negotiated

I think we ended our search this weekend. We found a place called Bella Vista Lake Washington where the lake is literally across the street. It's a townhouse-style place, 3 levels with garage on the bottom. It was built in 2000 so it's not only good looking but much newer construction than many of the "updated" places we've seen. We even negotiated a lower rent! We got down to $1550. The place we reserved has a partial view of the lake. The ones with a view were around $2000 which is a bit out of our range. The garage means we can have the BOAT. With the lake across the street this is wonderful. Nathan's parents basically gave him their boat (which coincidentally is my parents' old boat) and has been sitting at someone's house 2 hours away because he had nowhere to store it or use it. This could make our summer amazing...Sunset boat rides on the lake, waterskiing, tubing, wakeboarding all day...ahhhh so fun! We don't even have to go anywhere it's all right there!

There are some gorgeous houses right on the lake too as we drive in to our's. I will never get tired of looking at them and dreaming of the day we can someday own one. There's public access and a big park across the street and who knows what else around the corner. Our floorplan has a deck each side we can sit on our balcony and watch the boats go by. As long as our applications are approved we're in! And that's not really a concern so basically...it's our's in May! It's between Bellevue and Renton which is a bit further south than we'd wanted...but for the lake we're willing to sacrifice.

I was actually getting really nervous today about it, starting to worry about the commute I'd have to make if I get a job in Seattle. I just don't want to get home with only hours to spare before bed. I know that's an exageration but I'm just not a commuting girl. I'm from Montana! It's still a possibility that I'll have to but Nathan reminded me I can't go into it thinking negatively or it really won't be good. So I'm just trusting that something will work out. However, my roommate did open up a whole new possibility: I could easily apply further south in Federal Way/Auburn/Tacoma and have about the same amount of time in a commute or even less. I'd be going the opposite direction of everyone driving into Seattle so I really wouldn't hit bad traffic. I am so excited she suggested this because it opens up a whole new window of opportunities. Working with homeless and at risk populations in Tacoma? Hi perfect place! I'd love to be in Seattle but I have no problem going the other direction. I've never worked in either place before anyway so it's all new to me no matter where I go. I'm excited because now I have a range spanning like 60 miles where I can search for jobs. This could be so good!

The weekend went by way too fast. The weather was absolutely gorgeous which made the lake even more appealing. I cannot wait until I don't have to drive anymore. With the nice weather though it only takes me 3 hours and 40 minutes which isn't terrible...but I just want to get there and stay there for good. Next time I go over it will be nearly May and we are going to order our first big furniture purchase: a new couch! We think we want a sectional but we'll see what fits our price range and new floorplan. I can't wait. We also HAVE to get kitchen chairs. Nathan has a gorgeous wood table but I have no idea where the chairs are. So those are our two big purchases up front. We've got dreams of big ottomans, fancy rugs and all things modern...but they will have to come with time as we take it slowly with our money.

I am now officially beyond excited. I wanted to lock into a place this weekend so we could stop worrying about finding a place and start getting truly excited dreaming about the next big step.