Oaklandish

Well, folks, we’re all moved into our new place in the lovely Temescal neighborhood of Oakland.

It's a spacious apartment in a 1920s-built brick building with in-unit laundry, a parking spot and a cute shared back patio space, which, we will add, is quite a bit warmer & less windswept than our old backyard (& has already seen more use in our first week than than our old yard saw in the past year).

The neighbors we've met include among them a nice couple who have feet made of concrete & whose hobbies include walking around a lot while living directly above us (sound familiar?), a 3-month old baby named Ila Mae, a sweet & talkative old lady with two green thumbs named Lois & an extremely friendly grey & white cat with large alert eyes who immediately befriended Pete.

We're mostly still in shock from the shift of living in a place that was far too small for us to living in a place we'll need to grow into. The claustrophobia has given way to an urge to run laps around the apartment. It's a pretty phenomenal adjustment. 

Between unpacking & organizing, we've been doing our share of exploring some of Oakland's gems, & although we've have barely scratched the surface yet we know a few things. Within a block of our house, there is a fantastic mac & cheese restaurant, a high-end coffee shop, bike shop & record shop. Within a mile stands the legendarily delicious Bakesale Betty's (which Pete had for the first time last Friday & hasn't been able to shut up about since). 

The place is still a work in progress, so we don't really have any pictures to share at this point, but sit tight. We'll get there soon. This weekend should be another busy one, as we're on the hunt for some furniture, & if you happen to have a lead on a dining room table, bed frame and book shelf, please do feel free to send suggestions.