Yesterday I packed up everything at my aunt and uncle’s house (which was easy, because most of my stuff never got unpacked) and said goodbye to the room I’ve called home for the last 5 months:

And with help from my aunt and uncle, dumped all my stuff in my new place.

I got halfway unpacked yesterday and called it a night when a friend invited me over to his place for dinner and vino on the patio.  This was a welcome surprise, as I had zero food available at my place.  I suppose if need be, I had a Clif bar and some Hammer Gels from racing.

Today I woke up early and made a quick stop at Target for some basics I was missing (trash cans, a lamp, cleaning supplies, etc.) and then headed to Ikea for the first time ever.  There was a pretty decent line, which I found out was partly because of the fact that they were giving away free breakfast.  I was still without food at that point, so this was a wonderful surprise.

Ikea shopping is way fun.  It’s something to do for the experience, even if you don’t end up buying anything (but there’s so much cool stuff, it’s hard not to).  I kept myself to the kitchen island that I came for, plus a towel and knife block.  Not to say there weren’t some temptations.

Next up I decided I had better do something about my food situation.  I stopped at Winco where I stocked up on all the basics, and then headed on to Trader Joes where I got to shop for the really fun stuff.

I came out of TJs with some dark chocolate, cous cous, enchiladas, soups, and Descutes Brewery beer, among other things.  While I have to be a little price-conscious, it’s nice to have a much more lenient food budget than during college (though I got the obligatory Ramen today as well).

I got home and went about putting together my main Ikea purchase:

Then I finished off unpacking and organizing things, so now I’m pretty much completely moved in.

So I suppose I should back up a bit and give the whole walkthrough.  Here’s the house:

If you walk up towards the garage you see the side door that serves as my entrance.

From there it’s down a flight of stairs.

At the base of the stairs you’ll find the unfinished half of the basement to the left:

In there is where my bike/miscelaneous storage is at.

If you head right at the base of the stairs, you walk into my apartment.  It’s a nice cozy 1 bedroom.

The kitchen is part of the main room and is pretty much perfect size for one person (once I added the island for some extra countertop and storage).

To the right is the rest of the room, which currently contains my desk and lots of shelving.  The bathroom is through the door you can see on the left.  The one piece of furniture I still plan to add is a small two-person table in the foreground next to the shelves:

A view back the other direction from the desk area:

And the bathroom, now with a shower curtain:

The bedroom is fairly roomy and gets lots of natural light.

It’s got a nook for hanging cloths, and that combined with a dresser fits all my clothes nicely.

I also get to use the backyard area, including a couple hammocks.  If you’re wondering where I’m at this summer, I’d say there’s a decent chance you might find me in a hammock with a book.

So that’s the place.  It’s perfect for what I wanted, and the location can’t be beat as far as balancing work commute/proximity to downtown Portland/ability to bike out of the city quickly.