girl at large

Certainly, make yourself comfortable, by all means.

Can't decide which is cuter...the new chairs or Ruby! It's all so meant to be...I ordered these chairs two months ago, before I even dreamed of this new place....and they couldn't be a more perfect fit. Even the color is perfect--and I sweated that fabric decision. In my work, it's easy to make decisions for others, but when you know all the possibilities, well, 'the cobblers kids have no shoes' often applies. I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. Ruby, cuddled in one before the second was in place, seems to agree. Glad I could accommodate you, little dog.

New Home Sweet Home

Ruby's new favorite perch, complete with view of birds and squirrels...

Well, we are moved in, at last. Much unpacking remains to be done, but that may take weeks. No hurry, even with boxes and missing implements, this is a more pleasant home by far than the last. It's a very NPR kinda place...quiet, tree-lined dead-end street, pleasant view and nothing that needs WORK. I haven't lived in an apartment this tidy and in such good repair.....ever. (with the exception of Mom's, but that doesn't count).

Last night I found my knives ...life couldn't get any better. Grocery shopping for food that doesn't require cutting of any kind is harder than you might imagine.

Moving Day!

The heat wave continues--will be near 100 today. No air conditioning. The old apartment is on the fourth floor--the elevator is broken. Can it get any better?

brush in hand

I've had keys to the New Digs for a week now, but haven't accomplished much more than leaving an empty wine bottle on the counter. So, today, on my half-day off, I took the first step and chose a paint for the bathroom. I'm leaving the rest of the place (with the exception perhaps of one wall of the bedroom) the creamy white it came in because A) I'm lazy and B) with curved wall transitions, where would the paint stop and start? The entire apartment would have to be painted the same color and who can decide which color? The thought of all that painting..well, it's exhausting and no fun whatsoever.

The bathroom has exactly 5 square feet of paintable wall, the remaining wall surface being all tile. Perfect. This I can handle. I decided on a delicious grey-blue-green called Steamer, from Devine Paint. It looks so tranquil, spa-like...and familiar.

...turn's out it's mom's favorite color. I'll post photos of her Chicago living room later..it's exactly the same shade.

hot hot date

Meg knows me too well...and so knew to bring cheese with the celebratory wine!

more peeks

sneak peek

Is it a cabin on Mt. Hood? Grandma's house? Nope! It's a sneak peek at my groovy new kitchen nook...I -heart- knotty pine.

movin' on up

Yippe me! I've just returned from a "dog interview" with my new landlord..and Ruby, despite her wiggly protestations to the short leash and insistance on eating the man's lovely grass, passed the test. I'm grateful that her barkless-ness; a feature that worried me the first six months I had her when I thought perhaps she was defective or ill in someway, this silent dog, has benefits. Landlords love this particular characteristic of the Rubes. And it's a good thing too, because if she were judged on sitting still, not jumping on a stranger and not digging in the sidewalk to get near the new person, well, she'd fail miserably.

So, I'm moving out of Chevron Heights. I'm so excited, I could spit. And I owe it all to "Dream Apartment". You know the game---clicking around real estate sites, haunting Craigslist in the evenings. "If I had $3900 a month to spend, I could enjoy the view from this penthouse as young shirt-less boys feed me frosting from a spoon", that kind of thing. It's one way to spend a Wednesday night.

One lucky click and I landed on the perfect little gem---up the hill from my current place, on a dead-end street away from the noise and traffic of busy Burnside Street in my favorite little nieghborhood that reminds me of San Francisco, up above the city near Washington Park. The four-plex was built in 1950, complete with molding-free curved walls and refinished hardwood floors throughout. The rental market here is cut throat, as more and more old buildings in the nieghborhood and nearby Pearl District go condo and renters are pushed out of the market. I didn't dare get my hopes up, I've lost a dream apartment or two before. But the potential was invigorating, and it was a sleepless night.

I went to see it the very next morning and it was more than I could have hoped for. Ugly and communistic from the outside, it's a sweety on the inside. A view of the city from the living room window, shining floors, even a fireplace. And two bedrooms, though small, one would make a perfect study/studio...a place, at last, to set up the easel. And the kitchen, the kitchen! Every wall is paneled in knotty pine, the light fixture is so hideous it's fabulous. And a huge window, OVER THE KITCHEN SINK, with more of the view! And a dishwasher, what a luxury! It's light, bright and roomy (as roomy as 850 sq ft can be)...and the list goes on...all white tiled bathroom with natural light, a covered parking space just steps from the back door, a balcony for enjoying the view....

There was an applicant before me, but there was still a chance--his reference information was incomplete. In breathless excitement, I ran off to work, head full of decorating ideas, dinner parties to be had, evenings sipping wine overlooking the city...I shared my enthusiasm and hand-wringing hopes with my boss. All day, I warned myself against getting too caught up, it could very likely go to the previous applicant and I'd be crushed.

At the end of the day, unsolicited, was sitting on my desk the nicest reference letter I've ever seen. My boss has an alterior motive of course, a year's lease means I'm here another year....but it was moving just the same to read his faith in me. I made a copy, suitable for framing. It's not often that we are given heady praise in writing. And on letterhead no less.

I completed the application, added proof of income, the letter of reference and even a copy of Ruby's Obedience School Certificate--there's no way I was losing this Dream Apartment to incomplete documentation, not me! A silent prayer as I slide it in the landlord's mailbox: "Please God-who-likes-to-F**k-with-me, please let me get this place. If I have to spend another perpetual-midnight winter in this dreary place, I'll either hang myself or balloon back up to a size 22." I need to live up this hill, if only to keep my butt size in check.

So, another restless night....and today, the good news. A glowing reference from my current landlord, thank you thank you Bree...and I'm in. Ruby passed the test, I wrote a check, it's a done deal. I get the keys on Monday, move in starting July 15th.

It's a whole new life for us up on the hill. Yippee!