Dear New Apartment…I’m Home.

Posted November 14, 2009
Filed under: Uncategorized |

Last weekend, Blogger Dearest got a fresh new bachelorette pad. My parents and cousin drove five and a half hours to help me move. Ninety-five percent of my personal possessions, clothing, and all of my furniture have been in a storage unit in Lincoln Park since July. I hadn’t found a full-time job and was staying with my former roommate and her new roommate for a while. Then I was sleeping on my former boss’s couch from mid-August until last weekend. It was hard, but I wasn’t ready to let Chicago go. Anyone who lives here understands…this place just sucks you in!

It’s amazing what having your own place makes you feel. I’ve been on an emotional roller coaster these past six months and having one week of consistency, knowing where everything in and not worrying about someone else’s schedule has literally felt like a weight of my shoulders. Of course I am so thankful for anyone and everyone who has helped me out, but this dear blogger has been extremely independent for quite some time now and it’s nice to feel like I’m standing on my own again.

I didn’t like the way this new place smelled. I was trying to explain it to one of my managers at my awesome part-time retail job and I think she thought the apartment smelled bad. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what the smell was myself. But of course my mom figured it out, saying, “It just smells like it’s been closed up for a while.” Bingo. Smell is the strongest sense tied to memories, and I think everyone knows what home smells like when you get there. So now my new home smells like the Autumn Apple Wallflower plug from Bath and Body Works. I tend to have seasonal scents, and this one seemed like the perfectly fresh fall scent.

It usually takes me forever to get things settled at a new place. I never fully unpacked in my first apartment in Rogers Park and had boxes of stuff overflowing in a corner of my last apartment in Lakeview. But all the nights I lied on couches, I said the next place would be different. It would be more grown-up. Things would match. Not quite there yet, but I feel better about it. Everything had a place by the time I went to bed on Sunday. Seriously, that’s a major accomplishment. It just finally feels like I’m home.

Below are pictures of Blogger Dearest’s new apartment! Please feel free to comment on your experiences moving into a new place.