I've been a little quiet around these parts the last few days... life has been busy, but good. February turned into March, which brought us a snowstorm over the weekend (my goodness, I am SO over this winter). I just checked the 10 day forecast, and we are supposed to have a few 40 degree days coming up in the next few. There's also more snow and more cold but... I'm choosing to ignore that for now.
Ah, the joys of living in the Midwest. I always say I'm gonna move to Florida, or California, or somewhere with far warmer days and far less snow... yet I stick around. Truthfully, there are few places where I would pick up and move to. I just love Chicagoland too much to leave, I suppose.
II.
I went to the DMV on Monday to get my driver's license renewed. Generally, I tend to have good luck when dealing with bureaucratic institutions but, to be on the safe side, I left a few hours before work and headed up to an office closer to there than home. I was eligible to do it via the mail, but I needed to change my address anyway (as well as my weight!) so I figured I'd just go in person. I only ended up waiting about 5 minutes before they called my number, which was great!
The gentleman who helped me out was so nice and so sweet; he reminded me a lot of my grandfather and our interaction was one of the highlights of my day. We conversed very easily; when I took the vision test, he teased me a little and told me to get the hair out of my eyes, and when I told him about my job and all of the things I do there, he was pleased and proud. He went over all of my information and when I told him I needed to change my weight, and gave him my new one, he smiled really big and said, "Good for you!" The number on my old driver's license was 30 pounds more than my current weight, and the difference is staggering. Needless to say, I am proud of myself, and motivated to keep getting healthier.
Anyway, before he and I parted ways, he told me that he had four daughters and that he was talking to me like he talked to them--I must have reminded him of them. I thanked him sincerely and went over to the cashier, then to get my new picture taken. Honestly, it's not bad for a driver's license picture! When I got my license renewed after I got married and changed my last name, they made me take my glasses off and told me not to smile. This time I got to do both and it totally makes up for the fact that I woke up with a blemish on my cheek--of course! I was in and out in 20 minutes, not bad at all for close to lunch hour.
Since I had over three hours to kill before work, I went down and got Chipotle for lunch, then picked up a coffee and drove to read in the quiet of the library. I picked up House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski the other week at the library close to my apartment and even though I just started it, even though it's one of the most perplexing books I've ever picked up, I am falling in love. More to come on this soon, as I delve further into it. I read for a while and enjoyed my coffee, then headed over to the workplace to get ready for my shift. For a Monday (with a trip to the DMV!) it was quite a lovely day.
III.
T. and I are making progress on the apartment! We are still totally in love with it; every day, I wake up and it feels a little bit more like home. I am so happy to be here, with him, living this beautiful life. We went to IKEA the other day and picked up some decor, which will hopefully be going up within the next few days or so.
Here are a few photos we took the other night. A full apartment tour will be up soon!
(Corner table from my parents, with photos of my grandparents; kitchen table from family friends; art on the walls of our favorite places.)
(Go to your friendly neighborhood Trader Joe's and buy some flowers! $3.99 for this beauty!)
(Living room... look at that floor! The coffee table by the window came from my grandpa's house and was in his basement for as long as I can remember. Oh, and Breaking Bad on the TV.)
Later that day, we (well, T. mostly; I assisted and did some research) got our window garden going! As you can see in that last photo, our living room has a beautiful huge window, and we get a fair amount of sunlight during the day through there. The window ledge is wide enough for smaller pots and bottles, so we have a few things growing away! We also have some plants on the coffee table, things that are mostly too big for the window, including some bamboo, an avocado plant, and a huge spider plant. We are hoping that we can keep these plants thriving and happy.
Hopefully, once it gets warmer, we will be able to find some shade grown plants for our balcony. T. and I would both love to transform that into a little space to relax outdoors, to enjoy a few beers or some wine and enjoy the ambient elements of our surrounding space. I did some browsing and made a list of plants and flowers that do well with minimal sunlight, on a yellow piece of paper that is now hanging on our fridge. Thinking about gardening and greenery makes me excited and enthusiastic for Spring, and endless possibilities.
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