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

Good news: They have sweet tea!

So sorry this is a little late; it's wedding season and I've been swooped up into the excitement of all the upcoming nuptials of my friends!

Darren and I loved our little vacation in St. Louis! In total we spent five days and four nights exploring the city and getting to know some of the history that gives it the character it has today. First, we focused on our task at hand: finding a new place to live. My company provided me with a realtor to show us some properties that she felt fit our needs and would make us feel at home. She was absolutely wonderful! Not only did she show us 7 places that exceeded my expectations  but she also answered all of my silly questions about the town (caramel vs  cAIRamel? are there Kohl's stores? do most places have sweet tea? etc). We ended up liking the very first property that we saw that day-- a place downtown in the loft district called Ely Walker Lofts (elywalkerlofts.com). I am proud and happy to say that very soon I will be settled down in a 2 bedroom-2 bathroom loft with the biggest kitchen I have ever seen in my entire life (a definite plus!).

There's a quick view of the sample floorplan. Mine is actually a little different- the bathroom to the left of the hall and the laundry room (the room right next to it on that side) are switched. Also, the master bath has the space for two sinks but only has one and has extra counter to the right. I liked this because it will give me space to get ready next to Darren once we're married (assuming that we will be getting ready at the same time). Of course, I could always just kick him out and make him go to the other bathroom! I also want to show a quick picture of the kitchen itself because this little drawing does NOT do it justice.

There it is, complete with my landlord to give you a scale of the size. I can't believe I am lucky enough to have this kitchen!!! Everybody will have to come visit me for Thanksgiving so we can really put its size to work.

So, enough about my new apartment. You'll get plenty of details once I'm all moved in. Onto the city itself!

There are things that I LOVE about the city, things that I am interested to learn more about (and just plain get used to), and things that I am weary of.

First, I love the climate. Yes, it was hot and yes, it was humid. However, Missouri's version of summer is a much milder version. On occasion the temperature soars above 100 degrees F. More often, though, it hovers around in the low 90's. This makes me very happy. It also appears to be doing the wildlife some good because the trees are greener, the grass is thicker, and the flowers are brighter. There's something about the Texas heat that squelches a plant's willingness to bloom and grow and makes everything turn a bit brown. That is not the case in St. Louis. This means that I will have seasons! I will be sure to put up pictures of the glorious colors of fall and spring when the time comes. Can you tell that I can't wait to see the reds, oranges, and golds of fall?!

Second, I love the history. Darren and I went to the Western Expansion Museum (part of the Gateway arch national park) to learn about all of the symbolism of the arch. Texas has great historic stories and is the best state ever, but Missouri has a past that is rooted in the tale of the United States' growth westward. I will enjoy learning more and more about the area and the people over time. St. Louis is also an older city, giving its buildings the flavor of the past while enjoying the color of the present. The building that I will live in was once a factory and still has its original floors to tell the tale. I just love that! The architecture in the city is unique since there are old buildings mixed in with the new; Texas seems to be lacking in this area just a little.

Now onto one thing I'm a little nervous about: I do not know the culture. Those of you from Garland know how you act certain ways in certain areas and around certain people. Every city has its good side and its bad. I need to learn all of this. I love that the city is diverse and I am looking forward to getting to know the different kinds of people through work and such, but I just have to make sure not to do anything (or say anything) inappropriate. Just to show how different it is: the signs only have English- I was unable to find any Spanish on anything. Like I said, different. Not weird.

So, Darren and I enjoyed our adventure immensely. We visited the zoo (free admission, $12 parking), the science center (free admission, $9 parking), the arch park, and the old courthouse. We explored a local grocery store (Schnuck's), the Galleria, and one of the suburbs.  We ate on "The Hill" at a delicious Italian restaurant ("Zia's"), we ate on "The Loop" at a middle eastern restaurant ("Ranoush") and a local favorite ("Fitz's"). We visited a local church (McKnight Road Church of Christ) on Sunday and explored the St. Louis airport for about 5 hours.

My favorite thing of all, though, was spending time with Darren. Just the two of us exploring a new city, getting to know our new home. I will miss him terribly once I move and he stays behind for school, but once we're married and he is in the city with me I know we are going to have the time of our lives.

The Adventure Begins

Howdy!

I am very excited to be sharing my new adventures with you.  The concept behind this blog is simple: I'm leaving my heart behind with all of you in Texas and I want to keep you informed of my life in Missouri.

Darren and I will be travelling to St. Louis this Wednesday to search for our future home.  Please wish us luck on this exciting endeavor!

Love & blessings,
Brooke