So the move is done and we've been in the house a week now, and I have to say, it already feels like home. We're pretty much living in what feels like a box fort, but the essentials are unpacked (we can eat, shower and sleep) and we're slowing digging out all the other stuff. Ran into a few issues, like the boxsprings don't fit up the staircase (we cut one in half and fortified it to get it up there and plan to do the other next week) and the sofa is so big and deep that it is so close to the fireplace we can't really use it (I'm trying to sell it and buy a smaller one). Other than that and a few issues regarding "where the hell am I going to put all this stuff?", the house is a wonderful fit. The neighborhood is nice too, an older one (my personal favorite) with nice folks and good upkeep. Super close to all I need too, less than two miles from Ukrops, Target and a bunch of other useful places.
The kidlet seems happy with the move. Though she's just hanging at home for the summer and helping out, and I know that has to be a little boring, she's already looking forward to her new high school and meeting new friends. She looked pretty pleased to see the high school skater boys in the neighborhood yesterday too, though she'd never actually admit that. Hard to believe she's 14 now. We have some fun times planned for later this summer once we're settled in more. :)
And let me tell you how nice it is to be done with the rediculous commute I've been making since January. I'm now saving a hundred miles and an hour and twenty minutes every day that I was sitting in the car for over the last six months. Looking forward to seeing the gas cost savings too in a couple months once we get out of the hook up fee phase (I swear, utility companies are running such a gimmick with that).
It's super nice being back in a city after all these years in small towns. I guess I can say nice things about living in small towns, at least the ones out on the east coast (sorry Illinois, I never really fit in as a midwesterner) like they were good places to raise the kidlet and safe areas to live in, but I've always been a city girl at heart and I'm thankful to get back to that. Being able to do things like go to shows in the town I live in, hang out at cool bars and eat at awesome local restaurants, easily making daytrips to places like D.C. for museums and whatnot makes me very happy!
I have to say, in spite of the general chaos that seems to have ruled our lives for the last couple years, I feel like this is a great opportunity and that there are some really good, and eventually much easier times ahead. The positivity is almost overwhelming!
Some general thoughts on stuff to wrap things up:
1. Even when you add about 300 sq. ft. more space to your living environment, your 150 pound dog will still be underfoot at every turn, particularly if you're carrying heavy boxes.
2. Old houses are built for midgets. The counters and doorknobs in my house are very low, except for the one on my closet door which is unexplicably way too high.
3. I love (LOVE) the way my patio is coming together. The tiki bar development is in full swing and the torches are up, signs are hung, chairs and table are out and the fire pit is ready to go. My best friend, who is quite the handiman, is building me an actual tiki bar complete with tin roof(awesome!) and some adirondack chairs and we got some nice paper lanterns the other day. It's going to be so nice once it's done. And as they say, good fences make good neighbors so I'm digging the 6 ft. privacy fence! So peaceful back there...
4. Can't wait to get to the beach again over the July 4th weekend. It's so nice to be an easy drive from the beach house and nice to have my folks so close down there. I don't have the time or money for a real vacation this summer (for the third year in a row), but the long weekends in NC (yay for flex time) sure do help.
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