Feeling Homey

Sadie is now 13 months old. Every day she amazes me with some new word or skill, some little something that she wasn't able to do just the day before. And with her growing independence, and the comfort of knowing that yes, she really is here to stay, I'm feeling freer to turn my attention to other things. Like--dare I use the word?--homemaking.

Right now, I am utterly obsessed with all things home-related. I dream of real estate. I'm constantly looking at blogs like apartmenttherapy.com, designspongeonline.com, and decor8blog.com. I love how spaces can make you feel a certain way--unencumbered, claustrophobic, relaxed, energized. It fascinates me to see people on those home design shows freak out and cry when their home makeovers are "revealed," because it proves just what power good design and a well-thought out space can have on the psyche. I've lived in numerous apartments through the years, in San Francisco, New York, Seville and Barcelona in Spain, in Prague, and now--in just three years--three different apartments in Portland, Maine. Some of them were special, some were just bit players in my life, some held starring roles. I wanted to dress each of them up to set the stage for the life I fancied myself living, but limited finances, uninvested roommates, and/or the knowledge that I wouldn't be staying long always seemed to conspire against me.

Well, no more! Now that N and I are settled in Portland for the foreseeable future, and now that we have a little youngun' we want to make a happy home for, I'm constantly thinking up ways to spruce up our rental apartment. And in the last few weeks, I've even been dreaming about buying something. We are madly in love with our neighborhood, the East End. Our current apartment sits across the street from an Olmstead-designed park that runs downhill to Casco Bay. We have park and water views from our bay windows. We can walk to an excellent coffee shop, a gourmet food shop, a down-n-dirty deli, three great restaurants, a playground, a dock, and a beach. Oh, and my work is a 10-minute bike ride away (45 minutes by foot). Could I ask for anything more?

Unfortunately, we're not the only people who know how great the neighborhood is. Homes here will cost you a pretty penny. Don't get me started on how some of them, that are now in the $350,000 range, were selling for closer to $100k in 1998. I know, because I've checked the tax assessor's website. So in order to get a toehold in the neighborhood, N and I have begun to think about buying a multi-unit. A place where the mortgage would be affordable with the help of a tenant. I'm on the hunt.