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This is the moment many of you have been waiting for a. because you are curious b. because it's the most major news happening over here with me and the Jachenator c. some of you will be coming to stay with us at this place d. it's just been such an up and down and confusing process for us and for you all to follow. If you are new to this part of my life, well then, you came at the right time.

I have been talking about apartment hunting off and on lately on here and I can finallllly announce we have found us one. Okay, so we unofficially have one. Tomorrow we go and sign the contract, making tomorrow evening when we officially have an apartment. Phew. What a fiasco it's been. I was most likely just being naive, but I thought we would find a place on the first try. {actually our first try would have been the place we choose, but because of the contract we are currently in we couldn't move out in October so they gave the apartment to another}.

Okay, so here is the story....
I mentioned last that while the last place Jachen went to check out{the one in the video} was looking like a good option. SOOO, since I wrote last about that apartment we decided to apply for it. Jachen went and looked at the apartment on a Tuesday and by Thursday afternoon Jachen emailed the renter the required paperwork. I wasn't able to go with Jachen to see the apartment so Thursday evening we drove down there so I could peek in the windows and to scope out the location. Then, on Friday Jachen was emailed by the renter asking if there was any way we could make a compromise with when we could move in because she really wanted to give us the apartment but wanted someone to move in January. Jachen called me right after and we discussed how we could compromise/pay for both here and there for January. We figured out a way and then he called her to let her know the deal and she agreed with it! She told Jachen she was officially giving the apartment to us! So exciting. So we go tomorrow to not only read, ask questions about and sign the contract but I want to see the inside and start measuring to see how things will fit. Also, since it's smaller than our house, I need to see what things we should get rid of before moving. We have lots of nice dishes and kitchenware stuff that we won't take for example.

Here is are the pros and cons
Pro-we can move in as early as Jan 1st which means we have technically a month to be out of this house instead of just a day if we were moving into an apartment in Feb. We can pack and start moving boxes and furniture over and then when we are done we can clean the house. The apartment is close to Jachen's work so he can take some boxes on the way to work. It will be so nice to not have to rush and move in one day. Also, which will be quite helpful when moving in is the apartment is on ground floor. Praise. The rent includes heat, so we don't have to continue to freeze in this house besides when we make a fire. It is a two bedroom apartment and 2 or more bedrooms in a nice apartment at our price range is hard to come by in the area we have been looking at. The apartment though not brand new seems somewhat up to date. As you can see in the video, its not so old and gross where some apartments we looked at were. There is this funny little, area behind the master bedroom, that we call the cove, where we can store things...don't know what yet. The building has a dryerrr! Only one other place we looked at had one. Crazy. I can't handle wearing crusty clothes, I need a dryer! So thank goodness. We will have a big storage unit, which will for sure be used. I am kinda excited for wood floors, we have tile here which is nice, but I am looking forward to wood. I'm glad it is still a stand up shower, I'm sure there's a name for it, they are my favorite now. The walls are white and not the light yellow like it is here in this house. The apartment is only six minutes driving distance. That sure will be luxury and different than the 40 minuets it takes now. Also, there will be very little backtracking when Jachen and I go somewhere together. Jachen now has to drive all the way up the mountain to get me and then we drive back down it to go to any stores. No longer when we move. We will be within walking distance of shops and two grocery stores. Praise. Also, within short walking distance from a big lake, the Bodensee. I can't wait to go on walks and explore the place.

Cons- Luckily all the cons are manageable and things we can easily deal with for the short time we will live there before moving to the States. The parking is outside uncovered in a little lot, but still very close to our apartment and just grateful there is parking options at all instead of searching always for street parking. The kitchen is small and awkwardly organized and shaped, but we can fix/deal with that. There is no dishwasher, so that will be a lot of work. The fridge is smaller than we have now, but we are so grateful it is the size that it is and a lot more manageable than some of the fridges we saw. We might need to buy a freezer for the kitchen because the freezer is just one shelf inside the fridge. Because of where the living room window is and the small living room we may need to put the tv and unit in front of the window, less than ideal. The layout of the apartment is odd...beyond the living room is the first bedroom which will be our guest bedroom. Then after that the other bedroom and then the bathroom is connected only to the 2nd bedroom which will be our bedroom. So for guests to use the bathroom they have to go in each room to get to it. Ha. But, manageable besides we hardly have guests. To get to the laundry room you have to go outside. Which for some reason seems scary to me...maybe because we do our laundry at night. Jachen currently is in charge of laundry so Im thinking he still will be, so problem solved.

I am nervous, for some silly reason, that when we get there tomorrow I will be disappointed. Like it won't be what I expected. But, I am also not nervous and totally excited. I don't really care about the size and all the silly cons because I am so excited for a change in pace, place, lifestyle and the ability for us to  start saving money for moving to the States...which is the purpose for us moving out of this house. We have been fortunate to start out married living in a house. Not that we ever needed half this house, but while it lasted it was great having 2 bathroom, a big kitchen, dining area, garage, etc etc. We will both be sad to leave the house, but I think our excitement to move out is winning over. I am also looking forward to organizing and setting up the new place. I love organizing and figuring out space solutions and thank goodness for an Ikea here to help. I am looking forward to simplifying too. There are things I will pack in a box and save for when my parents come to visit then send them home with a suitcase of unneeded items. I am not looking forward to figuring out how to pack and then doing it. How does one organize packing? Clearly I will keep things together that are already together. Actually, I think the hardest part will be deciding what goes and what stays and what gets boxed for storage. Ohhh life.

The "A" marker is marking Rorschach, where we will move to. I actually can't pronounce it with the necessary accent so I just call it Ro-shark. Which is pretty close to the real pronunciation. Jachen works in Tubach which is a couple towns over to your left. We currently live about 10 miles south of Herisau{Herisau is south of Gossau which is the next big city west of St. Gallen}. Germany and Austria also share that lake with us. So to put you in perspective.

Okay I'm done. Aren't you glad you know all those details? Ha.
Did you watch the video? Umm, thanks to Jachen for the awesome recording as he walked around. I asked him to be better at videoing this time because the last time he did was worse, so at least he improved. I think he was just shy of taking a video{however, she knew he was}. I will take another video tomorrow.