One weekend and one new flat later . . .
How long has it been since I've had a home? Sure, my name was on the lease in Austin, but I was living on borrowed furniture and overwhelming reluctance. This time it's for real. In contrast with my bare minimalism in Austin, I've embraced the random photos and knick-knacks I uncovered in Tim's storage unit (now empty and out of our hands). We have a home! A flat! With nice furniture and STUFF! This is the first place we've lived in where we have a table to sit down and eat at. LUXURY!
A few notes on the new place... we live in Stoke Newington on Defoe Road, so named for Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe and former resident of a house on the corner, just up the street from our building.
Our building. Alas, it doesn't possess any of the 17th century charm that Mr. Defoe must have enjoyed. It's a new build, with all the comforts that a new building should have: clean open plan kitchen living room with new Bosch appliances, including a full-sized fridge, loads of marble-top counter space, a huge sink, and (drumroll please) a dishwasher! What it has in creature comforts, it lacks in character and outdoor space. When I land a job, I'm going to spend my first paycheck on some photo frames and indoor plants. Any suggestions about indoor herb gardening is appreciated. We have four windows with a big sill that get a few hours of direct sunlight each day (this will diminish greatly in the winter).
Other great things about our new flat:
The bathroom is nice and spacious with a good shower.
The furniture is new and clean and semi-stylish
The bedroom is pretty big - only once side of the bed is next to the wall.
The kitchen is amazing! Counter space on 3 sides! Loads of cabinets and storage! And great lighting!
Hardwood (er, laminate) flooring - but no nasty carpet
Awesome location - Stoke Newington is like the Lakeview of London (not that I've ever lived in lakeview).
In 3 days we will have super-fast interweb.
The building has a locked shed for bicycle storage.
We have music!
We've just spent most of today just hanging out at home quite comfortably, which is one of the coolest feelings in the world, and extremely hard to find in London.
The flat feels completely separated from the rest of London, which is going to be cozy and awesome in the winter.
Despite the lack of garden or patio, there is a nice big park (Clissold Park) just a 5 minute walk up the road.
Right, could say more but it's time to make dinner in our fabulous kitchen: Tim's doing a Tomato, cucumber and onion salad and new potatoes. I'm making a spinach salad with raspberries and feta. Yum. Home.
