Welcome to the Neighborhood

Brandon and I found a great place to live in DC's smallest quadrant: Southwest. It's tiny, look:

I suggested we look at the neighborhood because we knew we'd be riding the Metro for work and it's so close to Nationals Park (Brandon loves baseball). We found an awesome place on Craigslist by the Waterfront metro stop. Brandon has a knack for finding great places to live because to him, awesome = great kitchen. No complaints from me!

I have an island!

Turns out our condo owner just renovated the whole place with new paint, appliances and a modern sleek look. I can't tell you how cool it is that I got to take the styrofoam out from the dishwasher before using it and the tape out of the freezer. Wow! I guess I better take good care of them :)


We are still learning about the neighborhood, but the street we live on is tree-lined and people of all ages, families included, can be seen walking about. A few blocks down from us is the Southwest Waterfront, which is so neat! There is Cantina Marina, the 7th St. Landing and further down is the fish market. Someday it hopes to be a mixed-use urban waterfront. We have a Safeway, Subway, Z Burger, Arena Stage and the elusive Titanic Memorial - life is good. Brandon and I think we've found a little gem here and it seems like it will only get better with time.

Brandon's Birthday

Since Brandon has been out in Virginia the past few years, it's been a while since he had a proper birthday party. On October 29 we decided to throw a birthday/Halloween party. We invited some friends over to celebrate - costumes encouraged! Knute and Nancy brought cake. Can't have a store-bought cake without a good cake fail:

Hey, they spelled my name right for once

Brandon re-wore a Popeye costume from last year. When he took me to the store to look at the Olive Oyl costume, I realized that I already had the outfit. I just added a felt collar and a yellow ribbon. The felt was adhesive and I attached the ribbon with double sided tape. Easy peasy.

We asked everyone to bring beer. I provided Chinese-style Turkey Meatballs and Pizza Bites. Both, we're recipes that I made for the first time and both were easy to prepare ahead of time. What luck! Forgot to take pictures of these, but seriously, they were a hit! The costume of the night was definitely Two Peas in a Pod:

A+

Brandon and Mitra in a Pod

The rest of our guests:

Happy Halloween!

His and Hers

I came home yesterday to find my bed like this:

You know who found his old pillow case... but I guess it's ok because I still sleep with a stuffed animal :p

Late to Work

I was late to work this morning because of an accident blocking my driveway. The garbage truck fell off our raised driveway and into the ditch.

My neighbor said the driver was looking down and missed the road. Luckily, the truck didn't fall over and was able to be towed out around 7:35.

Off he goes (taken through my front window)

My First Houseplant

At the farmer's market a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I would like a hanging plant to put out on our patio. Nancy surprised me with one - a "deep salmon" begonia. It requires light watering and part sun to shade lighting.

I had big plans to hang it on the metal hanger that came with the apartment, but when we went to put it up there we realized it had rusted. I'm sure I can find a new one at the hardware store.

For now the plant is just hanging out on the patio. It brightens my day!

My Office

Our second bedroom is an office that Brandon and I share. This weekend, I was finally able to set up my side the way I want it. Do you like?

My favorite part is my butterfly collection.

Come visit! The middle of the room is wide open, with lots of room for an air mattress :-)

Where I Sleep

Did you know that Linens n Things still exists? It does online at lnt.com.

Brandon talked me into buying a down comforter for our bed. At first I didn't think we needed it but after feeling the down I became a believer! We found one on sale at Bed Bath and Beyond. Our next search was for a duvet cover to protect and add color. Turns out duvet covers are more expensive than our comforter. That was kind of a bummer. So we searched and searched. Finally we pulled the trigger on this duvet cover set. Here's how it looks in our bedroom:

Yeah, its shiny, haha. But we decided that for $20 we could live with it :) It keeps the comforter in place and it feels good. Next on the list is some decoration for the walls. Any suggestions?

Dr. Donuts

After church yesterday I decided to try Doctor Donuts. The store was new and modern with quite a bit of seating. When I walked in around 11:30am there was just one family inside. I was unimpressed with the selection of donuts, there were probably 7 choices of donuts in the case and only a few of each in stock. I ended up ordering an iced coffee a raspberry-filled donut for Brandon and a chocolate-frosted french cruller for me. We agreed the donuts were tasty but my coffee wasn't great. I just looked at their website and it is really awful! Their slogan is "No fat donuts to low fat donuts." Apparently, the "Doctor" is Dr. Srinivas Gaddam who has his hand in all sorts of different business plans. He owns the adjacent hotel which frequently  hosts doctors for medical conferences. If his angle is nutrition then I couldn't tell from my visit.

Brandon and I spent the afternoon unpacking and rebuilding our furniture. The apartment is almost ready to move into!

Big kitchen. Very happy! I guess I can introduce you to the place:

This is the back, obviously. But since we park back here we will be entering through the sliding doors most of the time. And this is the front:

A big thank you to Jamie and Jared who helped us move. Across the street from us is Murdale Gardens which is a cemetery. We can see Jamie's grandma from our living room :)

Signed a Lease

We have an apartment! Brandon and I signed a lease this afternoon with Hawk Apartments. Here is a sneak peak at the fabulous wallpaper in the kitchen:

More photos to come. We move in on Saturday. But, let's look at some stats: 

In Fairfax County, VA the 2009 average rental complex rent was $1,375 source 

In Jackson County, IL the 2009 median rent for apartments was $447 source

I think it's safe to say that the rent is not "too damn high" out here, and that's a very good thing :)