Thursday, June 24, 2010

Change from the Outside In




Hello World,

It's been a week since I last posted. We are moved in! We still have lots of boxes to unpack but we are settled and cozy. Making this our home. And it's a sweet one.

This morning Anton and I had breakfast at our table, as we only have two more boxes to unpack in the kitchen. This weekend I'll tackle my studio space. Tomorrow Anton and I go visit the neighborhood pool at the Briarwood Recreation Center. So excited!

We've been going back to the old house to collect some things the movers couldn't take. While walking through with Anton, we sang "Thank You old house! We love you old house!" And it really was a prayer of thanks for safely nesting us for the past 8 years.

We moved the Hoosier Kitchen Doug and I bought for Anton's first bedroom into this new little kitchen. For the first time, I am using it for it's original intention of storing baking items, supplies and tools. It's fabulous!

This ranch house is very tiny, built in the 50's with a little front yard and larger fenced in back yard. The dining room table sits right up against one of the windows looking out into the front yard. I love eating a meal that way - especially breakfast.


I can stand in the middle of this house and point to every corner, knowing each is only a few steps away. Everything within arm's reach makes for a feeling of continuity that I did not feel at the larger house on Brandy Turk Way. I love being on one level, love feeling centered, close to everything, and living in an older, more urban neighborhood. Things being on a smaller scale feels really good, though there are many adjustments needed to the way you do things, buy things and store things. For instance, our pantry is a third of what we had previously. I spent one morning figuring out how to stack and sort items to fit it all in. No more buying in bulk for us and no more hanging on to the contents of junk drawers, etc. The bedroom closet Doug and I now share is a quarter of the size we used to have together. I donated 75% of my wardrobe to Goodwill and I still have too much stuff. It feels good to only keep thing things you use and wear on a regular basis.

So as we continue to settle in, I'll post more photos of the new space. Everywhere I look there is thoughtfulness and charm. And the coolest thing about being able to say that is that my new environment is a reflection of my interior - I mean the inside of me. We recognize what we already know and who we already are.

1 comment:

katie lee grosskopf said...

ANNE. THAT KITCHEN IS ADORBZ.

Also--when I moved in by myself after the flood, I have to say that it felt very good to know that the things that I brought with me to surround myself with were really only the essentials, with little to no excess--there really wasn't any room for much excess. I can't wait to see more pictures of your new home--everything you wrote here just really spoke to me. That feeling of new beginnings is something I can relate to very much so--good luck with the rest of unpacking!