PATIO ENVY.
I love our little place. It's tiny but cozy and perfect for two newlywed lovebirds. We still have pictures that need to be hung, furniture that needs to be purchased and some better organization that needs to occur to make 2 lives (and all the stuff that comes along with those lives) fit together well into 650 square feet. But it's coming along and its feeling more and more like home to us.
I've gotten used to no dishwasher or central air. I've come to terms with the lack of cabinet space and walking down three flights of stairs to do laundry. But I have yet to quit mourning our lack of outdoor space. Maybe it's the Mississippi in me, but this girl needs some type of patio, deck, porch, courtyard or outdoor space to kick back with a glass of wine after a long day or work or spend a relaxing saturday morning sipping coffee and reading.
At my last house, we had a great, albeit buckled, porch where we spent many nights enjoying adult beverages of choice and laughing and chatting - even when it involved bundling up in sweatshirts in chilly fall weather!! My parents' home has a great back patio where we ate so many summer meals (grilled by my dad and brother) and a large front porch where much "front porch sitting", watermelon eating, visiting with neighbors, cocktail drinking and family chatting occurred. And, my nana and papa have a screened in front porch in Florida with a swing and my cousins and I used to push that swing so high and so hard that we'd hit the screen and tear it - until my papa put up boards on the screen to keep us from causing any more damage!
My sweet Nephew eating breakfast on my parents front porch
So, I suppose it makes sense that one of the homey touches I miss the most is a patio or porch of some sort...so many of my happy memories revolve around outdoor space! When Dave and I go walking, I notice and point out every apartment or condo building with patios. I always request (with puppy dog eyes) that the next time we move, we find a place with a patio or deck!
And I love almost all types of patios - those that are perfectly decorated with pillows and an umbrella table - and those that look like college apartments with christmas tree lights hanging and tailgate chairs.
It's funny what you miss the most when you move into a tiny old apartment. I thought that surely it would be a dishwasher (and I do miss the dishwasher!) But, truly, what I miss the most is nights outside on the porch. So, I promise, friends, once I have a patio, however small it may be, I will enjoy it often and invite you all over for perfect outdoor evenings of wine and friends (and if its big enough for a table, I'll even feed you outside too!)
That's what i missed about our second apt and why we regretted being in the 13th floor in our first. There is just something special about hanging out on the porch!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE patios and eating outside. I'll be visiting once you get your patio! ;)
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