  2. 3.5.18
    Ashley said:

    My husband and I just celebrated two years of home ownership also! We bought the “house no one wanted” and we’re SLOWLY making it into a nice home. We’ve also had an unexpected setback this year…my husband decided to go back to school and while we are super-excited about that, it has slowed down the renovations considerably.
    I also would love to know, where do you find the motivation? My mom helped me paint half of the house and after two years I still haven’t finished the other half (not to mention pulling up carpet, installing more storage, replacing windows, etc.).

    • 3.5.18
      joanna said:

      Happy anniversary to you!! It sounds like our stories are so similar, I also bought the house no one wanted.

      In terms of motivation… that’s a tough one. We have lots of projects that are half finished or totally abandoned. I tend to be someone who prefers to focus on one project at all which I’ve found helps get stuff checked off the list. I’ve also noticed that having a space feel livable really helps with motivation. For example, the bathroom sink didn’t work when I first moved in, so that inspired me to replace it right away… but I haven’t done anything else to the space.

      Believe me, you’re not the only one with something half painted — our exterior has so much peeling paint that we will be at the raw wood soon ;)