Apartment Hunting

I'm currently in the process of finding a little corner of the world for D and I to share and while it's exciting, the process of apartment hunting can be somewhat discouraging at times. For example, we found our dream apartment as soon as we starting looking, only to have the people who saw it first decide that it was their dream apartment too. Now, every apartment we see will be compared to the unobtainable apartment...so the search continues.

Anyway, this got me thinking about the very first apartment I ever had and the list that Kirsty (then residence mate)and I made describing our dream apartment together. Here are some of the things on that list:

- lots of pillows (no clue)
- portraits of women we admired (Frida, Joni, Patti)
- paint and the tools to paint with
- typewriters
- first editions of our favourite books (Demian, Little Women)

Basically it was a list of things we wanted. Now, being a little older and wiser than I was at 19, I think more about the actual building I want to live in and the furnishings. Though I still love that creativity to was central to my and Kirsty's dream apartment and I know that it will be an important element of my future dream house. Here are some of my current "must haves:"

- hardwood floors
- a working fireplace
- minimum 2 bedrooms (for now...)
- space for guests (it's going to have to be a big house)
- lots of light
- warm!
- a spacious kitchen
- closet space
- nice old touches (the moldings, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, etc.)
- some yard space for a garden
- a porch
- character

Oh, how the list has changed! It would be wonderful if we could find all of the things above in our new apartment; if not, I know that we'll find them in our dream home one day soon. And we will dance in the living room.

(Photo: view from my bedroom in apartment #2, 2005.)