Sentimental furniture, base housing and future home buying

So, with our big upcoming move, I can't help but think about our new home and what it will look like. We will be living in base housing, so I am a little nervous considering we have never lived in base housing before. Our first home together was an off base apartment/town home that we rented because we didn't want to live in base housing. Now we have decided to live on base in Alaska because we feel it will be easier for us living on base in such a different climate, plus we won't have to go through the hassle of searching for a house to rent. We are currently on a waiting list for a house and I can't help but think about what it will look like, if it will be bigger then our town home now, how many bedrooms will it have, will the kitchen be bigger than the one I have now, will we have washer and dryer hookups and will we be able to start our family in this home. I'm driving myself crazy over looks that I feel as if I'm losing sight of what's important.

My husband thought of the idea of us getting rid of our old furniture and buying all new stuff when we get there. As awesome as the idea sounds of buying all new stuff and starting fresh with a new house and new decor, I am feeling really nostalgic about our furniture that we have now. Practically all of our furniture was bought or given to us from our families when we got married. They all busted their butts to make sure that we had all the furniture that we needed and that we were able to make our house a home. Eventually we will buy all new stuff, but for now, I want to keep holding on to our memories of this house. I've posted some pictures before of our rooms in our house, but I feel so compelled in this post to show you all of our furniture and who bought/gave it to us. 

After we got married, we didn't buy a big house and buy all new everything like most married couples do. My husband already had this town home and I moved into it with him after my college graduation. Our family and friends all came together to help us with our town home and I am forever grateful for them. I wish y'all could have seen the house before I moved in. It was basically a man cave and I hated living in the house at first. I knew I had to put my creative touch on it to make it a home. With all the furniture from my family and with my somewhat interior decorating skills, our home has transformed within the past three years. After three years, our first home finally looks, well, like a home. I love it!

[Both couches came from my brother, Matt. He was buying his first home and all new furniture when I moved to Virginia, so he gave us his old couches. They have held up so well for us.]

[Papasan chair that we bought with a huge Pier One gift card from Jarrett's dad and step mom]

[Jarrett bought this coffee table and end table set from Target right before I moved in]

[Jarrett bought the TV stand from Walmart before I moved in]

[Our whole living room]

[Our dining room table as a Christmas present from my mom]

[Computer desk from my mom when she got a new computer desk for Christmas]

[My mother in law bought us this cute little wicker organizer for Christmas]

[Our whole dining room]

[This full size bed was my bed growing up. We first used it in our master bedroom, but then we bought a queen size bed for us and put this bed in the guest bedroom. The white wicker headboard is from the wicker bed room set that I grew up with at my mom's.]

[My mom bought me this little end table to go with my bed set when she bought it for me years and years ago. It has been the best bed side table.]

[This wicker chair is from my mother in law. It was originally a tan wicker, but she spray painted it white for me to match the other white wicker furniture that we have.]

[This little wicker stool is from my mother in law too. I am just borrowing it from her as a TV stand for now.]

[The whole guest bed room. We have the rest of the white wicker furniture in our master bedroom. Eventually we are going to buy brand new bedroom furniture for our room and move the rest of the wicker into the guest room so that there will be a complete matching bedroom set in there finally.]

[My dad made me this hope chest a long time ago. I believe he gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday. From my sixteenth birthday and on, my dad would give me gifts throughout the years that I could put in it for when I got married. By the time I married Jarrett, I had just about everything that I needed for the kitchen inside my hope chest. Ten whole years of collecting stuff for my future home with my husband. I can't wait for my dad to build one for my daughter. Hands down, this is the piece of furniture that I will never be able to live without. Plus, he engraved my whole name into it. How awesome is that?

[The wicker dresser that belongs to my bedroom set growing up]

[The wicker chest that also goes with the wicker set. Can you tell Leo has chewed on it?]

[This wicker bed side table use to be tan and it goes with the wicker chair in the guest bedroom. This also came from my mother in law and she painted it as well.]

[Jarrett bought this TV stand which is exactly like our TV stand downstairs. I've prettied up both TV stands well.]

[Our whole bedroom. Obviously it is my favorite place in the house! It is my oasis for sure!]

I'm not going to lie. I have spent a lot of time being jealous of other young couples for buying a home and buying all brand new furniture and decor for it. It's not like Jarrett and I cannot afford to buy a nice house, it's just we choose not to right now. We choose not to rush into the home buying part of our life. I don't understand why young couples immediately rush into buying a home as soon as they get married, especially military couples. That's one main reason we are not buying right now. There is no point in buying a house right away when you are military. I say rent for a while, save your money, then buy a home. We rather rent or live on base for a while and save a lot of money before buying our first home. We've decided that if we stay in Alaska longer than four years(we might request to stay for eight if we love it)we will buy a house and rent it out when we move again. We do not want to put off buying a house for when Jarrett retires from the Air Force, so we will buy if we stay in Alaska for eight years. For now, base housing it is and I will be thankful for our new house just like I am thankful for our house now and everything that's in it!

Anyone living in base housing? Do you like it? What base are you living on?

Anyone have any sentimental furniture too? Was it given to you or did you buy it yourself?

Any tips for home buying in Alaska?

Katie<3