I'm back...again...

Just call me Slim Shady. Actually, don't. (But have you ever noticed how most of his songs are about how he's "back?" We were discussing with some friends how funny it would be if he got saved, changed his name to "Slim SaveMe" or something else horribly corny, and instead of all his songs being about how he's back, they'd be about Jesus coming back. I digress.)

Well, pretty much everyone who doesn't live under a rock knows that we live in Nashville now. There is a lot of exploring yet to do, but so far, we love it! Hellooooo, Anthropologie twenty minutes down the road! Why, greetings, American Apparel and Z Gallerie and West Elm and ahhhh, I need to get a job....

I wasn't sure what all the switch from nice, new house to apartment would involve. Honestly? I love it. Our apartment allows - nay, encourages! - us to paint, hang things on the walls, etc, which was my main concern - how much we were going to be able to make our new home look like our OWN space. We live on top of a tree-covered hill and it smells so...botanical...and fresh and lovely outside. I can sit in my own living room and hear birds chirping for the first time. My cats love to watch the chipmunks dart around outside our windows. Apartment life has been grand to us so far; we just have to look at the positives. Examples:

We don't have our own yard anymore. HOWEVER, A) we never really went out there anyway and B) Ryan doesn't have to mow in the heat and humidity!

We had to leave our own expensive, high-capacity washer and dryer behind. HOWEVER, our washer had been acting up for months - we had to press "stop" and "start" about ten times before it would go (computer problem), and it would have cost us hundreds to have it fixed. The other day, the dryer in our apartment wasn't working. I called maintenance. I went shopping. I came home and the dryer was in perfect working condition again. That was easy - and free!

We don't have lovely ceramic tile in our entryway and kitchen anymore. HOWEVER, that stuff was horribly difficult to clean and the linoleum in our apartment is an absolute breeze. The Swiffer WetJet with which I was so frequently frustrated before is now the perfect tool for getting the floors clean in no time.

The kitchen cabinets are old and very outdated. HOWEVER, this was the perfect invitation for me to go all out with my starry-eyed dreams of a lived-in, kitschy, vintage feel in my kitchen. Pictures to come soon.

Of course, there is still a LOT to do. Our living room currently consists of a loveseat, the TV on the coffee table, and boxes and piles of DVDs. It drives me a little crazy just to look at it. But we need to paint the walls, save up for new furniture (we gave ours away in OK), and head to IKEA - oh, that glorious day - and then things will have come together a lot more. Only then will I be willing to show you pictures of our apartment. Sorry, it may be awhile. Use your imaginations.

Well, I could have predicted that once we got internet, all of my time would be spent sitting at the computer. I'd best be off to run an errand and start painting. Thanks for reading and have a great day!!