Visits

Once almost the entire spring semester had been wrapped up, I headed out to visit some family and friends. I took the entire week and had a fantastic trip to MN and WI. There was good conversation, often over cups of tea or wine, walks, lunches, a MasterChef viewing party to see my sister-in-law, a visit to multiple parents and Grandma, and lots of other good things. This week, I had a visit from a dear friend who is also moving and pursuing a new tenure track position in languages. After househunting and life planning, baguettes, cheese, and good olive oil were just the thing.

Book Group

The amazing Dr. P organized a book group soon after we all arrived in the area. It's been fantastic.

We had book group get-together on Friday and it was, as always, wonderful (so great I forgot to snap any photos). Austin and I have made an amazing group of friends that is incredibly difficult to leave (though they are all invited to our sweet new home!). I'd much rather leave a good situation than be fleeing in horror but it's not terribly easy.

Decisions

Here is the fireplace, looking from the kitchen via the pass-through.

It's not easy to share photos of a framed home so there won't be too many but we really enjoyed strolling through it. Sheer potential, everywhere you look. We finalized wiring and got to take a quick peek at our super awesome front door (yes, we're excited about a front door). We also made some important decisions today:

• kitchen appliances
• granite countertops
• backsplash/bathroom mosaics
• bathroom tile
• placement of light fixtures
• patio dimensions
• garage door style
• ceiling fans

The builders we are working with are amazing in terms of their know-how, patience, and skill. We spent over eight hours with them and have a plan that we are all happy with. Austin and I are tired and going to grab dinner then we'll hit the road tomorrow.

Home, Sweet Home

Our home and the first neighbor to greet us.

Latitude

The map to the right is not working. See Austin's Latitude for updates.

Sent from my iPhone

Putting Down Roots

We're building a home! Some goodies we just picked up include Nest thermostats and home audio so we can stream music (reality: NPR) throughout the house and patio. We're off to Kentucky tomorrow so stay tuned for details. In the meantime, I'm trying to complete final grades and celebrate marriage equality in MN!