Apartment Details

A couple of weeks ago we moved from living on a large fishing vessel to an apartment in Seattle.  After a year and a half of living the "adventurous boat life" we decided it was time to move along!  I thought it would be fun to write about some positive aspects of living on the boat and how it has taught me.  I am ashamed to say during the time we lived on the boat I found a lot of reasons to complain and be unthankful (even though it was totally a mutual decision to live on it!) and looking back, I am realizing that I should mention the beautiful and good things about it.

It was a challenge but it was really fun.  One thing that comes to mind is that Tim and I did something unconventional, weird and a little surprising together.  It strengthened our marriage a lot.  The first year was really tough for me in Seattle but so far, our second year living on the boat was so much better for so many reasons, one reason being how much closer Tim and I have gotten.  I am so thankful to do life with him every day, boat or no boat!

Having said that, there have been some illuminating benefits about living on a boat that you might not know and now have come to an end!

1. No rent payment.  That is an obvious one that always came to mind, but because of this, we had the opportunity to travel.  We went to Costa Rica, Chicago, lots of trips to California + Paris.  What a gift it has been to be able to travel and enjoy the things God has given us.  I hope we can always travel, but it will definitely take a little more planning and saving from now on!
2. No Wifi.  This might make you wonder if I'm being sarcastic, but I was seriously thankful to not have Wifi on the boat.  We could still watch DVD movies and for the past couple of months we were able to get unlimited data and watch netflix from our phones, but otherwise, we were not able to watch very much TV at all.  We watched Parenthood during our no wifi stint and also lots of movies, but it inspired us go out a walk at night, go to the gym, play board + card games or just talk after dinner!  When we told people that, they were usually shocked and asked how we managed, but honestly, it was not negative at all!
3. We had to be minimalists. I feel like this is the word of the year, no?  Maybe I just keep repeating it over and over again to myself...  hmm.... anyways, this was really good for us and taught us what we truly need.  We found we don't need much.  We had to bring only our necessities on the boat.  We had no furniture.  Like none.  We had a built in table and bench in the galley (by the kitchen) and a bed and a built in bookshelf in our bedroom.  We had to put all of our furniture and most of our kitchen appliances and utensils in storage at Tim's parents house (thank you best in-laws ever!). We also only had 6 small plates, coffee cups, 6 glasses, a few pans and only one of each cooking utensil (as in only one spatula and on and on...yes I do have like 7 different spatulas, don't look at me like that!).  Sometimes I would reach for something I used to have in the kitchen and had to make due without it.  Every single time I had a complaining heart about something missing or how inconvenient boat living was, I just as quickly had the thought of all of the people in the world that live in worse conditions, live with way less or don't have anything at all.  Super humbling!
4. We lived on the beautiful water.  There is nothing like waking up on a saturday morning, walking out onto the deck of the boat and see the sun sparkling down onto the blue, mirror-like water.  Not to mention surrounded by green foliage, trees and mountains encircling Lake Washington across the way.  When it was cold near the water it was really cold, but when it was warm and sunny, there was almost nothing like that scenery.  I already miss climbing up the stairs and reading with that view out my window.

Cannot believe I wrote that much!  After reflecting, I want to show you little tiny details of our apartment so far.  My friend Jen came over last week and helped me with a few projects but also snuck in a few photos of our apartment.  Just giving you a little taste, but if you have some comments, I would love some feedback!

The accidental candle on the couch is really comical to me.  I hope you enjoyed a little snippet of our apartment and there will probably be more to come... we have a long way to go in the realm of decorating, tips and advice very welcome here!... see look at me? being the opposite of a minimalist.

Love, Kait

Photos by Jen Kessler