while i was definitely ready for a vacation, i am verrrry happy to be home.
we had a great time in chicago. the josh ritter concert, of course, was magical. even better than the first, which is hard to believe. the only thing i didn't like... tim and i sat in the balcony, which meant we had a phenomenal view, but also meant that we had to sit for the whole show. at the end, josh got a standing ovation, of course, and came back out with joe pug to do two more songs. some old guy in the back yelled, "down in front" and tim and i were thinking, "seriously? you couldn't stand for two songs??" so next time we know to stick with the floor!
i believe we found a great place to live. tanglewood apartments in arlington heights. i'll have to do a starbucks search in the area to see where some possible options for my transfer are going to be. to us, they were safer than many we looked at, the inside was modern, i like the laundry room (it's in a huge public building made of glass as opposed to being in some dark hallway in a room with no window on the door so you have no idea who will be meeting you on the other side), a few pools (indoor & outdoor.. i gotta get a bathing suit!), a small fitness center. it wasn't perfect, but it was quaint. we also could live there for $800 a month including our utilities. we'd pay $22 for water, trash, and something else (can't remember right now...) and we're paying like $90 for that now. it was all around the best option. it also seems that we could move in whenever we need to, which we couldn't in many buildings because we would have to be in the pet buildings and those are oftentimes full. it's a large complex with several buildings. the only drawback is it's about 30 minutes away from campus, but tim is willing to deal with that for the first year to save money by living in this place. it is a little small as far as the living room goes, so we've decided not to get the LACK coffee table. if anything, we will just get another ottoman or go without to open up the area a little bit.
i DID get my lack end table, though. only cost us $8.99 and lacey offered to get it for us as a gift. once we move there, we will be purchasing a mattress, tv stand, duvet, and beautiful duvet cover. i don't think i realized how much tim and i just sort of did without until this weekend. we are so blessed, don't get me wrong. but to stay out of debt, we've slept on a mattress that's not great and just sits on the floor without a bed, hated a tv stand that didn't match our furniture, shared multiple single blankets instead of having a big new one to share. i'm not complaining. i'm proud of us. i feel like i have learned the art of delayed gratification. :) i'm not perfect, but getting better!
well i'm going to start getting ready to go visit my in laws! alicia is home and tim's papaw and aunt will be over for lunch! enjoy your sunday!
