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.