Buying a House in the Suburbs of Philadelphia
I don't even know where to begin. I moved. There, I said it. After a twenty-year relationship, I abandoned my beloved New York City. I've been house-hunting for years, so not looking for a house is my new favorite pastime. Where we landed is in (or is it on?) the Main Line of Philadelphia, where my husband grew-up.
It's a 2 hour drive from NYC. Totally manageable. Plus, there's always Philly, right? Why we moved here: The houses are more affordable, taxes are lower, schools are good. Much to my surprise, I actually kinda like it. But before I get into the designy-stuff, let me start at the beginning (of the move, silly, not my life.) December 21st, 2013 was our official move date. Yeah, real smart Einstein. What a banner idea to move three days before Christmas Eve. Holy hell that was that a bad decision--for so many reasons. This unfortunate decision amplified (that is my new favorite word btw) what was already a challenge. Hardest thing I have ever done. Ever. Mind you--I've done some scary (stupid) stuff. For example: Jumped out of a plane, dangerous stupid back-country skiing, kayaked in class 5 rapids with no experience, learned to ride a horse, been thrown from a horse, ran a marathon, wrote three books, and to top it all off--I have given birth--the regular way--three times. This move was even harder than that time I (dodged a bullet) got dumped by my fiance (luckily) in Iowa, in the middle of a hellish winter--moved back to New York City with no job and no place to live. I realize moving is difficult for everyone--but until now, I thought that was just the rest of the world--for I am an expert mover. Oh, I've moved. A brief history of my moves: Chicago, D.C., Idaho, Back to D.C., New Jersey, Massachusetts, then Colorado, Costa Rica, back to Colorado, NYC, Iowa, back to NYC. That's not even counting all of the in-state moves. I don't want to write another book here. Picture this: I'm in LA. and it's early October. The sun is shining (duh), I'm hanging with my design people, and of course there's some pool action, spa time (thanks to Mr. Steam) and great design. I was in California for the superfab Modenus BlogTour LA., then my husband calls. We had an accepted offer for our new house and now we were in the thrill ride that is the Mortgage Approval Process. I will share the deets with you another time. Eventually, we closed on our house a few days after I returned from sunny LA. Awesome and terrifying--because I had just 8 weeks to spiff up the house, pack, and move. It all needed to happen before January--when school started. My joy at having a real life home to design was temporarily tainted by the panic. But I made it and now my creative energy is (almost) fully recharged. Thanks for sticking around my friends--I love having you. xoea P.S. Did you know that 5pm on Friday is the absolute best time to publish a blog post? Really, it is. I'm serious.