Showing posts with label Apartment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apartment. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Home Away From Home Away From Home

We close on our house in a week + a day. AHHH it's finally happening! I figured if there was ever a time to document our current digs, it would be now. I don't think I'd care to blog about our apartment once we're all moved into our house, but I like to look back on these memories that I'm sure I would otherwise forget. Plus we had our move-out inspection yesterday which meant the place was cleaner than it's ever been, sooo I had to take advantage of that opportunity. If you don't care to see pictures of a mediocre apartment with minimal furniture/decor, feel free to scroll to the bottom to see Emmett's cute face!




Don't worry Emmett, you'll have a play room and a real bed soon :,) He has slept in that pack-n-play for the majority of his life.


Our teeny, tiny kitchen. To give you an idea of how minimal we've been living, only four of those cabinets have anything in them. Almost all of our stuff is stacked and packed deep in Ryan and Karlie's garage. It truly wasn't worth the amount of work it would have taken to find some of the things we would have liked to have had these past few months {like all of my summer clothes or kitchen knives for instance} but we've managed to get by. I'd like to give a shout out to $8 toasters, Jason's t-shirts, and our lil george foreman grill.


Another thing we've been without is a kitchen table. We thought the bar stools and countertop would suffice for the 'short' time we'd be here. I anticipated we would only be in the apartment for a little over a month, but sadly that's not been the case. If I could go back, we'd set up the darn table! I miss it so much.




Our room doesn't look much different than it did in our town home.. yikes. Jason and I have agreed that we are going to make our room more of a priority in our house since that's where we spend a ton of our time. Oh have I got plans for Jason's yearly work bonus! Love you babe.



I had to snap a pic of our sad little pantry closet. Soon we'll have one 20x this size lol.


I'm really trying to make the best of this time. However, it's hard being cooped up in an apartment all day... in a new state... during a hotttt southern summer... with a toddler... living minimally. Some days I feel like my sanity is hanging by a thread. But we are nearing the end and I know I'm going to appreciate our new home so much more after all this. Our apartment is two bed, two bath only because it was all they had available on short notice. I'm actually glad one bedroom wasn't an option because Emmett is FINALLY sleep trained and I don't think that would have happened if he didn't have his own room. {And I would have sacrificed a temporary bedroom to save some $$.} We literally don't step foot in the extra bathroom, but I guess it will be convenient for when my parents and Mauri stay this weekend. I. CAN'T. WAIT.

Now time for an Emmett update.

Emmett will be eighteen months in a few weeks. Where'd my baby go?!?! He's learning so much lately and also becoming quite the handful. Terrible twos might be hitting us a little early with this one :,) He has soooo much energy. Emmett loves to climb on anything and everything and is a little too confident with it. His latest thing is climbing on bar stools and toilets and countertops. He also likes to jump off of things if mom is close enough to catch him. Boy keeps me on my toes! Emmett is still the pickiest eater in the world. His main food group is crackers - graham crackers, goldfish crackers, ritz crackers, saltine crackers, vanilla wafers, veggie straws, puffs, chips... you get it. He does eat the occasional apple slice and oatmeal, though. He's super good at taking toddler formula which helps get some more nutrients in that lil bod. I finally weaned Emmett from breastfeeding! Only took about 16 1/2 months. He still tempts himself by tugging at my shirt, but I tell him nursing is for babies and he's a big boy. Diaper changes consist of chasing around a speedy naked bum. He's not a fan of bath time, but I don't really blame him. I wouldn't want to take a bath in this apartment tub either. Emmett's favorite song is head, shoulders, knees, and toes. If he's in the mood he will point to body parts and animals when asked. His vocabulary consists of mama, dada, car, dog, star, uh-oh, duck, quack, shh, and digga-digga-digga. {We think that last one comes from us saying tickle, tickle, tickle.} Our boy has sixteen teeth already! He's handled teething so well. Most of the time I'm not even aware that a new one is coming in! Emmett now puts himself to sleep with a bottle during naps and bedtime which is AH-MAZ-ING. Nap at 12:30, bedtime at 8:30... it's like clockwork. He's also been taking 2-3 hour naps lately and I am soaking. it. up. He usually wakes up in a good mood and will just chill in his crib for a bit with no complaints. He gets so excited when we say it's time to brush his teeth or go outside. He also loves getting his shoes on because that means we're leaving the apartment haha. His highchair is a no-go these days. He's gotten a little too used to eating on the couch while living here... my bad. Emmett is generally a really happy boy. It's easy to get him to laugh and smile, but he also gets easily upset over the smallest of things. When he's really feeling mad he will run up to a wall or something hard and hit his head on it over and over until it makes him cry harder. He's done this basically since he could walk and I really hope it's just a phase. I think when I was younger I would pull my hair out when I was mad, so he must get that urge from me. Oh, buddy. We love his funny facial expressions, the way he lights up and runs at us when we've been apart, his obsession with cars and stuffed animals and books, the excited anticipation he gets when we count to five, the way he claps when he's proud of himself, his darling laugh, and those jiggly cheeks. I swear I love him more and more every day.







Alright, I'm calling it a night. It's exciting to know that my next blog post will be written in the comfort of our brand new home.

Until then!

Thursday, February 25, 2016

ID to CO to UT

We have been in full moving mode lately! {Ugh.} And because I am somewhat of a sentimental person, I couldn't help but snap a few pictures of our second home together before we headed out. I'll admit, I was teary eyed. We were saying goodbye to not only our apartment, but Rexburg! A place we have both called home for the past couple years of our lives. The place we met and made SO many memories together. It was bittersweet, definitely.




Once we left Rexburg, we made our way to Colorado and moved in with my family for about a month while Jason job searched. He put SO much time towards this. He even went to some LDS business classes while we were there. Our first day in the ward, Jason was approached eight times by different people about potential job opportunities for him. {Shout-out to my dad for his many connections.} We felt blessed, but kept our options open.

 One weekend the fam took a trip down to Utah to celebrate Jason's 26th birthday and my dad's 50th birthday {more on that found here}. The timing couldn't have been more perfect because Jason had a couple of interviews lined up in Utah that same week. He felt confident and excited after his interviews, and that same day he was offered a job for a company called Packsize. We drove back to Colorado for a week, packed everything up once again, and moved to Utah so Jason could start work that next Monday.

My parents and grandparents have been angels for letting us live with them for a little while we save up and search for a more permanent home. We've been living in Utah for a little over a month now and we really are enjoying every minute. Jason loves his job, and I start working at Discover Financial Services next month! Is it weird that I'm super excited to start working? I've never worked for such a big corporation, so I'm looking forward to the experience!

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There are still so many things I could go on about! These past couple months have been packed full of blog-worthy events. I want to at least mention some things, or else I will probably forget they ever happened. SO I promise I'll be brief.

We celebrated our first Christmas together in Rexburg with Jason's mom and siblings! This was my first Christmas away from my home, so it took some getting used to. We still had lots of fun playing games, eating good food, and enjoying each others company. Even with our tight budget at the time, I convinced Jason that we needed a tree for our apartment. I originally was going to make a DIY tree with branches and ornaments, but we ended up finding a super steal deal on one. Definitely worth it.


We spent New Years Eve in Colorado with my familia! Our late night was full of delicious appetizers {that lasted us weeks afterwards}, tenzi/golf tournaments, sparkling cider, rowdy noise makers, new years kisses, and party hats. It was such a fun time!


I took a trip to the Denver temple one evening with my parents. I get so excited going through different temples for the first time! Each one is so, so beautiful. This particular trip was for an elderly lady in the ward. She was going through for the first time to be sealed to her deceased husband and son. I don't think I've ever seen someone so happy before. The spirit was overwhelming and it was the sweetest.

Grandpa Syddall got a smart phone! I know it doesn't seem like much, but it was a pretty big deal around here {especially because he said he would never get one}. It had to be documented haha.


January and February are theee birthday months in this fam. We've attended eight birthday parties in the past two months. Eight! That's a lot of cake and ice cream. {We are dying to get gym memberships.} I've actually loved it, though. Family get togethers are my absolute fav.


Super bowl Sunday was spent partying at Robyn's house. And even though this is old news now, THE DENVER BRONCOS WON! We were all pretty proud in our Broncos jammies {via Christmas Eve 2014}.


Our social life here consists of family pretty much, but we love it! Game nights at Taylor and Lynnea's has got to be our favorite way to spend Saturday nights. We can play King of Tokyo for hours and hours and never get bored. They are the funnest to be around!


We went on a sibling date with Britta, Austin, Scarlett, Taylor, and Lynnea. We ate dinner at Cafe Rio and then went to the Provo City Center temple open house. It was so gorgeous! {It may actually be my favorite temple... I can't decide.} Scarlett was making us all laugh as she applauded and YAYed when the temple introduction movie was over. She is too cute.


This last weekend my aunt Angela called me up asking if Jason and I would mind "babysitting" her kids while her and Matt went out on a date. We obviously didn't mind at all, but she went out of her way to turn it into a date for us as well. When we got there, all the kids were already in bed and they had a tub of movie theater popcorn, pizza, and soda all ready for us. They even had us pick out a movie to rent on Vidangel {which I highly suggest looking into because it is the greatest thing ever}. It was one of my favorite dates!


Phew! I think that'll do for now. All in all, life is awesome.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Not a Texan

*Side note: This has been sitting in my drafts for  m o n t h s  now, so ignore the fact that it's all old news.

This post is going to be all over the place {literally}. Even though I don't have too many fond memories while living in Texas, I don't want to completely disregard the first 4 1/2 months of our married life... so here's the overview.

Our First Home








I'll admit, when we arrived I pretty much fell in love with our first little home {apartment}. I loved unpacking, organizing, decorating, and getting nice and settled. I especially liked the dark floors, the black appliances, and the huge walk-in closet. I was excited for this new chapter in our lives! It makes me sad that the dang cockroaches {which we started seeing about two weeks after moving in} ended up ruining that experience for me. Once the bugs moved in, I wanted to move-out BUT I don't want this post to be about that. All of the furniture we had was rented, which made moving a whole lot easier.

Our First Meal


I'm ashamed to say that the first meal I made as a wife was kraft mac & cheese... in an apartment with no furniture whatsoever. We went about a week before our rental furniture arrived so there was a lot of living room floor picnics, a lot of waking up on a deflated blow-up mattress, and a lot of laughs because we were the epitome of every newly married couple. I'm proud to say that I have since mastered some delicious crock pot recipes! I know Jason appreciates it ;)

Our Family & Friends



We were lucky enough to have some friends and family close enough to come visit us. Ryan and Karlie were living in Dallas at the time {which is only about a 3 hour drive from where we were} so they made a trip down to explore Austin with us and we made our way to Dallas to go on a five-couplet date with them. It is always such a fun time with those two!


We had a couple of dinner dates with some of Jason's cousins that lived in the area. It was seriously such a blessing to have so many familiar faces in such an unfamiliar place. Tiana {pictured above} was oh so kind and treated us to a fancy dinner one evening in downtown Austin. It was literally the fanciest, most expensive, and delicious restaurant either of us had ever eaten at. I so wish we got a picture of the three of us that night! She treated Jason to dinner another night while I was home sick. So sweet of her! 
We also went to this unique hot dog place called Franks with another one of Jason's cousins, Kayli. She told me that she fan-girled my Facebook and we instantly clicked. I love my new family!


About a week before we moved out of Texas, we met up with half the Billat clan for lunch as they passed though Austin. We went to Moonie's Burgers, mine and Jason's favorite local burger shop. The food was great, but the company was better. It was so fun spending time with my Texas framily!

 Our Dates





Some of our Austin outings included hiking Mount Bonnell, seeing Jurrassic World in IMAX 3-D {by mistake}, swimming while taking underwater pictures, exploring Zilker Park, mini golfing, driving all the way to the mall only to get a wetzel pretzel, watching fireworks on the 4th of July, along with lots of midnight taco bell and 7-11 slurpee runs when we were feeling the munchies.

The Last of Our First Car



Jason was sad to see his baby go, but even he will admit that selling his 2002 S-60 Volvo to the junk yard was the best option. We didn't have to worry about the car turning off every few minutes AND we were riding luxuriously blasting the A.C. on our 14 hour drive back to Colorado! You truly don't understand the blessing of A.C. until you've had to live a summer in Texas without it.



We picked up the rental car, dropped the Volvo off at the junk yard, packed up the remainder of our belongings {thankfully one of the guys Jason sold with had a truck and took over half of our stuff with him}, turned in our apartment keys, and left Austin for good. We were both so, so, so, so, so happy as we were driving away!



For those of you who haven't been, Austin is extremely lush and green-- no wonder the bugs love it here! The roads are lined with thousands and thousands of trees. It made for a very scenic drive home... but the views ain't enough to bring me back. So long Texas!!!