Nooroonji rice, egg, cucumbers, radish kimchi and bibimbap leftovers.
10/14/11
10/8/11
Saturday breakfast
I made breakfast this morning for the first time in awhile. Omelettes with red bell peppers from Lynd's Fruit Farm, and fresh basil and onions from Jaclyn's garden; honeycrisp apples from Lynd's, and whole grain bread from La Brea Bakery. Fall is here!
8/1/11
Fresh produce
We just got back from Jaclyn and Brian's place with a handful of goodies from their garden. I wish I could've taken a photo in daylight, but I wanted to grab a shot before W started cooking stuff up. From the left going clockwise: basil, chives, bell peppers, potatoes, onions, garlic, swiss chard, purple beans and tomatoes. It was so fun to see their garden in full force and to get fresh produce. I love it!
7/6/11
New home
So we finally moved! It's been almost 2 weeks since we've been here. Some info about our new place:
1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
10 miles from W's work and my school
9 miles from my work
No washer/dryer
No microwave
We rented 2 covered parking spots (necessary for winter)
Our rent with the parking is $807/month.
We cut our commutes in half, so it takes me 15 minutes to drive to school or work. We live behind a Walmart, to give you a sense of the neighborhood. It's also geographically in between the two places I shared about in a previous post.
To be honest, at first it was a difficult adjustment, downsizing from a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car attached garage, with washer and dryer. We used to live in a newer single standing home, and now we live in an apartment unit. Things like the noise of neighbors, a smaller space, and the lack of amenities is taking some getting used to.
BUT, there are some things I'm really enjoying. Mainly, simplifying our lives. In terms of furniture, the only new thing we had acquired was a $75 desk from IKEA, so all of our furniture came to the new place. But I got rid of a bunch of kitchen stuff, clothes, books, and random stuff because we don't have space for things we don't use on a daily basis. It's amazing how much we had accumulated in the last year. We got rid of 9 large shopping bags of stuff.
Also, we don't have a washer/dryer in the unit (or in the building), and we don't have a microwave. And you already know we haven't had a TV in 2.5 years. We contemplated renting a w/d for $35/month, but decided against it. And I didn't think we could survive without a microwave but so far we've been able to (we'll see what happens in the winter).
It has been very freeing to simplify life, save on rent & utilities, drive less and even live in a smaller space.
1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
10 miles from W's work and my school
9 miles from my work
No washer/dryer
No microwave
We rented 2 covered parking spots (necessary for winter)
Our rent with the parking is $807/month.
We cut our commutes in half, so it takes me 15 minutes to drive to school or work. We live behind a Walmart, to give you a sense of the neighborhood. It's also geographically in between the two places I shared about in a previous post.
To be honest, at first it was a difficult adjustment, downsizing from a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car attached garage, with washer and dryer. We used to live in a newer single standing home, and now we live in an apartment unit. Things like the noise of neighbors, a smaller space, and the lack of amenities is taking some getting used to.
BUT, there are some things I'm really enjoying. Mainly, simplifying our lives. In terms of furniture, the only new thing we had acquired was a $75 desk from IKEA, so all of our furniture came to the new place. But I got rid of a bunch of kitchen stuff, clothes, books, and random stuff because we don't have space for things we don't use on a daily basis. It's amazing how much we had accumulated in the last year. We got rid of 9 large shopping bags of stuff.
Also, we don't have a washer/dryer in the unit (or in the building), and we don't have a microwave. And you already know we haven't had a TV in 2.5 years. We contemplated renting a w/d for $35/month, but decided against it. And I didn't think we could survive without a microwave but so far we've been able to (we'll see what happens in the winter).
It has been very freeing to simplify life, save on rent & utilities, drive less and even live in a smaller space.
6/27/11
More herbs
6/11/11
Public transport
This post summarizes so well the reasons why I heart (and miss) public transportation.
P.S. We're still looking...
P.S. We're still looking...
6/6/11
Advice
We've been apartment searching for awhile now, and it's coming down to the wire as we need to move out by 6/29. It's been challenging to settle on a place because W and I have different "likes" when it comes to our home. Right now we are in the suburbs, about 30 minutes from downtown, and for me it has been difficult to be here after living in Chicago. I would like to be closer to the center of the city. I like the quiet here but I don't like the driving and the inability to walk anywhere. W is more of a burb guy, but he's willing to indulge me because I've complained about it so much. So here are our options. Tell me what you think:
"Burbs Option": 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car attached garage, all carpet
Driving Miles: 16 to W's work, 16 to my school, 11 to my work, 5 to church
"City Option": 1 bedroom, 1 bath, hardwood floors, 1 car underground parking
Miles: 1.1 to W's work, 1.4 to school, 11 to my work, 16 to church
Cost is $192 more per month than the burb option, 83 less square feet
It's a 10 minutes walk to coffee shops and a main road where there are restaurants and shops, monthly art walks, etc...
You can see why I like the city option. But $192 extra seems like a lot. We would save some on gas with the city option, but right now we carpool so I only drive separately to school once a week. What do you think?
"Burbs Option": 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car attached garage, all carpet
Driving Miles: 16 to W's work, 16 to my school, 11 to my work, 5 to church
"City Option": 1 bedroom, 1 bath, hardwood floors, 1 car underground parking
Miles: 1.1 to W's work, 1.4 to school, 11 to my work, 16 to church
Cost is $192 more per month than the burb option, 83 less square feet
It's a 10 minutes walk to coffee shops and a main road where there are restaurants and shops, monthly art walks, etc...
You can see why I like the city option. But $192 extra seems like a lot. We would save some on gas with the city option, but right now we carpool so I only drive separately to school once a week. What do you think?
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