Figuring Out Our Space
The two boxes in the hall outside the kitchen are probably the most annoying. They’re filled with baby bibs we don’t use, shot glasses we rarely drink out of, and cups. So. Many. Cups. The boxes in the living room and extra bedroom are fine. It’s not like we have any furniture for those rooms anyway. The big box in our bedroom is mostly out of the way, except for the times when I’m digging through it to find my clothes.
The aspirational, organized, endlessly motivated version of me would have all this stuff put away already. In theory, the hours after Riley goes to bed would be dedicated to unpacking and putting away. Sometimes we do that. And sometimes we sit on the couch and watch Yellowstone.
This is our third week in our new house and we are still very much figuring out our space. The urgency that came with house hunting has been replaced with the comfort of know that, as long as its up to us, we will be in this house for a while. We don’t have to rush. We aren’t on a deadline. The emphasis we put on the house hunting part of moving neglected the fact that a lot of time and energy also have to go into figuring out where to store the pots and pans, and which furniture store won’t sell us a lemon of a couch.
My favorite parts of the house so far include:
Family Room
Our house is a split level with a living room upstairs, and the family room of our dreams on the lower level. We’ve got a big brick fireplace that neither of us know how to use, and so much room for activities. Nearly a year after I bought it for her, I was finally able to set up Riley’s play tent. I had no idea I could love carpet this much, but rolling around on it with Riley is the best.
Windows
Living in a townhouse for 5 years meant I was constantly tricking myself into believing it wasn’t that dark in our house. I could put up with having windows on only half of our house, but the real struggle was feeling like we couldn’t open them for fear we would never get them properly closed again. Castle Bowers II is nailing the window game. We’ve got lots of them, they are new and nice (even some cool crank out ones!), and I can’t wait to throw them open on a beautiful fall day.
Yard
A good yard was very high on our list of house shopping must haves. We wanted the balance of a great outdoor space that wouldn’t require ridiculous amounts of maintenance, and I think we found it. We have a deck off of the main floor dining room, and a walkout patio from the downstairs family room. Our backyard has two young oak trees that I love looking at. There’s space for playing catch and soccer, grilling and eating outside, running through sprinklers and setting up slip and slides.
Location
Location can be an especially loaded topic in St. Louis. We were literally all over the map about where to move our family. We considered staying the city, ruled out and then revisited different areas, even took a trip across the river to see if the Metro East was for us. I know we felt the weight of where we imagined everyone else thought we should live as we went through this process. In the end, we landed in unincorporated St. Louis County, not far from Grant’s Farm. So far, it has been an adjustment. Learning the area, finding our new grocery store, and discovering a new set of local spots. As much as we wrestled with where to live, where we landed feels right.
I have a lot of hopes for this new house on this quiet street. I can picture the trick-or-treating madness that will surely take place in our new neighborhood. I’m excited to find a spot for our tree and string up Christmas lights all over. We will grow and change here in ways I can’t imagine today. We’re doing our best not to rush the process of figuring out how we will live and who we will be in this house. And eventually, hopefully, we’ll get all those boxes unpacked.
