"Who's On First": Nashville Edition

First things first: we are moving into a townhouse/duplex. We'd been calling it a condo until someone corrected us. Condos are to apartments what townhouses are to... well, houses, I guess. Our new place is definitely more house-like, and only shares a building with one other unit. Apparently that's not a condo. Don't ask me, I grew up in the forest.

We're safely back in Wisconsin now, after a 17-hour drive home from Nashville. Is it supposed to take that long? No. Contributing factors? Big accident in Indiana. White Sox fans. Mostly White Sox fans. Still, we made it back, and all is well.

To further remind us that we had, indeed, made the right decision in where to rent, I have to recount one other apartment-agent interaction we had while in Nashville. Daryl still chuckles when I mention this one...

So we were looking at a few apartment complexes. We left early to visit each one, but this particular one was off of Old Hickory. If you know Nashville, you know that Old Hickory winds around the city in about five different directions. It's easy to get lost on Old Hickory, which we promptly did. So I called the apartment offices for directions.

Them: "Hello, _____ apartments."

Me: "Hi, my name is Courtney and I'm scheduled to look at apartments in about half an hour. Can you give me directions to the complex?"

Them: "Well, who did you book your appointment with?"

Me: (Fumbling through my notebook for a second). "Um... I don't really know."

Them: "I just need the name of the person."

Me: "Right, well, I don't know that. I didn't write it down. I've booked a lot of appointments during the last few days."

Them: "Do you know who the appointment is with?"

Me: "I'm sorry, I don't. I just need directions, though. I don't need to tell you who I booked an appointment with to get directions, do I? We won't be late, we just aren't sure how to find you guys."

Them: "Just go south on 65."

(I should mention now that 65 goes north all the way through Indiana and south far beyond Nashville).

Me: "South on... but I haven't told you where I am yet. Don't you need to know that?"

Them: "We're pretty much right off of 65."

Me: "But... that doesn't make any sense if you don't know where I am right now. I'm down by Brentwood." (Brentwood is about ten minutes south of Nashville)

Them: "Right. Go south."

Me: "But then I'm going to end up in Georgia!"

Them: "Just go south on 65."

Me: "Okay. Do you know what? I'd just like to cancel my appointment."

Them: "Who was it with?"

Siiiiigh...

Apartment Hunting: Round 3

I suppose it is misleading to label this series "Apartment Hunting" because, as we soon discovered, we do not want to live in an apartment. After visiting only one we became immediately irritated with the whole mass-marketed apartment world.

"Come! Rent our place!" they scream. "We have amenities like pool parties that you will never go to and free popcorn from six days ago!" And then, when you need something fixed, they hassle you. Also, they keep the garbage dumpster far, far away from where you live so that you get to take your trash for a car ride. Fun.

So after our very first apartment glance, we changed course. We wanted a house. A home. A place that felt like maybe we were grown-ups and not just displaced college students.

The problem there was that homes are pricey. Way over our budget, for the most part. Enter townhouse/condo/duplex. Ah, this was good. The personable nature of a house with a smaller price tag because of one shared wall. Perfect.

So we looked some more today.

First we saw a run down duplex that had five of these living next door:

But it's cool, right? Because the yard was separated from the duplex's yard by a shoddy fence. And pit bulls are friendly, right? I mean, they love people so much that sometimes they eat them.

Next we saw a cute-and-affordable-but-kind-of-far-away-and-in-a-sketch-neighborhood place. We fell in love with the landlord here (around our age, a former Christian college student, offered to put in lots of sweet amenities for not much money), but the distance and neighborhood were too much for us. Also, it was right across the road from a BP refinery. Lots of issues with that one. Like, I like to breathe air. And not have cancer.

Throughout the day we were waiting for K, our potential landlady, to call us. She was offering our dream townhouse to the first folks who viewed it. If they didn't want it, it as ours. So we waited, nervously, while looking at other potential options. I had a hard time sleeping last night because I was so anxious. What if someone else took it first? What if it fell through? What if she decided that she didn't want to rent to us for some bizarre reason? What if she suddenly changed her mind about allowing cats?

So we continued our just-in-case tour. We saw a cute house and called to see how much it was renting for. The number was over twice our budget. Eep. You could buy a house for that much in some places in Wisconsin.

We waited. We were nervous. We waited.

Then, she called.

"I haven't heard from the first folks," she said. "If you want it, it's yours."

We told her we were getting in the car with our checkbook.

And we signed a lease.

I was a silly disorganized person and forgot the camera when we toured it, so there are no photos (yet). Tomorrow we head back to Wisconsin.

So, beginning in August we are now living 1.5 miles from Vanderbilt, a couple of miles from the hospital where I'll be twice a week, and only 20 minutes from my place of work the rest of the week. We are one mile from Daryl's favorite coffee shop and my favorite resale shop. We are less than a mile from my two favorite gluten-free restaurants. We are just over a mile away from some friends (hi, M and P!) who moved downtown last week. We are in a safe neighborhood that's still close to the city. We have a yard. We are a hundred million times excited.

We have a fireplace. We have a washer and dryer. We have a garage. We have two stories. 

Also, we have a guest room. So come visit.

And we are very, very happy.

Apartment Hunting: Round 2

Today was a better day. No broken-down car, no side-of-the-interstate, and (perhaps most importantly), no venomous insects. Today went as follows:

1. Drove the drive from Place #1 (hardwood living room pictured below) to Daryl's school and my work to see how long it would take. Were hoping for 30 minutes or under. It clocked in at 40-45. Boo. Still, love the place and are thinking it might be home.

2. Visited a really, really awful place. Quoth the landlord's lackey: "Yeah, if you see any pests, that's probably, you know, your fault, and you should call the pest control guy and pay him yourselves." Ooookay...

3. Stumbled upon an amazing house within two miles of Daryl's school. Called the landlady, who came by a little bit later. Saw it. Loved it. Are waiting to hear back from the landlady tomorrow to see if the people who visited just before us want it. If not, this is home. Praying for this to be home. So close to everything! In a great neighborhood! No pet deposit! Love it, love it, love it... We'll know by 4pm tomorrow if it is ours.

4. Visited a condo previously rented by Vanderbilt basketball players. It. Was. Gross. Also, overpriced. When we got back in the car Daryl whispered, "Did you see the facial hair in the sinks? GROSS!" I won't even tell you about the carpets. Also, a keg in the backyard. Classy, kids.

5. Called up two more spots to see tomorrow in the early morning. Two more duplexes close to Vandy and within our budget. One looks kinda ugly, one looks kinda cute. We're giving both a chance.

We're feeling good. It's been a long few days (and we're a bit slap happy at this point), but we're feeling good. We've stayed with some dear, wonderful friends, and that has helped. Those friends are gf-folks, so they even made us a totally safe (and completely amazing) dinner. What a luxury to just sit and eat and not have to ask a million questions. So. Good. Plus, through the ups and downs of finding a new home, Daryl and I have been together through it all (even on the side of the interstate!), and that has helped. We stumbled upon a really amazing resale shop and I got brand new jeans for super cheap. In a couple of long, crazy days, a pair of new jeans certainly doesn't hurt.

So, for you praying folks, pray that the other couple who saw the house we love (did I mention that we love it?!?) turn it down and that it can be ours. Oh please...

Apartment Hunting: Round 1

Daryl and I are down in Nashville apartment hunting. It's been an eventful trip, to say the least.

First, it looked a lot like this:

Sorry to gross you out. It grossed ME out. No, we will not be renting an apartment from you when your MODEL UNIT has a GIANT POISONOUS SPIDER CRAWLING ACROSS THE KITCHEN FLOOR. Seriously, folks. Don't you spray that particular unit for pests like five times a day? Eesh. No THANK you.

Then, it looked a lot like this:

Yes, our car had a bit of a meltdown. On the Interstate. So we pulled over to figure out why it was shaking and smoking. And we stood and waited for Triple A for about an hour in the 99-degree heat. Yes, I am now sunburned.

Then we had the car fixed at a Goodyear with wonderfully nice southern dudes who fixed it in a couple of hours (turned out it needed new brakes and some part had come loose - hence the shaking and smoking). Our wonderful friend H brought us her car so we could continue the house hunt...

Luckily, from here the day began looking up.

It looked like this:

Hello cute wood floors and lots of sunlight! It also has a big yard and three (three!) bedrooms. And lots of storage. At this place we arrived before the landlord and the tenant (who is an incredible photographer) invited us in and gave us the scoop: It's a great place to live. This one is top of our list right now. It's a bit far away, so we're driving from it to my place of work this morning to see how long it takes. Pray for around half an hour or less...

Then it looked like this:

Why yes, that IS a piece of gf-tiramisu! We stopped by Fiddlecakes in Nashville and had a gf sandwich (a SANDWICH!) and tiramisu. Definitely made the broken down car seem less important. Sigh. So good. So, so good... I haven't had tiramisu in over a year.

After that, it looked like this:

Hello charming little kitchen! This place was adorable but very tiny... Like, almost studio-apartment-in-NYC tiny. But very adorable... So we're still thinking about it, to see if it's possible for us. It's also super close to school for Daryl. But did I mention that it's tiny?

On the list for today:

1. Our car not breaking down.
2. A townhome in West Nashville.
3. A 2-bedroom in Hillsboro.
4. Driving around Green Hills and Sylvan Park to see if there's anything cute up for rent.

I'll keep you posted...

Working Out

I have not exercised regularly in three years. Count 'em. Sad, I know.

But now that we're up in Wisconsin for the next couple of months, it has become a million times easier to work out. And I am. Regularly. And I am achy and sore and more relaxed than I've been in years.

Why the change? For one, I have time (time! glorious time!). For another, my workouts now look like this:

I am so happy.

*Photo courtesy of: http://www.3eagletrail.com/trailpics.html

Apartment Hunting

Daryl and I are in search of a new home. One that is not in New Jersey (woot!). One that is close both to his school and to the hospital where I'll be working.

I have an utter love/hate relationship with apartment/house hunting.

One the one hand, I love it. It's exciting to dream and explore, to decide what is most important to us for the next phase of life, to plan on making a home home. I get excited about how we'll arrange things, what spots the cats will find in which to snuggle up, what our view will look like.

One the other hand, it can be very discouraging. I found one apartment complex I loved (seemingly safe, affordable, close to what we need it to be close to, with nice floor plans) and then read some reviews.

"I loved living here, until the shooting."

Eep.

Others warn of brown recluse infestations. Um, excuse me? If I see one poisonous spider, we are moving OUT. Is that just an innocent northern thing to say? (Probably).

Another review of a hopeful place: "Live here if you love mold!"

Yuck.

As two-former (and one current) grad. students, we don't have an unlimited budget, which, of course, limits us from just plunking down our Black AmEx card at the Grand Hotel and asking for room service. We don't need anything fancy, just a place to call home. Preferably one where we can paint the walls and decorate it to look like home (and not like an institution, as our previous white-walled seminary apartment could look at times). I would also like to do laundry in my own apartment, not in a mold-infested basement as I have been doing for the past three years. When Daryl and I moved out in May most of the stuff in our basement storage unit was moldy and needed to be thrown in the trash. And I did my laundry down there for three years. SO gross. Though I may be willing to budge on having our own washer and dryer and just use a community laundry room if it is not infested with mold. Maybe.

One of the trickiest parts of this process is that we're up in Wisconsin right now, hanging with family, so we can't easily drive by and check places out. We're planning a foray down to Nash-Vegas in a couple of weeks to see places in person, though. That seems to be the only way to know for sure if a place is truly livable.

Top three things I want in an apartment or rental home?

1. Safety. I want to be able to walk from the car to the apartment at midnight without looking over my shoulder and/or running.
2. A guest room for friends.
3. No poisonous insects/spiders/pests. I don't mind the occasional bout of ants or ladybugs (I grew up in the woods!), but I draw the line at things that could actually make me, my dear husband, or one of my cats lose an appendage and/or die.

Daryl's top three:

1. Light. Lots and lots of light. (He's from California. He can't help himself.)
2. Something newer or cute and vintage.
3. Something affordable so that we can pay off loans/save some money.

Any other things we should put on at the top of our lists? Anyone have a beautiful, new, insect-free, place we should take a look at, or an apartment complex in Nashville that they've loved? Class? Class? Bueller?

Graduation

In all the hubbub of final exams, traveling, and packing to move, I almost forgot what a momentous occasion this May was. I graduated! I guess that is kind of a big deal.

Princeton Seminary's graduation takes place in the University Chapel, which is beautiful and historic and almost British in feel. Daryl, my parents, and my grandparents were there to cheer me on, which meant a great deal. On Friday we packed and packed, and on Saturday I had an awards' breakfast and then a long walk up do get my diploma.

The breakfast:

The chapel, before and after:

The family:

Some of my favorite professors in the entire world (sadly, I couldn't catch a few of them after graduation, and some of them are on sabbatical and hence, weren't there):

The friends:

Company of New Pastors folk (a program for PCUSA ministers or ministers-in-training):

The guy who got me through it all, and sacrificed his first PhD acceptance in order to follow me to seminary:

I did it! Woo hoo!