Making an Apartment a Home

We have officially been here in Omaha Nebraska (well just outside Omaha) for about 12 days. Probably not enough time to make concrete opinions on how things are so far BUT I will admit, so far so good! We have probably been too busy with settling in to really realize how big of a move and adjustment this is and to be honest, I am thankful for that. Of course I already miss my family and if I think about it for too long, I'll definitely become sad but no matter where I go in this entire world, so long as I am with Kyle, that will be home.

We have a lot of crap. EVEN after moving into Kyle's parents basement and "downsizing" as much as possible, there were STILL so many bins of books, art supplies, novelties, whatever. I power housed the unpacking process like A CHAMPION OF LIFE because I just wanted the apartment to feel like home already! Within two days there were only three bins left to unpack but really they are things Kyle and I need to go through and ask if it's something we really want to keep, sell, or toss. We have a majority of the bins that we were able to unpack just sitting out on the deck cause I don't know what to do with them. The good thing is that the apartment is unpacked and livable!

My favorite job in being a wife is making wherever we live a home. I enjoy making our apartment feel as much like ours as possible such as hanging up pictures, organizing clothes, making dinners, doing whatever it takes to make coming home from work as relaxing as possible. Some may think that I am being too "1950's beaver cleaver" wife but that's like a compliment to me. I remember Kayley Cuoco getting flack for this comment about serving her husband and feeling like a housewife but I have to say YOU GO GIRL! I enjoy serving my husband. I enjoy being the housewife. Doesn't mean I am any less of a woman for doing it IN FACT it makes me exactly what God has asked us to be as wives! Kyle is very grateful and loving to me for providing the warm home feeling. I feel that some may fear their husband becoming demanding or harsh because they are looked at as being weak or lesser but that is so not true. If I didn't make dinner I think Kyle would eat PB&J everyday. I am keeping him alive (hahaha just kidding). I enjoy being the 1950's housewife, she looks good vacuuming in pearls.

Here's a few tips for making anywhere you live a HOME: 

1). Make Yummy Dinners

 I made this yummy lemon chicken piccata for dinner one of our first nights here. So simple, so easy, one skillet (thank you Pinterest). I work full time so anything that is easy to make after work or before work is always good for me. The best way to feel at home is cooking like mom! My mom is always an inspiration for food I even called her yesterday to get her recipe for balsamic roasted brussel sprouts. If you don't like this delightful vegetable I suggest trying it again! Just roast in the oven at 405 for about 20 minutes (I tossed them in a bowl of olive oil salt and pepper before placing them in the oven) and in the last five minutes I drenched them in some balsamic vinegar. MMM yummy for my tummy. That's the one real comfort for a new place in my mind is having some good home cooked meals! Associating anything with food is always great!

2.) Decorate, Hang pictures, Be Proud

I love that my new apartment has a fireplace and a mantle to decorate. I went to Homegoods and target to make this beauty. It's nice to have things to look at that make if cozy. I found on pinterest the best way to decorate a mantle: candles for movement, pictures for sentimental reasoning, mirror or large accent piece, and I needed a clock in the room to tell time since we don't have cable so when I saw that teal awesome colored retro clock I pretty much revolved the color pallet around that! I framed one Kyle's Honorable Discharge paper and hung that in his "man cave". He should be so proud of his accomplishments and look at it everyday. I am so proud of doing these things myself. Hanging up all those pictures behind the couch, making the place feel warm and inviting, it's something to pat yourself on the back for! 

3.) Get Involved 

One of the best things about this move was that we both have jobs right when we got here (obviously Kyle since that was the reason we moved) but I was able to transfer which was such a blessing to have two incomes! We already have met some wonderful people at our jobs. Kyle got some good suggestions for places to eat/ visit. I was already invited out by a really wonderful couple that I work with so it makes it feel more homey when you begin to make friends and make connections. Biggest challenge is just figuring out the area although everything is pretty much one major route with side roads connecting them all. We are also in the process of finding a new Church which is very intimidating here since there is a bible believing church on pretty much every street corner. I did attend one this past Sunday that felt just like home and that's always a good thing. A few couples that were our age which is again a wonderful way to get involved with the community!

Kyle and I are doing very well though. Really loving our new apartment, getting to know the area, getting in tune with our "new" jobs, and all around just spending time with one another. Nothing is better than starting a new adventure with your best friend. Happy to be in Nebraska.

The New Residents

We did it! We are here! We are ready for "the good life"! 

What a long awaited process and yet it seems to have happened so quickly! After our first visit we were on the road within two weeks of Kyle accepting his job offer! That's crazy. It was pretty simple to pack up and go since a majority of our stuff was sitting in storage from when we moved out of our most recent apartment into Kyle's parents basement. I don't understand why it is we always end up moving in the winter but that seems to be a reoccurring theme in our lives. The most daunting process of packing up the Uhaul was because its was snowing all day this past monday so we went at 8 am to try to beat the "worst" part of the storm and with a little help from Moochie (my mother in law) and
Kyle's best friend Ryan, we got all the stuff out of storage and on the Uhaul within an hour! Not too shabby if you ask me! My biggest concern was making sure it was packed tightly and efficiently so nothing bent or broke! I ended up using ALL of the blankets Uhaul provided for us in covering the nice bedroom set we have (that we officially just paid off praise the Lord!). Very thankful that we simplified our life the best we could before we moved out and just decluttering. Just trying to keep only the necessities.

We officially waved goodbye to Rhode Island on Tuesday! This is probably the longest I have ever been in a car in my entire life! Kyle actually just made this road trip bringing his other friend to Missouri last year so he was already prepared for the long drive ahead.

I was so excited for this adventure though! I have had such a peace about this trip and change in our lives that I was just ready to attack the road! Now I would be a liar if I told you I had no worries about this trip. We had the past four years packed into one 20' truck, a trailer attached with Kyle's 2013 Mazda towed behind us, and I'm not supposed to worry about anything??? ALSO, it's kind of

hard not to stress over the possibilities of what could go wrong. We were traveling 1,400 miles through 8 states in a truck that wasn't our own car, that could break down, get a flat tire, and all other sorts of problems! Bad weather, traffic, sickness, and yes granted this was only a 2 day trip but a LOT can happen in two days! Oh how I kept praying that nothing would be damaged but in the end I kept telling myself "they are just things". I need to practice what I preach and remember that nothing in that truck behind me I can take when I die anyway. I really stopped when I remembered God is in control! He has orchestrated all of this and when I was letting God lead I knew I had nothing to worry about! The first day was long. We left at 12 in the afternoon so I was planning on hitting SOME sort of traffic but we didn't end up going through New York City so we didn't hit any traffic. BUT NONE? REALLY? NO TRAFFIC? How is that even possible! I mean I knew that the further west we went the less traffic there would be but we literally were not standing still once on this road trip. AWESOME. Pennsylvania and Iowa were the worst states to drive through because they were both so stinking long. BEAUTIFUL but long. PA was full of hills that you're literally driving through. Made you feel real small but gorgeous! Through every state, I was really trying to stay off the phone (which is already always so easily distracting me) and making sure I was taking the time to admire every state. This country is so big and I think we sometimes get all excited to go see other countries in the world (which I hope to do and encourage) but we already live in a great country too with so many things to see!

NEW YORK

OHIO

We stopped around 8:30 Tuesday night to get some dinner at a truck stop. Once we headed back to the truck, Kyle noticed that the trailer lights weren't on and you obviously cannot drive on the highways if the trailer attachment with his car on it wasn't working properly. We called the Uhaul roadside assistance and they had someone out there at such a reasonable time (which made things a lot easier). We could have come to worst terms so quickly but we both remained calm and just let whatever be, be. Turns out a fuse popped and just needed to be replaced. Bing bang boom within 14 minutes of the worker showing up we were back on the road! We stopped at a hotel around 2 in the morning and slept. Woke up Wednesday and DROVE. When I say drove, KYLE DROVE. He was ready to be there that day and be done with the Uhaul. No more driving! I was definitely getting cabin fever and we were both a bit crabby towards the very end of the drive but I will admit I was just relieved to get "home". We arrived at 4:30 AM (Thursday) to beautiful NEBRASKA! It was so nice to pull into Omaha and realize we were getting out of that truck soon! We found a hotel and slept until 2 in the afternoon Thursday. It was beautiful. Needed. Refreshing. We both made it a point to get massages once we were officially moved in because that truck had no lumbar support, and my neck hurts, and we were going to be lifting boxes up 3 flights of stairs today so yeah. Massages sound great.

SO TODAY, Friday the 13th, though most may be superstitious about today, I am SO THANKFUL that everything is coming together. The things that could have been SO STRESSFUL and anxiety inducing went VERY SMOOTHLY. The truck didn't break down, Kyle's car stayed on the trailer, my car was finally picked up and is now on it's way to Nebraska, from the looks of the truck nothing shifted during the road trip, there is just so much to give God the praise for. We arrived to our apartment to sign our lease at 9am and were rearing to get our crap into our new home. We hired three movers for 200 dollars. As Kyle would say: best 200 dollars every S P E N T. Which I couldn't agree with more because I just told them where to put things as I started unpacking and they were so kind. We also live on the third floor so they also brought up the heaviest things! Kyle was also happy about that! There was only one thing that broke but I can't even remember what it was right now so must not have been that important.


Finally, I am sitting on the couch, enjoying homemade corn chowder (so simple to make and good after a long days work) and watching Avatar in front of our cool fireplace. VERY happy to have my home. Still a good amount of unpacking that needs to get done but to have a place of our own, to have everything go so smoothly, I am thankful, I am happy, I am tired. Best thing happening this evening is having my own bed back and boy am I excited to sleep!