We’ve finally moved to our new house on the hill. In keeping with my view theme, here’s what it looks like out our front living room. If you look really close you might be able to make out the downtown skyline:

and from our back deck:

See that gray roof to the left? That’s our neighbors’ garage. They say they want to build up on it, which means we would lose much of our view. But we do have a recourse: build a rooftop deck. It’ll cost quite a bit and be a big pain, but we think it’ll be worth it.
So, what comes with owning a home? Spending money. Here’s one of my new purchases for the house, a pair of Mexican handpainted bar stools for our kitchen counter.

I love how they look against the white of the counter. The little paintings are based on the Mexican game of Loteria, a card-matching game much like our game of Memory. There are also little cherubs and flowers painted all over, such a great example of Mexican handicraft.
So folks, here’s your chance to put in your two cents. We’re trying to decide on new wood flooring. It’s between Brazilian Oak (Amendoim) or Santos Mahogany. Keep in mind we’re trying to cover 950 square feet of space (dining room, living room and a very bright kitchen). Also, we have some big, dark red hand-molded tiles that make up a hallway and fireplace. Here’s a photo of the tiles (piano in the background was left to us by the previous owners – a great bonus!):