SHE'S MOVIN' ON UP

It takes a lotta guts to start your own interior design business when the whole nation is in its worst slump since the great depression, but that's what my daughter did, and it's finally starting to pay off. Needless to say, she kept her expenses to the bare minimum in the process, living in what the Brits would call a "bed-sit", meaning everything was in one room. When her landlord notified her of a rent hike, however, she decided it was time to find a place with a little more space -- one where she could have a proper office so that, when she hires a college intern to help out, the poor kid won't have to sit on the bed to work! She just moved in this past weekend, and we went to check it out yesterday.

Celebrating the move at a nearby Chuy's

Of course, she had to move out of her beloved central Austin to find one she could afford, but I think she's ok with that now, considering the tradeoffs -- such as...

a dining nook with room for her desk and some proper filing cabinets...

a kitchen with a real pantry (one with a nice window in it!)...

a spacious, separate bedroom...

a walk-in closet with room for a piece of furniture in it...

a balcony looking out on a lovely neighborhood with big, beautiful trees, instead of dumpsters...

and even a fireplace! Plus she's now much closer to her boyfriend and the majority of her clients, AND she no longer lives above a girl with a very abusive boyfriend -- a very big plus in my book. Best of all, she's getting all this for only about ten dollars more than what they were going to raise the rent to at her old, kinda crummy complex.

Of course, she does live up on the third floor, but that's ok. She had others to help her move this time, so Mom and Dad weren't the ones hauling that huge file cabinet with the cement-weighted bottom up all those stairs. Happy, happy, happy!