Happy Birthday, Gramma & Chris! Hope you do something fun to celebrate!
I know it's been radio silence from us for awhile. We're slowly but surely settling in to our new life in California. Our apartment is in San Jose (watch your mailboxes for a card with our new address!), and it's about twenty minutes' drive to Bryan's office in Cupertino. Motorcycles are allowed in the carpool lane, which makes his commute easy.
As requested, I've provided some pictures - I was going to wait until we had fully unpacked, hung the pictures and curtains, etc., but I know some people are getting antsy. We have two bedrooms and two bathrooms. There's a small fenced terrace just off the dining room. There's space for a washer/dryer in the garage - those appliances will be delivered later this week.
It seems to be a nice neighborhood, with all the necessities in walking distance. The spare bedroom is full of stuff that still needs to be unpacked and put away, but if you tell me you are coming to visit, I promise I will get it ready for you.
This is our entry door, and it leads into the living room. To the right is the stairway to two upstairs apartments and the walkway to the garage, and to the left is the first-floor apartment that faces the street.
Unlike our old place, this garage actually has a door that closes (and locks!) In addition to the laundry and water heater, Bryan will set up his workshop and tools here. There's plenty of space for both motorcycles as well, and my car is parked in front of the garage door. (Since there's never snow or ice, there's no pressing need to keep the car in the garage.)
The kitchen is also perhaps an upgrade from our former apartment: much larger, with more counter space and a built-in dishwasher. We are glad to have a gas stove as well as a range hood. The tile floors will take some adjustment - I already dropped and shattered one coffee mug!
We need to hang some pictures on the walls, and we may rearrange the furniture again. Our landlord is quite protective of the new wood-laminate floors and has requested that we not wear shoes in the house. We have bought a few more rugs to protect the floors.
Our bedroom has plenty of closet space and its own bathroom, with a nice shower. It may actually be smaller than our previous bathroom, but it has about three times as much counter space and cupboards/drawers! The other bathroom has a regular tub and shower and is next to the other bedroom.
So, that's where we are! We had rain all last weekend, although it is apparently not enough to make a difference in the worrying drought situation. It has been sunny and in the sixties most days. I hope you are all staying warm enough in your polar vortex - I imagine that it can't be very much fun!
That's the news from San Jose. What's your news?
Love,
Amanda (& Bryan)
The place looks great, you guys! Wow - a separate bathroom in your bedroom - too cool! We surely hope you enjoy your new home! Thanks so much for posting the pics! Love you LOTS!
ReplyDeleteOh, it looks like a nice apartment. That nice garage is like another room! I am sure you will use both the garage and the terrace a lot! I think about the only thing I would miss as compaired to your old apartment is windows. You will have to hang something above the stove :-). The one thing that caught my eye was "both motorcycles". Didn't you sell the Triumph? Or did I miss one motorcycle purchase somewhere…not that I mind…it is always good to have a backup of anything! The place looks lovely. I am glad there are some shrubs by your door.
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ReplyDeleteI removed my own comment as I put the link in a new post. Emily and Rachel had never heard of " Do you know the way to San Jose?" I had to sing it over the phone to Emily. It is a good thing there are lots of nonsense sounds as I only could recall half the words! LIsten above.
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