My great, amazing, fantastic news!

It's Thursday (my favorite day). It's been a week since I said hi to you, and I need to start off with a little apology - My life has been scattered everywhere the past two weeks. From dogsitting, to catsitting, to housesitting, to catching a terrible cold, to working overtime, to celebrating, to packing up my life, to moving my life ... wait say what?

Yup! My big, great, fabulous, ever-so-fantastic news is that I have moved! Oh ya, and my celebrating comes because I just hit my One Year Anniversary in Baltimore! What does One Year mean? Other than lots of love and appreciation for my new hood ... it means one lease expires and another one begins! I thought about living in the same apartment for another year, but realizing I was b*tching about something every other day from my toilet to the lack of a/c to the not enough heat to you name it, I wasn't all that happy in my home. I mean it was a super cute home and it had charm, but I needed my second year in B-more to B-something a little different.

So where am I living and why is this place oh-so different? Well I moved across the street for one. Yup, I literally packed up my life into 1,014 boxes, carried my legs down three flights of stairs, stopped at the sidewalk, checked for oncoming traffic, proceeded to carry my legs and 1,014 boxes across the street, walked up only one small flight of stairs and said hello to my new front door and apartment! Talk about a big change, right? From moving across the country to across the street is quite the change for me. But guess what? This new place is a gem. Ariel would have sung at the top of her lungs to be a part of my new world (Little Mermaid reference for those now officially confused)! Once I unpack my camera and get the internet hooked up, I will show you the beauty of this place. I'm not a cookie cutter house fan. I don't like paint colors that are assigned by your HOA guide. I don't want the best windows on the block. Nope, I'll I want is a historical cottage (or apartment) tucked behind some big ol' glass windows, noisy wooden floors, heinous kitchen tile (not really), and a bedroom a little too small that includes an even smaller closet.

Along with a new place comes a new roommate :) I seem to find the best things in life off of craigslist. Yes, I agree, I should be a spokesperson for them, but I don't think they need anyone to say how amazing they are. Katie and I sent each other a few messages, decided to meet at Starbucks, chatted for two hours, each saw the future place at different times, and realized it was meant to be. As soon as the chats, stories, outings, memories, and adventures happen between us, you can bet you'll be reading about them on here!

Now let me go back a few paragraphs and talk about my One Year Anniversary in Baltimore. I came here at a time when I was madly in love and desperately looking for a change in my career. What worked in my favor was the boy of my dreams happened to live in a city crowding with non-profits, shakers and of course movers. I need a new twist to my title. I wanted nothing more than to experience the world of non-profits and look how lucky I got > working for one of the most recognized and respected non-profits dedicated to the fight against breast cancer. Oh and I can't forget how lucky I got in the love department.

This year has been not only one of the best years of my life, but it has been the most emotionally-filled/invested/appreciated/you name it years! I came here because of a boy. Period. In my past life, I've moved around and made decisions for me. This year, I made one of the biggest decisions of my life because of someone else.

So with one year under my B-more belt, I'm beyond excited for the next 365 days ahead. For more complaints about humidity, please stay tuned. For more adventures to east coast cities, count on some fun. For more secrets about the things I love out here, read away. For more stories about settling into year two, I can't wait!

Thank you Mike, Mum, Pops, Mike's Family, Komen Maryland, Mia & Mona, Far Away Friends & New Friends, Volunteers, Burger Cookies, Crab Cakes, Atwaters, Andy Nelson's BBQ, a Half-Marathon, Apt. 311 and above all "Charm City" for giving me a year I'll always love!

cute photo