The Move!

Life has been topsy-turvy lately, with my new job and new house and wedding planning, and it's been so much fun.

My old roommate moved out a week before I did and took the dining room table with her, so for a week I ate all my meals in a picnic on the floor. It was fabulous.

During that week, Frank emailed me a funny and very enthusiastic gif with the subject line, "This is me, especially when pancakes are the dinner suggested!" So I decided to surprise him with pancakes that very night. I hope you enjoy the very sophisticated table I made out of a cardboard box.

We played music and feasted happily. I found out Frank likes to put peanut butter on his pancakes - just like Mitt Romney! I went the more traditional route with syrup and whipped cream. I used a new-to-me recipe, the "Supreme" recipe on the back of the Bisquick box, and the cakes turned out divine.

And then... I moved.





I don't have any pictures of that process but it wasn't pretty. It seems to me that the worst part of moving is having to get rid of so much stuff... throwing away all these old papers and receipts and ticket stubs. I always feel like I'm throwing away my memories. Happily, I made a new rule that I'm allowed to keep anything that has to do with Frank (in hopes that I'll eventually make a scrapbook of us) and that little stack of "Frank memories" is getting bigger and bigger!

The actual move wasn't that bad. Frank's roommate Zach has a pickup truck and he very nicely brought it over to help. The new house is only a mile from my old house so transferring my belongings was fairly quick and painless once the hard part of packing was over. But after the emotional trauma I went through throwing away half the junk lurking in the back of my closet, I don't know how on earth I'm going to do it again come May!

Did I tell you that? We've set a date! May 25 in Chicago. Now I need to order save the date cards, get everybody's addresses, address and mail them, find a reception site, buy a dress, reserve a DJ... oh man. Let's not think about that right now!

The new house is a dream. I feel so lucky to be living here. We are trying to think of a name for it but so far are just calling it "The Little Yellow House," which is exactly what it is. My roommates are Heather, a science teacher, and Colleen, a grad student in literature. Colleen is the same girl I lived with last summer. It is such a gift to be living with her again. I love that girl from the depths of my being; she is without doubt one of the best and sweetest people I know.

One of the very best things about this house is its front porch. I've always dreamed of living in a house with a front porch. I made dinner for Frank and Colleen on Sunday and we set our little feast out on the porch to eat. My first porch dinner - I was thrilled!

Colleen and I were both so excited that we ran to grab our cameras. She is a very talented photographer and was working the camera so intently that I had to take a picture of her. Isn't she the cutest??

We are still working on decorating but here is a sneak peek in our living room. My trusty wreath made the move with me and it holds pride of place on our front door.

I'm sitting on the red-patterned couch as I type this. Ikea curtains, a Target wreath (on sale!) and a free couch picked up off the curb never looked so good. :)

Decorating on a budget is an adventure, especially with all this space - a whole house instead of just the little apartment. At the same time, my closet space shrunk to 1/10 of its former size! But it's been really fun so far and I'm enjoying the chance to get creative. We are planning to hold a housewarming party next month and I'm already so excited I can't wait!

In case one photo wasn't enough, here's Take 2 of our entryway and living room - and this time, our lovely built-in bookshelves and Madonna of the Streets image are visible. Those bookshelves are Colleen's and my pride and joy. We've had the best time filling them up with all our favorites - many written by ladies like Jane, Lucy Maud, and Louisa May, with a hearty helping of history, philosophy and American authors too. I think my favorite part of a home just might be the bookshelves.

Neither words nor pictures can express how much I love this house and how excited I am for the next chapters in my life. I will say this - ever since I moved in, every time Frank and I drive up to my new house, I clap my hands together and excitedly say, "Hello, Little Yellow House! Oh, I love you!" The last time I did that, I wondered aloud, "How long do you think it will take me to get used to living here and stop doing that?" Frank replied, "I'm hoping by Christmas but I'm not optimistic."

And that, friends, is the story of my first two weeks in the Little Yellow House.