I know it's been so long since my last post, but so much has been going on! Let's start with where we left off, the last weekend in September. Shortly after I posted the last blog we got a call from Justin's Aunt Marcia (Vasquez Side) offering us a free plane ticket home for the wedding. Justin's Uncle Chad (Gale Side) works for Delta Airlines and we were able to use a buddy pass of his so the both of us could go home. We flew in on Friday night and got a chance to really surprise our parents. We walked up very nonchalantly to the fire Mike and Becky had built that evening and the scream that came out of Becky's mouth was deafening. She cried, then I cried...it's really what we do best. My parents were very surprised too, probably not so much as our dog Brody who greeted me by flying out the front door and peeing all over my shoes. He really must have missed me.
Saturday we went to Heidi Duffie and Justin Clark's wedding in St. Libory. Heidi is Justin's first cousin. Ok, wait, Heidi is Justin GALE'S first cousin. Haha. The wedding was gorgeous and the reception was a really great time. We were also able to go my cousin Jason Mines benefit in Evansville. Jason is the husband of my first cousin Roxy, they have two very young sons. Jason was diagnosed with a brain tumor in July and has since been fighting a brave and inspiring fight. The event was a huge success, my mom said that they raised over $60,000!! People who say there is no kindness or generosity in this world don't know the people of Southern Illinois. Thank you to everyone who helped in anyway, it's appreciated more than you can ever imagine.
So on Monday we were back home in L.A. and back into the groove. The rest of that week was mildly uneventful.
Monday the 5th Justin started classes. I can already see an improvement in his playing. He's playing faster and more skillfully than most guitarists his age, I can't wait to see how he does with a band. His schedule is very nice. He leaves for class around 9 then comes home from 1-5 and has an evening class 3 nights a week from 5-6. He doesn't have any classes on Friday...lucky dog! Justin has met a few more people through GIT (that is the program he is in at Musicians Institute) that we have been hanging out with regularly. Of course we hang out nonstop with the boys upstairs (Dan and Boz) but in addition we also hang with Aaron who is a guitarist from Southern Indiana, Nate who is a guitarist from Calgary, Canada, and Lambert a guitarist from France. Because of that lack of estrogen in our group of friends I end up spending a lot of time drinking beer (not that I didn't before!), watching music DVD's and listening to vulgar jokes. :) But we all get along and we are all pretty much in the same boat, relying on each other for entertainment and to ward off loneliness.
Today I was offered a full time management position at Patty's Pizza in Santa Monica. Patty's Pizza is a gourmet pizza company that focuses on fresh and nutritious 'take and bake' pizzas (http://www.pattyspizza.com/). They also have a wholesale company whose products are currently in Trader Joe's. Justin and I both had their product after my first interview, and thought it was delicious. I was offered a position at the restaurant location in Santa Monica as the General Manager. I will be fulfilling GM duties as well as focusing on boosting their sales in store, online and with catering. I took it of course because it will be wonderful experience and the salary, benefits and bonuses are double what I'm currently making. I can't wait to start this job and expand my horizons. Patty and her husband James (who is the current GM) are going to be working with me for the next couple of weeks until I fully understand the system. I start Wednesday!
As most of you already know Justin's Great Uncle Mark (ML) Vasquez passed away last week. He and Real, Justin's Grandpa, were brothers. Justin was especially close to Mark's side of the family because Mark owned M.L.Vasquez for many years until his children Rodney and Laurie took over. Justin worked for Rodney and Laurie for 5 years through junior high and high school. The brickyard where Justin worked was at Mark's house so he worked with or saw him on a regular basis. While they didn't always see eye to eye, Justin enjoyed working with Mark. He often made remarks to me on Mark's sense of humor and was always very thankful for his occasional plane rides on very hot days. I will always remember how sweet he was, remembering me, even in the sea of hundreds that make up that family (to be able to remember a distant nephews girlfriend is really a feat in that family--believe me.). He will be very sorely missed by many, I know the family reunion won't be the same without him. Our prayers and thoughts are with his family in their time of grief.
Tomorrow it is supposed to rain here, can you believe it?? Looked like it was going to all day today, but it held off. The weather is getting a little cooler, I guess that means fall is here-although you wouldn't know it unless you've been to Target recently to see the aisle changes-the concrete is still gray and the palm trees still brownish-green. Well this about wraps it up, I promise it won't be so long before the next post, I had so darn much to write about. So tonight the guys are going to come over to help celebrate! We are going to pop a bottle of champagne and toast to new jobs, new friends and finally a change in weather.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
What an exciting week!
We've had such an exciting week and it's only Tuesday!! Well to begin, Dan and Bose moved in upstairs on Friday. Dan and Bose are friends from Missouri who have moved out here to attend Musicians Institute as well (Dan for drums and Bose for guitar). We actually met them through Justin's Aunt Melissa. Melissa's hairstylist, Chris, is Bose's Mom. But Chris also knows some of my family, apparently she was in the same room with Jamie last summer when Cakes went through her crawdad nightmare. SMALL WORLD.
We are so excited to finally have new people to talk to! They are a blast to be around, we all mesh really well together. They were a little jealous of our apartment decor at first, but, after some work their apartment is shaping in to quite the bachelor pad. They moved in literally right above us, we are 306 and they are 406. There are Pros and Cons to the situation: Pros-we can party in their apartment and not worry about waking the people below; ideal situation for making a story-to-story-out-the-window beer bong; we can create some kind of pounding Morse code for "hey we're here, come hang out". Cons- Dan is a drummer and he's constantly keeping a beat with his feet; they have surround sound; I'm really afraid I'm going to come home and there's going to be a fireman's pole in the corner of the apartment---I've caught them seriously discussing putting one in a few times.
Justin had registration today and got his I.D. card. Looks like a mugshot of course! He also got put in his classes for the semester, he'll be taking Theory and Ear Training I and Blues Guitar and Slide Guitar. I think he has another class too, but the name is leaving me. I get so used to Justin rarely showing excitement or nervousness (he leaves all those emotions to me, haha) it was very weird this morning when he was noticeably nervous. I guess it was first day of school jitters. But when he got home he talked and talked and talked, I think he's going to love it there. He has an orientation on the 1st and classes begin on the 5th so keep him in your thoughts. Apparently it's no easy class schedule!
Well in other news, I'M FINALLY EMPLOYED! I was hired as a Marketing Coordinator for a very small custom design and print company (invitations and what not). The artist does all her own designs and does them all in house, so I will be working out of her home office in Studio City--about a 5 minute drive. Basically I will be booking meetings, following up on inquiries and updating all her online marketing leads. For now it's only about 30 hours a week, but she said it has room for growth which is great. I already have some fantastic ideas on how to expand her market! The best part of the whole job--she doesn't start work before 10a.m. This job is perfect for the fresh college graduate. She does amazing work, check out her website (www.celebrationcards.com). Having a job sure takes some pressure off, I am still going to work on getting a weekend ushering/customer service job at a theatre though. A few theatres have expressed interest in having me work as a volunteer for a while and I am considering it, it's a way to get my name out in the area. I'll keep you posted on that as it happens.
Well this weekend is the first Vasquez wedding we'll be missing :( Heidi, Renee's middle daughter is getting married on Saturday. Wish we could be there to see everyone, but Christmas will be here before we know it! Before I end it, I must say I am getting DARN good at cooking, last week's meals we're just fantastic. Also Justin is getting very close to finishing that huge book about the Beatles, which means I'm about to owe him $10 (I bet him $10 he'd never finish it...ah well.)
Miss you and talk to you soon! Much love!
We are so excited to finally have new people to talk to! They are a blast to be around, we all mesh really well together. They were a little jealous of our apartment decor at first, but, after some work their apartment is shaping in to quite the bachelor pad. They moved in literally right above us, we are 306 and they are 406. There are Pros and Cons to the situation: Pros-we can party in their apartment and not worry about waking the people below; ideal situation for making a story-to-story-out-the-window beer bong; we can create some kind of pounding Morse code for "hey we're here, come hang out". Cons- Dan is a drummer and he's constantly keeping a beat with his feet; they have surround sound; I'm really afraid I'm going to come home and there's going to be a fireman's pole in the corner of the apartment---I've caught them seriously discussing putting one in a few times.
Justin had registration today and got his I.D. card. Looks like a mugshot of course! He also got put in his classes for the semester, he'll be taking Theory and Ear Training I and Blues Guitar and Slide Guitar. I think he has another class too, but the name is leaving me. I get so used to Justin rarely showing excitement or nervousness (he leaves all those emotions to me, haha) it was very weird this morning when he was noticeably nervous. I guess it was first day of school jitters. But when he got home he talked and talked and talked, I think he's going to love it there. He has an orientation on the 1st and classes begin on the 5th so keep him in your thoughts. Apparently it's no easy class schedule!
Well in other news, I'M FINALLY EMPLOYED! I was hired as a Marketing Coordinator for a very small custom design and print company (invitations and what not). The artist does all her own designs and does them all in house, so I will be working out of her home office in Studio City--about a 5 minute drive. Basically I will be booking meetings, following up on inquiries and updating all her online marketing leads. For now it's only about 30 hours a week, but she said it has room for growth which is great. I already have some fantastic ideas on how to expand her market! The best part of the whole job--she doesn't start work before 10a.m. This job is perfect for the fresh college graduate. She does amazing work, check out her website (www.celebrationcards.com). Having a job sure takes some pressure off, I am still going to work on getting a weekend ushering/customer service job at a theatre though. A few theatres have expressed interest in having me work as a volunteer for a while and I am considering it, it's a way to get my name out in the area. I'll keep you posted on that as it happens.
Well this weekend is the first Vasquez wedding we'll be missing :( Heidi, Renee's middle daughter is getting married on Saturday. Wish we could be there to see everyone, but Christmas will be here before we know it! Before I end it, I must say I am getting DARN good at cooking, last week's meals we're just fantastic. Also Justin is getting very close to finishing that huge book about the Beatles, which means I'm about to owe him $10 (I bet him $10 he'd never finish it...ah well.)
Miss you and talk to you soon! Much love!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
A constructive way to pass the time:
All my life I've been surrounded by fantastic cooks, I've never really needed to cook for myself. Even when I was living in Mascoutah I was still eating at Mike and Becky's or my parents most nights of the week and the nights I didn't eat there I was going out with friends for dinner. In hindsight with going to school and working I never really had time to "cook" meals.
So here I am in my first September in 16 years that I haven't had to go to school. Along with that I still haven't found that perfect job. I can't remember a time when I had this much time on my hands. I literally work on sending out resumes and calling potential employers all day/afternoon and then spend my evening diddling around. Justin plays guitar and reads in the morning, then plays guitar and reads in the afternoon, breaks for dinner and perhaps a movie, then plays guitar and reads before bed. As you can imagine, after a week, life can become increasingly boring. Neither of us really have the money to go out and ENJOY L.A. yet, that will come with time.
Needing a change of pace, since today is Saturday, I planned out our menu for the next two weeks and then we went shopping. I've found it's cheaper and more efficient to plan what you are going to eat in advance. It keeps us from impulse buying and wasting produce. So after a day of shopping I began on supper. Tonight I made Chicken Cordon Blue (sp?), homemade mashed potatoes, broccoli and spring salad. The chicken turned out great, next time I think I'll use a different cheese though. The potatoes turned out AWESOME! It was only after I washed the potatoes and put them in water to boil that I realized (a) I'd never actually made mashed potatoes and (b) I don't have a mixer to "mash". Turns out if you cook the potatoes long enough you can mash by hand. :) Thank goodness. So while conversing over our delicious dinner and our wonderful bottle of Chenin Blanc wine, Justin decided to grade the meal. He gave it a 99%, only because the broccoli was a little over done and the chicken could have been a bit cheesier. I asked him how he rated the home-made spaghetti and meatballs I made last Friday, he said an 80% because they were a bit too garliky and the chunks of onion should have been smaller (plus he hates whole wheat spaghetti noodles). This lead me to a great idea!
I am going to make 2 meals a week from absolute scratch. Something totally different that I've never made before and Justin gets to grade me on it. We are going to take pictures and keep a journal of the dishes. It may sound dorky, but believe me, it's about the most interesting thing we've done all weekend! Finally a constructive way to pass the time.
In other news, we are getting used to the L.A. life. I almost hit my first pedestrian yesterday while driving which really isn't a great thing but happens a lot here. Okay, maybe hitting is a bad word, we'll say fiercely tapping. I mean I was rolling out of a parking garage, and he had time to step back, how fast could I really have been going?! He also cursed at me, which is pretty typical as well, actually, the cursing thing is probably typical of any "car vs. man" incident anywhere on the globe.
I am going to sign off for the night, polish off this bottle of wine and work on writing some songs with Justin. But on a final note, we both talked to Justin's Aunt Tammy for a long time today (we had a lot to catch up on!) and she asked a lot of questions she'd been wondering about for a while about our life out here. If you think of something you want to know, drop me an email and I will definitely make sure to put it in the next blog! Email is victoriagalle@gmail.com
Talk to you all soon, miss you!
So here I am in my first September in 16 years that I haven't had to go to school. Along with that I still haven't found that perfect job. I can't remember a time when I had this much time on my hands. I literally work on sending out resumes and calling potential employers all day/afternoon and then spend my evening diddling around. Justin plays guitar and reads in the morning, then plays guitar and reads in the afternoon, breaks for dinner and perhaps a movie, then plays guitar and reads before bed. As you can imagine, after a week, life can become increasingly boring. Neither of us really have the money to go out and ENJOY L.A. yet, that will come with time.
Needing a change of pace, since today is Saturday, I planned out our menu for the next two weeks and then we went shopping. I've found it's cheaper and more efficient to plan what you are going to eat in advance. It keeps us from impulse buying and wasting produce. So after a day of shopping I began on supper. Tonight I made Chicken Cordon Blue (sp?), homemade mashed potatoes, broccoli and spring salad. The chicken turned out great, next time I think I'll use a different cheese though. The potatoes turned out AWESOME! It was only after I washed the potatoes and put them in water to boil that I realized (a) I'd never actually made mashed potatoes and (b) I don't have a mixer to "mash". Turns out if you cook the potatoes long enough you can mash by hand. :) Thank goodness. So while conversing over our delicious dinner and our wonderful bottle of Chenin Blanc wine, Justin decided to grade the meal. He gave it a 99%, only because the broccoli was a little over done and the chicken could have been a bit cheesier. I asked him how he rated the home-made spaghetti and meatballs I made last Friday, he said an 80% because they were a bit too garliky and the chunks of onion should have been smaller (plus he hates whole wheat spaghetti noodles). This lead me to a great idea!
I am going to make 2 meals a week from absolute scratch. Something totally different that I've never made before and Justin gets to grade me on it. We are going to take pictures and keep a journal of the dishes. It may sound dorky, but believe me, it's about the most interesting thing we've done all weekend! Finally a constructive way to pass the time.
In other news, we are getting used to the L.A. life. I almost hit my first pedestrian yesterday while driving which really isn't a great thing but happens a lot here. Okay, maybe hitting is a bad word, we'll say fiercely tapping. I mean I was rolling out of a parking garage, and he had time to step back, how fast could I really have been going?! He also cursed at me, which is pretty typical as well, actually, the cursing thing is probably typical of any "car vs. man" incident anywhere on the globe.
I am going to sign off for the night, polish off this bottle of wine and work on writing some songs with Justin. But on a final note, we both talked to Justin's Aunt Tammy for a long time today (we had a lot to catch up on!) and she asked a lot of questions she'd been wondering about for a while about our life out here. If you think of something you want to know, drop me an email and I will definitely make sure to put it in the next blog! Email is victoriagalle@gmail.com
Talk to you all soon, miss you!
Friday, September 4, 2009
It's still really hot.
Almost not tolerable. I've spent the majority of the week tweaking and sending out my resume, so on Wednesday when Justin suggested that we spend a day at the beach I jumped on that idea. We went to Zuma beach which is about a hour drive from our apartment (in case you're wondering it's only like 20 miles but yes it really takes that long to drive there) in Malibu, California. Glamorous Malibu is not all that glamorous and no we didn't see anyone famous. You know how people always say that things look better in the movies? Well, they do. Malibu the town is not that great but the beach is BEAUTIFUL. We of course forgot to take pictures, we'll just have to go back again next week and be sure to get some.
We saw a movie Tuesday night and it was probably by far the greatest moving going experience of our lives. The theatre was practically the size of an airport. Seats were uber-comfortable, concessions were cheaper than in Fairview Heights IL and the sound was amazing! Tickets were $12 though so we decided that we are only going to go see a movie when we REALLY want to because for the price of two tickets we could probably own it when it comes out on DVD. We saw "It Might Get Loud" which is a rockumentary featuring three guitarists Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) Jack White (White Stripes) and The Edge (U2). The film basically chronicles their journey through their careers and how they developed their own unique sound. Justin and I agreed we could have used more Jimmy and Jack and less of the Edge, but neither of us are U2 fans. It was really great to get to see that type of film, that kind of film will probably only play in large cities.
Today we went to Target and Borders for some heat relief. Since our apartment doesn't have A/C we've been finding cheap ways to pass some time. Both Target and Borders have free one hour parking so it's really a cheap trip...well minus the fact we both decided to purchase a book at Borders. Justin is now reading a Beatles book that is literally the size of my butt.
I almost forgot! Justin had his first embarrassing apartment living moment on Monday. We were trying to do our laundry all day and during one particular load I asked him to go down and check to see if they were dry. He walked the stairs to the basement and then decided the take the elevator back up except he hit level 2 instead of level 3 and walked right into room 206. He said the tenant was on the couch and turned around the said "Um, Hello?" he turned bright red, said "whoops wrong room" and ducked out of the room. Unfortunately another tenant was in the hall so she saw the whole thing too. I felt bad for him, in his defense the halls all do look the same. :) Plus that girl shouldn't leave her door unlocked, that's just not safe!
Other than that, all is going well. Hope you all have a safe, and happy Labor Day weekend!!
We saw a movie Tuesday night and it was probably by far the greatest moving going experience of our lives. The theatre was practically the size of an airport. Seats were uber-comfortable, concessions were cheaper than in Fairview Heights IL and the sound was amazing! Tickets were $12 though so we decided that we are only going to go see a movie when we REALLY want to because for the price of two tickets we could probably own it when it comes out on DVD. We saw "It Might Get Loud" which is a rockumentary featuring three guitarists Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) Jack White (White Stripes) and The Edge (U2). The film basically chronicles their journey through their careers and how they developed their own unique sound. Justin and I agreed we could have used more Jimmy and Jack and less of the Edge, but neither of us are U2 fans. It was really great to get to see that type of film, that kind of film will probably only play in large cities.
Today we went to Target and Borders for some heat relief. Since our apartment doesn't have A/C we've been finding cheap ways to pass some time. Both Target and Borders have free one hour parking so it's really a cheap trip...well minus the fact we both decided to purchase a book at Borders. Justin is now reading a Beatles book that is literally the size of my butt.
I almost forgot! Justin had his first embarrassing apartment living moment on Monday. We were trying to do our laundry all day and during one particular load I asked him to go down and check to see if they were dry. He walked the stairs to the basement and then decided the take the elevator back up except he hit level 2 instead of level 3 and walked right into room 206. He said the tenant was on the couch and turned around the said "Um, Hello?" he turned bright red, said "whoops wrong room" and ducked out of the room. Unfortunately another tenant was in the hall so she saw the whole thing too. I felt bad for him, in his defense the halls all do look the same. :) Plus that girl shouldn't leave her door unlocked, that's just not safe!
Other than that, all is going well. Hope you all have a safe, and happy Labor Day weekend!!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Where to begin?
Well we've gotten all moved in, just in time for a heat wave! In case you've seen the news, yes, there are wild fires near Los Angeles but don't worry they aren't super close to us. We can see the smoke bellowing into the sky, and really no one but us seems to be amazed by it, I guess eventually we'll get used to that sight too.
We went to Santa Catalina Island, CA (picture with the yachts) on Thursday to celebrate my 22nd birthday. It was a great time. We took a two hour kayak and snorkeling trip and that was a totally new experience, I loved it! While our parents were here we also went to Venice Beach, Santa Monica Beach (ferris wheel) and spent an afternoon on the Angeles Crest Highway (landscape pic) which is a curvy scenic highway that takes you out of the city and up above into the mountains.
Our parents left today, it was very hard to see them go. We had so much fun while they were here it almost felt like we were just on vacation. But all things do end and now we are really officially out here on our own. This afternoon we drove to IKEA to return a few things and Justin and I both agreed it's the oddest thing to be so far away from anyone we know. Luckily, with Justin going to school, meeting new people won't be hard; we'll just be having a lot of together time until then. :)
Sooo much happened in the last week I'm not even sure where to start. Our things finally arrived on Tuesday, not quite the way we expected though. Our shipment had been moved so they could put two other shipments on the truck. A few of our things were damaged, I've included a before picture (the way we packed it) and an after (the way received it) above. After lots of anger and tears Justin and I both agreed that it could have been a lot worse and at least we learned a good lesson. Our new piece of advice, never use the company Move-X.
We went to Santa Catalina Island, CA (picture with the yachts) on Thursday to celebrate my 22nd birthday. It was a great time. We took a two hour kayak and snorkeling trip and that was a totally new experience, I loved it! While our parents were here we also went to Venice Beach, Santa Monica Beach (ferris wheel) and spent an afternoon on the Angeles Crest Highway (landscape pic) which is a curvy scenic highway that takes you out of the city and up above into the mountains. 
Today we finally got the apartment in order. We hung pictures and unpacked the last of our boxes. After literally 10 hours of working, we popped a bottle of champage and celebrated the fact that our apartment finally looks like a home. These are some pictures of our finished product!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
We're Here!!!!
Well, we made it. The drive was: intense. At one point (I think somewhere thru Utah) we got so aggravated with one another we decided to quit talking.; surprisingly, I think because we are both so hard-headed, we didn't speak for somewhere around 3 1/2 hours. Needless to say, that day was long. We occupied ourselves with some wonderful CD's our friend Emily made and listening to the Harry Potter book 7 on CD for the rest of the trip.
On Thursday we made it to Los Angeles and parked the car to run in and get our apartment keys and check out the new place. We came back out to unload the car only to find out an expired parking meter ticket in Los Angeles is quite a bit more than in good ole' St. Louis. Ah, well---you live and learn.
So we get here and as planned we had to sleep on an air mattress the first night. After the parking ticket fiasco and literally having to shell out $25 to park for the evening we decided to order pizza and call it an early night. So on Friday, also as planned my parents and Justin's parents arrived in the late afternoon. Unplanned however is the fact that our truck is late and still not scheduled to be here with all of our home furnishings until Monday. So tonight Mike, Becky, Cindy, Dennis, Justin and I are sitting around an IKEA table we just bought drinking Miller Lite and wine out of the bottle (all my wine glasses are on the truck and we had to buy a bottle opener at the liquor store). Actually, to be truthful even if my wine glasses were here I'd probably still drink out of the bottle---it seems to just go down easier. :) Tonight we are just happy to have towels to shower with and chairs to sit on. Our things will be here by Monday, we'll have lots of pictures of the place by then.
So having our parents here is awesome. It's great to have a group of people with which we can explore our new city. Both sets of parents found the boulevard interesting, after all Hollywood Blvd has a style all it's own. Mike had a little trouble sleeping the first night; as close as we are to the blvd we have a lot of outside noise and without a/c we sleep with the windows open (don't worry we are on the third floor). So after the first night I've gathered either I'm a harder sleeper or am quickly growing used to it because the sirens and the man screaming outside sure didn't interrupt my slumber.
Today Becky, Mom and I went to IKEA (a home-store with products specifically meant for decorating on a small budget) while the guys went to Lowe's and Hooters. Tomorrow we are going to go do some tourist-y type things around Hollywood and we are also going to clean the apartment really well before our stuff gets here. Well the guitar is being passed around the room and the beer's are sliding down too easy. Talk to you all soon. Love and miss you!
On Thursday we made it to Los Angeles and parked the car to run in and get our apartment keys and check out the new place. We came back out to unload the car only to find out an expired parking meter ticket in Los Angeles is quite a bit more than in good ole' St. Louis. Ah, well---you live and learn.
So we get here and as planned we had to sleep on an air mattress the first night. After the parking ticket fiasco and literally having to shell out $25 to park for the evening we decided to order pizza and call it an early night. So on Friday, also as planned my parents and Justin's parents arrived in the late afternoon. Unplanned however is the fact that our truck is late and still not scheduled to be here with all of our home furnishings until Monday. So tonight Mike, Becky, Cindy, Dennis, Justin and I are sitting around an IKEA table we just bought drinking Miller Lite and wine out of the bottle (all my wine glasses are on the truck and we had to buy a bottle opener at the liquor store). Actually, to be truthful even if my wine glasses were here I'd probably still drink out of the bottle---it seems to just go down easier. :) Tonight we are just happy to have towels to shower with and chairs to sit on. Our things will be here by Monday, we'll have lots of pictures of the place by then.
So having our parents here is awesome. It's great to have a group of people with which we can explore our new city. Both sets of parents found the boulevard interesting, after all Hollywood Blvd has a style all it's own. Mike had a little trouble sleeping the first night; as close as we are to the blvd we have a lot of outside noise and without a/c we sleep with the windows open (don't worry we are on the third floor). So after the first night I've gathered either I'm a harder sleeper or am quickly growing used to it because the sirens and the man screaming outside sure didn't interrupt my slumber.
Today Becky, Mom and I went to IKEA (a home-store with products specifically meant for decorating on a small budget) while the guys went to Lowe's and Hooters. Tomorrow we are going to go do some tourist-y type things around Hollywood and we are also going to clean the apartment really well before our stuff gets here. Well the guitar is being passed around the room and the beer's are sliding down too easy. Talk to you all soon. Love and miss you!
Friday, July 24, 2009
We have an apartment!!!
After tons and tons of searching Justin and I have finally settled on a place to live! We received notice this morning that our credit and applications were approved and we are set to move in August 20. The apartment complex is called the Fleur de Lis, which I think is very funny considering the Fleur de Lis is really a mark of St. Louis and anywhere the French settled (new orleans, too). My sister and I recently gifted jewelry to each other that had the Fleur de Lis on it, as a reminder that even though we don't live here anymore (she calls home Charleston, SC), St. Louis is where we are from and where we were raised.
The apartment is small---and that is probably an understatement. Matchbox size might be a great word to describe it. But it is affordable and only a half a block away from Justin's school. The complex is made up of mostly M.I. students so Justin won't be hated for his musical instruments and their noise (which was a big deal at other complexes). I'm going to attached some pictures and the web page where you can snoop around on the complex.
Although the apartment is only a studio we are going to pay visit to the IKEA store of Burbank to help us change that. We are thinking of either putting up bookcases to close off a bedroom area (between the two of us we have an astronomical amount of books) or creating some kind of curtain that hangs from the ceiling. So that way we have plenty to space for visitors! The gods of decorating and wonderful household things at IKEA should be able to help us.
Well the going away party is Saturday, August 15 6pm at Justin parents house. Be sure to put it on your calendar. We will have dinner at 6 and then Justin's band, Hair of the Dog, is going to play a mini set around 9pm.
That's about it for now, Hope to see you all before we leave!!!!
much love
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