Settled

Wow it feels like forever since I posted on here! Sorry for those who are actually still following haha. Well I think we've settled in nicely here. The apartment is in order, I got a job, and we know how to get to the essential places (WalMart, Panda Express & Walgreens) without getting lost! I start orientation tomorrow for Target and I have to say i'm actually excited. It will feel nice to get back to work but I have to say I will miss lounging around the pool whenever I felt like it! 


Love some of the street names near the strip! Just fun to see stuff like this while driving around.

I still think it's weird that there are so many stand-alone Panda Express restaurants! This is one of our favorites though so i'm not complaining! They're more popular than McDonald's around here.

So fun we got to watch the fountains at the Bellagio the other night. Reminded me of our wedding day : )

Come Together

You know that feeling when you think you know exactly where you're going, but then you find yourself in the middle of nowhere with a dead cell phone and no directions? Yeah that was me this morning and all I was trying to do was get some breakfast from Einstein Bros. Bagels. Luckily I figured it out but I swear getting lost is annoying! I know it takes time to get used to a new place but Las Vegas is so huge. I'm just glad I like the area i'm in and probably won't venture too far outside of it (other than going to the strip of course!). Other than getting lost ALL the time things are going great! The apartment has come together so well (see pictures : Photo Blog) and there really isn't anything else moving wise we need to take care of. Finally! Oh and of course the kitties are making themselves right at home

Ch-Check it out!

Decided to make a separate "photo" blog since it's not very easy to upload them on here. Plus it doesn't look very good half the time. Here's the link!


Tumblr Photo Blog

Las Vegas!

Whew can finally get on here and make a post! I can't believe we made it! What a trip. So busy moving and getting everything sorted out in the new apartment. (pics to come!) I absolutely love the place! The apartment is so adorable and the area is amazing! Everywhere you look all you see is mountains and palm trees! I was also really surprised how close everything really is. I was thinking since we're kind of on the outside of Vegas we'd have to drive a ways to get places but pretty much everything we need is well within ten minutes. Yesterday the first place we ate was Panda Express (they're stand alone everywhere out here) and went to Target and TjMaxx Home Goods (Heather I stole your trash can!). Today we're tackling WalMart and In N Out Burger. So excited! Haven't had In N Out Burgers since California Rose Bowl trip in High School! Sorry this post doesn't have any pictures but trust me there will be more to come!

Albuquerque!

Well after the longest, most ridiculous day of driving we finally made it to Albuquerque. Stuck in traffic for over an hour on I-40 due to a bus catching on fire!! It was unbelieveable. Ended the night with a couple of "Brewtus" beers and appetizers from Applebee's. It was wonderful. Next stop is Vegas!

Tulsa!

Managed to make it to Tulsa, OK all in one piece! The kitties survived and we actually had a little fun while we were here! Stayed at a really nice Hampton Inn across the street from a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (practicing for Vegas!). Played there for a little bit after dinner and games at Dave and Busters. Next stop, Albuquerque New Mexico!

Ready, set, GO!

It's our last official night in Indiana. So surreal. I could not be any more thankful for such an awesome husband who has made this move so easy. We had everything planned for so long and it really paid off considering all we are doing tonight is playing Monopoly and eating frozen pizza : ) Our poor little apartment is so bare! We did bust out our air mattress so at least we have a place to sleep. If we're on track hopefully by this time tomorrow I'll be blogging from Tulsa Oklahoma!

It's All Happening

Tomorrow is my official last day at work! I'm excited and a little nostalgic at the same time. It's going to be hard to leave the people i've worked with every day for over two years. This is one of those times where I don't know what I would do without email, Skype and Facebook. I used to think it was kind of nerdy to be all about the social media sites but now i'm so thankful for them! It makes it easy to keep in touch with people you care about that you aren't able to see all the time. I heart Facebook!


I'm so anxious I can't hardly stand myself! I'm just so ready for everything it feels like we've been planning this for so long (even though we really haven't!). 


Tomorrow also a special day since we'll be traveling to Indianapolis to visit with one of my favorite couples : ) Will be a very nice "mini" vacation before our big crazy road trip move!


Just one more day then P-A-R-T-Y T-I-M-E!

Busy, busy & more busy...

So things are starting to come together now that we're down to one week left!! Ahhh panic mode has gone into effect! Actually it's not that bad. We've been so well prepared this whole time, we don't have a lot of last minutes tasks to worry about. I think just the simple thought that this is the last week pushes my stress level up just a tad. I even bought myself some "Badger" stress relief balm that I rub into my temples every night to help me chill out and fall asleep.

I feel like in the past couple of days I've been going non stop with nothing to show for it. I keep adding boxes to the pile making it look like my dining room threw up all over the place so I guess that's progress? 

I'm crossing things off my list but then think of something else to add to it. I am so excited for the moment when everything is done/packed/cleaned etc... sigh... just one more week.

So far this is (hopefully) the timeline for the road trip:

Monday: leave Louisville, KY for Tulsa, OK

Tuesday: leave Tulsa, OK for Albuquerque, NM

Wednesday: leave Albuquerque, NM for Las Vegas, NV

Thursday: Move into our new apartment!

If everything works out, that's the plan. Now I didn't take into account the truck going slow as molasses and it takes us longer than expected to get to each destination. So we'll see about that when the time comes. Let's just say i'm crossing my fingers...

Tis' all for now!

I Heart Family : )

Spent the weekend hanging out around "the bend". 

Activities included:

• Notre Dame Bookstore
• Hacendia Mexican Restaurant
• Mini going away cookout at Uncle Dave & Aunt Belinda's
• Madison Oyster Bar
• Four Winds Casino

It's wonderful how good it can make you feel to know you have the support of your family. Everyone's already talking about when they're coming to visit! Love it! So comforting to know I have them on my side. Thanks guys!

The "Beauty Bar" looks so fab!

We don't even live in Las Vegas yet but already i'm obsessing over this cute little bar we absolutely HAVE to go to. It's called the Beauty Bar and the decor is from vintage beauty salons. Plus on Fridays they do "Manicures and Martini" nights! Right up my alley.

Here's their website: Beauty Bar Las Vegas

Love it. Plus they do all kinds of little theme nights and such. Just thought i'd share an adorable place I came across. That's all!

Playing the waiting game.

So my checklist is pretty much non-existent as of right now. While there is ALWAYS something to do when it comes to moving cross-country, I feel like we are at a stopping point and all that's left to do is wait. We've locked in our apartment (and for those who haven't seen it yet here's the link to the complex: Avanti Apartments) as well as set up our new utilities, cancelled our old ones, planned out the road trip and packed just about everything that we're not using right now. There's little odds and ends to take care of, but nothing that requires more than a phone call and about five minutes of our time. 


The excitement is just building and building as it gets closer! So to keep my head in check and get my mind off the stress of moving, I decided to buy myself a little Zsu Zsu pets coloring book and well... 

So precious. I just couldn't resist. It's simply amazing the amount of stress that can be relieved from just a little coloring! Something I haven't done in years : ) 

This is the route I think we have settled on (Vegas Route). As of right now, we're planning on stopping in Tulsa, OK and Albuquerque, NM but we'll see what happens once we get out on the road.

Oh and P.S. I'm still looking for a job. There seems to be quite a bit open but it's starting to look like I might have better luck once we're in Vegas. We shall see!

Til' next time!

Babies are on board!

So it looks like we're not the only ones ready to go...

I swear I came home from work and this is where I found them! They just love their new houses! Kitties are so on board and ready to go!

Somehow we managed to get all of the following done in just one weekend:

• Update the kitties vaccinations at the vet 
• Get new carriers, treats and toys for their truck ride
• Set up all of our utilities at the new place
• Plan out our road trip (as much as we can right now anyways)

Whew i'm exhausted! Now it's time to get ready for the work-week! Wait didn't I just have a work-weekend? Ugh.

Movin' on up! (Literally)

So after scouring the internet until I thought our eyes would bleed, we finally found an apartment we love... and it's in the mountains! Well okay so it's next to the mountains but still pretty cool. 

Yeah that little red dot in the northwest center? That's it. It looks far, but it's really not bad at all.  We made the decision to move to the outside of Vegas because we wanted something really really different and new, and what's more different from Indiana than mountains! The excitement is building more and more everyday especially now that we found a place that is simply amazing. Just a few glimpses:

Cute little pool area

Private cabanas! Celebrity style.

I only wish I could decorate my bedroom as cool as this

So far it looks like we're right on track. Feels so good to check items off a list... 

• Rental Truck check
• Apartment check
• Road Trip Plans check
• Job... uh oh. Looks like that's next!

Wish me luck : )

Complete opposite of a lazy sunday!

After playing in Chicago for the weekend I decided I couldn't totally waste my Sunday by doing nothing (as much as I really wanted to). I chose instead to do some more packing and organizing. Here's what my living room looked like:

Can you say disaster area?? Stewart decided to help clean out our hallway closet while I packed glassware. Ended up getting rid of a lot of useless stuff but it still felt like we hardly got anything accomplished since it was all hidden in a closet anyways. Oh well it was a big project and i'm glad it's out of the way. Stewart had fun playing dress up:

Also we tried to get the kitties excited and Ellie was less than thrilled. Here's Stewart trying to give her a hug. Notice I said trying... yes that is her mouth open in the picture cause she was meowing so loud I think the neighbors heard...

Now my last project for the day is to finally decide on an apartment complex. Such an annoying process I never thought would be that bad. Thank goodness for online reviews!

I'll leave you with one last pic. My fave from the Chicago trip I just took! 

(Hint: It's all Legos!)

No help from the Kitties : (

So started packing some more tonight and surprisingly enough the kitties were less than thrilled...

As I packed a few boxes, it got me thinking... why do we have so much crap!? Need to simplify. Big time. Also who knew a glass (or two) of wine would be extremely helpful in the process?

Well this is where I ended up for the night. Now it's time to have a fun weekend in Chicago and not think/worry about ANYTHING! Yay weekend!

Planning, planning & more planning...

So since we've officially decided to make the "big move" out to Vegas, it's been nothing but planning! I feel like it's all I do with my free time. What can I plan today?? We've got some of the essentials down: inverter for the rental truck so we can watch movies and listen to music, bunch of boxes from work, awesome Goodwill trip unloading way too many old clothes and the cutest Hello Kitty binder stock full of ideas, lists and contacts. Packing is also an issue... this is what we have so far:

Our first packed box! We have a long way to go baby...