quick little life catch up.

It’s been a little quiet here on the blog lately. Mainly because I’ve spent the past couple of months getting ready and moving to a new apartment. It’s a new stage in my life and I am super excited to embark on this journey.

It took a while but I have finally moved out of downtown Seattle. Don’t get me wrong, I loved living downtown. It’s great because I don’t own a car so it was easy and close to all the main bus lines and the light rail. It was easy to walk downtown whenever I wanted and it was close to my work.

But I decided it was time for a change. I didn’t love the area I was living in anymore. It seems like ever since the pandemic, the area has changed. As a single woman who walks everywhere, I just didn’t feel as safe as I used to. And I hate writing that because you should always feel safe but sometimes you can’t help what you feel. Plus, it seemed like the downtown corridor had changed. I felt like there was never anything to do and nowhere to eat.

Also, I felt like my apartment building was starting to feel its age. I don’t know how old it was exactly, but I would have to guess it was at least 100 years old. The elevators kept breaking and it would take a long time (months) for them to get fixed. I needed to move.

Finding a new apartment and moving is exhausting. But I finally found something I liked and I moved in in the middle of September. I’ve spent a lot of time unpacking and starting to furnish my new place. It seems like every weekend is spent buying something new and figuring out some new organizational system. But it is finally starting to feel like home.

4 things I’m loving in my new apartment:

• A washer and dryer – A washer and dryer in my apartment is a game changer. I no longer have to cart my dirty clothes and laundry detergent down the stairs to the laundry room where I will hope there will be empty machines. I can now do laundry whenever I want.
• A new neighborhood to explore – I’m so excited for new places to go. I have a lot of new coffee shops to check out, new stores, and new places to walk!
• Decluttering – There is nothing like moving to make you realize you have a lot of stuff and most of it you don’t use. I got rid of many things before I moved but, as I’m unpacking, I’m finding so much more to declutter.
• A new library to check out – My new apartment is almost right across the street from the library. I’m looking forward to checking out a new library and checking out new books.

3 books I’m reading lately:

• Knitting Mysteries series by Maggie Sefton – Is this cozy mystery series that takes place in a yarn shop the best series ever? Nope. Is it kind of cringe-worthy at times? Yes. Do I count the number of times the main character drinks/talks about coffee or squeezes a skein of yarn? I sure do. This isn’t the best series but I love it anyway and find it strangely captivating.
• Slough House series by Mick Herron – I’m quickly making my way through this spy novel series. Originally I started reading the books so that I could have them read before I watch Slow Horses on Apple TV but I am loving them so much. This is a great series and I love all the characters. I just wish the author would stop killing off characters I like!
• Holiday-themed books – We just passed spooky season and it’s coming up on Christmas so I’ve been reading all the holiday-related books. I love to read books about witches and Halloween during October and I always fill my December with Christmas and holiday-themed books. It’s my favorite time of year.

2 things I’m listening to:
I’m always on the hunt for a new podcast to add to my repertoire and I recently found these 2 shows that I’ve been listening to:

• MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries – These are great, usually 30-minute, episodes about people with medical issues that have baffled medical experts. The episodes are so interesting and I’m learning a lot about obscure medical diagnoses that (hopefully) I will never see in my life.
• American History Tellers – A great podcast about American history. Each season focuses on a different topic and the seasons run anywhere from 1 to 8 episodes. I really liked the season that talked about The Boston Molasses Disaster (2 episodes) as well as the one about First Ladies (6 episodes). If only school had been as interesting as this podcast.

1 thing I’m excited for:

• Riding the bus to work – I know, this is a weird one. But I’m actually kind of excited that I get to take public transportation to and from work. I read so much on public transportation and the ride is about around 30 minutes one way, which could add up to an hour of reading a day.

Hopefully, I will get back to regularly scheduled posting soon!