The Move

The New House - Wayland Avenue

Now that the hectic Christmas holiday has come and gone, it is time to try to catch up on the blog.  It looks like we need to go back to the beginning of November to fill you in on our big move.

As most of you know, we loved the house on Coventry Street that we had been living in for the past year.  The house was a Victorian terraced house, and it was so different from what we were used to back in the States.  For those of you who don't know what a terraced house is, it is a row of houses that are right next to each other, and you share a wall with your neighbor.  Our house was narrow and tall (4 levels).  All of our rooms were pretty small, and we didn't have much storage.  On the plus side, we loved our neighbors (thankfully because we were so close), and we were close enough to walk into town and work.

Coventry Street

Unfortunately, in August our landlord informed us that he needed us to move out because he lost his job and needed to move back into the house.  We had just signed a year extension on our lease and could have held him to it, but we decided to do the right thing and look for another place to live.  The rental market in Brighton is tight and we had a narrow area to look in because of the girls' schools, so our search seemed pretty gloomy for a while.

I guess it only takes one right house to change everything, and thankfully, we found a house that we all agreed on and the landlord agreed on us (and Lucy!).   Here is a link to a map that shows you where our new house (point B) is in relation to our old house (point A): Map.

Our new house is on a wide, quiet street that is a little further from town.  All of the houses are larger and detached with garages and large gardens.  It feels a little more "American" and similar to what we are used to.  In fact, this house reminds me of our house in Waco when Sutton was a baby.

Here are some of the things we like most about our new home:

• A Big Garden
• Quiet Street
• Free and Ample Parking
• A Garage (Lucy's Kennel Doesn't Have to Be in Our Living Room Anymore)
• Separate Laundry Area
• Nice Neighbors (including a 10-year-old girl next door)
• Heating and Windows that Work

Here are some pictures:

The Front of the House

Entry

Living Room

Another View of the Living Room

Dining Room

Master Bedroom

Sutton's Room

Girls' "Party Room" (Off of Sutton's Room)

Sloane's Room

Laundry Area

Garage (It's Not Much to Look At, but It is Nice to Have)

Back Yard



Now I don't want to make you all jealous, but our new house has an extraordinary feature that I am guessing NONE of you have at your house.  It is very European...

Our "Salmon" Bidet
You Can't Really Appreciate Just How Strange a Color
This Is, and Yes, Our Whole Bathroom is This Color