First Purchases, Problem, and Meal

Billy had to take off for Cape Cod today, where he’s playing baseball for the summer, so I spent the day unpacking and getting ready for the week ahead. 

First stop was Walmart, where I picked up a few things I needed for the apartment, including this awesome fan.

We had the same one at our old apartment, but Billy took it with him and it’s been pretty hot without one the last couple nights.  I have AC in my apartment, but I don’t see myself using it much, and I love the sound of a fan when I’m sleeping.

Next stop was the grocery store, where I stocked up on things like fruits, veggies, chicken, milk, eggs, cheese, bread, and water.  The fridge is now fully stocked and I’m ready to eat!

I’m not sure which grocery store I’ll use the most, but I tried out Hannaford today. The prices seemed fairly average, but the setup of the store was really confusing, so I wasn’t totally sold. There’s also a PriceChopper and a Shaw’s, and I’ve never been to a PriceChopper, so I think that’s the one I’ll check out next time to compare.

One thing I already love about this town is how close together everything is.  My apartment is only minutes away from parks, shopping, my work, restaurants, bike paths, downtown, Walmart, grocery stores, ice cream shops, and even the library.  I have a feeling it’s going to make life nice and convenient around here!

When I got back from shopping, I encountered my first problem of living in an apartment: getting all the groceries/purchases in from the car without dying of heat/exhaustion.  Luckily, I think picking up one of one of these will solve that problem:

(source)

I also spent several hours unpacking all the kitchen stuff so that I could actually eat at my own place.  I have double the amount of cabinet space here, and it was great being able to put things away in an organized manner instead of just stuffing it behind a door.

It’s still pretty barren, but at least it’s livable!

Next on the agenda was picking out outfits for work and ironing everything so it’s all ready to go.  I think I have my first day outfit nailed down, but it’s hard to know how dressed up or down to be on the first day.  Business casual in some offices can be quite different from that in others and being over or under dressed is never fun.  I think I’m going to go with a plain white blouse and black pants to try and be safe on middle ground. 

For dinner, I whipped up a quick sandwich grilled on the stove in some olive oil.  The bread was Arnold’s whole wheat, and the fillings were rotisseree chicken, tomatoes, spinach, and mozzarella cheese.

On the side were some Cape Cod salt + cracked pepper chips and a juicy orange.

Quick and delicious meal!

One of my favorite shows is back on the air as of last week, so I’m off to do a little TV watching and relaxing before the big day tomorrow. 

Questions:

Where do you shop for groceries?

If you’ve been to Hannaford and PriceChopper, which do you prefer?

Apartment Success!

I’ve got some pretty exciting news to share today so let’s run through the basics first:

Last night, when my mom got home, we were being our usual indecisive selves, so I took charge and picked some grilled chicken and prosciutto raviolis from her freezer to cook for dinner.

I sautéed some grape tomatoes on the stove in a little bit of olive oil, parsley, basil, and crushed red pepper, and then mashed them up a tiny bit.

I also broiled some asparagus, attached to which I found this fun little note.  Did you know these things?  Great stats and very cool that they put them right on the produce itself.

After the pasta cooked, I topped it with the tomatoes and a little bit of parmesan cheese.  The whole meal took about 10 minutes total to make, but it actually turned out pretty well!  I’m not a big prosciutto fan, but luckily it wasn’t totally overwhelming.

On the side we had a wheat French loaf I pulled out of the freezer and defrosted.

Mom and I were up bright and early this morning to get ready for the hour and a half trip to what will be my new home next month.  I made a bowl of oats + berries to hold me over for the ride.

We had an appointment to see the first apartment at 9:30, and from the second I stepped inside, I was sold.  The sun was shining through the almost floor-to-ceiling windows, the carpet was bright and clean, and the walls were freshly painted.  Even the hallways and common areas were beautiful.  The grounds were immaculate – maintenance and landscaping crews were already out there doing work – and the people we met were all so friendly.  I’m pretty sure the entire place is inhabited by senior citizens, but hey, that’s fine with me.  Maybe they’ll let me garden with them!

I didn’t get to take any pictures – way too preoccupied trying to mentally take it all in – but the second-floor balcony overlooks the grassy area and the pool, and everything in it is brand spanking new.  It’s also within my budget and move in ready.  How did I get so lucky?!

Since we still had several other appointments set up, I didn’t want to count those out too early, so we still went to see the others.  Morning snack on the way:

After seeing a few other places though, my mom and I both agreed the first one was a winner.  It felt much safer than the others, was way cleaner and newer, and also had way more space – all for the same amount of money.  It really wasn’t even a contest.

We stopped downtown for lunch to mull things over a little bit more.  The downtown is small but so cute, with tons of unique restaurants, bars, and shops, and it made me pretty excited to move there. We went to Margarita’s (I guess I’ll have to wait until I move there to try some of the new places) where we were greeted with chips and salsa.

For our entrées, we both ordered the fajita chicken salad, which came with lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes.  I didn’t eat any of the shell because I was all chipped out, but the chicken was moist and nicely seasoned.  I got the tequila lime vinaigrette dressing on the side, but after tasting my mom’s mango poppy dressing, shared that instead.

After lunch we walked around a bit, and of course found the local candy shop and the ice cream place.  We both got kiddie cones – mine being vanilla soft serve yogurt with rainbow sprinkles.

Hopefully I won’t make this too much of a habit in my new hometown, but if I do, there will be plenty of ways to work it off! There are bike trails all over the town (city?) and sidewalks and parks everywhere.  The neighborhoods are quaint yet very nice, with long, tree-lined streets and huge Victorian homes.  Here’s a street near my future apartment (ahh!):

See the bike path/sidewalk on the right?

After lunch and enough time to feel fairly confident in my decision, we headed back to the leasing office of the first apartment.  We got a second tour, and I was even more sold.  I also talked to the woman who works in the office about the area, and was very pleased with what she had to say.  She told me she walks a three mile loop around the area every morning before work and never feels unsafe at all.  That was exactly what I was hoping to hear!  I have gotten so used to being able to walk all around the beautiful campus at UConn, and I would really miss being able to do that near my new home.  But it doesn’t look like that’s going to be a problem!

I’m super excited (although still very nervous!) and even though we still have quite a few things to iron out, it’s nice to know I’ve found a place!  I could go on and on and on about, but I’ll spare you for now.  Anyways, my mom keeps bugging me to go eat something because we’re off to pick up my cousin in a few minutes to head to a movie.  It’s been a whirlwind day, but definitely a productive one!

Gotta jet. Thanks for listening!

Catch you later!!