There's no place like home...

What makes four walls, a roof and a floor a home? In the course of our marriage, we have lived in an unfurnished apartment (in Denver, CO), a completely furnished condo (in Satellite Beach, FL), 3 houses we have owned (in Albuquerque, NM, Chandler, AZ and Gilbert, AZ), an unfurnished house we rented (in Calgary, AB, Canada) and now a completely furnished apartment (in Columbia, MD).  Some were teeny tiny and some were quite large. Sometimes it was just the two of us- and other times there was quite a crowd. We have also lived temporarily with friends and parents while our houses were being built. We have come to realize that "home" is where you live- where your  stories take place- where you feel comfortable and safe. It's more about who you're with than what you have or how you decorate it. It's walking in the door and realizing you're glad to be there. Every place we have lived has been "home." Here is a peak at our current home...

Columbia Town Center

The "traffic circle" in the front took some getting used to! Our apartment is off to the left.

Our apartment complex, Columbia Town Center, is situated across the street from the Mall at Columbia (I haven't decided if that is a blessing or a curse yet!) and in between a public library and Lake Kittamaqundi. There is a river and a "woods" within half a mile. It is, I guess, "rural meets urban"- a fairly typical up-scale apartment complex with the usual amenities (pool, exercise room, common areas).

Our home is apartment 401 in building 10340. Come on in!!

(Yeah- old picture!)

From the foyer, you enter the living area of our home- living room and dining room straight ahead with the kitchen off to the right.

This is my office =)

French doors off the living room go out to the balcony- just big enough for two chairs and a small table.

I can still enjoy my coffee on my patio- but now I have to get dressed first!

The dining room is between the living room and kitchen.

The kitchen is small but functional. Learning to cook with gas has been an adventure in itself!

Across from the refrigerator is a built-in desk- or Richard's office, as we call it!

Our "entertainment center"- tv, Wii, dvr, books, iPod.

We only brought a few of our family pictures and will probably add a few more. The doorway leads to...

...the guest bedroom...

... the guest bathroom- which is about twice as big as the master bathroom...

(I love that they put a towel rack in the shower- you don't get cold reaching for your towel!)

... and the laundry room (closet?) is in between the two. It has a full size washer and dryer which makes me a happy camper!

The door to the master bedroom is to the left of the French doors.  There is a walk-in closet between the bedroom and the master bathroom.

For some odd reason, the master bathroom has virtually no counter, a dinky medicine cabinet and is generally much smaller than the guest bathroom. It's one redeeming feature is a "garden tub"- great for soaking!!

Whether you call it the Perona Inn or the Vanilla Villa (my personal favorite!), it is still home to us. When you're out this way, stop for a visit- we'll keep the light on for you!