blue-haired blonde: when charming loses it's charm

Renting a small house in Arlington while waiting to move into our new house in the 'burbs has been a challenging and frustrating experience. Our current rental home, a "charming" 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom Cape Cod could be sweet love-nest - for a childless couple or one who travels a lot. A couple who prefers take-out over cooking, has minimal furniture, and sleeps in a double-bed. A cute, tiny couple with no pets, or maybe just a small, independent cat to take care of the mice.

grilling in 24 feet of snow

Not long after we moved into the cozy litte home that we chose because of it's cute screened-in porch, vast yard, and expansive deck, we got buried under about 24 feet of snow. When the snow finally melted, those desirable outdoor amenities turned into a swampy mud-pit that the dogs tracked in all over the carpet. A few short weeks later, the temperature and humidity reached record highs and swarms of mosquitoes took over the yard and deck. So much for sacrificing indoor space for outdoor amenities.

The "quaint" upstairs master bedroom that we managed to cram our huge bedroom set into became unlivable once summer arrived because, get this, the upstairs does not have air conditioning! Who knew?! So, while I waddled up and down those steep stairs several times a night while pregnant, as soon as the temperature rose, we moved our bed to the tiny downstairs bedroom, which is also next to the nursery, bathroom and the room in which we spend most of our time - the living room.

snoozing in the swing

After The Baby was born, the living room began to feel like a room in a house of horrors where the walls close in on you. Baby accoutrement is not designed for charming houses built in the early 1900's. The baby swing, which served as Kaellyn's bed for 3 months, took up most of the space. So where was I supposed to put the Jumperoo? And the highchair? I often wonder if having 2 cats and 2 dogs in such a small space is considered animal hoarding. And what do I do with The Baby when I go into the tiny 6x6 kitchen to cook? Ok, never mind - the "stove", which leaves a lot to be desired in the first place, seems to be directly wired to the smoke alarms. A year of take-out it shall be.

Sharing space

We can rarely have people over because of the lack of space. There is no where to store Costco appetizers or serve dinner. No one can stay with us during the summer, because there is nowhere to sleep except the couch. And then where would we eat dinner, feed The Baby, work on the computer, watch endless hours of mindless tv? Besides, no one wants to sleep on a couch once they're over the age of 25.

I won’t lie. Our future neighborhood and modern new home would've made me shudder in my 20's. Our home has more than one bathroom, and our master bathroom has a huge bathtub (oh how I miss my baths!) and even features 2 sinks! Extravagant! I know! I will have room to blow-dry my hair and shave my legs without knocking over the dormitory-style shower caddy. My new kitchen features a digital (!) dishwasher and those pretty granite counter tops they always install on HGTV.

There were several factors that drove us to the suburbs and a leading one is the cost of real estate. Homes near the city cost a LOT. And the homes that we can afford in Arlington were not going to get us what we wanted - space. Things that weren't important before, like decent schools, community amenities, closet space and shopping with parking lots, are necessities now. We also wanted modern amenities, and those aren’t in high supply in our price range, either. We are, however, giving up outdoor space. The new house has a teeny, tiny yard. But, if the weather of the future is anything like the past year, it won't matter a bit.

While I will feature photos of our new home in a future post, here are just a few of the changes that I used to take for granted and am now looking forward to:

My Current Closet: