Vacation!

I get made fun of because I take a lot of vacations.. I try to get away often.. and I get a little crazy when I've been doing the norm for more than 2 or 3 months straight.

I don't know why I take so many more vacations than my friends do. I don't know where the point of disagreement is.
but it's true.. frighteningly true..

I actually know people who do NOT go on enough vacations!


Everyone loves a getaway, don't they? Well, they should! There are so many things you can do on a vacation.. There are so many benefits, as well.

My new home!

I have so far neglected to mention that I'm moving! Just a few weeks ago, my friend Jess and I signed papers for an apartment.. We are so excited!!!

This is not the first time I've moved.. it's not even the first time I've moved out of my parents house. However, it IS my first APARTMENT! We, being 20-something hip and fun-loving chicks, have yearned, for quite a while, to live closer to Georgia's big cit-tay - the ATL!

I'd like to share some resourceful sites and pages I've been using for random things.

These may be helpful to you, as well, whether you are moving or not!

Craigslist.org - This is a great FREE website for buying, selling, renting, meeting, borrowing, trading, discussing, hiring, being hired, and more!! There is an extensive list of CITIES alone to search through.. So wherever you are, you're pretty much set - Including Internationally. Everyone is looking for some kind of deal here.. You are very likely to get a good one.

I am currently negotiating prices for some bookcases. The one I have now is OVERFLOWING and I have an unhealthy habit of buying books just to see them on my bookcase. (What a thrill!)

Promove.com - We used Promove to find our apartment after a friend suggested it to us. I signed up online and was promptly contacted, by phone, by a nice gentleman. The day we went in, he noted our requirements, gave us probably 100 complexes (each on their own sheet of paper, with all the details, amenities, prices, etc), and helped us narrow them down... "That one's kind of ghetto.. This one's really nice.. This is a great area.."

We went home with about 18 "maybe's" to shuffle through and were instructed to narrow them further. We ended up with 7 that we wanted visit and see with our own eyes.

The best day for Jess and I to start checking out apartments was a Sunday - NOTE: Half of the world's apartment complexes are NOT open on Sundays.. so we settled for the 4 that were advertised to be open on Sundays.

The first complex was okay.. The second one was a little better.. the third one was actually NOT open on Sundays.. and the 4th and last one of the day we just fell in love with. Everything just felt right about this place. We decided to not bother with the last 3 complexes. Overall it was a pretty easy process because of Promove.. OH I forgot to mention that PROMOVE IS FREE! So you really have nothing to lose.

DIY: Painted Doormat - I have NOT done this yet, so I can't give you much info about it.. but you KNOW I will do this.. What is better than a Welcome mat for your new home? Nothing except maybe a HOMEMADE doormat!!! This looks super easy as well.

Return Address Labels - I'm not changing my address officially since my I'm close with my family and can always grab my junk mail when I pass by the house. However, I am thinking about getting some new return address labels!! Much easier than hand-writing your addy for each bill, letter and postcard. Plus you can add your own personality since there's so many designs to choose from. Fun!!
Til next time.. Live Swell!