Well, here we are in Cedar Falls, IA. We are currently living in a 3 bedroom apartment with most of our stuff in storage. We moved here in two cars and everything we could cram into those cars--I was amazed at how much Scott got in there. The movers wouldn't take chemicals and such, so garage chemicals and some household ones we took with us as well, and that took up some precious space in the car, but is seemed such a waste to throw it out. We had originally planned to sublet a couple's apartment, but when we went to see it, she had changed her mind. She had let me know that morning, but it was after we left and I don't have a smart phone, so didn't get the message. Unfortunately, I hadn't arranged to look at any other apartments, so I had to rent one without seeing it. Other than needing a couple minor repairs, some surface mold on the cabinets, and being quite dirty, this place seems just fine :)
I told Scott a couple times that I just couldn't live here, so we didn't have internet right away b/c Scott wouldn't set it up unless I was ok staying here. After we scrubbed a bunch and had maintenance come out, it started to feel better. We also had no furniture except for Blake's bed, a queen air mattress for us, and a pack n play for Sadie. That didn't help matters, I'm sure. So, we hit up the garage sales for the weekend and ended up having a decently furnished apartment (plus, Scott's Dad brought up some twin beds and a dresser that we had purchased from my brother before he moved his family to Russia). Here are a few pictures of our new abode:
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| Living Room |
Funny story about the foot stool---I had purchased two green curtains at a garage sale, only to get home and find out they were two identical shower curtains (the person selling them to me obviously didn't know that--it was a 2 family sale). Well, since we got a free footstool with the futon and it was in rough shape, I sewed the green fabric shower curtain on it, haha! I felt so pinterest-y. :)
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| Oh, I forgot about Scott's ball--does that count as furniture?? He uses it as such...:) |
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| Dining room (adjacent to living room). |
Our apartment is a split level, so the main living space is downstairs (as you can see in the picture below, the windows are at ground level. We are to supply our own wall coverings, they currently have a handful of blinds already hung, only a handful of which are actually functional :) I don't think we are going to go through the work of hanging anything unless we plan to stay for a while. We are currently on a month to month lease, which is what made this place appealing :)
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| Kitchen, which is the worst part of the house. The cabinets are in rough shape--this is where we had some mold--in the bottom corner cabinets. It was a few college guys that lived here before us. Only about half of the cabinets actually click shut, you have to fight with half of the drawers, and never in my life have I had to change my water 3 times to wash down cabinets. I think I was scrubbing so hard I was removing finish...not sure :) The water was pretty dark though |
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| And bonus!! We have a washer and dryer in our apartment and I don't even care that it is in the kitchen :) |
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| Sadie showing off the stairs. |
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| This is Blake's room. |
We originally took the bigger room, but we got in our car in Madison and it felt like summer, 3 hours later, in Iowa, it felt like fall. A cold front had some in while we were driving and it was a shocker getting out of the car. Anyways, we were all cold that night, and I realized we had the warmest bedroom, so moved Blake here since he seemed to have the coldest room and needed the larger room for his trains :) The trains have been banned to his room b/c I couldn't handle the mess anymore. There are just too many pieces and they always take up a whole room.
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| Sadie's room. We have yet to put up the bunks (we bought a bunk bed and four twin mattresses from my brother). |
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| The closet seemed warmer than the outside walls, so that is where I put her bed. |
Oh, and our room is a mess, so no picture :) We have to twin mattresses plopped on the floor right next to each other and as of this weekend, have a desk for our computer. :)
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| We are right across the street from the Junior High School, so our front yard is a large parking lot, but just to the right is some green space and if you look closely, you can see a sign in the distance with is the entrance to the park. We are also walking distance to the bike trails and close to everything. |
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| Sadie sucking on a pacifier, which basically never happens and showing off her loot from the laundry basket of junk :) |
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| She was looking out the window, and I asked her to look at me so I could take a picture--she whips her head around and this is what she looked like. Sadddiiiiee!! What is in your mouth now?!? A few days ago, I pulled out a completely rusted out bolt of some sort...no idea where she got that! |
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| Blake and I were watching the school buses as they lined up to pick up kids. Another bonus for a 2 year old boy for living next to a school :) |
So, all in all, it is starting to feel like our little home and turned out to be a good option for us. I really like that we have three bedrooms, are close to a park and other things, and that we have an extremely flexible lease. It totally takes the pressure off! We are interested in two houses right now, but I think we've eliminated one due to size of the kitchen (and more specifically the cabinets). The cabinets are tiny and there are so few, plus it is priced so that is should have a decent kitchen without having to redo it.
