Our new digs in Alexandria

I wanted to update you all on our new life in Alexandria, though it's been brought to my attention that this post is bordering on "too personal, not enough architecture". I'm not sure how I feel about that, since my thoughts about architecture in a place are of course tempered by my experiences there, and in order for you to know where I'm coming from with my opinions, you have to know a little bit more about me and my life. Right? Plus, it's my blog and I can do what I want. If you think it needs more architecture, you'll have to speak up. For now, I bring you: 10 things I like about our new place 1- Our proximity to the Mount Vernon trail along the Potomac River. It's been essential to my running. And it takes you past Reagan National Airport, so you can run right underneath a plane landing. 2- The patio. Our interior space is small, but we feel lucky to have some outdoor space enclosed with a brick wall. It's a grilling area, some extra space for Rudy, and hopefully a hang-out when the temperature cools and we get some outdoor furniture. 3- The pot rack. As soon as we began bringing our boxes in, I knew we'd never be able to fit all our pots and pans in the few cabinets in the small kitchen. I was able to find an amazing deal on a pot rack from the Crate and Barrel Outlet, and Dr. Jay installed it. He reviles home improvement/repair projects, but I know he likes seeing our beautiful pots and pans given to us by my mother for our wedding. 4- We don't pay for water. Or trash. Dr. Jay would say that we implicitly pay for water and trash with the price of rent, but all I know is that it's fewer bills to worry about each month, and I like that. 5- There is a pool! We've only been there twice so far, so I need to make better use of it, but it's there! 6- Our proximity to Old Town Alexandria. It's only a mile walk, and there's always lots going on down there. There's a farmer's market on Saturdays that I'll write about in an up-coming post. 7- Our proximity (6 blocks) to Trader Joe's. 'Nuff said. 8- The Washington Post. My mom gave us a subscription, and it's been fun keeping my finger on the pulse of the city. I like the Home and Food sections, and of course the Style section. And lately, the Classifieds... 9- There's a great dog store (I guess most people call them pet stores?) also very close. And they carry Rudy's food, which is a huge plus since he is spoiled and has hard-to-find food. 10- All of Old Town Alexandria is VERY dog friendly. We've heard of a dog happy hour that goes on somewhere, and most stores allow dogs, including my current part-time job store. There are some things I don't like about our new place. We still, 2.5 weeks after ordering it, do not have Verizon DSL, the only DSL available in this area. Dr. Jay and I have both spent WAY too many hours on the phone with them, and I am completely at my wits' end. A technician is supposed to be arriving tomorrow morning to fix everything, and for that to happen I had to stomp my feet and yell, so let's hope it's all resolved tomorrow. My posts have been spotty lately because of this inconvenience, so I apologize. There's also some funny switching in this apartment. A lot of the switches are half-switched to outlets, but most don't make any sense or are a real pain because if you aren't careful, you might turn off your phone charging or you computer when you flip a switch. On the whole, we like our new digs and are transitioning to this new chapter in life. I'll leave you with photos of the patio. It needs a lot of work, so consider these the BEFORE photos: The first meal on the grill (on move-in day!) and Rudy, who had just been digging and probably burying a rawhide.Rudy's pool.