New pictures of our place!

After promising them for quite some time, we're happy to finally post some updated pictures apartment. The main blogger is on hiatus, so the maverick blogger (Brent) is posting today. :)


Ruth has done a fabulous job of picking colors and patterns to go with our new apartment, if you ask me. Here is our entry way (dare I say a very fun "Starbucks green")?

Next is the view to our dining room and kitchen. We designed the chandelier ourselves and I especially like the way it fills the room with warm light. Our kitchen turned out great, very functional and I think we finally have everything in it's place.

Ruth has certainly made great use of the "American style" oven that we pushed hard for when looking for a place. I think that in square inches, she puts most bakers to shame by what she's able to do with an oven that would be small in comparison to anything in the States. Suffice to say that I'm definitely not going hungry here and we've been able to find the equivalent of most cooking and baking products by now through a variety of stores.


Next is our cozy living room. We weren't sure how our place would feel after getting our furniture in place, and couldn't be happier with how it all fits together. Having all our things in place made a huge impact for me while things were so busy at work. Having a perfect place to come home and just relax after work has been such a great respite.





Even more cozy is when we build a roaring fire...we have yet to break out and roast marshmallows, but it won't be long!





Heading up to our top level, we have the 2nd bathroom, master bedroom, and guest room. Ruth chose a fantastic yellow to help us combat the long winters with our own sunshine! It gets dark during the winter at 4:30pm or earlier, and even in the fall we are already missing the "sunbreaks" from Seattle.

Bathroom and Master Bedroom

The Guest Suite - Please, note that reservations must be made in advance, and our 48 hr cancellation policy is quite strict. Just kidding...about the cancellation policy. :)

Last but not least of course is the music area in the loft above the guest bedroom, and my coffee station (a requirement obviously).

I really can't say enough about how good it is to have our home set up, and to start to feel settled. In the beginning, its easy to think that being apart from "all that stuff" should be easy, even beneficial. And one could easily make the argument that missing it is just another example of the materialism so pervasive in Western culture. And while there are certainly things that I can go without, it does give me even more empathy for those who spend their lives without a home, a place to really feel secure, either by choice or circumstance. More than anything though, I think it just makes me thankful!

We hope you are all doing well! Please drop us a line and let us know how you're doing. We'd love to hear from you. Fijne avond (have a nice evening).