Exciting Grownup Things!

In procrastinating on the job hunt, I've resorted to apartment searching! (I will pay for my new cute apartment with my non-existent paycheck! Yay!)

Bonnie and I settled on Coolidge Corner for our area, and we saw three apartments last week, and have appointments to see three more Thursday night/tomorrow. Bonnie was my freshman/middler year roommate, and one of the only people I could live with again (a few of my former roommates also make that shortlist <3). We've got the same goals for an apartment, and the patience with each other to make living with each other a fairly good idea.

Top characteristics our dream apartment will have: (We've had decent luck thus far)

• 2 spacious bedrooms: enough room for queen beds
• closet space! Both in and out of the bedrooms--we both have a lot of STUFF, but like all of the stuff to have specific living places
• open, airy kitchen. We both like to cook and entertain, and a kitchen that connects with the living space and allows interaction with guests is a huge plus
• natural light, and lots of it
• NOT a million-floor walk-up. Elevator, or 1st/2nd floor, por favor
• close to Coolidge Corner, and well as a C and/or D-line T-stop: need places nearby for when we don't want to be in our beautiful new apartment, or need to run errands.

We'd also love the option to paint our space, and a balcony or patio would be a lovely bonus. It's the first time either of us has really lived off-campus other than a short sublet though. We're trying to not jump the gun and take the first cute place we see, and ask lots of questions, take photos, and scope out potential flaws in any place we check out. A learning process.

I've also been scanning lots of home/design websites...I know I want a queen sized bed. I know I want fabulous bookshelves and lighting--both of those are funky European examples of things I will hopefully be able to afford in the future. I want to be able to hang my colorful jewelry and scarves on the wall as decoration, and have plenty of wall space to tack up the hundreds of magazine clippings, postcards, scribbled notes, and photos that inspire me and get me going. The space to fold and organize my ludicrous amount of clothing would be unbelievable.

After 5 years in fairly homogeneous spaces at NU, and living with random roommates for a year or two, I'm looking forward to really making my own space. Graduating and starting fresh in a new place at the same time will be a little shock to the system, but doing both at once will help make the shift seem more concrete. (And a new bed! A big bed!!)