Settling In

For the Labor Day weekend, J and I did our first officially "outdoorsy" thing. We camped! At Green Mountain Reservoir in White River National Forest. Friends invited us on their camping trip, and we tagged along. No reservation necessary, just show up, pick your spot, and set up shop. As you can imagine, camping is camping, and the most extraordinary parts were the clear night sky and the views...

View from our tent.

 

A police officer drove by and told us we weren't allowed to pitch our tent "on the beach." It was obvious he realized the ridiculousness of his request, and didn't make us move. The reservoir water level was pretty low, as you can see.

Glorious mud... The dogs had a blast.

Sunny had free reign and was pretty much in dog heaven.

It rained on us, and we quickly discovered that our tent was not water proof. We covered it with a tarp, crawled inside, and kept on drinking. ; ) It was an adventure. That night, J and I sat by the fire and stared at the stars until our necks hurt. That evening's sky's only rival is the view from Mom's backyard. It reminded me of home.

 

This week, we also did our SECOND and THIRD outdoorsy things. We got geared up for ski season, and we bought a pack of lift tickets. Copper Mountain - here we come!

We wrapped up the week yesterday with the Tour de Fat festival at City Park, in which a bunch of people get dressed up, have a beer or 2, get on their bicycles, and go on a parade through the neighborhood. The parade was followed by a festival, put on by New Belgium Brewery. The theme of the day was butt cheeks, and it felt like Halloween in September. We saw a dude dressed in nothing but body paint and a thong. We saw a lady dressed in nothing but nipple tassels and a kilt. Hello, Denver! I was wearing a Hokie shirt, and a lady from JMU approached me and introduced herself. She said, "Welcome to Colorado, this is what it's all about!" Works for us!!

How could I forget about dinner last night? Holy pizza. It tasted as good as it looks, and it will be our breakfast, lunch, and dinner for at least the next two days.

Day 60

That's right. J and I have been officially unemployed for 60 days.

How does it feel?, you may wonder. That would be so nice., you may think.

Contrary to what I thought at Day 1, the time has not been all relaxation. Most of the time when I otherwise should have been "relaxing," I usually felt a sense of anxiety. Not at first, but gradually as the days went on, there was a definite sense that I should be doing something.

Some people are great at keeping themselves busy... One lesson this 60 days has taught me is that I am not (great at keeping myself busy). By busy, I mean productive. Sure, I finished about 7, 8, 9 seasons of various TV shows (who's counting?). Sure, I got to know our neighborhood parks, grocery stores, and thrift shops. Sure, I made delicious meals from Gwyneth's new book. Other than those tiddlywinks, I was pretty much idle.

I did find a great lamp at a thrift store... $10! The column is Dresden crystal, from West Germany. I don't think it's anything super rare or expensive, but I thought the crystal was beautiful. I can't find much information about it. We have mostly "silver"/stainless steel hardware in our house, so I'm thinking of getting a new base and "lamp kit" to match. What do you guys think? Currently, the hardware is brass. I lifted this picture off Etsy, and mine didn't come with a lampshade. Also taking suggestions on that!

So anyway - back to what I was saying. The point I was trying to get at is that two months off may sounds verrry appealing, but all in all, unless you have some major vacation planned - two months off is a LOT of time to do nothing. And starting tomorrow - my nothing time is o-v-e-r. I start my job!

I am taking the bus in - yea public transportation! I will have a full day of introductions and training and security badge pictures. A wonderful end to my last two months of nothing.

I'll remind myself to read this post when I'm about six months into it, during month- or quarter- or whatever-end close - slaving away over a sub-ledger on a Saturday at 4:00pm.

Wish me luck!

Sunday Sunday

Sundays are quickly becoming my favorite day of the week. J and I get up whenever we like, get dressed in our Sunday finest (shorts and a T-shirt), and walk two blocks to the neighborhood farmer's market.

 

This morning, we picked up broccoli, two huge ears of corn, tomatoes, onions, an Italian thin skin pepper (say wha?), three sweet peppers (I don't remember what kind), and a jalepeno... all organic and locally grown, and all for $15. J still thinks it's a little steep, but it's all I can do not to grab every colorful thing in sight.

 

We got coffee before we walked around. Then we got more coffee before we left.

 

 

We were certainly feeling self-indulgent this morning, courtesy of mild hangovers from yesterday's happy hour at the Irish Snug. Before we left, we picked up a little brunch. A cinnamon pretzel for Justin, and a Waffencheese for me.

 

I hope I'm not rubbing it in your face... Can you see why Sundays are growing on us? The farmer's market is open until October 27, so if you want to get a visit in, book your flights between 10/15 and 10/27! We're taking any and all visitors!!

In OTHER news - for our visitors - you will have an amazing couch to lounge/snooze/live on throughout your stay. J and I pulled the trigger on this beauty:

 

Crate and Barrel's Lounge Sofa. We had some gift cards from the wedding and it was on sale - 15% off. Plus our 10% off completion card, for a total of 25% off the normal price. All in all, we couldn't say no, and we've officially made our first big furniture purchase EVER, for either of us. We can't wait to get it in our living room and LOUNGE for hours. In case you didn't look it up, it's 93" long by 46" wide. Insane. We're going to be those people who have to look for a place based on whether their sofa will fit in the elevator/through the doorway/in the living room. Oh well, it will be worth it.

 

Up next on the Sunday menu is Stage 7 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. The route runs right by our apartment, and we're looking forward to catching some of the action.

 

I start my job on Wednesday, so I'll be enjoying my last days as an unemployed bum this week... but I am so glad that's over with! More on that at a later date. Sayonara!

 

Home is where the IKEA is

From 9:14am - 1:52pm yesterday, J and I trolled IKEA ISO the perfect furniture for our new apartment. After much debate, we settled on a bed, desk, console table, and various other small apartment accoutrements.

From 4:02pm - 12:53am, J and I put together our IKEA purchases. Holy hand blister. I think their screws are made of titanium. We ruined 2.5 Phillips-head screwdrivers, and still ended up not being able to screw everything in. While we were in IKEA, J suggested purchasing a drill, to which I replied, "Psh. You can put together any of this stuff by hand." While that may be true (barely), my thumbs and forefingers are numb this morning, and we both literally have blisters in the middle of our hand from so much screwing. And not the good kind.

The glory is, now we have a fabulous new bed, stainless steel desk, and a rather industrial "console table" that looks like it belongs in a garage with windshield wiper fluid and dog food stored on its shelves. Guess who said this: "Hey, it saved us 60 bucks." It will do...

Our IKEA goodies...

 

Our bed slats, which serve in place of the boxspring. Of course we saved the most difficult piece for last, and literally could not go to sleep until these were done.

 

Our put together goodies: Drawers, storage boxes, our lovely console table, our desk, and our bed... isn't she a beaut?

 
 

 Then I made some drunk dinner... it was delicious and easy. A "frittata" of sorts, with potatoes, spinach, onions, eggs... all topped with parmesan cheese. I was most impressed that the eggs didn't stick to our new stainless steel pan! Woohoo!!!

Annnnd, last but not least. One of the things I love about Denver so far is our proximity to fresh, local, organic produce. Every Sunday, there is a farmers' market two blocks from our apartment, and I get to load up. This is also from our local Sprouts, a "healthy, natural, and organic grocery store."

Now the challenge is to figure out the best way to use all of this!



Staying Busy and Going Stir Crazy

Well... we've made it over two weeks in Denver and all is well. We're settling into our new place. We're in the process of buying our very first piece of furniture as ADULTS! A new couch. I am so excited. We have gift cards to Crate and Barrel from the wedding and have a few favorites. The big discussion right now is whether to go with a sleeper sofa or a regular couch and an air mattress. Prices are about the same... Thoughts?!

Our "quaint" kitchen. It's been plenty of room for us, and it's MUCH easier to keep clean than Ledgewood was. In fact, the whole place is easier to keep clean, which is nice.

 

Annnd the view from our balcony. Not much to look at, I know. Those condos in the picture are much nicer than ours, and sell for arrrrround half a mil. We pat ourselves on the back for our fabulous choice in location!

So that's our place. I know three pictures don't give enough information, but you'll just have to come visit and see for yourself.

J and I made a deal that we'd try one new thing/place/bar per week, minimum. Last week, we hit up happy hour at The Goosetown Tavern. It was pretty cool, a little "rustic." (How does one describe a bar that's clearly been around a while and clearly seen its share of good times?) It was somewhat dead, but I think it was 4:00 on a Tuesday, so no shocker there. Such is life of the unemployed. Next on my Goosetown list is trivia on a Sunday. Who's comin' with me?!

We had a few beers there and moved on - which, by the way, Denver is a beer town... at every place we've been so far, there is always a beer we haven't tried on tap and chances are the beer is from a local brewery. Also, it only takes a couple beers to get a pretty good buzz going because of 1) the quality and 2) the altitude. So far, so good.

After Goosetown, we headed to happy hour at R Bar (I can't find a website, weird). We had more beer, and some beef tenderloin bruschetta. Justin was a happy man.

Saturday night, Sarah (a friend from the Carolinas) invited me to a girls night. Six of us met for cocktails, and then walked to West End Tavern. Along with some brews, I got a crab cake and french fries with basil ranch - delicious! After that, we went back to the house and I proceeded to down a sixer, attempt to learn the electric slide for the 1,000th time, and stay up til 3am. Sunday was no fun... and I still don't know how to do the electric slide.

Since this post is already too long, I'll post about this week soon. In the meantime, I am going to go drown myself in New Girl Season 2 on Hulu. Thanks, Taylors!

WE MADE IT

Can you believe it? We are officially in Denver. We made it. I am still trying to get my head around it myself.

Let me tell ya, moving halfway across America is no Sunday brunch. We quit our jobs, got rid of 2/3 of our belongings, vagabond'd it from household to household for a month (9 times, to be exact), and drove across seven states to make it here.

The Saturday prior to our departure, we loaded the remaining 1/3 of our worldly possessions in a 5'x8' U-Haul trailer. I told J that if it didn't fit into the trailer, then I didn't want it. After 4 hours, we literally could not fit another thing in there. Dad would be proud. Crammed with our life from front to back, floor to ceiling, the U-Haul was our idea of perfect packing (creating the puzzle is one of my favorite parts). We high-fived and got the hell out of that hot, God-forsaken storage facility.

After about a million goodbyes during July, we said our last at the P's house on Sunday morning. I hugged baby S the tightest. That little guy is almost enough to make me want one of my own. Almost, I said. 

When we arrived in Nashville on Sunday, I told J that the perfect destination would have outdoor seating and allow dogs, would be playing the US Men's Soccer game, and would be within walking distance to our hotel. Wouldn't you know we found a place that met all three marks, AND the bar just so happened to be one of the only dedicated soccer bars in Nashville!! Like I told J, I totally planned that. And they won. All a part of the plan.

He drove the rest of the way through KY, IL, MO, KS, CO, with a night in Blue Springs, MO to break up the drive. Look that shiz up. J is a champ. Betty II did amazing as well, and we arrived with plenty of time to sign our life away to the apartment complex. 720 sq ft of freshly painted, newly carpeted genericism. I'm not complaining, but if you know J and myself, you know we're anything but generic.

The apartment's appeal comes mainly from the fact that it's one block from the largest park in Denver. It's also one block (in two directions) from public transportation, within biking distance to downtown, and is close to a grocery store. We're pretty happy with it, and I cannot imagine moving again in 9 months, which is what we're currently scheduled to do. I think that the Sun is finally feeling a little less confused and anxious, and today we celebrated her 4th birthday.

I'll post pictures soon.

Denver on my Mind

So July has pretty much FLOWN BY... and here we are - 4 more days left in the Carolinas.

Last week, we flew to Denver for a few days so I could interview and we could find somewhere to lay our heads at night. The interviews went well (I think), and we found an apartment.

Speaking of interviews, all three were in "new" fields of work that have some, if only a little, relation to my former job at Piedmont. Two of the three hiring managers expressed concern about me not having experience in their respective fields, and I get it. I will have to learn the business/industry. What I don't get is at what point did this become an issue? How many people are out there floating around with the EXACT skillset and industry experience that an employer wants? Why is teaching someone a new industry or business such a trying process? I would think you would want to "keep things fresh" and bring in new perspective. That's just me, I guess.

Anyway... I really want one of the jobs, and they were the most concerned with my lack of industry experience. Cross your fingers/say a prayer! Do what you do!

As for the apartment hunt - we got a great place. At first, we were attempting to recreate Ledgewood (our quaint little duplex, 1.5 miles from uptown Charlotte, huge yard, cheap rent). Yea, right. We called a place that had similar qualities to Ledgewood, and it was $800 MORE than our rent in Charlotte. At that point, we realized our dreams were pretty much crushed, and we moved on to the more generic apartment complexes.

We are going to be living very close to City Park, Denver's largest park. Apparently, sought-after amenities in Denver include an enclosed parking space (due to the winter weather) and a washer/dryer in-unit. Oh, the things we took for granted in the Carolinas. Our place has both, along with the usual... The GREAT news is that there is room for guests! Book your flights!

 

Week 1ish

Last Saturday marked DAY ONE of our month-long vacation before we make our move to CO. When is the last time you took a month-long vacation? It's kind of a trip. Literally and figuratively. Zinger!!

I thought that I would feel anxious and irresponsible all month. All I feel is calm relief and a strong sense that we're doing the right thing.

After the final mop stroke at Ledgewood last Friday evening, J and I made our way down to my mom's house in the country. There was no celebration; we were all too worn out from moving. (Mom was a huge help, and did all of the heavy lifting. Literally. It was kind of humorous to me that my husband and my mom just assumed they would be lifting the heavy stuff and that I should stick to the easy stuff. She is an Amazon woman, and I love her for it.)

Sunday Mom, J, Sunny, and I started the day with coffee on the front porch. Then we walked over the neighbor's house and picked fresh green beans for dinner. Afterwards, we took a trip down to the creek. We batted away horse flies with broken branches, avoided cobwebs, and waded calf-deep in the cool creek. All before 1:00. Life is good!

Justin and I have made our way down to his mom's house at the beach. Yesterday (July 4), we celebrated America with a bunch of sun-burned rednecks on the beach. Happy 237th Birthday, America!

Otherwise, we've been hanging out with the family, boozing, and tanning. Can't beat the "Salt Life" here at North Myrtle. Although Sunny may disagree as she is confined to the porch, and the heat/humidity is ungodly. Today and tomorrow - more of the same!

Colorado or Bust

My Aunt Deb is an artist. For as long as my childhood memory extends, Aunt Deb created her own Christmas cards for her and my Uncle Steve, which I loved receiving each year. The cards normally featured their pets in strange, humorous situations. One year for Christmas, our family received a card featuring a drawing of their dog and cat, hitched to a sleigh with a sign attached reading “Colorado or bust!” My Aunt and Uncle were following their hearts to Colorado that year, apparently being towed in a sleigh by their pets. That card has always stuck with me…

NEWS FLASH - Justin and I are taking a page out of their book and doing the same. Yesterday marked the last day at our jobs, and we are leaving for Colorado late July. Surprise! Colorado or bust!!!

So to answer the basic questions we’ve been getting:

• We're planning to live downtown in the Mile High City... Denver!

• No, we don’t have an apartment lined up. (Working on that.)
• No, we don’t have jobs lined up. (Working on that.)
• Yes, we have personal reasons for going out there. (Adventure counts, right?)
• Yes, we want an adventure before we settle down to a mortgage and children and the whole ‘adult’ thing, which we’re so talented at delaying. Gotta be good at something, right?
• Yes, Sunny is coming with us. Poor thing has been so anxious all of June as she watches us pack up the only home she’s ever known. Most mornings when I walk out to my car, she runs ahead of me and stands by the car door, as if to say, “You’re not leaving me!!”
• Annnd last but not least, why Denver? Because, OK?! Geez. :)

So anyway… Sayonara Charlotte, friends, family, and the only home we’ve ever known. May we meet again someday.