Message from S.

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to say a quick thanks to all the new readers and all the great feedback I've been getting.

If any of you are as blog-crazy as I seem to have gotten, there's an app for that! I'm not sure what devices this app is all on, but I do know it's available in the app store for iPhones. It's called "Bloglovin" and it helps you keep track of all the blogs you love. I seriously love it.

If you search welcometoskyeslife.blogspot.com, it should show up and if you follow it lets you know when new posts are up!

See you for a new post on Tuesday!

Xo
S.

Celebrate the Good Times

My first week at Steel Publishing just flew by. I met some more people at the office, got familiar with all the programs, organized and moved my office around in a way that seemed efficient to me, and got coffees with Kathy who was the sweetest person. I absolutely adored her.

I had made plans with Katie to go out on Friday night to celebrate my first week at my new job and the fact that Katie had gotten the full time Kindergarten class she wanted. We invited Chris along, and I had ended up sending a text to Jess to come to because I felt bad for practically ignoring her since we met up for coffee.

Everyone was supposed to arrive at my house whenever they felt like, and Chris was first to arrive. We'd barely seen each other all week because he was so busy at work.

I greeted him in my sweatpants and wet hair fresh from my after work shower and gave him a tight squeeze.

"Is it weird that I missed you this week when we've only known each other for like three weeks?" I said as I took the bottle of wine he was holding and closed the door behind him.

"Not at all, I've missed you too! I want to hear all about your job."

"Come upstairs with me, and I'll fill you in while I blow dry and curl my hair. Your sister is on her way and Jess said she would be a couple of hours still." I filled two glasses with wine and led him upstairs.

He raised his eyebrows and sat on the edge of the bathtub in the master bathroom. "I get to meet the infamous Jess tonight?"

I rolled my eyes. "I couldn't just keep ignoring her. Although I'm not entirely sure why she wants to hang out with me when she's so busy with her fabulous life."

Chris shrugged. "Obviously because you're awesome!" …obviously!!

I blow dried my hair and he filled me in (or shouted over the hum of my blow dryer) on his work. He was designing restaurants for a new chain that was opening up in Seattle.

Katie showed up, in the cutest LBD, just as I was done drying my hair and Chris ran down to let her in. Both of them came upstairs, with an extra glass of wine for Katie, and she gave me a hug from behind while I pinned up my hair.

We congratulated each other on our jobs, and Katie offered to curl my hair for me. It must be a girl thing that whenever someone else does your hair you just feel ten times prettier!

We all hung out in the bathroom while Katie did my hair and caught up on what's been going on in our lives. When Chris mentioned someone would be meeting up with us later, we both perked up.

"Like a man-friend?" Katie asked.

"Just someone I'm trying to get to know better." He said and evaded all out other questions.

We left it at that, not wanting to press the topic any further. Jess showed up a little while later as we all sat in the living room. Of course she looked absolutely flawless in a blue little mini dress. Her hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail and her eyeliner was perfectly winged (jealous! I can never master that). Instead of having wine like the rest of us, she wanted ice water because wine had “too many calories” (I almost rolled my eyes...almost!)

We finished our drinks and called a cab to take us to the first bar we wanted to check out. It was called Re-bar and Chris, Katie, and Jess had all been there before. I ended up really liking it, it had a great atmosphere and apparently also did burlesque shows but we didn't get to see one.

Chris' friend showed up when we were about two drinks in. He was tall and well built, with dark wavy hair and seriously beautiful dark skin. He introduced himself as Daniel. We made some small talk over the music and then let him and Chris get some time to catch up in.

"Omg, you guys!! Rheece said he is coming. Skye, I'm so excited for you to meet him!" Jess exclaimed. She had been steadily downing vodka-waters since we got here and was slightly tipsy. "How do I look? I have to look perfect when he gets here."

Katie gave me a puzzled look as I reassured Jess that she looked great. In the twenty minutes it took for Rheece to get here, Jess was a ball of nervous energy. When he did finally arrive she seemed even more nervous. I didn't say anything to her, but her nervousness, at seeing someone she was engaged to, seemed odd to me and I could tell Katie felt the same way.

Rheece was really good looking, I have to give Jess that. His shirt and trousers fit his muscular built perfectly, his hair was perfectly messy, and he was wearing a Rolex (I didn't know anyone our age actually wore those but to each their own). He seemed like Jess' perfect counterpart. Except for his eyes. They seemed cold and distant, and the smile he gave us as Jess made introductions never reached his eyes.

I mentioned that Chris and Daniel were also with us, and Chris stuck out his hand to say hello. Rheece ignored Chris' hand and didn't acknowledge either man in any way. Awkward!

"A word please, Jessica." He said and Jess gave us a tight smile before she let him lead her away from us.

Katie and I looked at each other. "Um, how weird was he? His eyes creeped me out." She shuddered and took a sip of her drink.

I nodded. "Me too. Super weird. Oh well, Jess is apparently crazy about him so we should give him a chance."

"Yeah, I guess so. Let's go to the bathroom."

We made our way there to wait for free stalls. I forgot all about Rheece and his cold eyes as we chatted in the line for the bathroom. When we headed back we noticed Jess sitting by herself across from Chris and Daniel.

"Hey! Is Rheece getting you two some drinks?" I asked and sat down beside her.

"No, he left." Jess bit out, furiously typing away on her phone.

I was surprised about this seeing as he had just gotten here a few minutes earlier. "Are you okay?" I said cautiously.

"Obviously!" She snapped, she shoved her phone into her tiny and pushed back from the table. We all looked at her with confused expressions. "I'm leaving." With that she walked away.

I made eye contact with Daniel, who shrugged. "What happened there?"

"I have no idea."

We left soon after that when it came apparent that Jess was not coming back. I wanted to text her to make sure she was okay, but after she snapped at me I felt like that would be unwelcome, and in reality I didn't know her that well. What had started out as a fun night out had taken a turn for the weird, and we all felt it.

First Day

I started my new job at Steel Publishing today and it was exactly what I expected....overwhelming! Along with all the paperwork I had to fill out came a tour of the floor, and an orientation complete with a PowerPoint about the company. Although I had done my own research about it before I even applied for the position, I still found in interesting (even though it took almost 2 hours to get through). All this was done by Spencer, Human Resources Manager, whom I would be working directly with on a daily basis. I had met him before when I came in for the interview and we had immediately hit it off. Even though my dad and Spencer had completely different professions (my dad was a rancher with over 300 cattle), they seemed to have very similar personalities which immediately put me at ease.

And the best part of all this: I had my very own office. It made me feel so grown up!

"Sorry about the ancient furniture in here." Spencer apologized, gesturing at the aging desk with a few scratches and dents. The chair looked somewhat questionable as he spun it around and it let out a loud squeak. "On that note let me see if we have some better furniture in storage and we'll replace it before you get settled in here."

I smiled gratefully. I didn't need anything fancy but I would like to be able to sit at my desk without breaking the chair.

He glanced down at me and the over at the shelves lining one side of the wall from floor to ceiling. "I also forgot that you're...." He broke off.

"Vertically challenged?" I laughed. No way was I going to be able to reach the top third of the shelves. Even in the heels I was wearing now I was barely over 5'5".

Spencer winked at me. "Sure, let's call it that. We'll have the top shelves taken down and moved towards the wall on the other side. Should make things a little easier in here for you. Let me go check with storage and see what we have in there."

He left and I gently sat down on the shaky chair. Inside my welcome package was a very short paragraph about the head honcho of this publishing firm, which was part of a much larger empire, all owned by Mr. Steel. It didn't give a first name or a picture, all very secretive. I shrugged and moved on to read some more about the company, its goals, and bestselling books that had been published through Steel Publishing.

Spencer came back in with an older woman in tow. She have me a warm smile and introduced herself as Kathy, Spencer's and my assistant.

Spencer gave me a printed sheet full of desks, chairs, shelves and even some paintings. "Circle whatever you want on here and then give it to Kathy. She can have it delivered in here by the end of the day."

True to his word, Kathy had my new desk, chair, and a shelf delivered by the time I was packing up to go home at 5. I left feeling slightly less overwhelmed and super excited to get acquainted with my new job.

When I got home I had a bouquet of flowers on my front step with a card from Chris saying he hoped I had a great first day at work (aweeeeeeee!!!!). Seriously, how cute is he?! I sent him a quick text thanking him for the flowers and to drop by whenever he was done work. I had a message from Breanne and one from Katie asking about my first day, and a message from Jess asking if we can get together on the weekend.

One last message was in there, and it was from Lane (my ex-boyfriend)

What are you doing?

That's all it said. During the last months before we broke up, this had been Lane’s signature text. He didn’t care how I was doing, just what I was doing. I debated whether I should text back as I placed my briefcase (Yeah, I have one of those) on the little table by the door. I didn’t miss Lane, although some days it still felt weird not to call him because for the last 6 years I had more or less talked to him every day.

I decided the best thing to do was not answer. He had no right to know what I was doing anymore. If he had asked HOW I was doing, chances are he would have gotten a reply.

Pouring a glass of delicious white wine, I kicked off my shoes and sat down on the couch. First day of work: success!

Flawlessly Perfect

The week I had left before starting my new job consisted mainly of catching up on the Bachelorette and Keeping up with the Kardashians (don't judge!!). As promised Chris had helped me put my new furniture together. Let me just tell you, you don't really know someone until you've spend several hours putting Ikea furniture together. Halfway through, we ended up ordering Chinese food from Bamboo Garden and opening a second bottle of wine. Chris' sexual orientation now being out in the open actually made us even more comfortable around each other.

After our furniture assembly marathon and moving everything just the way I wanted it, I finally felt like I was at home and no longer just a temporary guest. While I had always felt very at ease when visiting my grandma, now it felt like it was home! I had a beautiful new bed, bedside tables, a dresser, kitchen table, and desk.

A couple of days before I started my new job I spruced up my wardrobe a little bit more (I basically added more shoes I didn't need and some work-appropriate tops), and finally decided to meet up with Jess. I'm not going to lie, I had been putting it off a little bit. It felt weird meeting up with the Regina George of my high school days. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty confident these days and I think I have a relatively good level of self-esteem but it just seemed like an awkward throwback-to-high-school reunion to me.

We met at a Starbucks in the University District and I recognized her the second I opened the door. She still had long hair that was still expertly highlighted and flawless makeup (how does she do it?!?!). Her designer handbag sat on the stool beside her. Ugh, she still looked just as perfect as always and made me feel grungy in my distressed skinny jeans and flip flops.

We made I contact (now I could no longer hightail it out of there) and she looked genuinely surprised.

"Skye? Oh my god, I almost didn't recognize you!" She stood up and bend down to hug me. I should mention that I creeped her Facebook and it looks like she has been modelling for a while. Seriously I look like an Oompa Loompa next to her!

"Hey, Jess. It has been a few years." I slid on to the chair across from her.

“Look at your long hair.” She pushed a cup towards me. "I got you a non-fat Chai, hopefully that's okay!"

I smiled and took a sip. "That's great, thanks! How are you? What's new in life?"

She stuck out her hand and showed off a huge engagement ring. "Well as you probably already know I am engaged. Rheece is just the most perfect guy in the world." She gushed as I gave her ring the attention it deserved...seriously it was huge! I mumbled out congrats while smiled her perfect smile and continued. "And I've been modelling for Firefly, a model agency based in Seattle, which has been amazing. I've gotten to travel all over the world for photo shoots. I was actually just in Fiji." Not sure how her porcelain skin stayed so perfectly white in Fiji. "What exciting things have you been up to?"

I laughed. "Well, definitely not modelling in Fiji. For the last couple of weeks I've just been busy with the move here, and before that I worked as an administrative assistant back home. I start my new job on Monday at a publishing firm downtown as a human resources coordinator." That pretty much sums up my exciting life.

She looked at me for a second as if expecting me to tell her all these other fabulous things I did. When I didn't she flashes another one of her perfect smiles. "Wow! That sounds exciting!"

Old high school feelings came back. I've always felt like I don't quite measure up, but over the last few years I more or less grew into the person I wanted to be. Today I felt like my life just wasn't that exciting compared Jess'. Even though in general I had found my last few months pretty exciting. Oh old insecurities, go away.

For the remainder of our meet-up we mostly talked about her, which was more than fine with me. She seemed to have every part of her life completely figured out, and to both of us it was obvious that I did not. I couldn't chug my latte fast enough, and inwardly cringed when she suggested we get together for dinner and drinks soon. We exchanged numbers, and I left in a hurry.

The second I got into my car I called Breanne. I missed my best friend!

"Breanne!" I practically yelled the second she picked up the phone.

"Skye!" She yelled back. "I miss you so much! What are you doing? Where are you? Tell me you’ve met so many gorgeous men that you can't even keep their names straight."

I laughed and felt like crying at the same time. I hated being so far away from her. I filled her in on my little coffee date with Jess, and Breanne immediately clued in to how I was feeling.

"You can't feel insecure because she is in a completely different spot in life than you. She's a different person with different standards and goals. You just keep doing you, I think it's working out perfectly for you."

I knew she was right and that deep down inside I knew I was exactly where I should be. I think I may have forgotten that for a second. Good thing my bff knows exactly how to get me back on track!

Message from S.

Hi!
First of all thank you to all those who have been reading my posts. When I checked in after work, it said I had over 600 page views (which was only at maybe 20 this morning), and it seriously made my heart smile.
Also thank you to the lovely ladies that commented, I'm still in the learning process of how this whole blog works, so I appreciate the feedback.
As for a posting schedule, someone suggested Tuesday/Friday which seems like a good option to me! I put up a new post this morning, so I will post again on Friday :)
Have a lovely week everyone, and check back on Friday!
Xo,
S.

Outed

Kate and I met up at a cute little bistro down the street from Ikea. My first impression of her was that she looked like the girl version of Chris and that instantly reassured me about us getting along.

She hugged me like we had been friends forever, and chatted away as she led me to a table by the window.

"I am so excited that we get to do this today." She said after we gave out drink orders. Margaritas are totally acceptable at 12.30, obviously.

I looked up from my menu. "Me too! I'm so glad I got to meet your brother so quickly and now you too. Definitely feeling a lot less lonely now. Your brother said you're a teacher?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I just started last year and have so far only taught as a substitute teacher mostly Kindergarten through Grade 3, so I've also been waitressing. Just substituting didn’t keep me busy enough. I'm supposed to find out next week whether I get a Kindergarten class full-time starting in the fall. Finger-crossed!"

"Ah that's so exciting. Kindergarten would be so cute, and at least at that age they are still eager to learn." I laughed.

We put in our orders for lunch, and got to know each other some more. I found out Kate lived with a roommate in an apartment about 20 minutes away from where I lived. She was about my age, and had just broken up with her boyfriend a couple of weeks ago. Best friends in the making?

As we finished lunch I decided to casually (or so I hoped anyways) broach the topic of her brother.

"So, uh, is your brother seeing anyone?" I asked, and immediately fiddled with the straw in my drink. Subtle is my middle name!

Kate shook her head. "No, I think he's been single for a while now, at least since Christmas as far as I know."

Well that brightened my day! Onto the next question which will hopefully be more subtle than the last one. "What type of girls does he usually go for?"….so stealth I tell ya! Please say short, blonde women!

She gave me a weird look, then burst out laughing. "You like my brother?!"

"Well…."

"Ugh, Skye, I gotta tell you up front and I'm surprised he hasn’t done this himself. Chris swings for the other team." She laughed again.

My mouth probably just formed a perfect "O" in surprise. "What? Your brother is gay?"

Kate got serious. “Look I wouldn’t have just sprung that on you like this if I hadn’t thought Chris would have mentioned it. You're not like, against gay people are you?”

I almost spit out my drink. “No! Absolutely not. I’m not gonna lie I totally had and probably still kinda have the hots for your brother, which is probably weird for you. Out of all the things you were going to say this was just the last I expected.”

I had been totally honest with her, I really don’t have a problem with gay people at all, men or women. She had just caught me completely off guard. And I maybe felt a teensy bit hurt that he hadn’t mentioned it to me. During out pizza and beer night we had talked about so many things, and even my relationship with Lane. We had a connection for sure and he seemed really comfortable around me so I wasn’t sure why it was a big deal. And he definitely didn’t fit the stereotypical gay image so this was not what I would have guessed at all.

“Skye?” Kate snapped her fingers in front of my apparently zoned out face. “Are you okay?”

I smiled. “Totally! I wish your brother would have told me though. It doesn’t change my opinion of him at all except that I won’t look at him as boyfriend-potential for me anymore.”

She laughed. “Well after this awkward conversation how do you feel about hitting up Ikea with me?”

I grabbed my purse and scooted out of the booth. “I am so in.”

-              -              -              -

I was on my way home from Ikea with my new bed, night stands, a desk/desk chair, and book shelf (good thing my crossover was not only spacious but the seats folded down too) when I heard my phone ding that I got a new message. I told myself over and over again that I can’t look at my phone while driving, so the second I pulled into my drive way I reached to see who it was. As I had kind of expected, it was Chris.

Hey! How was shopping with Kate? Was she on her best behavior? Let me know when you're home and I’ll help you carry everything in.

I quickly replied that I was home now and he could come over whenever. Before I had even gotten out of my car I saw his front door open and walked towards my car.

Damn, he was hot! Too bad I wasn’t a guy!

“Hey, that was quick.” I called out as I closed my car door.

He gave me an uncertain look. “Are we still friends?”

I wasn’t sure if I should just say that his sister spilled the beans or I should act like I didn’t know. “Um yeah, you weirdo. Why would we not be?”

“Kate texted me that she told you…” He started.

I stopped him by holding up my hand. “Chris. You're gay, you don’t murder puppies. I don’t know why you didn’t tell me yourself, but to me it doesn’t change our friendship, even if it is only a few days old. It doesn’t change how I feel about you other than that I won’t be trying to get into your pants.”

He let out the breath he’d been holding and visibly relaxed. “Okay, awesome, thanks. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you myself, I’m just still not sure how people will react. Good thing I have an obnoxious younger sister who tells people for me.” He grinned at me. “Although if I was into women I would totally go for you.”

I laughed and put my arms around his waist. Everything was right in my little world at that moment. I’d found two awesome new friends, I had new furniture for my house, and it was only a week until I started my new job. Woohoo!

Message from S.

Hello!
I'm trying to figure out a posting schedule that I can stick to. Not sure if I should to Tue/Thurs, or Tue/Fri, or do some weekend posting? Any input?
I'm not even entirely sure if anyone reads this blog, but I will keep posting because it's fun for me :) If you are reading let me know what kind of things you would like to see in upcoming posts!
Xo,
S.

Loving Seattle

Pizza night with Chris was so fun. He had not only brought over beer, but also wine, and I may have had a little hangover when I woke up the next day. Conversations flowed easily with him and talking to him felt like I'd known him for years instead of hours. He was funny, smart, and I knew we would be instant friends. He was the perfect first person to meet in Seattle, and had offered to introduce me to his sister who was the same age as me so I build up my circle of friends (which at the moment was nonexistent in Seattle).

Speaking of friends, a girl I went to high school with back home had messaged me on Facebook a couple of days ago after my obligatory status about how my move had gone, and suggested we get together for coffee to "catch up". We weren't exactly friends in high school, she was the popular girl with all the friends, perfect clothes, the hottest boyfriend, and the best grades (you know the one I’m talking about). While I had been smart, I was more of the nerdy smart than the cool smart. Thank god I grew out of my awkward teenage phase and had blossomed in an equally awkward adult stage (at least I could own it now). I messaged Jess back and said we could meet up whenever it worked for her as long as it was before my new job started.

Setting down the paint brush, I looked around the living room. The new coat of paint had completely freshened up the space. Now to get some new furniture. I had decided to keep some of my grandma's furniture, update some myself (thanks again, Pinterest), and get some new furniture. I still couldn't bring myself to sleep in her old room, but I was hoping that if I bought my own bedroom set that I would feel better about it.

I got up, washed out my paint brush, and went upstairs to change into clothes that weren't splattered in clothes. Grabbing my phone off the bedside table I answered a text from Breanne asking what to do with the hot cop that’s been visiting her office way more than necessary (definitely go for it, Breanne!). I also send a text to Chris seeing if he wanted to pick out furniture with me, then immediately regretted it because it seemed so couple-y, and we were just friends.

Before I could backtrack he answered.

Would love nothing more than spending the afternoon with you, but I'm at work. Let me send you Kate's number though and I’m sure she'll be up for it!

Kate is Chris' sister, so hopefully it wouldn’t be completely awkward going furniture with a complete stranger.          

Instead of texting Kate I decided to call her.

"Hello!"

"Hi Kate, this is Skye. Your brother gave me your number…" I started.

"Skye! Yay, I'm so excited to hear from you. Chris told me all about you and I've been dying to meet you!"

Hmm, wonder what Chris has been saying about me. His sister sounded so nice."Hopefully he's only been saying good things." I laughed. "Hey, this is a little bit strange because we don’t know each other, but would you want to go furniture shopping with me this afternoon?"

"Absolutely! I have the day off, so we could grab lunch before, and then I can show you where the nearest Ikea is?" She asked.

This was totally perfect and I told her so. We decided on a time and place to meet and then hung up. Looks like I had a furniture date with my new friend! Being an adult is so exciting!

Paint Cans And New Friends

Walking to the hardware store was the worst.idea.ever! While I was originally motivated carrying the paint cans back (its exercise!), halfway back to my house my arms felt like rubber and the paint cans were starting to feel like cement blocks.
I'm not proud to admit this but at one point I actually put the cans down and sat on one just to regain some strength.
So I sat there and contemplated running home and driving back to pick up my paint cans, and had just gotten up when someone let out a yell. "What the fuck?!"

I spun around and saw a guy holding his foot. I shot up from my spot and apologized profusely.

"Ohmygod! Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I should have moved these off the path more."

He was quite a bit taller than me even as he was bent over inspecting the damage the can had done to his toes through his runners. He was wearing a grey shirt and black sweatpants and had obviously been out on a run.

"It's okay, I should have looked where I was going." He looked at me and the corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled.

I guess I should mention that I'm somewhat of an awkward person, so the only thing I could come up with to say was, "Uh...what were you running from?"

He laughed and pushed his already messy sandy blonde hair back. "Just heading back from a run. Although in all the times I've ran along here I can't say I've ever ran into a paint can before."

"I'm so sorry. I thought walking to the hardware store was a good idea until the paint got insanely heavy and I needed a break. I really don't even have that far to go anymore." I rambled looking down to where my house was.

He picked up the paint cans still sitting on the ground. "Well why don't I take these for you and we'll walk that way together?"

I wanted to decline and say I could do it but my arms felt like spaghetti so I accepted. "Thank you so much! They are pretty heavy though, so feel free to back out at any time. This is probably out of your way anyways..."

"Actually, I live right there." He pointed to the house next to mine.

"What? Really? You're my neighbour!" I exclaimed.

"No way, that's awesome!" He grinned at me. "Always wanted a cute neighbour."

I smiled up at him (and I mean way up, he was at least a foot taller than my 5’2”), "I'm Skye by the way. That used to be my grandma's house but I just moved here a couple days ago."

"I'm Chris. Bought this house a couple of years ago, and I met your grandmother a few times. I’m sorry about her passing away."

That was still hard for me to hear. I missed her so much, and it's sad knowing I'll never see her again. Being in her house kept her alive to me though.

I walked ahead of Chris to unlock my front door and let him inside. He put the paint cans on the floor.

I fidgeted with my keys. "I can’t thank you enough for carrying these home for me. Next time I’m definitely taking my car. Um....would you like to come over for pizza and beer tonight, as, like you know, a thank you?" I cast him a questioning glance.

"Yeah, you bet. I'll bring the beer though. Just come knock on my door whenever you're ready. I gotta go shower. See ya in a bit, Skye", he winked at me. Helloooo!

He left and walked the short distance to his house. I smiled to myself. I'd made my first friend in Seattle, and he is SO cute!

To redecorate or not to redecorate?

I spend the last two days unpacking and having major trouble deciding what I should do with my grandma’s house. Should I move her things? Would re-decorating be disrespectful to her memory? I haven't brought myself to sleep in her bedroom yet even though it's by far the biggest and had the master bathroom attached to it. While my dad had sifted through all of grandma's things and got everything important to him, the house definitely was still completely her. 

Her house was fairly new, although the decent size yard in the back had been somewhat neglected over the past couple of years as my grandma’s health deteriorated. The exterior of the house could use a few minor touch ups, and the interior definitely needed updating, but the layout of this house was pure perfection in my eyes. The main floor had large windows facing west (and get this guys, I could see the ocean from the living room…it was a couple miles away, but still!!), which also meant that the entire main floor got crazy amounts of sunshine. The main floor also had a fireplace, an open kitchen with a breakfast bar and hidden pantry, and a laundry room with tons of storage. Upstairs were the master bedroom, and two smaller bedrooms (one of which had been mine ever since my grandma moved into the house). My favorite part about the house, especially since I was going to be living alone for the foreseeable future, was that there was no basement. I don’t know about you guys, but dark basements creep me out.

I wasn’t sure what to do about the redecorating, so I ended up calling my dad and seeing how he felt about it. I've always been a daddy's girl so I apologize that our conversations will always sound like I'm 12.

He picked up on the first ring.

"Dad, I have a problem.”

"What's up? Are you feeling homesick? We can put you on the first flight home if you're uncomfortable there", he sounded seriously concerned.

I sighed. "Not it's not that. I mean I obviously miss you and mom, but I think this was a good move. It's just that I'm not sure if I should, or I guess can, make grandma's house my own..."

Dad went on to reassure me that I can make whatever changes I want, and that he would try to come down if I felt like making renovations to it and needed help, or if I wanted him to put in a new deck in the back. Best dad ever? Yup!

We talked for a few more minutes and then hung up. Okay now I was feeling a little bit homesick...

To fight off my mood that had taken a turn towards melancholy and to stop myself from a pity party I decided to head down the street to the hardware store and buy some paint. Re-decorating it is! A new coat of paint was much needed in the kitchen and living room, and some updating was necessary to the whole main floor.

I braided my long, blonde hair back in a French braid, changed out of my sweatpants (hey, I'm still in the process of moving) and into a pair of jeans. Deciding that it was way too nice out to drive down the couple blocks it was to the hardware store, I grabbed my sweater, purse, and sunglasses and walked there instead.