Don't get me wrong, I am excited about our new apartment: we are going to finally be able to save the money we need to get the house we really want, rather than just getting one because we can. Also, it's just nice to really sift through all of your belongings and clean things out and become reorganized; and finally, I get sick of looking at the same thing all the time - so for me, this change is good. We have plans to really make this apartment feel more like a home (i.e. adding area rugs and curtains, etc now that we actually have windows!) I enjoy doing that sort of thing. We have loved where we currently live for all 1 year and 8 months but the time has come to save some serious money. Now or never.
However, they say history repeats itself and unfortunately for us it has manifested itself into the form of creaky floors and noisy neighbors. We had become spoiled living at 3000 S Randolph St, where we live in the concrete tower with a model apartment on one side. We've never heard a neighbor, and never even seen the neighbors that we do have on the other side. This place is rock solid. So, a couple weeks ago when we looked at what became our new apartment, the first thing we did was run and jump around to make sure we couldn't hear the floors creak or anything. We couldn't. It was also very quiet in the building and our hallway; it was perfect!
Then we moved in.
As we were unpacking some of our kitchen stuff we heard it. First it was just one small creeeeeak. Then we heard it again. It quickly progressed to loud slams and a strange rolling sound. We discovered this rolling sound was the sound of the drawers opening and slamming shut in the kitchen. Are you kidding me?! We can hear drawers opening and closing? Had we heard these sounds when we were looking at the apartment we wouldn't have taken it. Not in a million years. Not if it cost us $1 a month. (OK that might be an exaggeration...) In case you don't remember, when we lived in Baltimore we had an insomniac of an upstairs neighbor who walked and ran laps around her bedroom (directly above ours) all hours of the night. Literally - from about 12 am - 4am. It got so bad that I'd just wake up and cry because I was so damn sleep deprived! So, we would stay in hotels when we could just to get a good sleep; and eventually we switched apartments only to live under someone who slept even less. Who knew it was possible?? So, needless to say every time the floor creaked our hearts sank a little more.
I am trying to think positively: these neighbors can't possibly be insomniacs or suffer from Restless Leg Syndrome too, right?? No-they've got to sleep at night. But in the end, this apartment is really just means to an end. When our lease is up at the new place (March 2011), we can hopefully say adios to apartment living for good.
Anyway, some pictures: This is what you see right when you walk in. The living room and in the background is the dining room which we've decided to use as a little reading nook. We're going to put the chair that we currently have in the living room over there with one of the bookshelves and a lamp...make it nice and cozy :) We just don't use the dining room table enough for it to make sense to keep it. This new apartment is smaller so we need to take advantage of the space in the best way we can! OH - look on the mantle above the fireplace; Windsor at Arbors gave us graham crackers, marshmallows, and a Hershey bar so we can make s'mores!!
Hallway - this is to the right hand side, right when you enter the apartment (fire place in on that wall on the left). The guest room is straight ahead, washer/dryer in the door on the right, and a bathroom on the right, just past the washer/dryer. 
Our itty bitty kitchen. Good thing it's a walk thru or we'd be sooo claustrophobic! We can't fit all of our kitchen appliances so the ones that we don't use regularly are now stored in the walk in closet! (Dining room/reading nook is behind me; living room to the right) 
This picture just makes me happy :) 
So, this was long and whiny. Did I not warn you?? ;) Thanks for reading if you're still here!!
