I don't know how to do this
I'm probably going to make a lot of mistakes
Hi, my loves!
I have some big news to share today
Wilson and I just bought our first house together
You might recall that in 2018,
We moved into our first apartment together
and then in 2019,
We decided to move back to my Mom's house together
I had planned to travel a lot that year
It just didn't make sense to pay rent
and then 2020 happened,
We just ended up staying
Since the end of 2020,
We've been searching for a house
That's right
It literally took us 2 years to find the one!
There were a couple that we thought were the one
but they just didn't work out in the end
It was something we couldn't rush or force
No matter how impatient I got
Early this year,
We finally found a home with all the elements
That we wanted and we got it!
and thus,
The journey begins
Yeah, we closed on the house
We just got our keys
Wow, this will be this year's project
I wanted to wear fresh colors because you know,
We're feeling fresh in a new house
I guess you could say it took us so long
to find the house for a few reasons
One,
The housing market was crazy in the past few years
I'm sure most people are aware of that
Secondly,
We weren't in a rush to move
We're very happy with where we are now
We can stay at my mom's house if we wanted
We just wanted our own space and
We weren't like rushing and we didn't absolutely
Need to find a place to stay
and then third,
We were kind of picky about the elements
That we really wanted in our ideal home
and obviously, in a certain budget
Some things that were really important to us were
To have enough space for our needs
I need my own office
Wilson needs his own space
We cannot share spaces like we are now
Location was really important
We wanted a nice neighborhood
Where I would feel safe and comfortable
Walking Togi every day
We wanted to be close to asian food
It's still close to my Mom
Wilson's dream was to have a big backyard
Where he could put a half-basketball court in
and it took a while to find
A house with the right size lots and with a view
I mean the view wasn't necessary
but once we saw this house with
A big backyard and a view
It was like,
Oh my god, we need this!
This is it
What's also so special about this house is
It's actually in the same neighborhood
Where Wilson grew up and this is so, so, so cheesy
but it's actually in that neighborhood where
Wilson and I started dating
We were friends since elementary school
We started dating towards the end of high school
and I would go over to his house,
We would walk up this hill
This is where we started to fall in love
When we were teenagers
and what's also really special about living in
This same neighborhood is I can walk Togi up
The same hill that Wilson and I used to walk
When we were teenagers
Beyond that,
We're just really excited to finally be able
To create a space that's entirely ours
That feels like our home, that reflects us
and the way that we want to live
This house has been a huge project
and we've been taking it step by step
and learning so much along the way
The house was in '98
It's not in terrible condition
It's not like a total fixer-upper
We're happy that it's in good enough condition
Where all you need to do is some repairs
and then just cosmetic stuff
Wilson's Dad has been a godsend
He retired recently and he already enjoys being
A handyman, fixing things around the house
He naturally just took up this house
As his project and he was telling us,
Oh you should do this,
Let me help you with this
and he really was super proactive
Where he was working on the house
Without Wilson and I asking him to
and we're super, super grateful for his help
He has helped us move things along to the point
Where he's like our unofficial contractor
Because he already has friends
Who do certain things like framing
and drywall and it's been nice to have his help
and his guidance along the way
As Wilson and I just give him our ideas
Alright, it is the next day
and let me reveal the work that's been done
They've put down the wall
Are you ready?
The wall is off, the arches are in
These will be the 2 bookshelves
You can sit here and read
and then there's a big opening
The house just feels much bigger
It's been really nice to see Wilson
Bond with his Dad
Over this seeing them work together,
Having something for me to talk to his Dad about
Because this is like a group project
That we're now all working on together
I'm already crying thinking about it
But one aspect where it's really sweet
and healing for me is like I grew up
Without a Dad, right?
Having his Dad be so helpful
I've never had that experience
Where there's a father figure in your life
That's so helpful
That can teach you things about the house
I don't know,
There are just many experiences
Where I'm just so grateful
and it's just very healing to have this experience
Another aspect that made me
Break down to Wilson
Just bawling
is just imagine,
Fast forward 10, 20 years in the future
If we do have kids
You know, he would be able to say
Oh, look at this wall we built this with your grandpa
It's precious to think about because
Wilson's Dad at one point had cancer
and he overcame it
The older I get the more I appreciate and cherish
The times we have with our parents
Because they're getting older
One day, they won't be here anymore
and we have to be the adults
But anyway,
It's just nice to have memories together
and to be able to create something
Physical together
To just leave some sort of impact
or some sort of legacy
Even if it's just this garden
This pathway was built by your Grandpa
or you know
Let's continue on with the vlog, shall we?
I call this the Wellness Loft
Wilson calls it "The Library"
and essentially this is just the aesthetic,
Double arched bookshelf that we have going on
This is where we plan to put really cozy couches
Come here to meditate and to read
This is a no TV Zone currently
It is my favorite room in the house
Also because you have this
Very beautiful, peaceful view
So you can read and meditate
and look at the mountains and the view
Here on the other end of the room
Behind that arch,
You can see this is like a hidden bookshelf
It goes floor to ceiling pretty much
and they're still working on it but the reason why
We had extra space here was the wall
I don't know how to explain it
It already had that nook
Our choice was either to wall it off
or to use the space
Obviously, we're gonna try to make
The best use of the space
The way I see it is
We're actually gonna put our actual books here
It's going to be filled to the top
and then this side is more for a aesthetics
We're gonna have some books but mostly vases
and pretty stuff here and then,
The real books will go there
I like that little bookshelf is hidden
because as you can see when you walk up the stairs
This is your view
Your eye is directed towards those shelves
and it really is hidden behind this wall
Until you come over here and you're like,
Oh my god, more books!
Wilson is the architect, I'm the designer
Moving on,
Let's talk about the vision for this house
Let's talk about design
and what I've been working on
Our concept for this house is to create
A creative and wellness oasis
Essentially, we want to create a peaceful space
Where you can heal and nourish your well-being
and also create, be inspired, and play
Those two things,
Creativity and wellness are really important to me
I really want to have a space that nourishes
My soul, fosters my creativity and my well-being
and Wilson wants the same things too
He cares about his health and well-being
We're gonna have a room that's like
A gym/fitness/wellness room
We'll have this library where we can meditate
and read and then obviously,
Play is Wilson's basketball court
and my music or something
In terms of visual themes,
I personally love contemporary, clean aesthetic
but incorporating organic elements
That make you feel more connected to nature
In terms of the colors and the materials
I want the space to feel chic,
To feel warm, calm, and inviting
I really love artsy furniture
and unique statement pieces
I clearly love round things, curvy shapes
because it's organic
It's like rocks, nature has curves
It doesn't have perfect squares and angles
I want to have a neutral base
and have some pops of color in the way
We decorate
and I also want to decorate with
An internationally cultured vibe
I don't know if that sounds too snobby
but I love to travel
Places that we go to always Inspire us
I want to bring a little bit of Japan
A little bit of Bali
A little bit of Greece, Italy
I kind of don't mind it looking eclectic
and not matching but I want it to feel like
Oh this person is well traveled
They've been around the world
and they've brought the beauty from different
Parts of the world in one space
Okay, what are we choosing between this one
For versus this one
This one's got straight green
This one has a little bit of wood grain
We can choose the perfect wood door
He's like,
Please be the one very 70's
That grain
This one's really leaky as well
It's nice
I think we found the one
I think they all look the same probably on camera
but I think we found them
They say when you found the one
You found the one
Basically, you hang it like
I help them hold them up so you can see
They dangle like little clouds
Let me actually show you some other lights
That we got
This is so cute
This is also from the same website Vakker
A little flower light
I got a white one
and a pink one!
Oh, this is so cute!
and just probably go in my office like whimsical
This one is gonna be a kitchen pendant light
I bought two of these
I know it looks really big
It's in my head but I just think it's so beautiful
This is cute
and then I got this little table lamp/decor lamp
So cute
Because we're taking this one project at a time
I do feel like we're moving slower
Than most people would move
and that's because we're literally figuring it out
and learning everything along the way
and we don't even have a real contractor yet
It's just been us, Wilson's dad and you know,
Subcontractors that we found and hired
So far we've redone the whole balcony
We've done those arches that Library Wellness Loft
and next,
We're working on the kitchen
and the living room downstairs
I'll show you a little bit of
The vision I want for my kitchen
I think anyone who's ever remodeled their house
or redone something can relate too
You have a vision of what your ideal is
and then you have a budget
and you're trying to marry the two
and find compromises where you can compromise
that's kind of the where we are right now
Figuring out how we're gonna make
This look become reality
I've been having a kind of internal back and forth
Do I want to hire a designer?
No, I can save the cost and do it myself
Oh, but I don't know how this works
I am so inexperienced
Oh no, I believe in myself
I can do it
I'm struggling with my sense of self-doubt here
and my self-belief and my self-doubt
because I know I have a vision
I know I can design but I am inexperienced
I don't know how to do this
I'm probably going to make a lot of mistakes
because we're trying to save costs
Wherever we can
We have to do more work
and we are being more hands-on in the process
We're doing the measuring
We're drawing everything up
We are shopping for all the little details
A door jam we had to learn how to create
A pocket door because that's what we're doing
In our master closet and there's so many
Little details that I'm learning about
and when I'm tasked with shopping for something
I'm just the type of person that likes to research
and go all the way
I will spend hours watching YouTube video
On a certain product or a topic
I can't do things on a whim
I have to fully research and fully feel like
I made a good decision
and that means that I'm slow
We're probably not moving into this house
Anytime soon
We're expecting for maybe fall
Maybe winter
Take it one step at a time
It's not something that we need to rush
It's definitely a project that is shaping us
It's pushing us to grow
It's challenging us in so many different ways
We're learning to work together
We're bonding with family
and overall, it's a growing experience
and I see
I know that when we move into this house
That marks the beginning of a new chapter
and what I see this now,
These next few months is the slow transition
Before our next chapter
Am I ready to grow up completely?
Am I ready to have to do everything
In the house myself?
Because when I live at home
My Mom is so helpful and I do like living with her
She's really chill, she's not the type of parent
That's really strict but anyway,
I think it's time
I think we're ready
I think we're ready to move on to
The next stage of life
and to evolve into the next version of ourselves
Last but absolutely not least,
I do want to take this time to thank
Each and every one of you for watching
My channel
For supporting Lavendaire
In whatever way it is
Whether it's just watching one video
or watching many videos or supporting our shop
because it is truly through our community
That I'm able to live the life that I live
That I'm able to buy a house with Wilson
and design it to what my dream house is
This is the next stage of me living my dream life
Is to create my dream home
and create my dream space
and I'm really happy to be able to
Bring you guys along for the ride
I'm super grateful just for this community
and for everything that you've given me
Thank you so much!
Let me know down below if you have any questions
or if there's any videos that you'd like to see me make
About the house,
I think I'll turn this into a series
but I'm not quite sure
What you guys are interested in
Do you care about a moving vlog?
I don't know
What kind of vlogs do you want to see
or do you only want to see
A before and after a house tour
I don't know
Let me know
Alright. Sending you so much love!
Bye