New Apartment Tour

As I mentioned in a prior post, I have had some major life changes lately. One of those changes included moving to a new apartment -- after spending a wonderfully relaxing three weeks with my sister-mom, Gail. (She decided that I am her daughter-sister since our aunt-niece relationship just wasn't describing the two of us aptly enough; therefore, she is my sister-mom.)

Interestingly, I don't have a good photo of the two of us from that time period. Perhaps it is because we spent most of it either at work or in sweatpants. So, here's a photo of us from a couple of months ago -- when we met for lunch at It's Greek To Me in LynLake.

Anyway, I wanted to mention that I am so indelibly grateful for her support (and that of my uncle and cousin) during this very difficult time. I truly believe I am the luckiest girl in the world to have so many wonderful people in my corner. I honestly do not think I could've done it without them.

Also, it is so nice having family in town. I hadn't even been out of the house for a week, and Gail and I already missed each other so much that we had to meet for lunch!

Back to the topic of this post, though: I moved into my own apartment last Sunday. I was a bit nervous to see the place because I was such a hot mess during this whole process: I literally signed the lease without even seeing the unit. And when I was actually able to see my unit, I was so distraught and distracted that the only thing I remembered was asking the leasing agent how to work the dishwasher.

Yep: that was clearly the most important question to ask about the place I'd be living for the next 12 months.

When I first unlocked the door to start bringing in all of my boxes (of books and treasures, duh), I was again a little apprehensive: the place looked tiny. I swear that it was bigger when I did my walk-through.

Turns out all the place needed was stuff to look bigger.

Friends, I am in love with my new apartment: it is so clean, so spacious, so calm.

So without any further ado, I present to you my new digs:

I'm standing in the far corner of the living room. Immediately to my right are two floor-to-ceiling closets as well as my front door. To my left is the couch, which you'll see in a minute. I would like to get a big basket to put underneath the TV stand -- it would be nice for blanket-storage and cord-coverage.

This is my brand-new couch and ottoman. I love it SO much. And I give it one more week before a cat pukes all over it. (But cats: puke away. I got the protection plan.) I'd like to someday get a big comfy reading chair for the corner that has my nephews and candle.

First and foremost, I'd like you to note the bottom left corner: I have a dishwasher, y'all! I haven't had a dishwasher since I lived in Omaha -- fourteen years ago! I love the stainless-steel appliances (including a gas stove) and granite countertops in my kitchen. Eventually, I would like to get real dining room tables rather than icky folding chairs. But hey, moving is a bit expensive. Also, the bicycle is not a permanent fixture there, although to be honest I don't really mind it. There is a bike garage on the property, but it's currently full, and they're working on putting together a second.

Another angle of the kitchen. What can I say? I love it!

Aside from the way-too-close-to-the-toilet towel rack, my bathroom is really nice. There's a lot of storage under the sink (hidden in this view), and my little patio table fits nicely.

So what that I'm 32-years-old and sleep with a bunny and blankies? Don't judge me! To the right of the bed and partially seen in this view are floor-to-ceiling mirrored closets. The storage in this apartment is incredible. There are also floor-to-ceiling mirrored closets in the hallway from the front door, past the kitchen, to the bathroom and bedroom -- you can kind of see them in the next shot. To the left of the bed there is a wall of windows, and the cats really love to play with the blinds in the middle of the night.

Here's looking from the far corner of the bedroom to the hallway.

And Chloe and Charlie wanted me to be sure to include their "house" in this post. They finally figured out how to use a litter box with a lid, and it's hanging out next to the bathroom.

And that's all, folks! I'm crossing my fingers I got off the waitlist for a garage this winter, but if not, oh well. I've been parking outside for the last 14 years, so I can probably manage to go another with snow-scraping.

I love my apartment -- so much.

I also could not have made it what it is without my mama. She came to Minnesota last Saturday, helped unload everything into my apartment, and then stayed until Tuesday morning to help me set it all up. I was at work all day on Monday, and she unpacked my entire kitchen and put together three IKEA purchases (the two book cases against the wall in the living room and the TV stand). Not only that, but she braved big-city driving, something she abhors, to help me in a time of crisis. I am so, so, so thankful for her.

Here we are Monday night. We had no makeup, no couch, and no idea where anything was, but by God, we found the tiaras and the selfie stick, so all was right with the world.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Mine has been so relaxing (despite getting not one but two workouts in). I'm off to enjoy a glass of wine and my book before crashing for the night.

G'night, friends!