SOCIAL MEDIA

An Homage to Our First Home


| Original: November 01, 2021

I haven't been updating my blog as often as I would have liked in the last few months. So much has happened that I haven't had the opportunity to update my blog.

I'm still crocheting and making new things. I just haven't had the opportunity to blog about it. There are seriously not enough hours in the day.

I shared on my Instagram post a while ago that I got a new job. I started this new job in mid-September, it's a temporary job that allows me to work from home. It's supposed to be flexible, but I am in front of the computer all day long. So you can understand why I may not want to spend my evenings also in front of the computer, blogging.

The weekend before I started my new job, Hanson and I also made the largest purchase of our lives: we bought a TOWNHOUSE! We're moving in December and it's all so exciting! We're going from a 700+ square-foot condo to a 1700+ square-foot townhouse!

It's been a bittersweet experience. I love our condo because it's our first home and the whole story of how we got it.

Our First Home

We got our apartment as a pre-sale. At the time, the housing market was really hot and people were lining up overnight to buy pre-sale condos. In fact, our complex of over 400 units sold out at a record time of 4 hours when it opened that day (it was even on the news)!

Our First Home

Luckily, we didn't need to be one of those suckers who had to line up overnight to buy our condo. 

Hanson's aunt happened to know a girl from her gym who worked for the developer and gave her a VIP pass! Initially, her aunt thought that she was going to buy a unit for herself. But then she changed her mind and gave us the VIP spot, which allowed us to go in and have our pick of apartments before the opening day!

Our First Home

Most of the layouts in this complex have weird acute angles that made it hard for furniture placement - but not ours! We hand-picked this unit because it had a nice rectangular layout with 90-degree walls.

Our First Home

We were practical and didn't really care about a view. Our unit is on the 9th floor facing an office building. We still have an unobstructed view of the sky when you sit down on the couch in the living room. When you look on either side of the balcony, you can still see the river, the city, etc.

Our First Home

And, when we can look down onto the concourse, you can do some people-watching! Right downstairs, we have a supermarket, a movie theatre, a drug store, coffee shops, our dentist, a walk-in medical center, an optometrist, and all the banks you can think of!

It's just so convenient. You can be like, "Oh, you're missing an onion for your dish that you're making tonight? Just run down to the supermarket and buy one." I've done that before. 

Our First Home

It also happened to be on the same floor as the amenities and the large outdoor terrace that connects the two towers of residential units together. During the winter, we were able to have the whole terrace to ourselves and made snow angels and snowball fights.

Our First Home

We love this condo. We moved in when BB was 6 months old. Before that, we were renting a small one-bedroom apartment waiting for this place to get built. Mui Mui was born here. Both the kids learned to walk here. Lots of memories were made here.

Our First Home

We've maximized all the space by making everything multifunctional with storage. I think we've done a fantastic job managing. But I think as a family of four, I think we've outgrown this space. We tried to live a minimalist lifestyle, but somehow stuff just accumulates.

Our First Home

I just hope that when we move into our new home (that's more than double the size of our current home), we continue to try to live a minimalist lifestyle and not accumulate too much stuff. Kids have a lot of toys, and I have a lot of yarn. I can only wish!

But let's face it, as much as I love the look of a spotless showroom-looking home, nobody really lives like that. Do they?

Let's Connect