The Homestead

Now that we are unpacked and moved in, I thought I'd post a few pictures of our new digs. Have I mentioned that 1,100 square feet IS VERY, VERY SMALL? OK. I know it's not, like, sharing a 700 sq ft apartment with a family of 12. BUT STILL. Everything is relative, and going from 3,000 to 1,100 has been an adjustment. Now that 2/3 of everything I've ever owned has gone to Goodwill, though, I think the space will work.

I apparently have no control over the order that Blogger uploads photos in, so here is a reverse tour of the main floor of the house.

First thing that we unpacked? The bar. Oh, yes, we did.

The townhouse has a great room floor plan, so from back to front you've got the kitchen, dining area, living room, then balcony. This is standing near the door to the balcony, pointing towards the kitchen. Obviously.

This was taken from the balcony. The Columbia River, right across the street. One day last week I looked out the window and there was a big red beer truck being pulled by Clydesdales trotting along the river. Surreal, much? I've got pictures. I'll have to post one up.

The living room. That window looks out to the balcony, and the fireplace is right across from the couch.

The fireplace. And TV. That's been another adjustment. In our big house, we had a living room with no TV, and the TV was down in the family room in the basement. Now it's kind of IN YOUR FACE in the only living space in the house. On the plus side? WE HAVE CABLE TV. CAN I GET A WOOT! WOOT!

Again, because I have no control over how the photos load, the fireplace is pretty much the first thing you see when you walk up the stairs from the garage and foyer. So this is a reverse tour. Move on down to the next post for the rest of the tour!

The Homestead, Part 2

This is the second half of my photo tour.

So... the kitchen. Lots of cabinet space and a small pantry. One of the few areas where I did not have to make any huge sacrifices and get rid of a ton of stuff. Thankfully. We are having a very drab and rainy spring here in the Pacific Northwest, so this photo is not so great with the lack of natural sunlight.
This one is brighter, and you can see the marble countertops. Love the marble countertops.

This is the master bedroom. The two bedrooms are really about the same size, but this one has a bathroom. And a river view.

A major sacrifice in the downsizing has been my office. I've always had a dedicated office space (a necessity when I was working from home 100% of the time with children). Now? No office. I commandeered half of the huge double closet and, voila, instant office. It works.

Carlie's room. I didn't make her clean up for photos. She has abandoned her pink and green and purple phase and is embracing what she likes to call her "city girl" decor. I thought letting her decorate would make her want to keep her room clean. Yeah. No. Not so much.

Not pictured... there's a second bathroom, of course, with a stackable washer and dryer. ANOTHER BIG ADJUSTMENT, the small stackable washer and dryer. To help make the point of just what a change it is compared to our extra large capacity washer and dryer at the old house? My helpful cat, Buffy, has peed on Carlie's queen sized comforter not once, not twice, but THREE EFFING TIMES. On an unrelated note, I have a sweet kitty looking for a new home if anyone is interested.

Also not pictured, a very tiny one-car garage and a third room, referred to by the developer as a "studio." It's in a weird location, off of the garage, but is a nice sized room currently housing a day bed and trundle, TV, sewing and crafting stuff and a place for Carlie to do homework.

When I am not so frustrated with Blogger and its lame ass photo upload capabilities, maybe I'll do a Part 3.

So that's it. We are downsized. We have not died. I have not killed anyone. Win!

Peace out.