Chas was in charge of finding out where we would live once we got married so he reached out to a friend who had a friend who had a neighbor with an open back house. The same day we got engaged part of the plan was to go meet this family before our dinner reservations. We hit it off with them and their darling two year old and ten month old (who we babysat often!) and agreed on a price and move in date. We were thrilled! A few months later I got a text from the landlord saying they sold their house and were moving to a new house in Highland Park that also had a back house. I couldn’t believe it when she sent me a photo of the place complete with a high ceiling, white marble floors and the cutest little kitchen. I was sold. Better yet, this house was even closer to both my school and Chas’ work than their old one so my commute went from being almost an hour everyday into downtown to a glorious seven minutes.

Another perk was that the place was fully furnished! Since we knew we would be moving most likely to another state after I graduated we didn’t want to have to buy all new furniture and transport it across the country (which is why we were able to load everything we owned in a small 10 foot U-Haul to Chicago). The only furniture I had was the beautiful gold mirror and leopard ottoman that my grandmother gave me, the black full length mirror and this wingback chair from my house in college, everything else was theirs!

I have always been a fan of white bedding. There’s something so fresh and clean about it that I love and we haven’t had problems with it. I like to wash and bleach all of it every other week to keep it looking bright. We registered for most of our bedding at Pottery Barn. Our duvet is currently on sale!

One question I got a lot was about our wall and cabinet color. The walls are 6211 Rainwashed and the cabinets are 6212 Quietude. Both are Sherwin Williams. I think the colors definitely helped create a calming oasis along with the big windows that brought in a lot of natural light.

If you’re wedding planning or enjoy making photo albums, Artifact Uprising has timeless albums that you can customize. I made one for or my parents and one for my in-laws last Christmas. The quality is great, the pictures turn out beautifully and the books make the perfect addition to your coffee table.

Our tiny back house apartment will always hold a special place in my heart. Although it was small it was cozy and although we didn’t have a washing machine it gave us the perfect excuse to spend time with our families every Sunday to do laundry and although it didn’t have an oven we got creative with our cooking.

We took this photo right as we finished packing everything away ready for our next adventure together. I’m thankful for the memories we made here. It was not always easy, but we both grew so much during that first year of marriage which has made year two that much sweeter. We’ll always remember the first place we called home.

bloom & grow forever,

Madeline Rose

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