A Place of Our Very Own

I am sitting on the front steps of our new apartment waiting for them to deliver our new washer. That’s right...we found our own place in LA...at least for now. Although we had come to LA hoping to buy right away, we decided not to buy unless we found something we really liked. As the weeks went by, we realized that we were not falling in love with anything we had seen, so we decided to abandon the house-buying adventure and move on to the world of renting. Because I had to be out of town for a couple of weeks, the renting search was fairly brief, but we felt so fortunate to actually find something we both liked. We called and emailed about a lot of places, actually went and looked at about seven, and settled on one of the first ones we looked at.


From the time we knew we were moving to LA, there were three things that I really wanted--a washer and dryer in the house, a dishwasher, and a yard. As we started looking, I also realized that I did not want to be in a regular apartment complex. We found a cute little quad-plex that is cream and green with hardwood floors, trees right out front, washer and dryer hook-ups, and a dishwasher. While there is no yard, there is a little space right out the back door that has steps and room for some potted plants. It is on a quiet street and really close to Rodney’s work. I feel incredibly blessed!


I am already trying to figure out where all the furniture in our storage unit is going to go and scheming about what we have to have and what we can jettison, but I haven’t seen half of what’s in my storage unit in three years, so I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things. The biggest adjustment is the addition of a new washer and dryer and refrigerator. I don’t think I have ever owned my own appliances. LA is funny because almost none of the rental units have a refrigerator. We were informed that refrigerators are “personal things,” so given that, we are just happy to have a toilet and a shower. :)


Rodney and I have been married two years this month, and this is the first place that we are going to get to settle into. The first eight months we were married, we lived in his place that consisted of half my stuff, his stuff, and a path through the center. Since then we have not had a place to call home. 16 months of life on the road and moving in and out of other people’s spaces has certainly affected my way of thinking about place and things. I am oddly both more and less attached to stuff. When your life is so stripped down you learn the valuable lesson of what is essential to have which seems to be in vogue with the simplicity movement. But that all depends on how one defines simplicity, and living a very stripped down life (translated only having what you can fit in your car), also teaches you that sometimes having certain things makes life a whole lot easier. I guess the trick is learning which things those are.


The other day I saw a picture of me in a shirt that is in storage. I had forgotten about it, and when I saw it, I did not think, “Good, I can get rid of that because I haven’t needed it for the last year.” Rather, I was really excited to get it back. There are quite a few things I am looking forward to having again like our Cuisinart and my keyboard and our camping gear. I’m sure it will also be good to uncover the things I now know I can live without too. But for now I am just going to enjoy the empty feeling of a space we can truly call ours. The sheer idea that I do not need to look for new lodging and move in two months is exhilarating. Sometimes it’s the little things in life that make us truly happy.

There and Back Again

I realize that I have not posted in three weeks, and a crazy three weeks it has been. I have spent the majority of the last three weeks, not in LA. I had a chance at the last minute to go to my brother’s CD Release Concert in Pennsylvania, and I was so excited to be able to support him and to get to hear his awesome performance. It was truly a well-done show, and the night was a success. At one point my six year old nephew turned to us and said, “It just doesn’t get any better than this,” and he was so right. To check out Justin’s new CD, got to vialinota.com to hear some of his work and buy the CD. You will not regret having this on your computer and in your car.

I returned to LA to see my parents who were out here on business. We had a great couple of days bumming around the area and checking out some wonderful places to nosh. If you know my parents, you know food is pretty important, and few places are as great as LA for finding good food. Mom and I discovered a wonderful little cafe in Burbank called Studio Cafe Magazzino with great sandwiches and cappuccinos that would make an Italian swoon. We had pancakes and french toast galore at the Granville Cafe also in Burbank, and we had a delightful Italian dinner at the Market City Caffe where the breadsticks are as “to die for” as people claim. On Wednesday morning, we decided to venture into Beverly Hills to get lunch, and after a hectic trip we were repaid with a good lunch and absolutely amazing desserts. If you are in Beverly Hills, and you do not visit The Farm of Beverly Hills for their cobbler or bread pudding, then you have only yourself to blame, and your life will indeed be lacking. For all of you foodies out there who are in or plan to visit LA, I highly recommend the website eat-la.com. It is a wealth of restaurant information and recommendations that you can search by area in the city.

After the culinary tour a la’ Anderson, my parents headed south for some more business, and I took to starting my graduate classes. Since our move here, I have signed up for graduate courses in biology at the University of Nebraska Kearney. They are online, and since school started, I had a lot to catch up on. The catching up, however, was cut short. For the weekend, we headed up to Sequoia National Park to sightsee and just get out of town, but while we were there, we got the call that my grandfather had died. My distance from the airport and the need to get to North Carolina quickly meant that we drove straight from the mountains to the airport, and I flew out on Saturday afternoon where my parents picked me up. In ten days, my parents had picked me up at the Baltimore airport, the Los Angeles airport, and the Charlotte airport. I think that is a record for all of us.

The funeral went well, as well as these things go, and we were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from so many people who are in my grandparents’ lives. My grandparents had a similar penchant for dining outside the home, and people from a local restaurant even came to the viewing. When we went to Cracker Barrel a few days after the funeral many of the employees came up to express their condolences to us. It was truly touching, and it was nice to see that so many people cared. As with most funerals, getting to see family was nice. All of my cousins were able to come, and we were just able to spend some time together. After spending a few days with my grandmother helping her and my mom and aunts, I headed back to LA to yet again catch up on my classes and resume the apartment search.

When I was at my grandma's, I was helping with her thank you notes for the funeral. When I looked in her address file, there was our card with just our names across the top. Maybe we've been on the road a little too long. I am really looking forward to the time when we have an actual home in LA. As much as I love the Residence Inn, it is a little difficult to feel very settled with maid service every few days, and I miss my gold pans from Williams and Sonoma, which can only be taken out of storage when I have an actual place to live. So here's to residences and giving my grandma a little more contact info for that sad little white card.