The Mint House

Day: 331
High Temp: 91F

Is it possible that come August 1, Tom and I will be living the Austin dream? Tom just got a phone call from Mrs. Maylene Bird who told him that she and her husband would like us to rent their too-cute-for-words, mint green 2 bedroom house in the Hyde Park/North Loop neighborhood!  I am going to pick up the lease tonight after work. I am so happy, and so relieved that I am near tears right now.

So, what does this mean?  Well, there are a lot of unknowns. We have never rented a house before, but I do know there are a lot of things to look forward to and be grateful for. For instance:

-We have just 3 more weekends in our current, little apartment! And because we are going out of town this weekend, that means just two more weekends of the drunk, douche-bag neighbors waking us up in the middle of the night! Also, did I mention no one above us? No one below us! No shared walls with anyone!

-Homer will have a yard!  A nice, fenced-in yard to run around, play fetch and chase bugs in!

-We will have a guest room! We have already had five sets of out-of-town visitors since February (how amazing is that?) Now, Tom and I will be able to offer our guests their own space, instead of our aerobed put up in the living room.

-I won't have to leave the comfort of my home to do laundry!!! There is a little utility closet just off the  living room, and it is equipped with a washer and dryer that come with the place! I have not experienced such a luxury since moving out of my parents home 11 years ago.

-I will have dinner parties!  The kitchen in this house is HUGE, and our dining room table will fit so nicely underneath the adorable little vintage chandelier in there.

-I will have a garden! The house is on one half of a double lot.  The owners have a garage/storage building on the back of the other lot, and there is also a raised bed garden. The other lot has it's own fence, but the owners said we can use the garden if we want. That means veggies for us on the other side of the fence from Homer! Did I mention that the other lot also has a fig tree on it? Jam!!!

-Austin Charm! This place is one of a kind, for sure.  It was originally two tiny houses that someone in the 1950's moved to this lot and put together as one.  The whole outside was re-done, so it looks cohesive, but the interior still has tons of vintage touches from the original houses. Aside from the chandelier mentioned above, the bathroom has an original claw-foot tub, and the whole house has original hardwood floors, nicely refinished. Did I mention the blue cabinets in kitchen and the glass door knobs?

-We will live in a great, safe, neighborhood that puts us even closer to campus than we were before. We are also within a 5 minute walk of: Flight Path Coffee, Foreign & Domestic, The Parlor and a trio of beloved vintage shops: Room Service, Blue Velvet and Hog Wild. And we are within a 5 minute bike ride to the heart of Hyde Park, and a few more great restaurants: Mother's Cafe and Garden, Julio's Cafe and Quack's Bakery!

When Tom and I were planning our move to Austin last summer, we had dreams of renting an affordable house with a yard. Those dreams were soon dashed by a few leasing agents, bad timing and our own lack of understanding of how Austin "works." This year, although we were learning as we went, we were determined to find what so many of our friends here have... A nice little house.  I personally think we got even more than we expected, and I am excited to sign the lease, and start making plans to move. And now, I am just curious about when y'all are coming down to visit!