Home Sweet Missouri

Almost two weeks later, I'm pretty settled into this place I will someday call "home".  I've learned my two favorite movie theaters (thanks, Kacey), which mall has an Anthropologie, where I like to grocery shop, and, most importantly, when to NOT walk around at night.

Some of the projects I've finished this week:

My sister and I enjoyed a little time together after Mom flew back to Dallas during the first week. We busied ourselves with painting projects and Dr. Quinn marathons. Since moving to college, Morgan and I have had very little opportunities to spend one-on-one time together and I treasured those lazy days with her. Plus, who wouldn't want an artist hanging around asking "what would you like for me to paint today"?

After Morgan left, I had about 28 hours to myself before Kacey visited. Fortunately, I have some amazing friends and family who kept me busy and distracted from realizing that I was alone by texting and calling and chatting (thanks guys).

Then, my darling best friend showed up for a fabulous weekend! First and foremost, we went to a cute local theater to see Harry Potter 7.2 and really enjoyed it! After hanging out for a while, we decided that viewing Horrible Bosses at another movie theater was a great idea, so we did that as well.

We lucked into getting to see GAVIN DEGRAW downtown for FREE only a mere 10 minute walk away. The good news is, we had a great time at the concert and getting dressed up. The bad news is, more than one gentlemen in the area made a point to let us know how good we apparently looked. We learned our lesson and I do not plan to walk alone outside at night. At all.

On Sunday, I tried church #3. Kacey's roommate from college is from St. Louis and her family attends this little Church of Christ (when I say little, I mean under 150 people). I was introduced to her mom who then proceeded to introduce me to a few other young professionals around my age. Through Kacey's roommate I met some lovely girls and we all went out to lunch (you never realize how much having someone to go out to lunch with on Sunday means to you until you don't have it). It was fun to be in a group again, even just for an afternoon.

This week I have been focusing on preparing for my upcoming trip to Texas. I'll be training in Austin July 25-August 5. However, since it costs the same for airfare if I fly in early and leave late, I'll be in Texas July 23-August 7. I plan to spend all 3 weekends in College Station, and am excited to be a part of my dear friends' wedding! (Yay Aly & Ryan!)  Needless to say, packing for so many events in such a little suitcase has been a bit of a challenge.

In other news, Leonard has really grown into this apartment. He figured out how to climb on top of the partial walls on night #3 and likes to take daily runs up and down the hallway. He has a favorite chair that I've draped a soft white blanket on which he takes daily naps while I study in the living room. When I come in from my workout I go to "his" room (the guest room/study) to do abs and he likes to sit on my hands while I do planks. It's quite adorable. Having him here has really helped my transition from living with friends and being surrounded by people to living alone and slowly making friends. He makes it more like home. :)

Speaking of living alone, I have learned quite a bit about myself in this process. I've learned:
-I love staying up late with Leno and Jimmy on as loud as I want
-Turning my iHome up and singing and dancing around my apartment during random times of day is super fun
-I can keep my laundry baskets in the wash room and just wear whatever I want around the house
-I keep a very clean, organized kitchen with dishes that stay in the sink less than half a day
-I like to paint, eat, study, read, and skype from my couch
-NOT having a tv in my bedroom helps me sleep at night
-Being the only recipient in the mailbox makes getting mail even more fun

I can't wait to update you on my training in Austin.

Love & blessings,
Brooke

12 hours later...

My mom, sister, and I made the "11" hour drive from Dallas to St. Louis on Tuesday. Please keep in mind that I had already driven 3.5 hours from College Station to Dallas before embarking on this little journey. Let's just say I'm not too anxious to get into a car for an extended period of time.

The drive itself was rather entertaining. Oklahoma was pretty boring, but once we hit Missouri (and the portion of our trip that was along old Route 66) things got a little more interesting.

Just after crossing the border, we decided that a detour through Joplin, MO was necessary in order to observe the horrible damage done by the tornado in May. It was sobering to see entire neighborhoods stripped of everything and trees that only had their strongest branches. Worst of all was seeing the occasional partial home where you could see inside. We saw one that still had three shirts hanging in the closet...so that brings up the question: why hasn't that person come back to reclaim his/her possessions? Because they aren't allowed to? Because they can't emotionally handle it? Or perhaps because they are no longer with us. My heart and prayers go out to all who were affected by this tragedy.

On a lighter note, we saw one home that had painting "Missing Cat" on the front presumably right after the tornado. Fortunately, right above it was written "Found Cat" dated only a few days later. :)

Joplin was about 5 hours away from our endpoint in St. Louis, so the rest of the trip was spent listening to podcasts and going on random hunts for Sonic for diet cherry limeade. We arrived safely at our hotel a mere 12 hours after we left Dallas.

First thing in the morning, I signed the rest of my paperwork and paid the rest of my bills and got the keys to my apartment! I am only the second person to rent/live in this particular unit, so it's basically brand new. You know how when you visit something and you try to remember what it's like, but when you come back it's always a little bit different from how you have been imagining in your head? Well, my apartment was bigger, nicer, and prettier than I remembered! I'm so excited for the potential that it has.

Since the movers will come on Friday, we decided to paint the loft now before all of my belongings arrive. The hard part about painting, though, is that most of the ceilings are way too high for a standard ladder (and I do not own a ladder). So, we decided to paint accent walls in order to liven it up a little.  For the hallway, I had originally planned to find a maroon (I'll give you two guesses why), but with the colors of the rest of the loft I felt a blue would fit better. The guest room is yellow and my room is green.

Since it only took us a few hours to paint these walls, we are considering painting both bathrooms as well.

It amazes me how many things a person needs in order to live alone in an apartment. I felt like I was back in College Station, picking out items for my dorm when we went to Walmart on our first of many trips. Trash can, trash bags, cooking items, step stool, hooks, water bottles, ziplocs, dishwasher soap....... and on and on and on. I do already own a lot of things that are on their way to Missouri, but I have always shared kitchen and living room items and therefore need to fill in quite a few gaps. Good thing I've got help here this week.

In other news, I got my first piece of mail! Thanks, Darren :)

More updates to come!

Love and blessings,
Brooke