So, wait.

What did you say? Two married couples living together?

I bet you're wondering if we're crazy.

It's okay. We can hear your "Oh, that's interesting" from here.

I mean, after all, people get married to get away from random roommates, right? A little privacy, no need to divvy up grocery bills, the list goes on.

So, why on earth would four married adults want to live together?

Let's play Fact vs. Fiction to get to the bottom of this.

  • #1 We're actually sharing spouses.  FICTION. That's gross. We like each other's spouses, but not like that. 
  • #2 We genuinely like each other. FACT. We have a ton of shared hobbies and interests, many of which we hope to document in ye 'ole blog. We also all went to the same university and have a ton of mutual friends. Stefan and Brandon were roommates in college. Here's proof they've always been great friends.  

















  • #3 We're dirt poor and we have to share a house to afford the rent. FACT & FICTION. We're not dirt poor. We each work (nearly) full-time jobs and are well-paid. But, we live in a big city with high rent. We were all tired of apartment dwelling and yearned for a whole house, a yard, and a garage. And while we're not ready to buy a house, renting a large house like this gives us the best of both worlds. We certainly couldn't afford a big house like this solo, so why not combine forces with your friends?
  • #4 We are hippies. THAT DEPENDS. If you're referring to spouse sharing, open relationships, or smoking weed, then FICTION. We don't do any of those things. But if you're referring to buying secondhand, urban chickens, and baking our own bread, we're totally guilty.
  • #5 We share absolutely everything. FICTION. While we certainly don't share everything, we do share a lot. Generally speaking, we are expense sharing, rather than income sharing. Which means our bank accounts are separate, but we share the cost of our expenses, including bills, cleaning supplies, groceries, and any common items in the house. Basically, if you want it all to your one-sies, you buy it yourself. 
  • #6 You're just a bunch of crazy, pioneering adventurers. FACT. You caught us. We love this wacky adventure we're on and are looking forward to what we'll learn while we continue to develop ourselves, our friendships, and our marriages. 


Gotta love iPhone pictures at night. 


Post a Comment

Projects galore!

The Yellow House Project? What exactly do we mean by "Project"?

Well, as Katie mentioned in the last post, we have all sorts of projects going. Some are current, some are next in line, and others are our "let's dream big, yea?" projects.

What's that?

You want a list?

Well, okay.

GARDENING

We are super excited to have this beauty for a backyard.


Please don't mind the lawn chairs under the tree. They were moved when the lawn was mowed yesterday, and well, we haven't moved them back yet.

While I have no idea about the actual size, it's big. Say, the same square footage as the house. The previous tenants divided it up a bit and sectioned off the back 1/4 for gardening. It's a weedy, bushy mess at the moment.

     Projects include:

  • Pruning the plum and apple trees this winter
  • Pruning and relocating the rose bushes this winter
  • Pruning the raspberry bushes back
  • Building a chicken coop for the garden area
  • Buying chickens and letting them go craaazy in the weedy, bushy garden area
  • Building raised garden beds for veggie garden
  • Build compost bin




Generally speaking, this is where Brandon and Stefan reign. They love working in the garden, getting their hands dirty, and turning that weedy, bushy mess into something lovely. 

COOKING

This is where Katie and I (usually, but not always) reign. In the twelve days since K & S moved in, we've cooked up homemade spaghetti and meatballs, sweet potato hash, chicken pesto pasta, chicken & gravy with herbed carrots, and five loaves of homemade bread. (Can I just say- I woke up this morning to the smell of fresh baked bread and it was heavenly.) 

When it comes to food, we love homemade, simple, nutritious, and if possible, organic. Brandon works for a local, organic grocery store and we love their staff discount, so that's where we do most of our shopping. Our biggest challenge is accommodating food allergies. I (Amanda) am allergic to both dairy and eggs, so we try to substitute when possible and put the offending foods "on the side" as much as possible. 

DECORATING

Oh, la, la. We love to decorate. Katie has a degree in Interior Design and Stefan & Amanda learn through osmosis (and Pinterest). Brandon is generally agreeable to whatever we have in mind, unless it involves Victorian floral patterns (too reminiscent of his childhood). He'll usually join in on conversations and will help with the execution of the plan. The last 12 days have been full of decorating, redecorating, organizing, and a growing list of DIY projects. 

We'll be snapping pictures of our progress thus far soon, so stay tuned.

DIY PROJECTS

A few of our short-term projects
  • Make and hang cafe curtains in kitchen
  • Finish bench for entryway
  • Paint Brandon and Amanda's bedroom

WHOLE LIFE

This is the category that isn't so easy to explain. It's a bit nebulous. We're living together, sure, but we're also actively participating in each other's lives. We're not just random housemates, we're close friends who want to honor and respect each other during this time. Everyone can think back to a time when you lived with a friend and realized you were "better friends than roommates" right? Well, we want to be great friends and great roommates. That means we're closely involved with each other's highs and lows; helping each other with dishes and big life decisions. And that's the part we're most excited about. 

Anyone else out there co-housing? Or do you think we're crazy?


Post a Comment

And so begins an adventure.

Just over one week ago we began a grand adventure, two married couples living in one old yellow house, making the most of life together. No, we're not swingers. No, we aren't hippies. We are just good friends trying a way of living that isn't common in our part of the world.

What do we call what we are doing? Perhaps "co-housing"? Not entirely. Perhaps we are housemates? Yes, but so much more than that. Good friends who share a home? Definitely.

The thing is we do so much more than share a house, we are actively participating in each others lives. We compliment each others' personalities and interests and function much like a nuclear family would (if all of its members were adults). We love to garden, decorate, DIY, and cook so chances are you will read more about those little projects as well but this is a "whole-life" project. The Yellow House Project.


Post a Comment