Interlude: Glenlake Avenue.

When I first met Nat, he was living on the 33rd floor of a condo building, which looked south right over the lake. On a clear night, you could see the sparkling lights of New York State across the water. On hot, stormy, summer evenings, we would sit on his balcony and watch the lightning exploding all over the sky. It was a special place, and I was so lucky that after only a few months he asked me to move in.

It was a special place...but it was always his place.

I moved my clothes in, and not much else. There wasn't any room for me to bring any "stuff". We acquired things over the last year living there: he bought me a fantastic knife set, and how can we forget THIS awesome gift?!

Even though we had "stuff" together, always still felt like it was his place, not ours.

About 2 months ago, we were faced with a reality that would change all that.

His landlord of 6 years decided she was going to sell the condo, and that meant we had to move.

And move we have.

I would elaborate more on the annoying and sometimes traumatizing experiences we had whilst looking for a new place, but since we are fresh in our new pad and there is some serious unpacking to be done, I have to make this brief.

We moved to an area of Toronto called High Park. It's about a 30 minute transit-commute from the downtown area where we work, but it is worth every minute spent on the smelly subway.

We are on the top floor of a newly renovated house. The neighbourhood is lush and green, quiet and safe. It is a real community, rather than a block of towers sitting ominously at the base of the city.

There is life here. I can hear the birds singing. There are children playing down the street. The branches of the big tree outside my window are being tickled by the warm wind. There is a sense of calm. It is wonderful.

I have moved quite a bit over the last few years, but the reason this place is the most special is because this is where we will live when we get married. It is our Matrimonial Home. This is where we will start our new life together.

It is our home.

Here are some pictures I just took with my blackberry. Forgive the mess, hopefully it will all be undone soon :)

Our cute bathroom. You don't see these old clawfoot bathtubs anymore.

The kitchen. Amazing amount of gorgeous counter-space under all of that stuff.
And check out the storage! BANG!

This orchid is in its second bloom. We killed it, then left it, and it just recently came back to life.
My mother thinks it is a very good omen for us.
I do too, which is why it gets prime real estate in the apartment, right in front of the window by the sink in the kitchen with the gorgeous breeze coming through.

Nat setting up our "home entertainment system".
Let's see how long this takes....

The bedroom window. I wish you could feel this breeze.
Spectacular.

We found a fabulous local pub called The Loon.
We sat and had a couple and enjoyed the afternoon together in our new neighbourhood.

So far, so good.