Jim: [to Judy] Oh. Uh-huh. Would you like to rent it, or are you more in the mood to buy, dear?

Judy: You decide, darling.

Jim: Oh, yes. Yes.

Judy: Remember our budget.

Plato: Oh, don’t give it a thought. It’s, uh, only three million dollars a month.

Jim: What?

Judy: Oh, we can manage that. I’ll scrimp and I’ll save and I’ll work my fingers to the bone.

Jim: You see, we’re newlyweds -Rebel Without a Cause

Is it just me or is the word newlywed usually synonymous with broke? It sure feels that way for us lately. Match’s new job is supposed to be paying him but the problem is they are a little vague on when that first paycheck is coming. Oh, and it’s a monthly paycheck so we’re really going to have to live on a budget. I’m still recovering from the move, the increased monthly rent, and the cost of gas and toll that have come with my new commute. Ohh, and that little thing last month, the wedding. That wiped out our savings pretty good. We should be able to get back on our feet here in the next couple months. I’m a little worried about Christmas though, which is sneaking up on us fast. I’m open to any creative christmas gift suggestions you guys may have for Match. We’ve agreed that this year we’re not going to spend a lot, but I think he definitely deserves something. He’s been working so hard lately!

Luckily I’m not a huge spender and I’m pretty good at sticking to a budget. The only thing that’s hard right now is resisting buying those last few things that will make our move in complete. I’d like to get a new coffee table, a different toy basket for Monkey, and a new wine rack. I know these items are in no way essential but my OCDness focuses in on them and thinks, “These are things that don’t belong!” The basket doesn’t match the wood floors, the wine rack is the wrong color, and the coffee table is too big for the space and has no storage. But again, all silly things to worry about. I love our new place and it really feels like home for us. We’re hoping to stay in this house until we buy our own someday.

Here are just a few pictures of our new humble abode.

This is my favorite part of the house, the living room. Doesn’t Monkey look so happy in his big ol’ bed? That thing is cozy too. I snuggle with him on it sometimes. Note the man chair that we got Match. I always said I’d never get one but it is extremely comfortable. Doesn’t it look like it wants to give you a hug?

See what I mean about the coffee table? We definitely need something more narrow so we can have a little leg room. The chaise is amazing! My favorite spot in the house.

The guest bathroom. I love that we have two bathrooms now. Eventually we’ll turn the second bedroom into more than just an office. We’re hoping to buy a bed next year and we’ll put our futon in there for guests. Right now I have no pictures of the office because it is Match’s study room/academy central. It looks like a war zone right now. It’s the one place in the house I let him have messes.

The dining room and the kitchen. The dining room is definitely small, but we were still able to squeeze our table in the corner. If we ever have a dinner party, we can turn the table sideways and put the extra leaf in it. Do you see what I mean about the wine rack? That’s actually a kitchen island we’re using as a wine rack. It doesn’t match anything and it bugs me. But it definitely works for now. The kitchen has so much more counter space than our last place. It’s gallery style so we can both be in there at once and we’re not bumping into each other.

The master bedroom. It’s not very big but it’s cozy. What’s cool is that it’s at the end of the house, away from the living room. If we ever have a party and Match wants to go to bed early, he can escape the noise.

Our little bathroom. It’s smaller then the guest bath but it’s functional, and I love that it’s in our room.

I don’t have many pictures of our little patio but here’s one I snagged. We’ve got a cute little setup but we’re still working on it. Hopefully when things slow down I’ll be able to fix it up a little bit more.

I’m so happy in our new place which is  a good thing because we really don’t have a lot of money right now for going out. Hopefully we’ll start having more guests over to our place soon and we can do potluck nights. What are some creative ways you’ve cut costs? Are you sticking to a budget?

CAROLINE: Hello.

JOEY & CHANDLER: Hello.

CAROLINE: And who is this little cutie pie?

CHANDLER: Well, don’t, don’t think me immodest, but, me?

JOEY: You wanna smell him?

CAROLINE: I assume we’re talking about the baby now.

JOEY: Oh, yeah. He’s got that great baby smell. Get a whiff of his head.

CAROLINE: I think my uterus just skipped a beat. -Friends

Couple Wife, Couple Baby and Geeky made the hour and twenty minute trek to our new place in the East Bay yesterday. It was so nice to see them! I was amazed that they made the trip, especially with Couple Wife’s due date just 5 days away. I was floored by how much Couple Baby has grown. He looks a lot older than 19 months. He’s talking so much too. His little comments make my uterus skip a beat. When he looked at Couple Wife and said, “Love you Mommy” I about fainted from the cuteness. The girls asked me when Match and I would start trying and I said we still want to wait awhile. I want some time with him alone first!

We talked about Match’s new schedule and how the first week was rough. I am happy to report as I did to them, that things are actually far better than they were on Tuesday. Match is getting into the swing of things and he’s actually really loving the academy. In the next few weeks things should tone down as far as writing papers for stupid things and the recruits getting in trouble all of the time. The RTOs promised they’d focus more on learning and tactics which is what Match is excited to do.
It was great catching up with Geeky too. Her Firefighter Guy asked her to move in with him in December and they’re making some major steps in their relationship. According to Match Firefighter Guy is “going to marry that girl!” and I know she’d be thrilled if he proposed. Hopefully we’ll still get together regularly with them and Match and Firefighter can start getting to know each other. With their busy schedules our two guys haven’t had much of an opportunity to meet. They have a million things in common just like me and Geeky and I know they’d be fast friends.

The three of us girls chatted about anything and everything as girlfriends do. I also talked to the girls about how much I want to go on a honeymoon with Match. We just found out that he’ll be starting work right after academy is over and there won’t be any time off. So hopefully he can accrue enough vacation time in the next six months that we can at least take a week long honeymoon somewhere. I’ve given up on taking a long Royal Caribbean cruise or that trip to Mexico we wanted to take. Now I’d just be happy taking a trip together for an extended weekend at a nice hotel. I don’t care what we do or where we go as long as it’s quality, relaxing time with Match.

After lunch I brought the girls and CB back to our new place to show them around. They loved the place and I was so proud to be able to show it off. Finally a place with room to spare!

While we hung out the girls looked at pictures from the wedding and Couple Baby entertained us with his adorableness. He’s really good at animals sounds so he spent the afternoon telling us what different animals say. My favorite was his pig impression, with his mommy impression close behind. “What does mommy say?” “No no!”

After they left I was a little sad and moped around the house a bit. Match said it was probably because they reminded me that my friends are further away and it made me miss them even more. Their visit also reminded me that I need to start branching out and see about making some new friends in our new town. Hopefully we can have a get together soon with some of Match’s academy buddies and their wives. I’m loving our new town and I’m excited to meet new people. I’m also really glad that our old friends are willing to make the trip out to visit us. It meant so much!

Teddy told me that in Greek, nostalgia literally means the pain from an old wound. It’s a twinge in your heart, far more powerful than memory alone. This device isn’t a space ship, it’s a time machine. It goes backwards, forwards. It takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It’s not called a wheel, it’s called a carousel. It lets us travel the way a child travels. Round and a round, and back home again. To a place where we know we are loved. -Don Draper, Mad Men

We did it! We finally moved out of our crappy apartment and into our new place. My cousin described it as a loft rather than an apartment and I agree. It’s above a garage, so we don’t have to worry about walking softly when we’re upstairs. It’s also above our garage, so we’ve got tons of storage space, and room to do our artwork.

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