Life in our new apartment.

I've been terrible about posting lately, but with the craziness of the move (we still have stuff to unpack and organize) and the reality of having to go back to work after 5 days off (rough times), I'm really loving the moments Nick and I get to relax and spend time together, so that's what we do.

I guess I never posted about the rest of the weekend after that hectic Friday. I was super stressed out but my little Starbucks break helped a bit. What also helped was that our good friend, Dan Shaw, was in town for a class, so he came over later that night and helped me get stuff unpacked and set up. He was seriously a life-saver. I know all of it didn't need to be unpacked, but I didn't want to wake up to a pile of boxes when I was supposed to be relaxing the next day, because I know I would have wanted to unpack more. Well, we got a lot of work done, and when we picked Nick up from work and brought him home, he couldn't believe it was the same apartment! The piles of boxes in all of the rooms had pretty much disappeared, and what was left was actual furniture set up and organized, the bed set up, the closet put together, and actually room to walk around. We were all hungry, so we decided that a dinner at Culver's was in order (love my scoopy kid's meal). We went back and the boys set up the internet while I, energized by delicious grilled cheese and scoop of custard, unpacked the bathroom box and spruced up the kitchen a bit. It was so nice to finally have stuff unpacked and to know what else we would need storage-wise.

That's what our trip to Sam's Club the next morning was for. We slept in (it was glorious) and then got ready and headed out to Sam's where we got a membership and shopped, shopped, shopped! We found our great pantry storage shelving, new pillows, a 50-piece tupperware (sp?) set for $20 (woot!), a huge thing of laundry detergent, and actual food, since we had none in our kitchen. We brought it home, put it away, and grabbed our stuff to head to Champaign to visit Michelle and Joe in their new apartment! First, we went shopping, though :) Nick ended up buying me some new PINK yoga pants (on sale for $25!) and an adorable pink V.S. swimsuit. I'm a lucky lady :) We hung out at their apartment for a bit, then us ladies got ready while the boys drank some beer and then we headed out on the town. We went to a great bar for some delicious food and then to a bar called Cowboy Monkey. A country cover band was playing and it had great outdoor seating as well as a great vibe inside. White Russians were had, and then we headed back to their place and drank some hard cider before heading to bed.

Nick wanted to learn how to brew beer, so on Sunday, the boys went and got brewing stuff and started that while Michelle and I went to Target. She needed a couple of things for her place, and I still needed stuff, too. Then we laid by the pool for a bit and finally left around 5. It was nice to see them and to actually get to relax after the stressful week and moving day! Nick and I got back into D-town and picked a few more things up for our apartment, then headed home and started setting a few more things up. Monday was when it really started to feel more like a home, since all of the boxes of books Nick and I had were unpacked and put in the 5-shelf bookcase I had bought! Nick also brewed his first batch of beer, and we made our favorite pasta salad that night while enjoying some martinis :)

Tuesday we both had to go back to work, which was rough, but it was worth it coming back to our cute little home. Our good friend, Andrew, was back in town after being home in Rochester, New York for a bit, so he came over and we had some fun and stayed up too late. Both Andrew and Dan came over Wednesday night to watch a movie on the projector that Nick has. We seriously have the perfect wall for it and probably don't even need to put up the screen. It was so fun to have people over in our place - it really already feels like home! We will definitely have a lot more movie nights over here, too.

Until next time, here are some pictures from last weekend and of our new home! I plan on posting more pictures when we get absolutely everything unpacked and I get a chance to decorate :)

The brewmaster.

Thank goodness it came with a walk-in closet... otherwise there would be no hope for all of our (mostly my) clothes!

A birthday martini a few days late, but still welcome.... and much needed.

Moving update!

Well, let's just say this has been a very interesting, busy, stressful, exciting, and exhausting day. And it's nowhere near over yet.

Nick and I woke up bright and early (6:45), got some McDonald's breakfast (breakfast of champions, clearly) and picked up our rented U-haul to start loading up! Bless Nick for deciding to just get a U-haul. We were going to borrow a friend's truck but it would have meant many more trips back and forth and the U-haul wasn't even that expensive! We got the truck around 7:3 - and had it loaded up and were driving to our apartment a little after 9 am! I had packed a bunch of stuff in my car, too, so we basically had everything but a few small things back at the house. We knew that stuff could fit in my car, so we took the U-haul right back. Unfortunately, Nick had to go to work at 1, so I had to go back to the house by myself and get things from the fridge and finish vaccuuming and also start unpacking by myself, but it's getting there. So far I have most of the clothes unpacked and my next task is to get the kitchen going. I'm currently at a Starbucks for the free wi-fi and also the coffee, because boy, do I need a pick-me-up! I am so so tired and I can only imagine how Nick is feeling right now. I plan on going to Target next door after my little coffee and pound cake break (happy birthday to me!) and pick up a few things, then get my butt back to work.

But, oh, it's nice to have a little break. Nick and I have been going non-stop since we got up! I am so excited to have our new apartment (it is seriously cute, people), but it's hard to enjoy it when I'm so tired from a whole day of packing and cleaning yesterday, and then tired from all of the moving today. I may or may not have had 2 mini melt-downs today. One when I was lifting incorrectly (woops!) and kinda tweaked this bad spot in my back that give me trouble, and another when Nick called me on his work break after I had been unpacking for what seemed like forever and then looked at all the boxes and it seemed like nothing had got done.... I know it's the fact that I'm tired and stressed out, and I know this stuff will get put away, but boy is it overwhelming! 

Nick is great, though, of course. He always makes me feel better, and he's made me feel like a princess even on a day like today. And even though today, my actual birthday, is less than ideal, I started my 5-day weekend with him taking me out to sushi and buying me a really pretty dress for when we actually do celebrate tomorrow :) So I keep thinking about tomorrow, because it will be so worth it and feel even more special when we get out of Decatur and go shopping in Champaign and visit Michelle and Joe. It is worth it, because I'm starting a new chapter with Nick in that this is our first actual place together that is our own, but the stress of moving is taking over a bit. I'll get over it. And it's my birthday, so I'll cry if I want to, right?

Until I get internet set up and pictures up of my apartment, here are some pictures of my birthday last year. In Italy. Yeah, it rocked. Seriously, best birthday yet.

Birthday breakfast: Nutella pastry and cappucino.

Me and my man and my Barbie birthday dress! They called me "Biondi Barbie"

The gang minus Nick: Matteo, me, Dallas, Pasquale, and Greg. These guys and the other Italians we hung out with are seriously some of the nicest and most wonderful people EVER.

Driving super fast to Urbino, a little tips, having a silly photoshoot. We also thought we were going to die.

Streets of Urbino.

The men: Matteo, Nick, Paco, Lucca, and Greg.

Love!

Saying his favorite phrase: "Sick!" with an arm pump hahaha. Love Matteo!

I know, it was last year, but whenever I think of that ridiculous, drunken night, I just cannot help but smile. That week in Italy was seriously one of the best of my life. So much fun! And it helps to think about that night of fun when I'm doing something not so fun like unpacking hahahahaha. I guess it's time for me to head to Target, deliver Nick some Starbucks at work, and get back to it!

Uhh.... it's been awhile.....

So, I definitely have not posted in over a week..... Woops!

Since my last post, I've been working non-stop and have had only one thing on my mind: MOVING, which, my friends, is finally happening TOMORROW.

Ok, I kind of lied, because I've had more than one thing on my mind..... tomorrow is not only our move-in date, but also my 23rd birthday! Woohoo! I may be spending all day tomorrow unpacking while Nick is at work, but we plan on celebrating pretty much this entire weekend because I have today and the next 4 days off and Nick has Saturday through Monday off! So so so so excited. We plan on spending Saturday in Champaign shopping, going to dinner, and spending time with Michelle and Joe (and probably crashing at their apartment for the night). I'm a little bummed we can't really celebrate my birthday much tomorrow, but Saturday marks a year since we got engaged, so we will be celebrating two-fold then. I'm just happy Nick and I actually have a weekend off together!

I'm sorry to those of you who actually read this and have no idea what's been going on in my life. I pretty much fell off the face of the earth, and honestly, not much has been going on lately except for work. And, as I said before, all I've been thinking about has been this weekend and it's finally here!

I am currently in the midst of a little break from cleaning and packing. Thank goodness I packed some stuff up a few weeks ago, otherwise I would be going crazy. It's a little overwhelming right now, what with the 5 more loads of laundry I have to do in addition to cleaning and packing everything up, but it's getting there. And I may have bought some Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat to help me in the process..... ;)

Thankfully, Nick gets off work in an hour and I can delegate a few tasks to him! Ok, time to get back to work for this girl. So far the kitchen is all packed up and cleaned except for mopping, the downstairs bathroom is clean, and a few loads of laundry are done. Somehow I keep getting distracted, but Beyonce blasting on the sound system will get my booty back in gear and be just the thing I need to finish up...

Until next time!