After a month and a few days...

T. and I have been living in our new apartment for a month and a few days (the "newness" still hasn't worn off, so calling it our new apartment still seems relevant) and we are so very happy.  Really, the only thing that could make life better is Winter packing its bags and getting the hell out of Chicago--seriously, seriously, so over it at this point--because this is something we've been dreaming of and working towards for years and now we are living it.

I still adore all of the natural light we get in here, and I know I'm going to love it even more as the days get longer and we get sunshine even later in the day.  T. and I have cooked a number of delicious meals together and really, we're just getting started!  Especially because I have yet to do any baking, since I've been a bit busy, and I have brownie mix, white cake mix, and yellow cake mix burning a hole in my cabinet!  (Also, I recently found a Chocolate Chip Scone Mix that I am dying to try, so hopefully that'll happen sooner rather than later!)  I'm getting pretty good at making coffee with the French Press and enjoy drinking it with vanilla creamer.  Our garden is growing quickly, all of the sudden--the avocado tree is sprouting, we have little teeny tiny basil leaves growing, and our little marigold is flourishing, too!

There are, of course, things that I have had to get used to about living here.  I mean, our exterior environment changed completely...  we live 15 minutes from the airport now, and while we do hear the planes more often, the definitely blend into the ambient noise.  We also live in a very popular area for trains, but again, I only really notice those when that solitary train whistle blows off in the distance, while I'm in between sleep cycles.  I've started going to the laundromat and I'm figuring out how to be incredibly efficient and quick about it all. Though my commute has changed, I enjoy the scenery and take the opportunity to enjoy some good tunes to and from work.  I will have to learn a bunch of new running routes, but I am looking forward to exploring... especially because we moved to an area where there are sidewalks everywhere!

The other night, T. and I were driving home from Deerfield, a belated birthday dinner with his mom at Carson's which was, in a word, phenomenal.  When we were going up over the big bridge on Mannheim, I looked off to the left and noticed something twinkling through the haze on the horizon: the Chicago skyline.  Perhaps I've noticed it before, I'm not sure, but there was something so magical about being able to see the heart and soul of one of my favorite places on Earth from the vantage point of my daily commute (I take Mannheim as part of my route home from work every day) and again, as I sat there, I just felt really lucky.  This is life, this is my life, and it's better than I ever thought possible.

It's 40 degrees out today, which means it's time to go on a run before work.  YES.  23 days to go until the Shamrock Shuffle!