the beginning, and a sofa

Some of the first things I moved into the new place were my two Simon Pearce goblets from Hannah and my collection of wine from the basement. Kind of random, but also very sophisticated, don't you think? It's all part of the new me: homeowner, grown up, and loving it. There. Now the place feels a little more homey and elegant—we can start tackling the gritty stuff.

We started moving on Monday after a fabulous long weekend in Nantucket. (I'll have to write more on that later.) Monday was somewhat hopeless. We moved two chairs and a picture of a cucumber. We were exhausted.

Last night was better. We managed to get through and pack up almost our entire attic of sporting goods, which included 10 snowboards, 7 large boxes filled with winter jackets and gear, 2 golf bags, 2 pairs of skis, 1 bin of Christmas ornaments, a skateboard, helmet, and other various items... Now it's all sitting in our living room ready to be transported. That's the un-fun part.

Oh, and we finally agreed on a sofa, which we ordered along with a matching chair from the Burlington Furniture Company, and which will arrive—God willing—in 3 to 4 weeks. Yay!

limerick

There once was a plane to Nantucket
With white leather seats like big buckets.
Some kids rode that plane,
Gurgling flutes of champagne,
And landed bubbly and sunny in Nantucket.

solace at work

Right beside the EatingWell offices where I work in Charlotte, there’s a quiet pond surrounded by friendly cattails. There’s the sound of bullfrogs and birds. There are fields stretching towards the tree-lined Route 7 and rolling Mount Philo beyond. The air is speckled with the sweet smell of wildflowers—like cotton candy—warm from the sun. I walk there sometimes when I need a little solace. I go there to think and to calm down.

I went there today. I wanted to stay there all day. I wish there was a bench by the pond...

It oftentimes feels counter-intuitive that I live in downtown Burlington, yet everyday have to drive 25 minutes into the countryside to get to work. Most people have it the other way round.

But on this day, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It feels so nice to be wrapped in a furry cloak of cattails. It feels so good to have the birds whip around your head and lift the weight of the day. It feels good to just be quiet, to be simple and to observe.

holy crap we did it

Holy crap we did it!

about our home

For the past few weeks, the thing that's been on my mind the most, the thing I've wanted to write about the most is: the house. The one that Colin and I are about to buy together. But I've avoided writing about it mostly because I didn't want to get my hopes up. I didn't want to get anyone else's hopes up. A lot can go wrong between now and Monday. (That's when we're supposed to close).

Still... I can't stop thinking about that house. It's beautiful. And it's almost ours. Almost.

We've been watching episode after episode of renovation shows on HGTV to get ideas. We've been dreaming about how we'll decorate it. What kind of style? Do we agree on style? (Thank God we discovered we do.) We even went furniture shopping over the tax-free weekend. Window shopping, that is—we didn't buy anything. $6000 for a sofa? Holy crap. We got lots of ideas.

But the whole idea of buying a place together can be very overwhelming. And as I sit here in our lovely little apartment overlooking the lake with our friendly landlord and our friendly neighbors, I already feel nostalgic for this place we've called home for the last two years.

This apartment will be a landmark in my memories. It was our first place together, Col and I. We moved in together after dating for a year. We were fresh with anticipation of what was in store. We realized how much we have in common. We discovered ways to deal with the differences—to enjoy them. We loved playing house. We became much, much closer. That's around when we started a tradition of stopping at Ikea on the way home from his parents' house in New York. Just to get ideas. And to fantasize. And sometimes buy things when we were feeling rich.

Of course, home is a lot more than the material things—and it's a lot more than owning property. But owning a house—our very own—will be a very significant step for me. When I was young, our family moved around a lot. We lived in some pretty cool houses and some pretty crappy ones. Sometimes we had to move, just because the landlord sold the house. Thankfully, we always had a roof over our heads, but there was a constant, uneasy feeling in the back of my mind that we would somehow be uprooted again.

We lived through those years, and I believe we're the better for it. Because now that we're about to buy, I feel especially proud. Very proud. And now that we're about to move, I don't at all feel that we're being uprooted. We're taking a big step towards being more permanent. And that is a good feeling.