I took a deep breath and walked in. This was it.
University Village. UCLA Graduate Student Family Housing.
I know I'm an aesthetician, and I can be picky about what I surround myself with. I was trying to put all of that aside so I could roll up my sleeves and get to work making it a home. But the truth was, I hated it.
I learned to be okay with some things: I had maintenance remove the vertical blinds in the bedrooms. A year after we moved in, we got new vinyl flooring. And we seriously had the best view of any other apartment in the complex - the lit buildings of Century City at night, and the San Gabriel Mountains during the day; some apartments faced the 405 freeway. At least we weren't in one of those apartments - industrial carpet AND a view of the 405 - it could have been worse. In lots and lots of ways.
I was looking through pictures today, and I was struck by the fact that so much life happened every single day in a dwelling that never quite grew on me. I wanted to share those photos here today - to honor the place that sheltered our family for three years, the life that happened there, as well as the moments I captured, but didn't always see.
Alice's Favorite Spot
Sunset hitting the storm clouds over East LA
Birthday Parties
(Cora always insists on having her party at home)
Girls' Room
Reading Nook
Dollhouse Day
Teacher/Student Learning to Read
Dining Table/Art Space/Game Center
Jenga. And then some.
Practicing Sewing Skills
"Is that water?"
"Yes."
"Jesus could walk on it."
New Skater Falls in Kitchen.
Budding Yogini [dressed as Elsa] Flies in Living Room.
Practicing.
So Much Practice in this Space.
Jake's Hair, Jake, and Alice.
Playing.
Reading.
Watching.
Blessing.
(She played Priest, blessing and passing communion to her family)
Despite the ugly kitchen, I still made pretty food sometimes.
Spaces.
The orchid I travelled to The Los Angeles Flower Market to find.
PhD Studies.
(AKA, Jake's side of the bed)
Discovering I could turn myself into a shadow giant with my reading light.
Seriously hours of fun.
[Every] Morning When I Rise.
(Tree House)
Beautiful memories!I'm so happy you all are here now! How is your new house???
ReplyDeleteJoan is lovely!! She's a great bright space with plenty of room for everyone in our family, including Alice and Zuzu. We are experiencing one of the tricky side notes of owning an older home: heating and cooling! I've just about decided that there's not much, if any insulation in the west wall because that side of our house has been frigid during the cold spells we've had, and I think we might need to eventually invest in a second A/C unit for the upstairs in the summer time.
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