We’ll be celebrating our first married thanksgiving in Hampstead tomorrow! When G first mentioned the idea of staying here instead of traveling to see family, I was a little skeptical but open to the idea. Now I’m really excited to spend this holiday with just the two of us. It’s fun to create memories and traditions and I’m thinking tomorrow will be full of both {eh-hem… any tips for making an apple pie?:)}.
We’ll also be finishing up our “be thankful” banner we’ve been adding to this month. While rather elementary in looks, to be reminded of all that we have has been a good practice for me and hopefully for G too.
So remember a couple of weeks ago when I wrote a note to my mr. and thanked him for putting up with my whining while I was sick? And then I told you about my visit to the doctor before the marine ball?
Well I finally got an answer for my unexplained yuck after I went back to the doctor with an earache last week. After some more bloodwork the nurse said I should probably come back and talk to the doctor.
Because I had MONO.
Happy holidays and moving to us! {I say “us” because there may have been some germs/drinks/kisses shared over the last month.} Thankfully, I think the worst is over. My energy level is still lower than normal, but I can handle that over headaches/fever/earaches.
As for G*, he’s yet to have any of my symptoms {whewwwww!}.
*But watch your back, Atwell, one wrong move and I may get generous! And on that note, want to watch Pride & Prejudice {again} tonight? I promise to make you some more of my special brownies!
We found a new home! Imagine me doing a little dance a la Leslie Knope…
But before the dancing began, there were many prayers and hours of online searching that had to happen. More than ever I was thankful to be at home during the day so I search for our options.
To start off the search, I messaged a few friends that live in the area and asked for recommendations. The responses gave me a better idea of the area, what places to avoid, and what to expect for cost of living.
The next step was searching on Trulia. Trulia allows you to specify if you’re looking to rent or buy {renting for us}, and also lets you filter with things like minimum/maximum price, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. While I tried to be open and look at alot of different things in the beginning, we eventually narrowed down our search to what we really wanted – a 2Bed, 2Bath space.
After about a two weeks of serious searching, we scheduled some appointments and made our way down to the Augusta area to see some of the places! We only stayed for about 24 hours but were able to visit 8 properties {1 townhome, 3 apartments and 4 condos} during that time.
Two of the most helpful things for us during our search were our camera and a spreadsheet I created and printed before hand. The camera was great because although you can usually find photos online, sometimes the way those pictures are taken can make the space seem bigger than it really is. The spreadsheet was helpful, because it allowed me to ask all of the things we needed to know about the property without having to take notes {my columns were for the listing name, square footage, beds, baths, on-site maintenance, lawn care, open floorplan, closet space, neighborhood, patio/porch, Washer/Dryer, gym, pool, miles for G’s commute, and monthly rent}.
After visiting the properties, there were some definite no’s, some that were a little bit of a stretch for us, and one that we really liked. We gave ourselves just a little over a week and decided to go ahead and follow up with the one we really liked, and thankfully it was still available!
So now the fun part begins: securing our moving plans!
Which probably will fall just TWO weeks from today!
atwelladventures.com 