Mi Casa

At the request of my little Brinanner, I am inviting you all into my new home to "ooh and ahh" over how adorable it is. 

Let me preface with a few details. My mom here is a lawyer. She owns the whole floor we live on, which contains her law office and waiting room, and a spare room in the law office that happens to be mine. Connected through a secret door... be patient, it's coming up... is the rest of the house. It's a very odd layout, but it's nice to have my own area.

If you're standing in the office waiting room there are two doors. Left one means you've got some trouble with the law. Right one means you want to sleep, change clothes, or skype with my people back home.

What you see when you choose door #2. A metal shelving unit turned hanging clothes rack, a desk that I  use to put things on (anyone who's lived with me knows I do all of my school work from the comfort of my bed) and my beautiful balcony overlooking the plaza below... a blessing and a curse.

The other desk where I keep my makeup, lotion, contacts, etc. and "hide" my suitcase for the duration. Obviously there's no hiding a hot pink suitcase. 

My bed, I just woke up and my family is out of town for the weekend. I HATE making my bed, so I'm not going to fancy it up for you guys! Also, note the Peanuts painting over my bed. That's custom art (and possibly a copyright infringement) that "Uncle Arturo" made for my sister Laura. And yes that's a trundle bed... perfect for sleepovers!

My room here is about the size of my room on Oakland Drive, maybe a little bigger, and a lot nicer (i.e. nothing living in the walls here, ironic as this building is MUCH older).

 This is the waiting room and the aforementioned secret door leading to the real house. The wall with the door is covered in fabric, to keep things classy. 

Through the secret door to the real house. The doors on the right lead to the tv room. Straight takes you to the rest of the house by way of the dining room.

The living/tv room: Where we eat dinners when mom says it's okay and watch hours and hours of Sex and the City and lots of MTV, all dubbed into Spanish with the lips still in English... verrry tricky for me. Side note: MTV's Punk'd is called Cazados ... Hunted. I guess Punk'd is lost in translation.

Our adorable dining room, with a mirror above the table and lamps I ALWAYS hit my head on standing up. The opening at the right of the photo leads to a hallway that the kitchen is off of, pocket door style like @ Aunt Suie's house.

NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT HAVING A SMALL KITCHEN BACK HOME. This baby is tiny. No more than 2 people can be in here at a time, and even then, someone's always in the way. All of the appliances are a little smaller than back home, and in Celsius, so cooking is a little tricky for me (how hot is too hot?!? I always guess.) For House Hunter International fans (i.e. Maw and Paw and Sister Sara), That little thing in the bottom of the middle picture is the washer. In the cupboard above it is it water heater, hence why hot water in the shower doesn't last too long (luckily that's not a huge problem for me). The bin in front of the washer is for recycling, which is 3 times bigger than the trash can. I get yelled at if I accidently put a yogurt container in the trash... oopps. Lastly, this is the breakfast nook where I eat my cornflakes with chocolate chunks every morning for breakfast, with lukewarm milk. I don't know if the box the milk comes in prevents it from being warm, but I'm looking forward to a chilly glass of Meijer milk when I get back! 

This sitting area is past the kitchen, and behind the partition is my sister Laura's room for when she's home from school. The furniture reminds me of nice patio furniture, but it's where everyone ends up chatting and showing off our purchases after a day of shopping. 

Last, but not least is the bathroom. This is the mater bathroom, as the other one is too small to get a decent picture of. Pretty big, even by my American standards. The only extra thing is the bidet. It's used for freshening up between shower days. Thank goodness or this place would be a whole lot smellier.