I'm pretty sure I'm going to win the lottery soon, because I keep having these fantasies about improvements I'd like to make to the NapCastle. Before you go all ballistic and "you just built that house TWO YEARS ago!" on me, remember the Anne Frank Room, and recall that it is semi-inhabitable, eagerly awaiting the large influx of cash that will transform it into the Coolest Little Apartment Ever. If there's any chance that you think a 200-square-foot space can't be an entire residence, you need to go two places: 1) http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ and 2) your local bookstore to purchase the book creater by the authors of the AT blog: Apartment Therapy's Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces.Realizing the dream of home ownership has not 
squelched my obsession with homes--it's amplified it. Now that I have a house, I want to learn all about houses. I want to look at pictures of houses and decor and color schemes and weird ways to create art out of recycled stuff (see photos of poems I painted and strapped to the side of the NapCastle) and hidden spaces and beds that pop out of walls (front porch Murphy bunk, anyone?). 
I recently listened to Bill Bryson read his latest book, At Home, in which he uses his own centuries-old English parsonageas a framework for exploring the history of human domesticity.
squelched my obsession with homes--it's amplified it. Now that I have a house, I want to learn all about houses. I want to look at pictures of houses and decor and color schemes and weird ways to create art out of recycled stuff (see photos of poems I painted and strapped to the side of the NapCastle) and hidden spaces and beds that pop out of walls (front porch Murphy bunk, anyone?). 
I recently listened to Bill Bryson read his latest book, At Home, in which he uses his own centuries-old English parsonageas a framework for exploring the history of human domesticity.Traveling room by room through his own home, Bryson retraces the Western evolution of home-making, including in his typical style fascinating minutiae about how people have lived and why. I don't generally read history, but I love Bill Bryson and will listen to him read almost anything. The details in this book about food, cooking, bathing, sleeping, and every other aspect of life at home were absorbing and entertaining. They also gave me an even greater appreciation for things I take for granted, like plumbing, flapper light switches, and a bed that's not made out of dung. Now I also know why salt and pepper are standard table condiments, and my decades-long post-Amelia-Bedelia curiosity about what a "drawing room" is has been satiated.
It's easy to take for granted the simple amenities that add comfort and convenience to our lives--running water, telephones, live-in servants--while we're running around like crazyheads acummulating Wiis and iPads and 400-thread count sheets. Invention and innovation are amazing, and I, for one, can say I'm thankful I don't have to share an outhouse with my roommates. But ultimately, the things that make a home don't have as much to do with the inanimate stuff as with the living creatures inside. At least, that's what I keep telling myself. But Jesus, do I have a lot of throw pillows.
Also on the home front (-10 points for bad pun), I also read 
Meghan Daum's book about seeking and purchasing her first house, Life Would Be Perfect if I Lived in that House. Daum's search for a home coincides with her realization that she might not marry and have a husband, children, and a "traditional" life--all things I can relate to, which may be why her quest and subsequent success made me a little sad as I read. Nevertheless, I could relate to and appreciate her obsession with space. Like me, she has longed dreamed of a home of her own, and how that house will contribute to her definition of herself. Her insight into how space shapes self is intelligent and entertaining.
Because I do connect my space so intimately with my sense of self, I am always making mental ammendments to the NapCastle. I move artwork and rearrange furniture to match my moods and whims. I dream of additions where I can house more roommates, and outdoor patios where the sun shines EVERY DAY. It's not about having more stuff, or better stuff, or a bigger house--for me, it's about making the house I have even homier. I have THAT house, and life isn't perfect. But it's pretty amazing.
Meghan Daum's book about seeking and purchasing her first house, Life Would Be Perfect if I Lived in that House. Daum's search for a home coincides with her realization that she might not marry and have a husband, children, and a "traditional" life--all things I can relate to, which may be why her quest and subsequent success made me a little sad as I read. Nevertheless, I could relate to and appreciate her obsession with space. Like me, she has longed dreamed of a home of her own, and how that house will contribute to her definition of herself. Her insight into how space shapes self is intelligent and entertaining.Because I do connect my space so intimately with my sense of self, I am always making mental ammendments to the NapCastle. I move artwork and rearrange furniture to match my moods and whims. I dream of additions where I can house more roommates, and outdoor patios where the sun shines EVERY DAY. It's not about having more stuff, or better stuff, or a bigger house--for me, it's about making the house I have even homier. I have THAT house, and life isn't perfect. But it's pretty amazing.
