Onwards!

Why did I move out then, you ask?

A few reasons.

Downsizing.  I realized that 630 sq feet is a lot of space for one person.  Especially for me, since my folks' and brother's homes (where we have our weekly dinners for anywhere between five and a dozen people) are nearby.  Throughout the week I am generally out and about with friends or doing church activities.  I didn't host friends or fellowship groups at home as much as I'd wanted to and felt that I could live in a much smaller apartment -- even a studio -- so as not to "waste" the space I was occupying.

So I'd been looking for a new apartment -- slowly, casually -- probably since February.  In early March, on the way home from my birthday trip to London, DC -- the man of my dreams! -- proposed!   He'd been carrying the ring around all week, waiting for the right moment and the right sequence of words, and I was clueless and traipsing about town the entire time!  So now there's a big day and a life for which to start preparing -- and saving.  So it made more sense to downsize.  But...DC didn't want me to enter into another nine- to 12-month lease.

To where am I moving, then...?

Nope, not in with DC (we won't share an address until we're married).

[new digs]

Believe it or not, I'm moving in with my future in-laws!  Well... only sorta.  They'll stay here only when they're in town.  I kinda consider it long-term house-sitting.  Though I'll have the freedom to arrange and organize things as I see fit.  And I'll have an outdoor space to relax and do a little gardening: a dream come true.

I'll live out my last days of maidenhood here -- maybe more, as DC and I haven't decided where we'll live after we're wed.  My future in-laws have been so accommodating, donating their old sofa to make room for mine, an in other ways doing their best to make me feel at home here.  I actually stayed here all this week, and Mrs. C woke up early to make me coffee, prepare a little breakfast, have a little chat before I headed off.  

My living space actually got upsized!  There's a different feeling, though, because I know that it's "all in the family."  I get to entertain here, too, and since it's closer to more people, there is a greater possibility of that happening for reals.  On top of all this, it's nice to slowly merge our lives together.  It feels good; it feels right; it feels ever so blessed.