The First House

House hunting has been emotional, and overall less fun that I had anticipated. Turns out, like wedding planning, when you're playing with real money, it tends to be more stressful than just dreaming. Hopefully when we're all moved in to our new home, it will all have been worth it.

This won't be that home.

We put in our first offer on a home, and it was accepted...well, at least verbally. Before the seller had signed the papers though, another - better, offer came in, and we were out. The hardest part was that we had already started thinking of it as "our" house. I thought I would share the photos from the MLS listing, for those playing along at home.

The outside was still living in the 70s, but I could see the potential...
The backyard also had lots of potential, which I'm kind of learning is a code word for needs lots of work.
The garage was huge, which was more of a bonus than a prerequisite.
And there was a master bathroom. I can't tell you how badly I wanted a master bathroom (even a tiny one). We have one in our current apartment and I'm in LOVE with not sharing with guests.
The best part of the house however was the upstairs living area and kitchen...I loved the kitchen...
The other great thing about this house was that it had a lake view, which was something we didn't expect to find in our price range. So the location was fantastic!

At the end of the day, it wasn't meant to be...but sometimes I still think about the kitchen...

Apartment Number 2 - Party in Uptown

Our second apartment was in Uptown. We picked it for the location, and the architectural details.

(see the pretty arches? And the built ins peeking in from the side of the photo?)...(also, please excuse the mess, we were in the process of moving in...)
While we fell in love with the character, we missed some of the more practical elements. It was a small apartment. And not just a sort of small apartment...it was a VERY small apartment.

Here is a photo of the kitchen area. The tiniest little room, where the fridge couldn't open all the way, because it would hit the sink. You know, practical things like opening the fridge all the way ;)

Another funny thing about where we were at that point in our lives is we hadn't really started paying attention to decorating, or making our apartment feel homey. (Evidenced here by the fact that we had green, jersey sheets on our bed...green is not my favorite color).

Really in our first two apartments most of our purchases were based on cost. We needed sheets because we didn't have any, so we bought the least expensive. On certain things, like our mattress, we splurged, and went with quality, but on most of the more decor items, it was function and cost.

Now that we have the necessities we can focus more on decor...

First Apartment

The first apartment Brandon and I lived in together was while we were in college, and decor was nonexistent. I still think about it though, every once in a while. It is kind of crazy how far we have come...It was two levels - see there's a step down...so we counted that as the second level ;)
It was actually pretty large for a college apartment, and well maintained too.
AND it had a pool...which was super exciting when I moved in...and I used it once.
It was kind of a disaster most of the time, which I think most first apartments are...what is kind of sad is that we still have almost everything in that picture...except the t.v. We now have a MUCH larger t.v.

We quickly learned how much space we had really had when we moved closer to the city...

Glass Endeavors

I thought it was about time to post about the Glass Endeavors class I took back in September (especially now that I have a follower...HI CARLA!). When the class came up on Groupon, I thought it would be a fun thing to try, and the pendant would make a good Christmas present for my mom! (I'm all about mixing classes with presents...it helps me justify taking the class...and I feel like the present is more meaningful because I made it.)

Designing the pendant was super simple, and they had lots of colors to choose from. I kind of wish I would have used the opportunity to make several pendants so that I would have a few to choose from, but I think this one turned out well!

I am definitely thinking about going back for another class someday!

Happy Valentine's Day

Breakfast in bed for dinner...I have a GREAT husband!!

Chicago Vacation

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, but for us, we are returning from a weekend in Chicago!! This was my 1st anniversary present from Brandon. The main part of the present was going to see Les Miserables, which is one of my favorite musicals. I know all the words and have seen it a million times, but it never gets old! They made some interesting changes this time, and I had to say, I miss the rotating stage...especially during the battle scenes. But overall it was amazing. And it was my first time seeing it at a theater other than the Ordway in Minneapolis. So that was a new experience!

We staying in a nice hotel, only feet from the theater!! The rooms were a little small, but very cool looking:And the lobby was amazing, and they had free wine from 5 - 6 every day. So that was an exciting surprise!

We also went to the Art Institute of Chicago. I LOVE art museusms, and this one was no exception. When I was younger I had a game called Masterpiece, where the point was to deal art. My version apparently featured art from the Art Institute of Chicago, which I didn't know until we had walked through several rooms and I had exclaimed to Brandon "That one was in my game!! That one too!". It was great to actually get to see all this art that I had known from when I was younger...especially the ones that had been my favorites! We also saw "American Gothic" which was just kind of cool since it is such a famous American painting.

Overall, it was an amazing weekend full of art, theater, and shopping (my favorite things!!) and the perfect anniversary gift!

So today, instead of a Super Bowl party, we are winding down from the weekend and having Chinese food from a local restaurant. Not exactly elegant, but exactly what we need!!

What a week...

and it is only Tuesday!! It hasn't been bad, just jam packed!

I started a new job yesterday (still with the same company) but it is in a VERY different area, so I don't know anybody or really exactly what I'll be doing. I'm enjoying my days, which is good, but I'll be excited to have some real work to do!! And to get to know my team a little better. It's been a little lonely. I also think I was so lucky with the team I had, that it will be hard to compare.

This morning we were woken up by a chirping fire alarm. It seems that several of the fire alarms in our building decided to go off...without any real reason. Since originally we weren't sure if it was caused by a low battery, we got dressed and made a trip to our local, 24 hour grocer and picked up a few packs of 9-volt batteries (one pack was for our neighbor who we met for the first time this morning...4:15am is probably the best time to meet neighbors...I mean, I know it is when I look my best and am my most coherent...). Hopefully this was just a one night occurrence, because although I wasn't actually all that tired today, I don't think I can make a habit of it!

In other news, I finished Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson. I definitely liked this book better than the last book I had read by this author. The book was a recommendation from my brother, and it was quite good, and something I wouldn't have picked up on my own (since it doesn't involve vampires...). It did make me want to move into a cabin and be cut off from the world for a little while (even if that wasn't the point of the story). Now I'm on to a book my mom let me borrow. Even with the Kindle, reading gets a little pricey if you don't borrow books every once in a while :)

Well, two more days of work, and then we are out to Chicago!!