Skip to Content

What’s in a Home? A Look Back and Ahead

It all seems like so long ago. There was the house — the one that was too small even before the kids came along. And the property — the massive, needy property. There were the touches the previous owner had installed that I didn’t know what to do with — like the garden beds that I didn’t know how to properly plant and tend to and the trellises that I couldn’t seem to get anything to climb.

If I only knew then what I know now

To that house, the one I hated, I brought home a puppy and two babies. In that yard, we celebrated birthdays and holidays and random summer days. On those porches I photographed food and drinks and whatever else needed shooting for years. There are memories, so many memories.

Not all of them good of course.

Still, it was, no matter how much I despised it, home.

It was sweet relief when we left that house, moving a short distance away to a different house with so much more space. I savored decorating, taking care to create nice spaces in each of the rooms. And my office there gave me room to work and grow as a writer. There was space to breath, room for reading, for decorating, for living a better life. The kids and I had friends over, we cooked and hosted more holidays and we found a new flow. Chief among my favorites was the three season porch where, for most of the year, I curled up with a cup of coffee and the newspaper every morning.

I really loved that house.

Our First Maine Kitchen

When the kids and I moved to Maine a year later, I found a townhouse that suited our needs. The bright, sunny kitchen had plenty of space for cooking, eating, entertaining and, yes, photographing food. A little window to the living room allowed me to peek in at the kids while they played. It was just right … then.

But the kids grew. Oh my, did they. What happened to my itty bitty kids? And somehow, even though we downsized moving here, we’ve accumulated more things — and need more space for living. Funny how that happens.

You might have noticed that over the last year or so, I’ve acutely ached for a new home. Our lives have changed so much over the last three, four, five years. Living smaller was good when we were settling into Maine. And now, we’re ready for what’s next. It’s time to set down roots somewhere … bigger.

And now … we finally are!

In a few weeks, we’re moving to a new (to us) house here in Maine — and we couldn’t be more excited. It’s spacious and has a lot more room for living than our current home (yay! more than one bathroom! a first floor laundry room! and an office for me!). We’re all particularly excited to have a dishwasher again. Washing dishes by hand has been an interesting experience — but I am so ready for it to end.

As you can imagine, we have a little bit of packing to do … and some moving too. But once we get there, I can’t wait to share more about it with you all.

But seriously, I can’t wait to start cooking in my new kitchen. It’s what I do.

KalynsKitchen

Monday 4th of September 2017

Yaay, so happy for you. Nothing like having a house of our own!

Sarah Walker Caron

Monday 4th of September 2017

Not quite our own -- I decided to keep renting. Buying will come later. But this space is so much more ... me. I cannot wait.

Kate

Monday 4th of September 2017

Congratulations on your new space and good luck with the move!

Sarah Walker Caron

Monday 4th of September 2017

Thank you!