The stats:

From 1667 square feet TO 478 square feet From 3 bedrooms TO 1 bedroom. From a table that could seat 8 TO a table that seats 3. From a 2-story house TO a 3rd floor walk-up. From 5 closets TO 2 closets. From $230 a month utility bill to $21 a month. From a large, adorable, high mortgage house TO a little, adorable, cheap apartment.

We are blissfully happy in our new apartment. The smallness. The ease. The togetherness. We love it. We have gotten rid of so much WEIGHT this last year. Debt, belongings, household responsibilites. Every time I walk up 3 flights of stairs, I am reminded of our choices and how happy I am about it. Even with a 27 lb. toddler on my back. Now that's happy. Another great thing is that Matt is completely on the same page and loves it as much as I do.

Things I LOVE about living smaller: *Everything has a place. *It forces me to be creative with our use of space. *I donate things regularly to clear more space. *I don't have to wonder where Bella is. *I don't have to yell downstairs to Matt. *I only have things that I love around me. *I feel light and free. *I am not overwhelmed with housework. *I have a smaller ecological footprint.

Things I LOVE about our apartment: *The sound of the wind through the trees outside our windows. *The feel of community. I have great neighbors. *Old brick building = great sound barrier. *Brand new laundry machines in a bright basement. *Everything is bright. *We are so close to everything. *It's a beautiful historic neighborhood...great for going on walks. *It's so fast to the freeway. *It takes less time to get to my parent's house on the other side of town.

Ok, c'mon Sara...you can't love EVERYTHING! Fine...you're right, there are a few things that I wish were different. *I can't paint the walls. *Sometimes if people are smoking outside, you can smell it upstairs. *My shower needs more water pressure. *There isn't an easy recycling option.

That's it. I pretty much love it. I even love the on street parking. Don't mind it a bit. It's fun...and I never have to park more than a 1/2 block away.

I've created a little photo tour for you. There are lots of notes on the photos. you just have to "mouse over" the image to get them to appear. You can also leave comments (hint hint...I love comments). SO...come on up to the third floor and have a cup of tea with me!