With our last place we had set up slowly over time. I was pregnant with Blanche when moving into our old townhouse, and once she was born and grew so did the things in our home. Moving to this apartment we lost over 200 square feet. We will be a family of four in an 800+ square foot apartment. I know that this is spacious compared to many families' situations, and I've seen families in big cities with adorable and simplistic places. Andrew and I felt like we had down sized quite a bit before moving, but once moved in it seemed like we had to find a place for everything. I tend to be on the sentimental side, which can make it hard to get rid of things. I feel like I'm always in a constant battle with my self to either donate most of what we have and live in a very simplistic nature, or to go ahead and keep what I love and to dream of my bohemian farm house filled with four kids.
I have learned over the last couple of years that sometimes it okay to keep things. Most of our treasures are family heirlooms, thrift store finds, or quirky things from either Andrew or my childhood. I also try and donate things any time I bring something new into our home. There is however a beauty in learning that more is not always the road to happiness, and that living creatively with what you have can lead to a happier life.
I had taken a few pictures of Blanche's room already, so I thought I would show her space first. It actually seems my readers prefer to see Blanche's room over any other. There is something soothing about a child's room. Blanche has a twin bed in her room, which is mostly used for company. She is still a little small to climb up on her new (adorable and vintage) bed frame, and also prefers to reach out for human life every few hours in the night. I can understand that. I like being close to people I love while I sleep. She also has the rocking chair that my Meme (my dad's mom) was rocked in, next to a dresser given to me by my step mom and a wardrobe given to me by my mother. The wardrobe was actually built for my mom when she was a little girl by her grandfather, the original Blanche's husband. I did not paint or try to match the two pieces of furniture. It just worked out perfectly. I love when that happens. The window seat is a favorite spot of Blanche's to read and snuggle with her blankets and pillows. Her room is mostly filled with books and stuffed animals. Her closet has a wooden trunk filled with other toys like a barbie or some funny toy that use to belong to Andrew. She has my old scarves from India hanging in her closet as well, which she loves to pull down and dress up with.
I do love that Blanche's room has two closets. Once the baby comes I know we will have less space, and I'm glad that each child will have a designated space. I think Andrew and I are both secretly (maybe not that secretly) hoping to be out of this apartment around the end of our lease next summer.
Although an apartment seems less like a home than our town home, we are thankful for this new place and the location we are in. I am also thankful that there aren't any stairs inside the apartment. Being pregnant, potty training, and stairs do not go together. Andrew and I both seem to feel like we have made a huge step towards the life we are wanting. We are so thankful for his mom and step dad being close and all of their support in moving here. Andrew also has a job that he loves at Whole Foods, and even though he isn't at full-time yet, he will start getting benefits soon and we get 20% off our groceries. Maybe we were too young to be scared, but we often talk about how crazy it is that we decided to just move across the country. At the time we decided to move he didn't even have a job yet. I admire Andrew for being a leader and also helping us achieve our goals. We would talk so much about the life we wanted and where we want to be, and he helped us start to make that happen. It has been a lot of work at times and even pretty exhausting. We are now though starting to get into the swing of things. We both have our Texas drivers licenses (after 5 combined trips? and me retaking both the written and driving test), our family's insurance is working out finally, and Blanche and I both have new doctors. The ideas of moving can seem magical and exciting beforehand, but actually doing it is mostly work. I am thankful for what we have been through and how God has provided for us. I am also excited to see more of what is ahead in our adventure.
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