Daily affirmations of a word mercenary
Homely Category
I lived in the house my parents built until I was 18 years old. Since then, on average I’ve moved at least once a year. Below, you can read all about my housing shuffles, apartments, househunting, and cozy homemaking. The summary since I started this blog in late 2000: Olympia, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, Seattle. Spring of 2005, Andreas and I bought our first house in Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood.
The hunt continues
9
Jul
2007
In: Homely
We didn’t get the first property we bid on, which was an amazing 1920s conversion with an attic bedroom, vaulted ceilings, and skylights that went for a whopping $50k over the asking price. (Holy hell!) We’ll be going out again this weekend, and after looking at the listings that match the general idea of what we’re looking for, I’m noticing some trends in wrongness:
1. Newish townhomes that are the right size, but so bland that I feel like I’m falling into a black hole of beige walls and vinyl siding. Also: carpeting.
2. Adorable old conversions with hardwood floors and clawfoot tubs that are so tiny that we’d have to stick the dog in an antique-knobbed cabinet when guests came over. And guests could only come over in pairs, and they’d need to have very short legs.
3. Affected super-mod lofts with no grass or trees nearby and square footage that doesn’t justify the price. Dre is dreaming of 16″ ceilings to hang his aerial stuff from, but the costs are insane.
Luckily, we’re in no hurry … we have the time to sniff around and see what comes up.
Today someone broke into our house. It was sort of a strange break-in, really. They didn’t take my macbook (which was totally sitting out), the stereo, the dvd player, the ipod boombox, any of Dre’s music equipment, my camera, or any other electronics. They went through closets and boxes and bags, but I’m really not sure what they were looking for. Really, all they took was an antique ring (predictable, regrettable, and oh well) and several bottles of wine. I get a sick satisfaction out of the fact that they also stole a bottle of Ariel non-alcoholic champagne I was gifted in 1999. HA HA, alkie burglars. Have fun getting drunk off sour old juice!
As parting gifts, they left one weird piece of white cloth on the floor, the toilet seat up, and two used q-tips. (EW!) For her part, Sassafras piddled on the floor where they broke in, and then I assume had her belly rubbed and followed them around the house with a wagging tail for the rest of their ear-cleaning stay in our home.
I’m not really that freaked out about it — very little was taken and nothing was damaged. But it’s a nice little nudge that it’s time for us to be movin’ on. We’ll find out Friday if we got the condo we bid on this weekend.
On the hunt
29
Jun
2007
In: Homely
Tomorrow we officially begin our search for a new home. Dre and I are meeting our realtor (the same one who helped us buy our current house) on Capitol Hill tomorrow morning at 10am and we are looking for a new place to live. Probably a condo on Capitol Hill, but maybe the Central District or Eastlake or Judkins, and maybe a coop or a townhome. We’ll see.
Dre and I are both suuuuper excited about the prospect of getting back in-city. I can carpool to work every day, and Dre will be able to walk or bike to his job. I realize that for some people a 45-minute driving commute is just fine, but for me, the daughter of a Seattle Metro employee who raised me with the values of SOVs being SOBs, it’s been pretty awful. Since I began my driving commute, I’ve gotten two parking tickets and a speeding ticket — “But officer, I always go 50 in this 30!” I’ve also been stressed out and frustrated and guilt-wracked, even though I only do the commute three days a week.
Moving back in-city also means we’ll be back in neighborhoods where you can walk around (!) and run into people we know (!!). This is hugely important to both of us. I love city life, but part of that is the sense of an urban village, where you know your folks. All the folks I know are in-city, and although I made some feeble attempts to meet my most immediate neighbors, nothing ever clicked. Not sure why. I know folks in Columbia City, but that’s still a 10 minute drive. I am sick of driving to see people, to grocery shop, to go to the park, to go out to eat, etc x 500.
Our realtor is optimistic about our house — the french doors in the bedroom and the remodeled bathroom combined with Seattle’s still-strong housing market have her thinking the house has increased about a third in value. We’ll see how it actually pans out — we’ll put the house up for sale once we’ve found a new place we like.
It’s funny: as someone who grew up living in the same house for my entire childhood, I craaave a move every few years. We’ve been in this house for almost two and a half years, and that’s the longest I’ve stayed in one space for … I don’t even know. A decade? Longer? I don’t even know. I think of myself as somewhat of a stability junkie, yet I go changing jobs and homes pretty frequently. Andreas remains the one constant — can you believe this New Years marks our first DECADE together? Jesus.
Anyway, I’m rambling. Tomorrow: we start the hunt! And I’ve already been prepping our house in preparation for selling it later this summer or early fall.
When Ariel Met Sassy
17
Apr
2007
In: Homely
Originally uploaded by Playapixie.
So, what’s the story with the dog who’s now dominating my Flickr stream? (My outlaw mother requested lots of pictures — it’s not just me, I swear!) For those interested in such things, there story is behind the cut.
Sassafras, is that you?
14
Apr
2007
In: Homely
Sassafras, is that you?
Originally uploaded by .Ariel.
This is our new dog. She’s a 2 year old Boston Terrier/Chihuahua mix named Sassy.
She came with the name but we decided it’s short for Sassafras.
The hunt continues
9 Jul 2007 In: HomelyWe didn’t get the first property we bid on, which was an amazing 1920s conversion with an attic bedroom, vaulted ceilings, and skylights that went for a whopping $50k over the asking price. (Holy hell!) We’ll be going out again this weekend, and after looking at the listings that match the general idea of what we’re looking for, I’m noticing some trends in wrongness:
1. Newish townhomes that are the right size, but so bland that I feel like I’m falling into a black hole of beige walls and vinyl siding. Also: carpeting.
2. Adorable old conversions with hardwood floors and clawfoot tubs that are so tiny that we’d have to stick the dog in an antique-knobbed cabinet when guests came over. And guests could only come over in pairs, and they’d need to have very short legs.
3. Affected super-mod lofts with no grass or trees nearby and square footage that doesn’t justify the price. Dre is dreaming of 16″ ceilings to hang his aerial stuff from, but the costs are insane.
Luckily, we’re in no hurry … we have the time to sniff around and see what comes up.
Today someone broke into our house. It was sort of a strange break-in, really. They didn’t take my macbook (which was totally sitting out), the stereo, the dvd player, the ipod boombox, any of Dre’s music equipment, my camera, or any other electronics. They went through closets and boxes and bags, but I’m really not sure what they were looking for. Really, all they took was an antique ring (predictable, regrettable, and oh well) and several bottles of wine. I get a sick satisfaction out of the fact that they also stole a bottle of Ariel non-alcoholic champagne I was gifted in 1999. HA HA, alkie burglars. Have fun getting drunk off sour old juice!
As parting gifts, they left one weird piece of white cloth on the floor, the toilet seat up, and two used q-tips. (EW!) For her part, Sassafras piddled on the floor where they broke in, and then I assume had her belly rubbed and followed them around the house with a wagging tail for the rest of their ear-cleaning stay in our home.
I’m not really that freaked out about it — very little was taken and nothing was damaged. But it’s a nice little nudge that it’s time for us to be movin’ on. We’ll find out Friday if we got the condo we bid on this weekend.
On the hunt
29 Jun 2007 In: HomelyTomorrow we officially begin our search for a new home. Dre and I are meeting our realtor (the same one who helped us buy our current house) on Capitol Hill tomorrow morning at 10am and we are looking for a new place to live. Probably a condo on Capitol Hill, but maybe the Central District or Eastlake or Judkins, and maybe a coop or a townhome. We’ll see.
Dre and I are both suuuuper excited about the prospect of getting back in-city. I can carpool to work every day, and Dre will be able to walk or bike to his job. I realize that for some people a 45-minute driving commute is just fine, but for me, the daughter of a Seattle Metro employee who raised me with the values of SOVs being SOBs, it’s been pretty awful. Since I began my driving commute, I’ve gotten two parking tickets and a speeding ticket — “But officer, I always go 50 in this 30!” I’ve also been stressed out and frustrated and guilt-wracked, even though I only do the commute three days a week.
Moving back in-city also means we’ll be back in neighborhoods where you can walk around (!) and run into people we know (!!). This is hugely important to both of us. I love city life, but part of that is the sense of an urban village, where you know your folks. All the folks I know are in-city, and although I made some feeble attempts to meet my most immediate neighbors, nothing ever clicked. Not sure why. I know folks in Columbia City, but that’s still a 10 minute drive. I am sick of driving to see people, to grocery shop, to go to the park, to go out to eat, etc x 500.
Our realtor is optimistic about our house — the french doors in the bedroom and the remodeled bathroom combined with Seattle’s still-strong housing market have her thinking the house has increased about a third in value. We’ll see how it actually pans out — we’ll put the house up for sale once we’ve found a new place we like.
It’s funny: as someone who grew up living in the same house for my entire childhood, I craaave a move every few years. We’ve been in this house for almost two and a half years, and that’s the longest I’ve stayed in one space for … I don’t even know. A decade? Longer? I don’t even know. I think of myself as somewhat of a stability junkie, yet I go changing jobs and homes pretty frequently. Andreas remains the one constant — can you believe this New Years marks our first DECADE together? Jesus.
Anyway, I’m rambling. Tomorrow: we start the hunt! And I’ve already been prepping our house in preparation for selling it later this summer or early fall.
When Ariel Met Sassy
17 Apr 2007 In: HomelyOriginally uploaded by Playapixie.
So, what’s the story with the dog who’s now dominating my Flickr stream? (My outlaw mother requested lots of pictures — it’s not just me, I swear!) For those interested in such things, there story is behind the cut.
Sassafras, is that you?
14 Apr 2007 In: HomelySassafras, is that you?
Originally uploaded by .Ariel.
This is our new dog. She’s a 2 year old Boston Terrier/Chihuahua mix named Sassy.
She came with the name but we decided it’s short for Sassafras.
Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.
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