Moving to Somerville

At the end of April, things started going south in Southie.  It got to the point where I felt very unsafe where I was living, so I decided to move.  I found a cute place in Somerville, just north of the city.  Somerville was founded in 1630 as a part of Charlestown.  It was named on whimsy, and not after someone as most of the other places in New England are.

Some cool things about Somerville:

• The beloved marshmallow treat "Fluff" was invented here.
• The earliest Stop & Shop and Bertucci's stores started here.
• One of the earliest American flags was raised on Prospect Hill, above Union Square on January 1, 1776.
• The infamous "Winter Hill Gang" was founded here.  Later, James "Whitey" Bulger, would become the leader of the gang and subsequently end up on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list and allude police for  20 some years before being captured in Santa Monica last year.
• It's nickname used to be "Slummerville" before a massive gentrification happened in the 1990's and the entire town cleaned up.

I live on the top floor of a 3-floor house in Winter Hill.  The house is on the same street as an industrial laundromat, so parking is never a problem.  The street is very quiet and has big beautiful trees on each side of the street.  I can either get a bus at the end of the street to get to the orange line, or I can drive to Davis Square and get the red line to go into the city.  One is 1.5 miles away, the other is 1.8.  Since it's north of the city, it only takes me about 15 minutes to get to work and it's all back roads. 

So this weekend, I finally unpacked everything.  I do still have a lot of trash to take downstairs (our trash situation is tricky) but I tried to keep it out of the pictures.  The only complaint that I have is that it is very very warm.  Since it's on the 3rd floor and the window situation is weird as well as having terrible insulation, there isn't much of a breeze, so these 90-95 degree days are brutal.  Luckily, I have the best parents in the world who got an air conditioner working in my bedroom.  

Since some of you won't ever see the place, and you might be interested, I've included some pictures for you.  So, without further ado...

The entry opens up into the kitchen

In the corner I have my desk with my printer, desktop computer, office supplies and school books

Next to my office is my craft corner

The kitchen table is in the middle of the room and the sink is along the back wall

My little fridge and oven

The other countertop

The bathroom is little, but I have a tub and it's clean

The bathroom leads out into the living area (and my display of my favorite pictures)

Under my window, I have my library, records, and seating for guests

On the other side, I have my TV and wardrobe

I have a chair and table where I mostly do work

There is a small partition next to my chair which separates the living area and my bedroom

The dressing table and dresser with my shoes in between

The dresser is in the corner

The door opens out onto a fire escape where I'm trying (unsuccessfully) to grow some plants

Opposite of my dresser is a corner with my little TV so I can watch TV in bed

My bed is against the wall that separates the living area and bedroom

So that's my house.  It looks much more crowded and cluttered in these pictures than it actually is.  The best part is that I was able to get everything up here from the time I moved out (thanks to my parents).  And even better is that somehow, I made it all fit.

I'm looking forward to hosting many dinner parties and entertaining in my home.  

Maybe I'll write again before next year!