Home Sweet Home

As much as we loved living in Downtown Memphis, it was time to move on. Our two-year adventure in this southern city quickly morphed into three, and when Jon found a new job (which is sort of the old job), we decided to stay a bit longer. We realized that with Baby Girl, we needed some more space, so we began house hunting in the fall.

For the first time, we didn't have a deadline for finding housing, which was both good and bad. Good because we weren't rushed; bad because we kept looking...and looking...and looking. Thank goodness for a wonderful real estate agent because she indulged all this looking and showed us lots of places, not minding when we would take a break for a couple weeks here and there.

Despite all this looking, the house we finally made an offer on was the very first house we saw. At the time, it was unremarkable, but after seeing so many other places, we kept coming back. Honestly, it didn't show very well, with pink and purple sponge paint on the living room walls and a giant stuffed white tiger in one of the bedrooms, but once we got past all the cosmetic things, we realized that it had the space and location we didn't know we wanted.

We're no longer located on historic Main Street with restaurants and attractions within walking distance. No more trolley clanging by or river view from the roof. We will definitely miss that. But our lives have changed, so the park directly across the street of the new house has a lot of appeal. We are one block from a coffee shop, two blocks from a brewery, and three from our favorite BBQ place in town, so there's a lot going on around here. And Jon enjoys the challenge of commuting to work by bicycle. It's just a little unfortunate that this adventure began during one of the coldest winters Memphis has had in a while.

So, we've signed our life away, and with the help of friends, moved everything the four miles across town. Moving day was a long one, but now the real work begins with organizing and personalizing our new space. Through this process, we've learned that moving with a baby is tough--next time, we're not moving until Elsa is old enough to help out. Projects take longer than we want them to, with many not starting until after bedtime. Projects also seem to multiply; I feel a little bit like we're living in a less dramatic version of The Money Pit. Windows and paint and a roof, oh my! Ah, the joys of home ownership.

That said, we're enjoying it so far, and are extending an invitation to any and all visitors. Come stay at our house! It's a very, very, very fine house.

Google Earth image of our house (unfortunately the little tree on the left is no longer there)