Sign apartment lease? Check!

Last night WE OFFICIALLY SIGNED OUR NEW APARTMENT LEASE! I am so so happy about that for 2 main reasons:

A photo I took of a part of our lease!
(very restricted bc of all the legality of the
document, but still, pretty cool!)

1. Though the building had official documentation that we are moving to our new apartment unit on September 7, we didn't have any official lease in writing until last night. It is just a major relief to have this all written down and official!
2. I actually get to cross something off my "10 Goals for This Year" page. I've been doing a few of the things on the list, but they are more like rolling tasks (ie: don't get fat, etc), so this concrete accomplishment has made me very satisfied :)

Very excited to officially move now. They took down one of our temporary walls that is up in our unit now and they are taking the other pieces down on different dates before we actually move out, so privacy is going to be EXTREMELY LIMITED these next 1.5-ish weeks. I can tell I'm going to get to know my roommates very well during this time. I don't hate it!

Happy Wednesday!

<3, Charlotte

New apartment (part 1)

I have been talking about this for a few posts, but I am officially moved into my new apartment! Here's the deal why my move isn't final. So I found this apartment on Craigslist (and my roommates ROCK, got lucky on that one). The girl that had my room moved out last weekend and I could move my stuff into this place whenever. Unfortunately, the building is renovating this apartment unit, but we got the same exact one 5 floors below. We're moving there on September 7th (after we put in the temporary walls again and such).

Living room right when you walk in!

Another view of the living room.

Soooo, I am living like a semi-homeless person/college student again. I don't want to order furniture to this apartment if I'm just going to move in 2 weeks, so I am sleeping on a blow-up mattress. I also

Hanging rod and some of the pink bins.
#collegeliving

have saved these bright pink (not upset about it) bins that I had all throughout college, which is what a lot of my stuff is in for the time being. And I have a hanging rod in my room for the clothes that don't fit in my closets because I don't have a dresser or anything yet.

Even though this situation is not completely ideal, it is MUCHHH better than the place I lived in before this. Luckily I LOVE the color pink, so I'm not really upset about my room looking like a pink explosion happened in it :)

My windows (love this view)! And those
beautiful bins.
Also note the blow-up mattress.

It's so nice, everything is set up since the girls have been living here for an entire year- I've been just hanging out and watching TV in our living room all day. My roommates are really cool and so nice. Since they're both not here this weekend we are going to do something this week to get to know each other better. (Well, they already know each other since they were roommates before, but I don't know them very well OBVI)

I could definitely get used to this living arrangement! Just have to worry about moving into our new place in a couple weeks.

Very very happy right now!

<3, Charlotte

Pit and Peak: week of 8.5.13

Week 2 of this tradition!

I cannot believe it was a week ago that I did this for the first time! It's time for the pit and peak of my past week.

Pit: The pit of my week was definitely having that terrible encounter with my ex-soon-to-be-roommate - Ellen's - boyfriend. You can read about the incident here, but that definitely was my low-point for the week. I hate when people are mad at me! And I had being put into terrible situations. UGH. Still bothered but def not as much as I was right after the fact.

Peak: OBVIOUSLY the peak of my week was finding an apartment!!! Ahhh I had been waiting for so long and it makes me so relieved that everything came together. And that the place is basically a palace. UNBELIEVABLE! Supposedly the other girl moves out in a little over a week, so then I am definitely starting to move my stuff into my new place! YAYAYAYAY

Okay, onto the next week! :) Hopefully this one will be much less dramatic.

<3, Charlotte

Early planning stages - moving for a second time!

I'm sure I've mentioned in some other posts that the place I'm living at this summer is only for the summer. I'm going to be moving to a new place in September, and my parents are paying for my summer housing for my graduation present (they are seriously the BEST for doing that for me!).

On Saturday, I had lunch with my future roomie, Eliza. We went to Pershing Square (which I was SUPER excited about since Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis went there in Friends with Benefits), where we would discuss all the different things we were looking for in a place. Our list of wants ended up being as follows:

• 2nd Avenue or west


• Between 44th and 23rd


• No more than 1400/month


• Doorman


• Not too far from a subway stop


• East Side

So, we have OFFICIALLY established our criteria and are not beginning our search. We are open to living with some more girls - supposedly the rent gets cheaper as the number of people you live with increases, so if we can find some good big places we may do that!

I am sooo excited to begin this search again and to find a new place! (Should be much easier than last time now that I actually LIVE in NYC!)

That's all the updates on that for now...

<3, Charlotte

Sharing a bathroom: Real World Edition

Every weekday morning, my alarm rings at 6:30am. Why do I get up so early? Because that is the only time I know I will be able to get into the bathroom to shower. I usually shower and then nap for an extra 30 minutes and then get ready for my day at around 7:30.

How SICK would it be to have this shower?!

See, that's one thing that they do not warn you about the real world - when everyone you're living with has similar schedules, it is CRUCIAL that you make sure you know how to share the bathroom! My apartment has not created a solid schedule, and this has been slightly problematic.

Before I decided to begin my routine at 6:30, there were some days when I couldn't get into the bathroom when I ideally wanted to. I would be sitting in my room, unable to get ready or do basically anything because the first thing that I needed to do was get into the shower!!! What a crappy way to start off your day, worrying about when you are going to be able to clean yourself. UGH, NOT worth the worry! (Sidenote: even yesterday, A SATURDAY, I needed to shower before getting ready to meet my future roommate for brunch and my roommate was using the bathroom at the exact time I needed it! This is not an ideal situation.)

So basically, I think that no more than 2 people should be allowed to share a bathroom in the real world. College is a different ball game with everyone's weird schedules so I never ran into problems at school, but this is just madness!

Really looking forward to moving in with my friend in September :)

<3, Charlotte

UPDATE: I am OFFICIALLY a New Yorker!

I have arrived! Well, as of 2pm yesterday I have arrived, but I had so much to do when I first got here so this is my first post from NEW YORK CITY! So surreal, so cool, so legit.

I am a real person. Woah.

My stuff was already moved in to my apartment, so I just had to set everything up. Let me tell you, when you are by yourself and have to put a bed bug protector on a queen sized mattress ALONE, you get a whole new perspective on life. Man, I hope I don't have to do that again, IT WAS EXHAUSTING! Between that and assembling all of my pink crates and storage units, yesterday left me WIPED OUT! I feel lame because I didn't go out last night, but that was my last night to sleep and relax before the rest of my life starts, I have forgiven myself for my lameness already.

She makes putting on sheets by herself look easy. NEWSFLASH: It's not!

Things I still need to do today:

1. Eat something. I'm freeking STARVING! Going to venture out to get something after this post. It will probably just be a bagel because they are cheap #poorgirldiet


2. Figure out how to get some more storage pieces. I need a rack to hang more of my clothes and one of those things you put on a door to hold my shoes and a hamper and a few other things. I have looked up Bed, Bath & Beyonds in NYC and none are really close to my apartment. I may just take the lazy way out and order everything. Bummer it won't be here until later in the week but better than walking a ton of blocks carrying all that stuff!


3. Prep for tomorrow. My first real person job! Yeesh, I have been preparing for this my entire life, but I am still incredibly nervous. I once had a swim coach that said "if you're nervous about it, that's good because that means you care. It is just a matter of channeling those nerves effectively and using them in the right way. Then you will be great." I LOVE LOVE LOVE that quote and am going to be thinking about it a LOT tomorrow!


4. Go for a run. We have a family membership to the YMCA at home, and I found out that I can use it at any gym in the country. There are some Y's in NYC, so I will try to go to one tonight and see if that rule actually applies. If it does OMG that will be AMAZING because then I don't have to pay for a gym membership! Thanks, dad.

Welp, that's all I can think of right now. Wish me luck!

<3, Charlotte

UPDATE: I move to NYC tomorrow!!

I have realized that my last 3 posts have been incredibly emo, and for that I am incredibly sorry!! I am a very happy person, but this is the biggest life change I have ever made, so I have needed to vent a little during the adjustment process.

But now that that is over and everything has been taken care of, I AM MOVING TO NEW YORK CITY TOMORROW! Omg omg omg omg omg! It feels absolutely amazing to say that in 24 hours I will reside in NYC. Aside from the fact that I will be taking my huge luggage, which I am hoping will be under 50 pounds, and dragging it around the city to my apartment, everything should be smooth sailing! (Sidenote: I may just take a cab from LaGuardia Airport to my apartment because even just talking about that sounds like a HUGE PAIN. Whateva, I'll worry about that when it happens!)

LITERALLY how I feel right now :)

I just wanted to thank you, my 42 followers, who have joined me already before I arrive at the Big Apple! I promise, the stories will get MUCH better from here on out! I plan on going on a lot of summer adventures and trying so many new things in this place of incredible opportunity. And I will do my best to inform you of different things that happen to me as an entry-level employee! (without jeopardizing the confidentiality agreement I have with my agency, of course)

OH EM GEE THIS IS SO EXCITING - New York, here I come! I hope you're ready for me...

Talk to you from NEW YORK CITY!

<3, Charlotte

Sweet home Chicago

We made it! DC to Chicago is always a struggle, but this time I slept for a decent amount of the drive. Success!

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="448"] An extreme exaggeration, but this is what my life is right now. YIKES[/caption]

It will be nice to be able to see a few of my friends who are staying in Chicago for their careers, but I also have a lot of cleaning and throwing-away-of-old-clothes to do (my parents are going to sell our house and I need to eliminate a lot of extra crap that I no longer need). I honestly don't know how I have become such a pack-rat, but I am really a simple person and don't need a lot of the clothes that I think I may wear one day. NO. Newsflash: if I haven't seen a piece of clothing  in more than a few weeks, chances are I'll never wear it. This maybe mentality is going to one day lead to me becoming a hoarder - I CANNOT let that happen!!

So that is what these next few days will amount to. Oh, and I need to start working out again. THAT is the first thing I will do tomorrow morning! OY, I'm going to need all the luck I can get.

<3, Charlotte

UPDATE: Move-in Part 1 = Success!

Today, we officially moved all of my things into my summer apartment! I'm so happy that my parents approved of the place I picked out ALL BY MYSELF. Big girl moment over here!

We drove up to NYC  today, moved everything in, then drove back to DC to end the night. So, there you have it, it is my last night in DC. Right now. I'm feeling so many emotions right now it's unreal. Sadness mixed with excitement mixed with nerves - I'm just trying to take it all in and appreciate the opportunity I have been given (sidenote: the job starts in a week!).

Tomorrow, we are DRIVING back to Chicago from DC. KILL ME NOW. My dad claims it to be 10 hours but bullshit, it's 11 or 12. Ugh, it is going to be rough. Over the course of today and tomorrow, I will have been in the back seat of a car for 20 hours. Yikes, should definitely not have verbalized that!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Oh, the back seat of a car. Why do I have to spend so much time here?[/caption]

Welp, getting up at 5am tomorrow morning for the drive, so I'm turning in early (of course, not without watching a few episodes of Dexter first, streaming online now - I LOVE HAVING INTERNET AGAIN!).

Wish me luck!

<3, Charlotte

Packing, packing, packing

I am now being forced to write this with SEVERELY LIMITED internet access, since the internet in my house has been officially shut down in preparation of us all moving out. I am basically bootlegging the little bit of access I get from the campus wifi that is able to get to me. I feel like it's the early 2000's again.

Unfortunately, this image cannot help me in this situation.

Anywaysssss, the past few days have consisted of me packing my entire year, and in some instances my college career, away. And let me tell you – I have a lot of shit! I anticipated having about 5 garbage bags in total to bring to New York with me, but that is now not the case. I find myself with 2 suitcases and 7 garbage bags. I’m not sure if that is too much for just the summer, but I have already sent 8 bags home with my parents. Seriously. I have way too much crap.

Packing my life away. It sure seems like that during this very moment in time. Pictures of friends ranging from high school to those I just met senior year. Gifts from friends I have not talked to since freshman year, and from those I just met a year ago. School t-shirts from all types of occasions to the few business clothes I have managed to acquire at this point in time. I really have no excuse to ever use the phrase “I have NOTHING to wear!” EVER again!

Though all of my college years were very different (I went from being a serious D1 athlete freshman year to ending as a senior who goes out 7 nights a week), I wouldn't do anything differently. I don’t believe in regrets. Why waste time being upset about things that have happened in the past? I like to think of everything that has happened as being experiences that have helped make me who I am today. And for who I have become, I am appreciative of it all.

Here's to no regrets. And to embracing everything that life throws your way.

<3, Charlotte