One Year in 01760

Well we just hit the one year mark (we moved 9/30/15) on our life in Natick Massachusetts. It's gone by fast and slow at the same time hahaha. True to form, we did not let much time pass before launching into our projects. Our major ones included the mudroom and kitchen, as well as some updates to our downstairs bathroom. But, you know how some things stay the same for so long and you just live with them to the point where you don't even notice them anymore? It doesn't make it any less awful, just that you're immune to the sight of it.  For example, we had a mind to paint our guest room right around this time last year. We put some samples up but beyond that? Nada. The squares are still there.

Oh, and our foyer remains completely unfurnished. Not only that, the shelves next to the fireplace have looked like this since, well, we moved in.

There are tools and contact paper and a picture hanging thing and a shoebox full of Jason's random paperwork and a camera...this room will eventually be a piano room even though no one in our house plays the piano but a baby grand would fit perfectly along with two chairs so, it's a natural choice for decoration. Utility is secondary here. I just want a pretty room :) But wahhhhhh pianos and rugs and furniture and the lamp I want and all that is so expensive so, it's kinda empty and I'll probably be whining about it next year too. People that come in the front door DO ask, hesitantly, if we are moving. I don't blame them, it is an odd way to enter a house.

But basically, we love it. Here, exactly, are all the things I love.
1) There aren't too many neighborhoods like ours - you aren't driving back there unless you live there, really. So it's quiet, there's no traffic, no cut through streets, no shortcuts. And it is all perfectly flat, which makes bike riding super enjoyable. The outer perimeter is over a mile, and zig zagging through all the little streets makes for some pretty long rides! I put Alex in the toddler seat on the back of my bike and off we go.

2) Our neighborhood has a pond! A great destination for when we are out walking and feel the need to go see if there are turtles or frogs (there never are, but I up-sell the possibility to the boys to get them excited about leaving the house) or throw some pebbles.

3) On the other side, we also have a little playground, with tennis courts and a big field to run in.

Also a good destination. We frequently need to get out of the house. 

4a) We have a great front door. In Watertown, we painted our door a fun yellow except it didn't face the street, so it's like, why bother to hang a wreath or something when no one will enjoy it? It's a small thing, but I particularly love how visible our front door is and how much it lends itself to good decorations.

4b) Speaking of decorations, we had two Christmas trees last year!! One in the front foyer window seen above, and one in the back in the family room. Dizzy with happiness, I tell you. I love Christmas trees.

5) I also love Wayland Town Beach. This gem is about 6 minutes from our house.

I've already written about that. But it was my zen spot all summer.

There are so many other things too, truly! The boys have their own bathroom. The trees are beautiful. We are within 10 minutes of any shopping experience you could ever want. We have met so many new people and our neighborhood even has its own Facebook group. Jason has plenty of projects to keep him busy. We are living the dream in all its suburban glory. The only con is that everyone else is too. We live in a pretty trafficky, busy area in general, and my commute to Waltham can be a little nightmarish. If Jason were here he would jump in and tell you that it's because I leave too late (7:30 am), but I wish it were a quick zip to work no matter what time it was and it's not. There are a lot of turns, waiting, lights, stop signs, cut throughs, etc. It's 30 minutes on average of not-the-easiest driving and I'm still working on accepting it.

When we were looking at houses last year, I was looking for a place where the kids could ride their bikes and with top notch trick-or-treating. The latter is not so much about collecting candy of course, it's symbolic of the type of community I wanted to be in. And our neighborhood is a party on Halloween. It is fast approaching, the boys have their costumes and can not, will not be stopped! Start guessing...