Greg's answer to yesterday's question made me think of skinny dipping, which made me think about Mansfield, the nickname for the home I lived in when I first arrived in LA. We named the two craftsman bungalows after the street they sat on. Some girls I'd gone to college with rented the first one, and five of us crammed into it. I lived in what should have been a 4 x 8 sunroom and another girl slept in a kitchen nook. At 22, it didn't matter.
When other friends of friends kept moving from the east coast, we expanded our Hollywood hangout to include the house next door, which had a pool. And every Saturday morning, the 10 of us could be seen from the apartment buildings' balconies above, lying out poolside, in bikinis, blasting Alanis Morrisette's "Jagged Little Pill."
We threw ridiculous parties. Cheered each other on for auditions. Listened to each other's worries. We ate family dinner together every Monday night. We took long drives, exploring LA, played Questions around the pool, and yes, we sometimes fought over guys.
And every once in a while, we went skinny dipping.
The flats of Hollywood can get stifling hot. You'd think that breezes have been banned there. We didn't have air conditioning. And on summer nights it was hard to breathe and impossible to sleep. So after the first splash, a chorus of cannonballs usually resounded.
Living there was the best time I've ever had.
What was your favorite living situation?
xoxo,
Suzanne
About Me
- Suzanne Casamento
- Author of Fingerprints, Choosing Tally, and All the Moments in Between. Tweet me @suzannecasamento
Ditto Mansfield was the bomb but I think I was too naive to appreciate it...
ReplyDeleteSo I'd have to follow it up with living with Gina in Providence,RI for $275 each. We had no heat but we had fun with it - great memories with Gina and my family, I fell in love for the first time living there and laughed harder than ever during a water gun fight between me, dad, rob against jim, ry, and shar over the patriots vs. the dolphins and we had a special Father's Day night where we cooked dinner for both of our father's and had both families over - it was fabulous. I LOVE my current roommate but boy do I miss the cheap rent!
Probably where I am now. I grew up in Southern California, did the beach thing, enjoyed all the wonderful weather, etc. Now I live in the mountains and have 4 real seasons. I look out my windows and see forest -- and sometimes bears too. :)
ReplyDeleteWow--no way could I ever go skinny dipping. Me, I was way to self concious back then. LOL, still am!
ReplyDeleteI'm in my favorite living situation now. At home sweet home with my dear family :). But living in a rented house with my high school friends, when we went to college was really awesome too. I remember us trying out recipes (some turned out well, others not that good ;p), having our girl talks until mid of the night (or even the next morning), strolling through town and much more... It was a bond getting stronger due to that particular time of sharing, lasting until now in our married life.
ReplyDeleteMansfield was definitely a blast and I would not be the person I am today without having had that wonderful experience with those amazing women (and the occasional boy).
ReplyDeleteMy most favorite, most special living experience was in my little house by the sea in Venice. I had such a wonderful time and made so many beautiful memories there. And now, living in my little house in the country with Lucy is a new favorite. I love walking into my daughter's very pink & green room and seeing her curled up in her crib surrounded by her favorite stuffed animals. And,sitting at our kitchen table while we have family meals together. I love looking out my kitchen window and seeing deer and the woodpecker on the big tree in my front yard. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in my very own fairytale. :)
Yes, Mansfield was a blast! We were naked quite often. hmmm...
ReplyDeleteOne of my other absolute favorite living situations was when Steve and I lived on a walk street in Hermosa. It had no dishwasher, no laundry, no a/c, it was above a garage and was literally only 500 square feet. But we strolled on the beach, drank lots of margaritas, ate lots of tacos, played lots of volleyball and I used to ride my bike along the strand to work. It was the stereotypical SoCal beach experience. Absolutely fantastic! I found out I was pregnant with Stella while we were living there and we seriously considered trying to make it work with a baby. Her crib would have been in the kichenette.
Mansfielders representing! I have to say it's a magical place. From Suzie's Sunday night dinners, to belting out the Stones with some delicious queens at her back table, to skinny dipping at the New Year's Eve party, it's a vortex of unexplainable energy. So many great memories and great people have lived in that house. My love to you all! LADY A
ReplyDeleteThis is going to sound really weird, but for awhile in college, I was living with my in-laws. My mother-in-law would cook these awesome dinners for us every night, and we'd all sit around eating them in front of the TV together, warm and cozy in their funky old house. Since I was going through a lot of stress back then, between school and work and a boyfriend who had mono but we didn't know it, I loved the stability my in-laws offered. And shoot! It's just nice having someone take care of you for a change.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! All of my favorite living situations happened in my early 20s, when we were young and free and being broke didn't matter. Three girls per room? No problem. Boxes for a closet? No problem. We had each other and not much else, but really that's all you need.
ReplyDeleteRight now. Alone. I love alone time.
ReplyDeleteA few months ago I stayed at you place for a few weeks on & off. It was heaven. Free rent. Great food. Plenty of wine. Amazing company. Fun Hikes up the Hill & thankfully back downhill (finally) - Thanks again for that Suz - I enjoyed every minute!
ReplyDeleteNow you made me think of something that happened to a friend of mine. Our company used to have a leadership conference for supervisors. It was a blast but that is a whole story in itself. When you go to this conference you are paired with a roommate who you don't know. I never had any problems with mine but a friend of mine had an interesting experiance with one of hers. (we both went several times) She was checking into her room when her new roommate walked out of her bathroom totally nude. She told my friend that she was a practicing nudist and would be going nude while she was in their room if that was ok with her. Not wanting to sound like a prude she said it was ok. Of course we teased her and pumped her for information. You know how men can be. LOL
ReplyDeleteAside from my obvious sappy answer (here with my family), I'd have to say in college when I lived with two guy friends. We were like Three's Company in reverse. We made up cool mixed drinks and served them in test tubes with dry ice in there to make them smoke.
ReplyDeleteOkay, that sounds less cool than it really was.
I'm going to cheat because my favorite living situation of all time was when my parents bought a huge two story on a river with a floating dock. I didn't even swim, but that dock sure brought the young bucks around!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I would go skinny dipping in our pool when we lived in Scottsdale. Until the neighbor's teenager started hanging out on the roof...
ReplyDeleteWith six female Naval officers in the house in Key West. Never laighed so hard in my life or for as long...'bout six months
ReplyDeleteMansfield for sure. Great people and times. I got to visit a lot when I lived off Melrose and actually walked to places.
ReplyDelete