Home

As the title of my blog suggests, there really is no place like home. And, as you all know, Matt and I have been without a home since April. 

Don't get me wrong - we've been happier then ever in our cozy little attic retreat, eating dinner with my parents, and living a simple existence. But we also terribly missed having more than one room, cooking dinner together, and having our own domain.

With the summer of chaos and the wedding, my trip to Phoenix, our visit to Abke family picnic near Bowling Green, and the countless other days here and there that quickly filled up with obligations, it has been a whirlwind six months of hard work and little rest. The payoff, however, has been huge.

The houses in New York are finished. We're happily married, and I'm legally a Cooper now. I'm working two full-time jobs: primarily, as an Outreach & Communications Specialist for the IJIS Institute (I telecommute from Pittsburgh), and, as a Faculty Associate for Arizona State University, teaching Business Writing iCourses (online). Matt has been applying for one job a day, and is, hopefully, slowly starting to figure out what he wants to do when he grows up. And, last but not least, we found a home.

I don't want to jinx anything, as the inspection is later today, but the house is pretty much exactly what we were looking for in our first home. 

The house sits on a side-walk and tree-lined street. It has a front yard that is fully landscaped, and a front porch, complete with a swing.

The first floor has hardwood floors and a wood-burning fireplace. The living seems small but, as with other rooms in the house, the current homeowners prefer huge, heavy, overstuffed or ornate, bulky furniture. We don't even own some of these types of pieces yet...

The wood-burning fireplace has new brick, but its original mantle. And, since we have an essentially unlimited supply of wood (courtesy of Keelen Bros., Inc.), we can save on some heating costs in the winter.

There's room for a formal dining room, which we can't quite fill up yet; however, it will be wonderful to be able to have people over for dinner...and to have somewhere to eat it together.

The kitchen has been completely remodeled, including appliances, and has a bit more room than I'm used to. I just like that there's a window by the sink, instead of the dark, gloomy apartment kitchens we've had in the past.

There is a cute little breakfast nook / mud room, with a door to the back yard. I imagine this will be the perfect place for future kids to do future homework :)

The master bedroom, again, feels small, but it's pretty over-decorated (behind this photo are two huge dressers *and* and vanity). There is a walk-in closet of sorts, though I'm sure, like most folks in cold weather climates, we'll have to keep some seasonal clothes in the basement.

 This lovely pink room is one of the candidates for new paint. We're not sure which room will serve as what, but, one will be reserved for a nursery down the road; and, the other will be some variation of a guest room / library / reading room.

This equally lovely peach room is the third of the three bedrooms that is horribly over-crowded with huge, heavy furniture. The corners are so tight in this room, you could practice 3-point turns!

The back yard is completely fenced in, with a concrete patio, another small grass area, more landscaped beds, and a heated shed. I can just see the summer dinners outside, a dog running around, flowers in bloom, and my hubby in the shed, organizing camping gear or fiddling with a lawnmower...

Matt and I are overjoyed at the idea of living in Oakmont - right behind the Oakmont Bakery no less! We can't wait to be in a real neighborhood again: in walking distance from the cornucopia of shops on Allegheny River Boulevard, close to the river (oh, water, how we've missed you so), and soaking in the cobblestone streets, street lamps, and quiet coziness of a place that's not quite city and not quite suburbs.

We are anxious to start our lives together, to start a family, to start new memories - to come home to each other every day.