New Apartment Wishlist

As much as I love our good old Arlington apartment, we’ve been building a good-sized wishlist for our next place in Seattle. Here’s what we’re looking for:

Non-negotiables

• A large closet or two closets. We currently share one teeny tiny closet that’s no more than 5 feet wide and 1 foot deep. Frankly, I don’t feel that bad that our closet is in a constant state of disarray, because it is practically impossible to do with so little space. And anyway, Neko likes to make herself a little fatcave on top of my gym bags that are piled on the closet floor.
• Dishwasher and/or washer/dryer in unit. Preferably both. I asked Thomas the other day what he preferred, if he had to choose one. Right away, he said washer/dryer. I would pick dishwasher, hands down. This cracks me up. Is it obvious who does the laundry and who washes the dishes in our household? Really, while it would be lovely to have both, daily life would be significantly easier with even one of these.
• Large(r) kitchen with more counter space. Galley kitchen with laminate countertops and steel cabinets – I love you. I really do. But you make it so difficult for more than one person to be in the kitchen at one time. I’m not saying that our future kitchen has to be this. Well, okay, maybe I want that. When we have a gajillion dollars.

Tiny kitchen of doom!

Would be nice

• Second bedroom. For the multitudes of out-of-town guests we’ll be entertaining week after week. Right? RIGHT? In all seriousness, it would be awesome to have a separate study/library, and a room where I can throw all my craft junk in.
• Area where I can start an herb garden. Doesn’t have to be a full yard (because, Lord knows, I don’t need to become obsessed with gardening). I just need a little space where I can plant some basil, mint, dill, etc. We spend a lot of money on these silly plants that we can easily grow ourselves, if we had the space.
• Actually, a yard would be great. A fully-fenced in yard? Would be fab for Wallace. Although I’d worry about neighboring squirrels and birds he’d potentially kill. And all the poop he’d eat when not being supervised. Eek!
• Close proximity to a trail. I’ve been spoiled the past few years, living just a couple of blocks away from two major trails in Northern Virginia. I’d love to bike more in Seattle (and of course, there’s always the running), and trails would help make that goal more accessible for me.

We’ve narrowed down our top neighborhoods in Seattle, and I’m hoping that our perfect apartment just happens to be in one of them. And that it opens up in early December of this year. It’s all very exciting, of course, but it gives me the jitters at the same time. Guess we’ll just have to see!