Wherein My Juggling Skills Come In Handy

As part of our house hunt decision making resolution, we had to break up with our current realtor, the one who'd shown us around when we came to visit in August. He's totally great - the equivalent of my mother, the best realtor in Austin, in terms of friendliness and helpfulness - but he specializes in the suburbs. Basically, as much as we got along, we wanted different things out of life. He acknowledged it was his loss. That's what they always say.

We were set up with another realtor, a woman who had helped Spiros' new coworker find a place. We chatted on the phone, I felt a connection. The only problem was that Spiros' relocation service was busy trying to set us up with a candidate of their own. Sure she seemed nice, but was she really our type?

Both realtors left voicemails about helping us this weekend. When I picked up Spiros from work yesterday, I was a wreck.

Me: What are we supposed to do? I feel bad breaking up with one of them!

Spiros: Breaking up?  

Me: I mean, I can't lead them both on, can I?

Spiros: Well, if anyone knows how to juggle two people, it's you.

(Oh that Spiros, turning into such a comedian these days...)

Anyway, I came up with the solution to go with the recommended woman this weekend. She's showing us a few apartments we're excited about. If we hit it off, we'll stick to her. In the mean time, I told the relocation agent that we were super busy and I'd be in touch in the future.  (Classic line, huh?)

Looks like my years of New York dating and rejection have come in handy. Who would have guessed?

Remember The Carpet

My normal state of being oscillates between lethargic indecisiveness and hyper-active impulsiveness. Sure, months can go by with minuscule amounts of decision making and then, wham, out of nowhere, "WE MUST BUY THIS GIANT RUG RIGHT THIS MINUTE!"

My life in a nutshell, people.

On a conscious level, I knew that buying an 8' x 11.5' faux vintage carpet sight unseen from One Kings Lane was maybe not something that had to be done in August when I was staying with Spiros in Berlin, a million miles away from our future life together, but my passion for spending money to "get such a great deal on something so perfect!!!" was not to be smothered by either of our voices of reason. (In his defense, Spiros does put his foot down when I'm being totally crazy, but he was supportive of my mid-day "Can we buy this!?!? email. Or scared of me? Either way.)

So the carpet was shipped to my parents' house in Austin. (I might have forgotten to warn them that it was coming? Confusion ensued. Agreement that I'm crazy ensued. Blah blah.) The plan was to just stick it in the back of the car and drive it to LA with us. Obviously it didn't fit because my life is a giant sketch of comical mishaps. (Luckily it wasn't too much drama to unroll it, fold it up, and place it on top of the boxes instead.) (Did I mention I waited until Spiros came in town to unroll it and they had sent us the WRONG rug? And it was past the return date? Lol my life, right? Luckily the one they sent is more neutral and probably a better choice, I tell myself.)

Anyway, fast forward to now. Here we are, camping out in corporate housing, decorated with hotel-esque furniture, staring longingly at the rug in the corner of the room. There it lays patiently, slowly being covered with the really great deals on lamps and lampshades and a random blue ikat tray I just couldn't pass up.

With each new purchase added to the pile, I realize that everything we move into this place will have to be moved out again. I understand we don't know where we're going and what we really need. (Except, we obviously needed that French Bulldog lamp, I mean c'mon, how perfect is that?)

I know I have to suppress that same obsession that led me to buy the carpet. That maniacal money spending. The Pinteresting. For the love of all things Martha, I must stop. Until we know where we are going and when (and I get my freelance paycheck from this summer), I have to force myself out of Home Goods and away from World Market. And if you really love me, please contact Target and let them know if I show my face again one more time (after this afternoon, because we currently have like eight hangers and it is getting ridiculous) I will be banned for life.

This is a cry for help.

My happy place...? (Taken pre-third trip to Target extravaganza)

Just kidding I'm fine. Want to go to Ikea? 

House Hunters: Indecisive Edition

Yesterday Spiros and I went to a chain restaurant for dinner at 5 p.m. and had to wait for a table. Sure, it was bad enough that we were eating so early at an establishment that would've caused City Rachel to turn her nose up (in our defense we had skipped lunch and went to an afternoon Bikram class, leaving us starving), but what excuses did the other people have? Besides being really old or having 1,000 screaming children?

Suffice to say, this little outing was just another reminder that we aren't quite ready for life in the suburbs. It's been a week of back and forth, but finally we've reached a decision: We are moving to LA. 

Initially, the idea had been vetoed due to the crappy commute poor Spiros will have to suffer through. But then he started his job, met a bunch of other "young" coworkers (aka unmarried/childless) and they were all, "Dude, do not live out here, there is nothing to do." 

At first, though, the idea of renting a big house (to those of us whose beds used to be in the living room of her shanty NYC apartment) with a yard and a pool was uh-mah-zing. However, after a preliminary lackluster job search in the area left me with zero motivation to find a job (the only thing worse than commuting out of LA every day is commuting into it) and the realization that there are only so many trips to Target you can make in a week without getting the sadz (three), we realized it was the best case scenario. 

Plus Spiros dresses way too nice to live out here. I mean, he doesn't even own a single pair of cargo shorts.

Unfortunately, even though we've made a decision, the realization that we will only have one car until January has set in so we might as well stay in corporate housing for awhile longer to make it more convenient. 

You're right, this is the worst fake episode of House Hunters ever :/ But on the bright side, at least it's real and not totally staged... 

Well, The Honeymoon Phase Is Over

Part of me understands. I mean, he has to put the seat up. Why shouldn't I have to put it down? In terms of gender equality, I understand. We meet in the middle.

And then there's another part of me - the part who's suffered through a midnight butt bird bath - who wants to go back to the way things were. The good ol' days of trying to impress one another. (Maybe that would require me to wear clothes other than those of the work out variety and makeup, but I'm willing to make some sacrifices.)

Happy Friday from domestic living. 

I've Used Half A Jar Of Pumpkin Pie Spice In Two Weeks: It Must Be October

Once upon a time a few years back, I officially deemed October to be my favorite month. (This was before The Internet collectively decided October to be the best month, long before Pinterest and blogs led my life, mind you.)

In college it meant we were back in the full-swing of football season and theme parties (culminating this month with OU weekend and later Halloween). The air in Austin would finally be changing from relentlessly hot to pure perfection. It was a wonderful time of year.

Then living in New York brought me my first taste of real fall. I adored the necessary excuse for riding boots, blazers and scarves. I relished in the feeling of excitement as the city took advantage of the last hurrah before winter set in. (Ew, winter.) And of course, any excuse to come up with a great costume made my heart pitter patter.

Now here I am, new to a new climate, one not known for it's seasons. I was worried we would be too distracted to acknowledge my favorite time of year, but luckily I was wrong. It's only mid-October and thanks to friends (new and old) I'm way ahead of the game.

Last weekend, my childhood friend K invited us over to her and her husband's place to celebrate fall - complete with pumpkin carving! Spiros and I bought one of those little kits from Target, and although I feared it would be just another item number on the Why Did I Waste Money On That list, it more than paid for itself. Please see our magnificent witch below:

But that's not all! Since Target and I have spent some serious time getting reacquainted, I also stocked up on a few fall decorations. I mean, a trio of pumpkins to stay with us through the season, why not? (Especially considering our jack-o-lantern has already molded out.)

(Special thanks to my wonderful pal Ashley for the adorable Halloween wine glass charms that she gifted me when I saw her in September. She knew I would be hurting all alone on the west coast without any theme-y-ness, and she was right!)

Oh, and our French Bulldog Martin (is it weird we named a lamp?) couldn't resist in being part of the fun. 

And, last but not least, the pumpkin-related things we have consumed so far:

• Pumpkin pie bars (I accidentally left out the flour in the crust; it wasn't the worst idea)
• Pumpkin frozen yogurt (use pumpkin pie spice sparingly...I went a lil overboard and Spiros described it as a "really intense flavor"..and I don't think it was a compliment)
• Pumpkin muffins (thanks to K)
• KBC Pumpkin Ale (the best variety I've had I think) via Trader Joe's
• Pumpkin coffee (just add a half a teaspoon or so of pumpkin pie spice to your coffee grounds before brewing)

Anyone else have any delicious fall favorite recipes? Any costume ideas? We don't have any Halloween plans per se, but - not to brag or anything - we did receive a flyer from Chipotle announcing anyone who comes in on the 31st in costume gets a $2 burrito.

The Newest Adventure

A new adventure, a new masthead. (Are you happy now, Dolo? Apparently calling my family to check in doesn't mean as much as updating ye ol' blog, so there ya go.)

After our road trip, Spiros and I have spent the past few days settling into our new (temporary corporate housing) home. Besides the fact that every single other person living here has a dog and we are both suffering from "No, you have to be the voice of reason! Let's just go get a puppy!" mental breakdowns, it is quite nice.

So far we've: Joined a Bikram yoga studio, made multiple trips to Target and Trader Joe's, hung out with one of my oldest (as in we've known each other since we were babies) friend and her husband, saw a rainbow, and went to the beach. Because even though it's mid-October, we can still do that so do that we will!

It's definitely going to be a transition settling into the suburbs (we're 45 minutes from LA with no traffic, you see), but part of me is excited. As much as we both love big cities, the joy of jumping in the car to go to the grocery store instead of slogging home in the rain weighted down by heavy bags is magical. Sometimes it's the little things, ya know?

P dot S: I officially started my job search. In an effort to avoid a million hour commute each day, I looked in our area. Apparently Red Lobster is hiring and so is Petsmart grooming center. Hmmm.

Tales From The Road (Or, The Time We Accidentally Went To Mexico)

 

Windmill blades looked like alien ships.

Well, we are here. To be honest, I was a little afraid that we wouldn't make it, but luckily our girl (as we referred to the car in a loving, reverent tone every so often on the drive) got us here safely.

As my sweet, deep philosophical Mediterranean boyfriend kept reminding me, "It's not about the trip, it's about the journey." Which is to say, the journey through the middle of nowhere to find the next opportunity to pee and eat 5,000 calories of artificially flavored crap was delightful. 

Except for that time when we accidentally crossed the border. You see, looking on the map of our route through El Paso made both of us nervous. For starters, I have spent a good deal of time educating Spiros about the dangers of the Mexican drug cartels. I've also been told numerous stories about people stopping in these parts on similar moves out west, only to wake up to find all of their belongings stolen. Last but not least, I was afraid that we would somehow get turned around and end up on the wrong side of the border, with poor little Visa-holding Spiros getting on the bad side of some high-and-mighty, power-drunk border agent. (I'm not sure if I told you, but we had a pretty bad run-in with an overly aggressive NYPD officer in what should have been a non-situation, and now we are both sca-ared of authority figures. Technically I have always been, but whatever.) 

Anyway, long story short, we were making our way to a downtown El Paso hotel when we got stuck sandwiched between multiple 18-wheelers blocking an intersection and we didn't realize we had to turn in order to stay in good ol' Amuhrica. Whoops. There was a sign ahead that said we could make a u-turn, but then there was no on there to let us through the gates, and well, see above for fear of getting screamed at. So we had to go up ahead (barely avoiding actually crossing into Mexico), then make a u-turn, then wait for an hour to be let back into the US while I squirmed around in my seat fearing that they would have to search the entire car packed full of all of my worldly possessions while I peed in my pants (from nervousness and a gallon of iced tea). Did I mention we had a giant rug draped over everything so it looked extra sketchy?

Luckily our lane (the slowest lane, obv)'s border patrol wasn't a jerk (although he did make fun of us for not making the original u-turn) and we were on our way soon after. Phewwwwwwwwwww. 

The rest of the trip was broken up by a great stop in Scottsdale to visit some of my family, the final Hunger Games' book on "tape", and me singing along to hours of 90s R&B jams (now I know Spiros really loves me for me). 

The journey was great, but we're even more excited to start the real adventure: Getting a dog Getting settled.

The Longhorn Experience

I haven't been to a Longhorn football game in five years. In some ways, when I was back at my friend Meredith's family's tailgate surrounded by my closest Kappa pals from the good ol' days, it felt like yesterday. But then when I think back to our senior year in college - a time when I had short, blonde hair - I realize it was a life time ago. (I mean, I've been to New York and back since then. Not to mention Berlin, etc.)

I've definitely missed it, that Longhorn Experience. The day drinking, the burnt orange accessorizing, the cowboy boots. Getting swept up in the excitement and revelry of the tradition. But really the excuse to catch up with some of my favorite people is the best part. (Isn't that always the case?)

Luckily this time around Spiros was here to enjoy it too. His first American football game. Ever. Before hand, I told him, "Remember when I was with you in Greece, listening to you speak Greek, sitting there quiet and confused. Well, that might be how you feel today." [Insert an it's all Greek to me joke here.]

But fortunately he caught on, and not only that, he enjoyed it. (Twelve straight hours of intense tailgating and game-watching, quite a feat for my little European.) Even though we ended up losing by a field goal, it was still a wonderful day.

And now, tomorrow (Monday) we hit the road for our next great adventure. Say a little prayer for us and the 200,000+ car we're driving out to California. (And for the Longhorns next week against Oklahoma.)

So well trained, he even threw up his Horns without being asked!

Mothers & Daughters: Me and Mere with our beautiful mamas!

Half of my best college pals.  

The 2012 Christmas card.
(OMG, mom, I'm JOKING. BUT if I were an only child, it would be a good option...)

The End Of The Long-Distance Relationship

Please note the prefix adjectives. The relationship itself is very much still on. And, as of tomorrow evening when Spiros arrives in Austin, it will be an all-the-time relationship! Hooray! Hooray Beer! (Red Stripe commercial anyone?)

The (real) adventure starts now.

(Well, technically it starts a week from today when we hit the road. Until then, we have a busy schedule of Tex-Mex and BBQ eating, Bikram & Antigravity yoga, and Texas Football. Otherwise known as a perfect week.)