10 Things I Like About the Suburbs So Far

It's been a week since I took my city self and put her into the 'burbs.  And, I must say (albeit begrudgingly), I'm really freaking liking it so far!

Here's a list of 10 things I've found to be really awesome so far:
1. Neighbors.  So far, the ones we've met are awesome.  They brought us wine, they invited us to a party, and they've offered to help with all sorts of things like babysitting and breaking down boxes.

This showed up during a downpour
with a party invitation

2. Joe's Market.  I can walk 3 blocks to this awesome little cash-only grocery store and (a real, actual, honest-to-Jeebus) butcher.  And it's awesome stuff.  And that awesome stuff is reasonably priced.
3. Trains.  I'm a 15 minute walk from two train stations (20 minutes walk to a third).  And they're on 2 different train lines, so I get a lot of bang for that buck.
4. Union Jack's.  Again, a 15 minute walk to a really awesome pub, with a great beer selection (on tap and in bottles) and some legendary wings (which we've yet to try). Oh, and they started taking credit cards the week before we moved in, so that's pretty good timing on our behalf.
5. It's quiet.  At first, both me and the Big Guy thought the quiet would freak us out, but the quiet is good.  And teenagers running each other over with their bikes in the street in front of my house is way better than the constant sirens, helicopters, crazy folk, and poor neglected barking pit bull from the old place.
6. Grocery stores. They're cleaner, quieter, cheaper, and now closer. Even the Peapod delivery guy gave us a gift (and asked if he could offer a lollipop to Little Man).
7. People are NICE! The township administrators are actually helpful, courteous, and answered even more than my actual questions.  I called asking about trash, and ended up being told about a township welcome packet, and got signed up to receive it!
8. I have a driveway.  Never thought this would matter to me, but it's really nice have a place to park my car without worrying about it.
9. The commute.  Since I can take the train (when Mark takes the kids to school or eventually when the daycare near our house has a spot for the little gal), my commute is 30 minutes.  And that includes the walking to the stations part, which I love!  I can't wait until I'm taking the train every day, and not fighting for parking, or dodging crack heads as I drive past Temple Hospital.
10. Books.  Not sure why exactly, but I've been reading a lot more in the past week.  I actually finished two since we've moved in.  Fios isn't hooked up yet, but I don't even want to watch movies or anything.  I just want to sit and enjoy the quiet (see #5), and read a book...

Our first dinner out as official residents of the suburbs.

Okay suburbs, you're winning the race here, and it's only been a week.  I think we're going to like it here.

#SuburbsBound: Packing and moving

This week makes our journey to the suburbs official--Wednesday I pay some (probably) burly men to move all our family's possessions from our Victorian twin in Philadelphia to a stately Colonial Revival in the suburbs.  And hopefully nothing gets broken...

Over the weekend, we finished packing everything up.  The kitchen, the basement, the bedrooms...

I thought I would be most struck with nostalgia while packing up the kids' rooms--the blankets, tiny clothes, toys, and gifts from loved ones all getting stuffed away.  But I actually felt empowered packing their things away, remembering that we're moving so that they will grow up in a better way than what we could offer them while still within the city's borders.  They'll grow up with clean streets, a playground without drunks hanging out on benches, and a night sky (mostly) devoid of police helicopters and the inbound air traffic for Philadelphia International.

So after my freak outs last week about being a sell-out and becoming a soccer mom, I had a therapy session by means of cathartic box packing, and I am--dare I type it!?--looking forward to moving to the suburbs.

Look out, Glenside, the Bickertons are officially #SuburbsBound!

I'm on Pinterest!

When we had Little Man, we knew we were on a 5-year countdown to the suburbs.  Once Little Lady arrived, a fire was lit, and we got really busy looking for a place.  After more than 6 months of serious searching, hard-core cleaning, and a few months of storage unit rentals, I am happy to announce that our Philadelphia house will be sold in late June and that our future home in the suburbs will likely be ours a week before that.

Now comes the fun part of figuring out how to decorate the new place!

I've finally joined the rest of the world (and even my mother!) on Pinterest to help me organize and keep track of the furnishings and ideas that I'm interested in pursuing.  It's organized by room, and I'm just starting to accumulate ideas so it's a little sparse at the moment.

Frankly, I can't believe I didn't do this before!  All of the awesome sewing inspirations I've come across totally should have gotten their own pins to a board of mine YEARS ago.  Then I'd be able to remember them!

Let me know if you have any great ways of using Pinterest.  I'm new to this, and I'd love to hear any ideas or tips!