Queen of my castle

This weekend I moved into my own apartment!

It's not that I was unhappy in my old house. It had a lovely garden patio:

My housemates - the landlady, a young Mexican woman who works with an organization that supports indigenous radio programming, and a French journalist - were good people, and the rent ($100/month) was great.
There were downsides, though:
*shared bathroom that I had to walk outside (in the cold) to get to at night
*dark - 2 windows the size of index cards in my room
*cold, damp, moldy
*shared kitchen

I've never had my own apartment before, so I decided to explore. Some friends here would be appalled that I am now paying almost $200/month in rent, but compared with DC housing... it's amazing.

 

Some upsides to my new home:
*giant windows
*an indoor bathroom
*plenty of space in the refrigerator
*opportunities for decorating
*a FIREPLACE (we're planning a s'mores party soon)
*soon to have an extra little bed so I can have visitors... maybe YOU?!