By Kelly Pyzik

pyzikkel@grinnell.edu

Walking down Broad Street on the way downtown, one may encounter house #1132. This is the lovely, colorful abode of Mary Ulseth ’13, Megan Schlabaugh ’13, Hannah Safter ’14, Allison Moore ’13, and Julia Kreznar ’13, which they have named ´The G-Spot.`
When asked about the story behind the name, Schlabaugh explained, “We had a series of inappropriate names and that won out as least inappropriate.” In past years, the house has had names such as “The Vag” and “The Naked Lady.”
The group knew each other from the soccer team—Moore, Ulseth, and Safter all played—and Kreznar was Moore’s third-year SA. According to Moore, Schlabaugh “was a lone wolf. We took her in. Then we were a wolf pack.”
The girls decided last year to rent a house together because “We always complained about the dorms together, so it was like, ‘Let’s live off-campus together, it will be so much better than the dorms!’” Ulseth said.
The house is on the smaller side, but it is cozy, with each room painted a different bright color. There is a little porch in front with a table and four chairs, and a sun porch on one side of the house where overnight guests sometimes stay.
“We didn’t want a big house and we didn’t want to live on High street. We were looking at the old Cougar Den, but it’s divided on the top and bottom floor and we wanted a closer, cozier set-up. We love the colors of this house and it just has a really good, homey feel to it,” Ulseth said.
The housemates spend a lot of time together in their kitchen, sitting on the counters and chatting. They also eat meals as a house, often making pancakes together for Sunday breakfast.
“Megan’s parents always bring us food, so we try to have family house dinners together,” Ulseth said.
One of the upstairs bedrooms has been dedicated as a dress-up room that Ulseth and other house members have filled with old costumes, and the girls like to invite their friends over for pre-Harris dress-up parties. In the morning, residents of the G-Spot often find mysterious costume pieces left behind.
“We like having smaller parties, but we haven’t had any ragers yet,” Schlabaugh noted. The walls of the G-Spot are fragile and some of these small parties have caused a bit of damage. “The walls are basically made of cardboard and during a party, someone danced against the wall and made a butt hole,” Schlabaugh said.
“Not a butthole, a butt hole: a butt dent,” Moore was quick to clarify.
One of the most unique features of the house is Moore’s bedroom—The Cave—a small room with a low ceiling covered in mirrors. The Cave is attached to the side of another, unassigned bedroom that Moore also seems to have taken over as hers.
“The Cave is probably the highlight of the house, in a lot of ways,” Moore said, although her housemates disagreed.
Each house member has her own role in the house. According to the residents, Ulseth is the caretaker who bakes and sings everyone to sleep at night. Safter is the diva. Moore is the annoying little brother. Kreznar is the breadwinner, and Schlabaugh is the “ugly duckling.” What the housemates share in common is their love for wine and that they “all go to bed pretty early,” according to Ulseth. “We are all asleep by midnight, except Megan.”
“No, Mary, we’re cool!” Moore countered. “On the record, it gets pretty crazy here.”
The housemates hope that guests leave the G-Spot with the knowledge that “there’s always something going on in our house. I enjoy coming home every night and seeing everyone” Schlabaugh said.
“There’s always someone here to talk to before you go to bed,” Ulseth agreed.
Kreznar added, “It’s really just a cozy place to be.”