roots.

i finally got around to planting some roots. yes, it's been two years and a month since we moved in, but hey. at least the are in and apparently from this photo, growing.

when we moved in, we left behind a house to which we became too attached for renters. it was an adorable 1920s craftsman with little rooms, too few closets and too great a view. when we first walked in after spying it online, i knew this was it. spacious living room. built-ins. separate dining room. og crystal doorknobs. gross vinyl flooring which we replaced. we figured if we were going to live there for a while, we might as well make it the way we wanted it.

unfortunately, our landlord passed away little over a year after we moved in and his heir decided to sell the place and make a cool $2.8 million. who could blame her? according to urban legend, she was living in a trailer park and had been for most of her life.

when we moved into our new place with its quirky add-ons, weird electrical and funky colonial style, complete with pine paneling we are not allowed to paint white, we were less than thrilled. i cried because i hated it so much. but. it was less rent. it was in a good location and it was roomier. but i was not having any of the "investment woes" of days past.

so we didn't do anything. we left the dirt as dirt. left the (really bad) light fixtures where they were. left the pine paneling dark brown. but an odd thing happened when dad moved in. i started to fix up things. i planted (see evidence above), i bought new light fixtures (granted, they're from ikea, so i won't be heartbroken if they don't come with us), i bought new curtains and shades. and i feel a helluva lot better.

i know that this spot isn't forever and that we may move tomorrow. as one friend put it, we're "portable." i like being portable. but it feels good to have some roots, too.

[in other news: is this the weirdest couple or what? what happened to the south american?]