King Arthur

Exciting news!  In 5 days, the husband and I will be moving into a brand new one bedroom apartment.

Only 5 days until life changes completely, and for the better.

5 days, and I still can't believe it!

Really, we've been talking about moving for a while now.  But we wanted to make sure that he was settled in his new job, and then we realized that would bring us to November/December, which is the busy season at work for me, so... we made the decision that we would start looking for an apartment in January, with the hopes of moving in within the next couple of months.  

Eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later, we plan on owning a home.  We want something that we may have to put a little work into, but something that is still perfectly livable, a house to love, to make our very own.  It makes me happy that we are so compatible on this issue; one day, that bungalow in the city will be ours!  For the immediate future, though, we decided that we wanted to rent for at least a year.  We've been living with his mom for the last few years and while it has been a truly wonderful experience--I love my in-laws and feel really lucky to have such a fantastic addition to my family--the time had come for us to be on our own again.

So, T. started looking for apartments on various websites.  I started glancing around.  A couple of weeks ago, he found a listing for a recently renovated one bedroom apartment in a suburb just south of O'Hare for a really good price.  We're talking, it's almost unreal how good the price seemed.  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but we decided to check it out--we figured that we had to start somewhere.

Last Saturday, we checked out the complex and peeked in the front windows of the unit, but were not able to go inside.  There was an open house the next day, though, on Sunday, so we decided we would come back and check it out then.  I met him there after work; from almost the moment we walked into the apartment, I was in love.  You guys, it's a really beautiful space and gets a ton of natural light into the living room, and it's got all new hardwood floors and a new bathroom and a balcony off the bedroom (which we are planning to use as a garden space).  Our new commutes will only be 5-10 minutes longer than our respective current drives, so it's not too bad.

Anyway, after we left the open house, applications in hand, we got lunch at the Sonic down the road (yay!  Sonic!  I'm coming for you, Happy Hour).  We of course had to discuss the apartment, and it was a conversation that ran the entire spectrum of emotions but one that led to an ultimately positive conclusion: we decided to apply.  Sure, it was the first one we looked at, but it was fantastic--not only was everything inside of the unit brand new, but everything the rent included made the place an absolute steal.  We both had, and still continue to have, a very good feeling about it, and knew we probably wouldn't be able to find a deal as good as that one was.

We applied, and a few days later, were approved!  Thursday morning, before we both went to work, we went and signed the lease.  Our move in date?  February 1st.  Over the weekend we started the process of packing and cleaning and preparing and we will continue to do so throughout the week as Saturday draws nearer.  We went on an IKEA trip to pick up a few things, as well as a shopping trip for cleaning supplies and pantry items.  We found out today that we'll be able to pick up the keys tomorrow, so that's also really neat!  Needless to say, things are moving along as they should, and hopefully moving in on Saturday will go smoothly as well.

Photos to come, after we get all moved in!