On Second Thought...

It seems to me that Chicago has a gravitation pull on us.  Less than 24 hours before we were set to start loading up the moving truck the whole game change bringing us back to the point of decision making.  It was like we were playing a board game and Wednesday landed us on the spot that involved drawing a fork in the road card.  It was one of those moments were you can almost see yourself standing a one of those forks where going with Opportunity A brought a one set of events and Opportunity B led to a complete different set.  And wouldn't you know that all of this happened hours after I dropped our holiday/new address cards into the mail!

After a stressful 24 hours; we decided to stay in Chicago.  It feels right.  The job is right.  And from what I can see at this point; it will be a great path for both of us.  So it will be another three months or so before we move into our next Chicago apartment; I have my eye on a new neighborhood for that move and will be ready to find something where we can stretch out a bit.  Now, we need to get busy on that list of things we want to do in Chicago before the opportunity that actually pulls us away from Chicago comes along!

A Big Change

Seven years ago back in October, I moved to Chicago with what we could fit into the back of Dan's Integra and Shelby on my lap (there was no where else for her to sit!).  We had to make a trip that same night out to Ikea for a futon and after a very long trip there (we drove all the way south to get back on the highway instead of just cutting over on the north side and then missed getting onto 90 at the junction!) we drove back with it hanging out the back and Dan's shoe laces holding the hatchback down.  I had 2 plates in the cupboard, no television, and for the first time in my life no car.  It was an adventure.

Now we are moving from Chicago with a 26 foot truck that will be stuffed to its fullest capacity.  It will be sad to leave the city; I would be lying if I didn't admit that.  But I am so very excited for this move.  I am excited to learn a new city.  And I am excited that when we are ready to buy a place that for the same price we will be looking at a house instead of a studio.  I am ready to start a new chapter in our lives.

A few weeks ago I had an interview down there and so it was roadtrip time.  While I was being charming in a suit, Dan was off exploring some of the downtown sites with the dogs.  They decided that they could handle the move. So Indianapolis... here we come!

Moving Stories

Every move has its story. From the time that we moved me up to Chicago with what we could fit in the back of Dan's Integra {with Shelby on the floor at my feet}, to the time that Dan's dad and brother helped move us and Dan's motorcycle tipped over {spilling lots and lots of oil}, and of course the time that we moved to Colorado with a trailer that started fish-tailing if we went over 45 mph {that was painful} and where we had to ditch most of our belongings as the trailer was too small. Ah good times. This move was no different... it went relatively smoothly but there were those unique moments that give it its own story.

Sunday morning we woke up feeling pretty good. We were the most prepared with packing {it may have helped that we never fully unpacked} and had a nicely outlined plan for the day. Uhaul decided that we had go 25 miles for a truck but Dan negotiated a few extra free miles to cover the distance so we arrived at 9am- ready to go. But Uhaul had a different agenda and messed up our reservation. Outstanding. We were instantly on the phone with Budget and lucked out that they had a truck- a 24 foot truck to be exact. So we knew this time we would not have to leave anything behind that we didn't want to!

It was a brisk day with temps in the 20's but the movers were great and helped us get the truck loaded in record time. So we were back on track with our plan and headed towards the city. I was driving the Jeep with the motorcycle on the back and the beagle in the front seat. Dan was taking Eddie as his trucker buddy. Then we hit the snow. And then in the rear view mirror I saw the motorcycle do a little flip flop... eek! So we were slowed down and taken off path so that Dan could tighten back up the straps holding the motorcycle. Then I jetted through the city to our new apartment... Shelby, who had voiced her concern when we moved to the burbs, was so beyond excited to explore the new apartment... and she had time as we waited for Dan and Eddie to catch up...

Dan was trucking through Lincoln Park with Eddie demanding to be nuzzled up against him with Dan's arm around him. Then he abruptly remembered why he had planned to stay on the highway as he faced a bridge that was 3" to short for the truck to fit through... luckily there was an alley. But then Dan and Eddie ended up touring the north side of Chicago trying to find a path that didn't include a short little bridge. I received a call from Dan just as he was hitting the breaking point... but we were able to find a route to get the fantastically large truck to the apartment.

Then the next set of movers started unloading... and by the time the truck was empty we were wondering if our little, cozy apartment was going to cut it! The entire place and our back porch was filled with boxes. And the temps get dropping, the wind kept blowing, and the snow kept falling- it was a crappy weather day to move that is for sure! It was cold when we moved into our little Colorado Springs apartment years ago but this takes the cake for cold and snow moves on our list.

After 3 days of unpacking... we are almost settled! We still have boxes to sort out, clothes to hang, and an extra set of mattresses hanging out in our living room. But I think we fit. This place has such a mix of modern {granite countertops} and vintage {small bedrooms} that it is really pretty cute. It has just enough charm that we hope to stay for at least a full year this time! I really hope so as I am already completely smitten with the new neighborhood- but that is a post for another time...

Now for a little sneak peak of our new place...

We have no room for our guest bed in this place so it is currently hanging out in the living room until we can get it to storage...

We just set out the cook books this evening and it instantly made the place feel more homey...

We are short on cupboard space here so we are rocking the open shelving look...

We are already feeling at home in our new place.  And we can't wait for summer to get out and have fun in the neighborhood.

Back to the City!!!

After a long 10 months, we are finally getting back to the city.  We have lived in the Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, and West Loop, so now we are headed to Roscoe Village.  Roscoe Village is located south of Addison Street and north of Belmont Street, with the Chicago River to the west and Ravenswood Ave to the east.  It is very similar to Lincoln Park, just not as close to the Lake and not as expensive.  It has a very charming and relaxed feel along with top notch restaurants and shopping.  It has a variety of residents, from young professionals to middle aged parents.

We found a very nice 2 bed/1bth with a garage only one block from Hamlin Park.  We will be a block from a variety of restaurants and lots of shopping.  We can't wait to make it our home for years to come and neither can the puppies, cause they will have FRIENDS again!

New day, new apartment, new city...

This past Saturday was moving day and it wasn't our easiest move that is for sure. We started loading the truck at 7:30am and finally returned the truck at 4:50pm. But that wasn't the end of it... due to UHaul not having the size of truck we needed, we were lucky enough to get to make 2 trips back to the city to get the rest of our stuff. So we weren't done unloading at 7pm on Sunday. Yup, it was that much fun!

Eddie probably had the most fun...

Shelby was a little distraught. I had to literally drag her away from the condo door on our floor where her best friend {a friendly, fluffy white dog} lived. She was pretty subdued as we drove away from the city...

But it isn't all that bad... we love having an attached garage and to once again have a door that leads directly to the sidewalks {instead of dealing with elevators}... and fully stocked grocery stores that are calm is pretty novel. It will be an adventure.

The End.

It's the end of the world as we know it...

It is our last evening living in the city. We are both a little sad to leave the city behind as living downtown has been such a part of our lives. But we are excited for a lowered cost of living and maybe a slightly slower pace for the next 2 years.

Sabbatical To The Suburbs

We thought we would update you on that cliffhanger post from a few weeks ago. We have decided to take a prolonged hiatus from city life to work towards a few goals. While we will both be sad to leave city life, we see it as an adventure... one with cheap rent, lower taxes, and lower insurance cost. But at the end of our sabbatical in the burbs we will {hopefully} have the grad school phase finished and a little world travelling done. Then at that point who knows where these gypsies will end up {I am pushing for California or Seattle}.

We are pretty excited for our new home...

Eddie and Shelby took the news pretty hard...

The dogs aren't so sure about leaving city life. But we promised them that there will be frosty paw & italian ice out there and that squirrels live in the suburbs too.