(no subject)

I have a new coat. Charcoal grey wool, with black velvet on the cuffs and the lining of the hood, and big black velvet buttons. Beautifully cut: double-breasted and almost ankle-length, with a hood so deep that it will actually keep the wind out. Principal differences from my old coat: the lining isn't mostly ripped out, there isn't a big hole in the pocket, no buttons are missing, and it's long enough to keep my legs warm. I also have a very soft new moss-green chenille scarf.

Misha picked out the coat. I love having a husband with good fashion sense, who is willing to tell me what does and doesn't look good on me.

The American dream.

We agreed yesterday that we'd better plan on another year in our current apartment. We've been wanting to leave Columbia, wanting to live downtown, most of all wanting to be homeowners. But it's not going to happen just yet.

We won't have saved enough money for a down payment by the time our lease is up in June. Also, by this time next year our car will be paid off, and we'll have more substantial employment histories, and we'll be in a better position with regard to Misha's student loans. All of those things will make it easier to qualify for a decent mortgage. Waiting a year will make it easier to get what we want. And the good housing market in Baltimore is not going to go away.

It's just that I have such a clear picture of what I want. The American dream: a rehabbed hundred-year-old brick rowhouse in a mixed downtown neighborhood, with tall windows and hardwood floors and deep narrow rooms and a deck or courtyard instead of a lawn to mow. Close to restaurants and shops and Baltimore's anachronistic old markets and the harbor. Homeownership, in one of the last big American cities in which that's possible for people like me. A joint cooperative venture between me, Misha, and the bank.

I'll buy a china cabinet and bring home the delicate gold-rimmed china dishes I inherited from my Aunt Kings. They're packed away in my parents' attic, waiting for me to settle down. I'm ready.

It will happen.