Snug Harbor

Move in with SO (and his roommate). I stay home on Halloween to wait for trick-or-treaters. Only two arrive. Great things about this house: rootop deck, great light, hot tub, fireplace, and the thing over the stove where you hang pots and pans.

First Apartment

After college, I moved straight to Newport, RI with one of my best girl friends from home. We paid a PREMIUM to live right downtown behind a popular bar with no AC and no dishwasher. Man, did we have fun though. The pre-furnished apartment was spacious but lacking in any personality, so Mom and I got some cheap sheets at Job Lot and cut them up to make curtains and a futon cover, and my roommate’s dad lent us a big screen tv and some dish towels. What else could you need?

Futon cover and pillow cases from a Job Lot sheet set. Plastic shade leaves some things to be desired!

Staff Housing

Taking a job with my boyfriend in a small New England summer community, I paid an absurdly cheap rent to live in staff housing with the rest of the sailing instructors. The houses we lived in those summers were surprisingly nice and I can’t image why someone would agree to rent their house out to a bunch of college students. One even had a bath tub with clawed feet! One of the summers, I pushed two single beds together and put a double sheet over both. Note: this is NOT as comfortable as a double bed. The crack in the middle makes the whole premise ridiculous – you have to choose one side or the other, defeating the purpose of a double bed.

College Dorm

I was very excited to see my first college roommate was as preppier than I was – complete with Lily Pullitzer bedspread and hot pink shag carpeting. I tried to up my “cool factor” by switching my my comforter to solid blue and my posters to musicians such as Jack Johnson and Miles Davis, but between class and sailing and visiting my boyfriend in Maine, I didn’t spend all that much time in my room. Over the winter, I grew amaryllis and paper whites on the windowsill.

Sophomore through Senior years I was allotted closet-sized singles in increasingly social dorms, and woke many-a-night to fire alarms breaking up the floor parties. It was around this time that I discovered my affinity for Christmas lights (and let’s be serious, they create ambiance year-round), and scented candles (which smell just as good on a beverage warmer as they do actually burning – what kind of goody too-shoes would I be if I broke the no-flame policy?)

I also started drinking a lot of (and spending all my money on) tea. Not much of a beer or coffee drinker, I would often rather invite friends over for tea and movies than go out. Thus, Lipton, Bigelow, The Republic of Tea, Rishi, Celestial Seasons, and Yogi became my closest companions. To add to my trusty water-boiler, my soft spot for creamy hot cocoa and mocha prompted the purchase of a milk frother. I was quickly running out of space for schoolbooks and art supplies because of all the beverage paraphernalia. Junior year I traded the supplied bed for a Target futon, which was great for having friends over, but left something to be desired in terms of comfort. Luckily, I was able to sell the whole thing shortly before graduation so I wouldn’t have to truck it all home to Mom and Dad’s basement.