Temporary Home
With 7 days until the closing, we decided to give the Rillridge House a proper sendoff on Sunday. Surrounded by a few of our friends and family, we had a small barbecue on the deck, made many toasts, and reminisced about our favorite memories made in the blue house. After everyone left, Paul and I stood in the kitchen talking; our voices echoing off of the empty walls. It was a wonderful last “hoorah” and the first step of many toward the Roney Farmhouse.
I had originally planned on giving you a glimpse into my overly-organized moving process, but that was before we actually moved. I think everyone thinks to themselves that their move is going to be the one that goes smoothly. All of the boxes are nicely labeled and numbered with spreadsheets, the towels and linens are in bug/weather proofed bags, and moving day runs like a well-oiled machine… That’s how it starts anyway. I began packing months before the move by systematically moving from room to room, pulling out all of the knick-knacks. Boxes were neatly labeled with the room and all of the contents for easy access. Each box was packed like individual tetris boards. Sheets were washed, ironed, folded, put in plastic bags, duct taped, and boxed. I’m a master packer. Then, the week before the actual move, all of that OCD crap went out the window and you got a lot of boxes that look like this:
Moving is overwhelming (and quite revealing). Everyone who has ever moved will attest to a few things (commonalities are good, it's what makes us human):
It sucks.
Bribery is key when enlisting friends and family to help (luckily for us, a cold beer and the promise of pizza usually did the trick).
You quickly become aware of how much crap you’ve been holding onto for years.
You don’t have to worry about how you skipped the gym that week, because you got plenty of pure cardio and dead-lifting in.
**Holly was less than thrilled about moving day... but she really liked the moving van.
Eventually, moving day came and went and we entered into a new chapter of our married life—living with Mom and Dad. Realistically, I knew that moving in with the in-laws wasn’t going to be ideal for someone that hasn’t lived at home since he was 18. Not that my parents are the rule-making kind. They never really have been. My brother and I were pretty lucky in that way, minus maybe my brother’s high school years, where the story of our basement (and my new apartment) really begins.
The Igloo
When I was a Junior, my brother made his Freshman debut into the high school scene. He was notorious for skipping class, throwing parties, and being way cooler than his rule-abiding big sister. It was common practice for me to be walking down the hallway and finding myself smack dab in the middle of one of the following scenarios:
I see a colorful copy paper flier on the ground with our address on it.
Someone in my class (usually someone waaaaay more popular than myself) would tap me on the shoulder and ask me if I was Matt Ramsey’s sister…and then ask if I was going to his party…
At some point mid-semester, a girl in chorus inquired about the Ramsey children’s adoption (to which there were apparently varied versions). She had heard that Matthew was from Alaska and that his birth parents were Eskimos. I’ve heard some things in my time…this one was pretty good. From there on out, our parents’ basement was lovingly nicknamed “The Igloo”.
My brother is quite possibly one of my favorite humans, but back then, his reign of adolescent tyranny t our household was unparalleled. The fully finished basement that once hosted my sleepovers, turned into a black-lit dungeon from Hell. And so it stayed until last year.
Here is where I will tell you that my husband Paul is a saint.
I wish (WISH) that I had before pictures. This is something that Paul and I are promising to do better in the future. Let's see how good of a writer I am--
Imagine if you will, an abandoned theme park. When you walked into my parents' basement a plume of dust would kick up and form the words "RUN", before you ran into the first spider web. Lights flickered to life and hundreds of creepy crawlies shuddered and bolted for cover under the bits of carpet that were still left, under the abandoned 70's upholstered armchairs, and into beer cans long forgotten by high school parties past. I'm not even going to tell you about the bathroom because that's one horror that Paul still has nightmares from. Just know...Matthew and friends...we worked for 3 months to erase you from the soul of that basement. And turned it into our new apartment:
**What may arguably be the most important part of our entire apartment--The Bourbon Bar.
**My feeble attempts at Fall decoration when I'm not entirely sure where all of my decorations have ended up... (on second thought, they might be in the attic at the Rillridge House...crap).
**Our family room area is nice and cozy. Its been a few years since I've seen my sectional put back together, as the old house wasn't structured for quite such a large seating piece. Fun fact: That coffee table is the first present Paul ever gave me. He made it after I saw a similar one in an antique shop.
**Paul has resorted to binge watching Archer and Top Gear on Netflix lately because the one downfall to basement dwelling is that we are Wi-fi-less.
***If you can imagine, this entire basement used to be "taupe" and there was a nice berber carpet. Later this room is where my brother and his friends would play video games and hold amateur fight clubs...
**To the left of the "family room", you have our master. When my brother lived down here, he used the room off of the mechanical room. I found 3 things wrong with following in his footsteps:
1. I have a hard time falling asleep to the sound of our heating and air kicking on and off.
2. Bugs from the crawlspace.
3. Having to walk through 3 rooms to get to the bathroom.
But mainly the bugs.
**Storage was key in this space. Wire baskets, rolling plastic bins that are stashed under the bed, and even our bedside tables added extra storage for pajamas and books.
Buy This Threshold 3 Drawer Closet Organizer $49.99 from Target
**When it came time to decide on what things to store and what to bring with us, all of throw pillows made the cut. Mainly because they are big and bulky.
Buy This Reversible "Night/Morning Y'all" Pillow $19.99 from Kirkland's
**I've always wanted one of these. Because dresses are better hung than folded, I decided to buy this super-convenient garment rack. It brings a "hotel"quality to our space, while being the perfect way to showcase some of my favorite pieces.
**A fun component to our basement as kids was my parents' Pachinko machine. It's kind of like pinball...
**The puppies have adjusted just fine to living with Grandma and Grandpa. They get treats and new toys all the time. Paul and I get fresh coffee every morning and a home cooked meal when we get home every night...not a bad gig!
I hope you enjoyed our little "apartment" tour. Even though it;s temporary, it's beginning to feel like home. Same time next week to read about the bumpy road that got us to this point and our decision to build in Ball Ground.