Mrs. R in DC

I've been gone for awhile.....wedding, honeymooning and beginning life here in Courthouse/DC.  Its been fun and exhausting and a whirlwind.  I plan on starting a new blog  soon (I am no longer a Jacksonian so the name is false!)  --- And I promise I will provide lots of wedding pics/DC updates/honeymoon stories, etc.  But here are a couple for now :)

Life has been full of changes and this is mostly good.  Dave is of course, the best change :) and DC will be good, although driving away from the South caused a few tears.  I love urban life, but what can I say? This girl is Mississippi through and through!!! 

God has been good to me thus far... providing me with Dave, providing him a job and providing us a place to live (in a neighborhood that I m currently exploring and falling in love with!) and coming along with us in each step, good or bad!  I am even blessed to have a few friends here - and Dave has a buddy here too, so it wasn't a move to a completely lonely random place.  I am eager to see how and when God provides a job for me as I begin my job search tomorrow....

yep, tomorrow...why tomorrow? Because yesterday was my first full day here and I cleaned, cooked dinner, unpacked honeymoon suitcases and a few boxes, did laundry and went to the grocery store twice (yep, twice because I do not have a grocery cart yet and couldn't fit all my groceries and cleaning supplies into one trip!)  I felt very housewify -- although our apt wouldn't reveal all my hard work.   we have no storage furniture like drawers, etc and 10 hangers so I have clean clothes in baskets on the floor until I go purchase plastic drawers and hangers!  (but who wants to invest too much in plastic drawers when furniture arrives in a month? maybe we will just have baskets of clothes this month!)

The intention was to curl up at our place and start applying today and finish laundry, but Dave accidentally left with the laundry room key and our internet/cable was out when I woke up, so I packed up and explored instead.  Now that I am Barnes and Noble using wifi, I will look up a few jobs...but I can't apply with my comp because WORD is on Dave's comp at home....  Hopefully internet will be fixed tomorrow and I can start a full search for work :) while sitting in comfy clothes on the couch watching movies or listening to music!

But I don't regret it much!! I have enjoyed my day of exploring. Courthouse is very urban - lots of buildings with apts and offices  but grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, etc on the bottom. There is a plethora of restaurants and a big shopping center nearby!! Also, there is a fancy movie theater half a mile walk from our apt! (think reclining movie seats)

Absence and Blessings

Does Absence make the heart grow fonder??

Absence from Dave
When it comes to love, absence does not make the heart grow fonder. It makes Dave and me grumpy! Being apart has made the last month of engagement probably the roughest because it put a lot of responsibilities on each of our shoulders -- to do things alone that should be done together. Picking out a place, final details on wedding, packing up, setting up shop in a new city, etc.  Add to that a lot of stress  and the fact that we are both sinners--- and you have a recipe for some grumpy conversations.

I have a newfound respect for military families.  Not only for being away for months at a time, but also for the fact that they have such patience and understanding about it.  I think you learn that even if you are irritated over something, you shouldn't waste what precious time you have to talk with fighting!! (I had a friend who was a military wife who would dress up for late night skype chats with her husband because she wanted to make them special!)

Even so, we both agree we can't wait to get married, even though our first few month of marriage are already filled with stress...moving our stuff up, finding a job, etc...I just prefer to live life's stressful moments with Dave :) So maybe, despite our grumpiness, I am growing fonder.  It's a blessing to know how much better my life is with Dave in it....I am sure I can take him for granted!

Absence from Friends and Family
The reality of leaving family and friends is hitting me.  Next Sunday, I have to decide whether or not to go to my home church or my church in Jackson because it will be my last sunday most likely!  At the wedding, I have to say goodbye to my baby sister until Christmas (maybe this fall, I hope!) (who am I kidding, I will probably swing by and hug her one last time as we leave town Saturday for honeymoon!!)  See Ansley leaves to work at a summer camp the week after my wedding.  When I get back, she will be gone.  When I fly home to move us to DC, she will still be gone.  She and I are very close so the thought of saying goodbye for possibly 6 months is so sad! I also will spend the week after our honeymoon saying final goodbye to friends.  Luckily my family lives in Jackson so when I come home for holidays, I will also see friends.  Even so, leaving the amazing group of friends of I have is hard.

The truth is, being away from those you love is hard :(  Which is probably why, despite my adventurous side, I could not manage to leave Jackson until Dave gave me reason to do so. So much good here!  The good news is that being away from Dave makes it a bit easier to do....because he is already in DC, I feel like I am going to someone I love instead of just leaving people I love. So his absence does have some good qualities, I guess :)

Also I am really glad that its sad to leave Jackson. I loved Auburn but was ready to leave---broken engagement, stuck in same town as EX, friends graduated...so after a few summer weeks spent finishing my thesis, I wanted out. I love Oxford, but I was ready to leave.  Very few GOOD friends and most of those had already left...It wasn't so sad to leave....but leaving Jackson is sad.  What a blessing!  How great to have a place I love so much that its actually difficult to leave.  How special to have godly fun encouraging friends that I hate to say goodbye to!

...and, as I said above, I am leaving to go be with someone, so what a blessing to have a happy reason to leave Jackson!

THE HOME STRETCH

Now that we know where we are moving (or in Dave's case already moved) and where we are living, I am so much less stressed.  Now that I am no longer apartment huting, I finally have the time to apply various places and I have just decided that with the exception of a few resumes being sent, I am going to job search AFTER I move for many different reasons:

(1) I am marrying my best friend and one of the best guys I know in less than 3 weeks...after waiting most of my 20s for him to show up! I do not want to miss out on the JOY and CELEBRATION of God's faithfulness because I am worrying about sending resumes!
(2) DC wants you to start quickly and I literally can't start until the 3rd week in July at earliest (and I am hoping August) because that's when I move to DC/ARLINGTON.  I am coming home after the honeymoon to pack up, say goodbyes, change my name, throw away old stuff, exchange any duplicate gifts, etc etc. If I apply for a job, I can't start in a week when they want me too. 
(3) Almost everyone I know says that its easier to find a job when you are up in DC because you are meeting people and already in the city and can literally start TOMORROW if need be.
(4) I will be moving us (I am splitting a moving van with my sister and her husband and son who are also moving up NORTH) So I will be back and forth between MS and DC --I fly up mid July then fly home beginning of August.  Dave can't be leaving work again after he left for the honeymoon and wedding, so as much as I don't want to be unemployed until August, I think that someone has to have the freedom to pack us up and move us to DC.  At the moment, Dave can provide the income and I can provide all the moving plans and details, so I want to be able to do that for us.

So, I anticipate not working until August. And yes this stinks, but in many ways, its frees me up, so I am quite grateful for the freedom to help us move and settle in!

So Job stress - gone. And I literally don't have much wedding stress.  I was stressed the past couple weeks as we got together final BIG details, but now its the homestretch, I trust the people who are planning our wedding and I trust my mom. And if we forget a detail, its small and doesn't matter and we will be married at the end of the day.  That's whats important. So when people ask if I am feeling nervous about the wedding, nope, not really. I'm just excited (oh wait, one bit of nervousness- I got a chemical peel and I have been nervous about my skin going back to normal in time ha!)

Also, other housekeeping notes: I am going to be changing my blog.  My namesake says it all: a 20something who lives in Jackson.  WELL, I won't be in my 20s but for 7-8 more months (gross) and I won't be in Jackson! SO...... it's time to move.  Although I will have some new topics to discuss, I still plan on talking about singleness, dating, marriage, etc.

I've mainly avoided cheesiness during this whole wedding ordeal.  No one really likes the girl who keeps a public countdown on her facebook wall or always gushes about her wedding, fiance, etc.  But the reality has hit me: in 18 days I am marrying my favorite person and in 16 days he comes home (he is quick to correct me that when I say "come home", I am wrong because our home in in DC now....but I think he's wrong, it can't be home until we both live there!)   So soon.

and, almost as importantly as the marriage/wedding, we get to go on a trip and relax in 19 days :)  For a life that has been as busy as ours has been this past month, a break is highly anticipated ha!

Our first "HOME SWEET HOME"

Praise the Lord, we have a home!! Despite the stress of finding one, we really are lucky we found one in 3 weeks!  Due to how hard it had been, we were quite worried that come July, we would still be looking.

We wanted a 1br and we wanted to eventually live in the Courthouse/Rosslyn area of Arlington...and that's exactly what we got...although we weren't looking there yet for fear we could not afford it.

However, we are signing on a lease Saturday that is the opposite of what we wanted immediately.  We thought we would sublet or at most, sign a 6 month lease --for a tiny studio.  This way we could figure out exactly what we could afford (on two salaries) and where we wanted to live. NOT to mention, we could save a but each month in rent.

But, sublets for studio/1br apartments proved hard to come by.  And 6 month leases often added cost to each month's rent due to the short term nature of the lease -- so you don't save very much.  And, as I've shared before, studios weren't an option at many Virginia apartments.

So when Dave's friend gave us this lady's number and it was a 1br in the area we liked for 100-150 more than our originial short term budget, we decided to jump in to a 12 month lease.  I didn't want to get stuck somewhere I didn't like for my than 6 months, but this is where we want to be and we are likely not going to find a good deal like this again for awhile.  It was more than we budgeted for the first few months but less than we were planning to spend on our first 12 month lease, so it evened out!

I just think it's funny how apartment hunting changes you views of things.  I wanted a sublease to figure things out first and now I am so relieved to have a 12 month lease and know I won't be moving again for awhile!  We had ideas about what we thought was best, but God opened and closed the right doors at the right time.

A little about our place: its a 1br with a parking space in a small 3 story apartmemt building with maybe 12 units in it.  It lacks the amenities like a pool or garage but is clean, 2 blocks from the metro, in a safe residential area, has laundry on site, and has hardwood floors. 

The little street we will live on is great -- sidewalk for running, condos, homes and apartment complexes! BUT its a 2 block walk to the main street full of restaurants, bars, etc. There will soon be a new metro line (the silver line) -- coming late summer/spring that goes all the way out to Tyson's Corner/Mclean, just a few blocks from Dave's office, so soon he can avoid the traffic too and just hop on the metro. (SEE, from Courthouse all the way out to Tyson's Corner!)

So come see us everyone :) we would love visitors!!  BUT give us some time to get our furniture moved in (late July/early Aug) Just imagine it with my mid century pieces, a few handmedowns and LOTS of MS prints (with all my pics of oxford, auburn, jackson, cotton, etc, no one will doubt where my heart belongs!)
OH, and a little about our new 'HOOD: COURTHOUSE

A few days ago, when it seemed every place would fall through or not work out, I said to Dave: "I am ready for this move to be exciting again!" Moving far away from family and friends is still stressful, but as the details work out, it gets exciting again.  Sure, I don't have a job yet and money is tight, but the Lord has been so good to us and will continue to faithfully walk us through every life situation we face, including a move and marriage within a few weeks.  I can't wait to see the life we have ahead of us in Courthouse!

What I am loving Wednesday: DC Edition

(1) casual dining spots that are "Dave-friendly"

(2) Sangria at La Tasca

 

(3) Neighborhood exploration and window shopping

(4) A saturday morning at eastern market (this used to include brunch at Bread and Chocolate before it closed !!)

(5) a run on the National Mall
(6) Sunday Morning Brunches!

(7) attending Grace DC on Sunday nights and Dave and I actually joining a community group since he won't be working til 10 at night anymore! (atleast not regularly)

(8) Tangy Sweet

(9) knowing that I am a 4 hr bus ride from NYC and girls weekends with a dear friend there

(10) Learning to cook on a tight budget...strangely I am very excited about this. I love challenges.  Dave and I want to be able to enjoy a meal out on the weekends so the best way to do this is to eat cheaply during the week.  It won't be gourmet, but I am so excited about learning to cook fairly healthy cheaper dishes so we can use the leftover money for a sunday brunch :)

4 weeks

Sadly, Tonight is my last night with this cutie for 4 weeks :( He moves to DC this weekend. 



I sure will miss him for 4 weeks, but its exciting to know that when he comes back, it will be to get married, go to SF and NAPA and then move together to DC. Whats 4 weeks in the grand scheme of things right???

This has been one of the most stressful weeks of my life.  We had one week to finish up marriage details that we both had to handle-- wedding rings, 2 marriage counseling sessions, wedding portriats (yes, I know we are horrible for seeing eachother pre-wedding), license, etc  PLUS hours sitting in my office every night trying to find housing.  We think we found something and it will work out -- but we have thought that 3 times now and it fell through, so we shall see !!!On top of that, DC is expensive and moving to DC is expensive! AND we have to decide when we are moving our furniture up.  It can't be done after wedding or immediately after honeymoon..... OH and the job search hasn't even begun! So, its been a stressful week....and despite my Joy over DC and pride in Dave, it has seemed like this is the wrong decision numerous times because of the crazy amounts of stress and details to be worked out!

BUT I truly think that this move is stressful and will be stressful for a few months while thinks like housing and jobs are being worked out...BUT in the long run, I think this move will be great.  We LOVE DC...We LOVE the idea of starting our lives together somewhere new.  And soon enough, we will have permenant housing and 2 jobs and not be separated.

So, despite our stress, we are still really really excited - about marriage, moving, life.  Even today, the Lord has answered some of our Prayers and we know He will continue to provide and protect us.

And despite the stress, I still want to be marrying this man :) I wouldn't want to be with anyone else.  Thats a good sign, I suppose!


So it will be a stressful 4 weeks, BUT in 4 weeks I marry my sweet Dave. Totally worth all the stress!

We are moving to.......

..........WASHINGTON DC!!!!!

After lots of applying and about a dozen interviews in Mississippi, Alabama, DC and Florida, we finally know where we are moving!  America's capitol city!!  That's part of why I have not been posting - because I knew a job offer was in the works but didn't want to speak until it was in our hands. WE ARE SO THRILLED TO KNOW WHERE WE ARE GOING TO BE LIVING TOGETHER WHEN WE GET MARRIED!!!! (and how lucky for me that we are moving to what is literally my favorite city in America!)

And we are so grateful.  Sometimes what you want and what God wants is not identical and that's a tough pill to swallow. I've swallowed it many times :) But, this time it worked out the way we both wanted, even though we had no hope it would turn out this way. When we first started discussing a city we both would be interested in -- we disagreed on different cites (IE, I could not seem to sell Dave on Jackson!) but we were in agreement over DC. However, our assumption was that it would be impossible to get a job there, so with the exception of a couple applications, we focused on the southeast - and actually became quite content with the idea of living here.  I think everyone thought we would end up in Alabama somewhere, including us! (and I do think if we weren't taking this job, Alabama would still be a good option and Dave would receive some offers) 

But, in the last month, God literally opened doors for us to move to DC.  One of those random applications he sent turned into a job interview.  Dave decided he would apply to a few more on a whim to see if he could get maybe one more interview (it seemed silly to fly to DC for just one interview) -- and he got 3 more interviews.  So 4 interviews in 3 days in DC which happened quickly - and turned into an offer quickly - and now turned into a job quickly - to start quickly (next week!)

SO, as I said, we are THRILLED...and quite ANXIOUS as we scramble around to get details together.  Dave is literally moving to DC for 4 weeks, coming home for a wedding and honeymoon - and then going straight back! (I think I will come home, pack up and meet him in DC a few days later) We spent this weekend doing wedding/honeymoon stuff since we only had one week to finish marriage counseling, buy rings, etc.  We also had to finish making reservations for our honeymoon- tours, restaurants, etc. AND we needed to find Dave some temporary affordable housing for the 4 weeks he is there.

We are struggling to find housing for Dave and then for us -- sublet, short term lease, etc.  At very worst, Dave will book an extended stay hotel and look when he is up there.  We don't want to sign a 12 month lease until we know where I will be working....but if we have to, we have to. I also am about to start looking for a job. SO TONS OF DETAILS TO WORK OUT.

When I start to get stressed, I remind myself how excited we are -- and that when the details are worked out, we can relax and enjoy our new home! This is a blessing and an answered prayer -- and I wish Dave didn't have to start until after the wedding, but I am glad he gets to start working at all!  When God blesses, I can't complain that the details aren't the way I would have planned them.....and underneath all the stress, I am downright giddy to be moving to my favorite city with my favorite person.  20 year old Katy (who swore she would move to DC after her first summer in the city) would be so excited right now!

So, sadly, 4 weeks with Dave in DC and me in Mississippi (which I think he conveniently planned so he could avoid wedding stress !!!) --- but when he returns, it will be to marry me! SO MUCH TO LOOK FORWARD TO!

And, so much to pray for. We are praying for a good sublet for awhile as we figure things out (and preferably in a private apt, not subletting a room).  We are praying that I find a job soon after arriving there.  We are praying that we find a good permanent apartment to live in after the sublet! We are praying for good attitudes as we have both gotten discouraged a couple times so far with the stress of searching for rentals and jobs as well as packing up, moving and being away from each other.  We didn't anticipate our wedding and first married days involving living apart at all or living in a sublet, but the most important thing is that we will be married and starting our lives together.

OH AND IT MUST BE SAID, I am extremely proud of Dave. He is extremely talented. And while interviews in architecture are hard to come by, he has gotten a lot of attention.  I think his talent, his maturity and his work ethic make him marketable.  I am so excited for his new job and I am so excited for our life in DC!  Leaving Jackson is quite bittersweet for me - because I love my friends and family and life here, but I am grateful that we have a chance to make our life together somewhere all on our own.  Additionally, I always wanted to move back to DC and never would have done so, unless Dave pushed us to, so I am glad that he is challenging me to move out of my comfort zone.

So, it's going to be a BUSY month -- one month til we marry, a few days til Dave moves, my last 4 weeks of work, traveling to SF/NAPA, and a move to DC.  What a comfort to know our lives are in the hands of the Lord as we make these changes! And what a blessing to walk through these changes with my best friend!