House Hunters

Last week was a crazy week. I started out just worrying about homework. And I ended it with an apartment. That's right, Sammy and I have gotten our apartment!

On Wednesday, Sammy's brother and his dad came on a tour of my campus. I was so excited to see him there since I'll never get to go to college with my siblings, so it was fun being the awesome big sister who knows everything. I found them and said hey! And took a picture of course because I was so excited. 

That's when Sammy's dad told me about the apartment. Sammy and I have been so busy we've been sort of putting off looking. His parents on the other hand have been looking, just trying to help out. Sammy's mom found an income restricted apartment with two openings, and they were going to go fast. Sammy's dad asked if Sammy and I could come look that day, but we had no time, (oh classes!) So, I pushed off all thoughts of the apartment. Until that night. When Sammy texted to tell me that his dad had gone and looked at the place and it was awesome and yada yada. Except for one thing. He was told we couldn't be full time students and live there.

To be honest, I was not happy. I felt my toes being stepped on and I'm an independent lady. I wanted to find my apartment on my own with no one else's say in the matter. Also, I NEED to be a full time student for scholarships and such. So, I pushed the idea away. This was all so fast. But, Sammy said he'd go check out the place the next day.

Sammy went and was very excited. He told me he put down a fee to hold an apartment and would come talk to me in person. When he got to school he handed me all the pamphlets and an application. He told me about the place and I was really feeling it. But, we only had until Monday to decide otherwise he lost the money he'd put down. And, we'd reserved an apartment for June 14 when there was also one for May 14. I was NOT happy about that. I wanted my apartment ready to go the second I got home from the honeymoon. I wanted to set everything up and such. So, I called the apartment complex and asked if we could hold the May apartment. The woman on the phone was so nice to me and said of course. As soon as I saw how easy she was to work with and that we would have the possibility of a place to stay as soon as we were married, I felt instant relief and allowed myself to get excited. We were looking at apartments!

A few days earlier, I had emailed another apartment complex asking if they would have any openings soon. Friday morning I got an email back saying that there would be one opening June 7th, and that it was going to fill fast. Sammy was at work so I went over with my mom to check the place out. The woman there was so nice to us! We met the maintenance man as well. The place was pretty and we could afford it. Walking around, I could see myself living there. But, if we wanted to live there, we had to put money down and lock the room in Saturday (the next day?!?!) 

My mom and I went and looked at the other apartment that Sammy had seen and currently had on hold. The woman there was nice as well and the place seemed decent. It was a little dirtier than the first apartment that day, and there was a police car in the parking lot. 

When Sammy was off work, we met up to get down to business. We had to decide where we wanted to live, that night. I tend to just jump into things head first and go with my gut. Sammy on the other hand likes to take time to think things out and weigh all the options. There was no time for that. We left his house and went to SmashBurger to talk. On the ride there, we talked about the pros and cons of each place. 

We pulled out the calculator and did some math. To move into one apartment, it would cost $1700 for the first month. The other, $650. As soon as that factor was brought in, everything else started lining up. 

I felt like we were on House Hunters. The final decision always takes place in a restaurant or beautiful park where the couple discusses the pros and cons. That's exactly what we did. What I most appreciated though was the fact that the two of us sat down alone somewhere away from everyone else, and decided where WE wanted to live. We had to pick what was best for US.

So… We picked the first apartment. And honestly ever since those words came out of my mouth I know it's the right choice. We will be two blocks away from Sammy's work and the bus that takes me to my work and job. If something were to happen to our car, we could walk or bike if we needed to. The utilities are included in the rent so I don't have to worry about surprise fees out of nowhere. All of the fees to move in are GREATLY reduced to a point where the two of us can afford it right now with no help. That's something that was very important to me. There's also a huge pantry for food storage yay! There isn't anywhere to put a garden though which is sad. I'm going to have to figure that out...

One sad thing is that we won't even be in the same stake anymore! I've been in the same stake since I was three years old. Three! Now I'm moving to a completely new one. I was really looking forward to stake activities and seeing my family there and being like, hey! I'm a grown up! But we're in the same stake! Oh well, it will be a new adventure! (And I'm secretly hoping to hunt down potential dates for my siblings in the new stake. Is that so wrong? I just love love stories!)

We have an apartment and everything worked out! We get to move in next month and I am SO excited. I cannot wait to put everything in it's place for our new home. The manager said she's excited to have some quiet newlyweds move in as well hehe!

Right after signing the paperwork. 

Everything happened really, really fast but I'm grateful for it. We have one less thing to stress about and are no longer house hunters!