Apartment Sweet Apartment

I think I've mentioned that Timothy has accepted a job at Thompson & Knight, a law firm in downtown Dallas, and that we will be moving there when Timothy graduates next month. I also think that is about the extent of what most of you know, so I am going to explain, in further detail, what our plans are so that we can start penciling in when you all are gonna come visit us!

That said...Timothy will be graduating on Saturday, May 17, from law school at the U of A. He will be taking the Bar Exam in Texas since he will be working in Texas, so he will have to take the Bar Exam review course in Dallas, as well. The review course starts on May 27, so we will be moving at some point between those two dates. I thiiink that the Bar Exam is at the end of July, but I couldn't swear to it. He will start working around mid-August, in the Trial Practice area at TK (Thompson & Knight), and if you want to know more about what that means, you're gonna have to ask him...

We decided to look for an apartment instead of a buying a house right away because a) we'd like to get more familiar with Dallas before we decide on a permanent residence, and b) we won't have any money until Timothy starts working in August, and word is, you need some if you want to buy a house. So we went to Dallas on Friday to find a place to live, took Alex and Murph, and met Bill and Vicki, our "nannies" for the weekend.

When we got there Friday night, we were starving, so we hit the local Chipotle restaurant, where A reached across the table and dumped a huge cup of icy cold Diet Dr. Pepper onto the table, my lap, and his own. Both of us were completely soaked from the waist down, so we decided to take our food to go and call it a night. Of course, being the responsible blogger I am, I had my camera ready to commemorate such a memorable moment. Unfortunately, I didn't have my SD card. Yeeeeeaahhh, I'm an idiot...

TK was paying for our "house-hunting" trip, (score, right?) so we splurged on a suite at the hotel, which allowed us to stow Alex away in our bedroom while the rest of us hung out in the living area until we were ready for bed. We wedged Alex's pack 'n' play between my side of the bed and the wall, and I was pretty anxious about having him so close to us while he slept, for fear that my midnight trips to the potty or Timothy's snoring would wake him up. But he slept like a teenager and was stoked to wake up in the morning to Mommy's sleepy face and morning breath instead of an empty room.

Saturday was to be a busy one. We had half-a-dozen apartment complexes to visit, so when Alex went down for his morning nap, Timothy and I took off on our "house-hunting" adventure. We were feeling warm and fuzzy about the first place we visited, and after two more stops, we met Grammy, Poppa, and Alex for lunch so we could contemplate our options.

The manager at the first apartment complex suggested a place called Houston's, which I found kind of ironic considering we were in Dallas. But the food was fantastic, and Alex was very impressed by the quality of the wait staff. By that, I mean he was very impressed by the hot blonde waitresses and made sure to pour on heaping spoonfuls of Evans charm.

Not that the hot blondes were the only ones to get his attention. He was "on" the whole afternoon, clapping and talking and flashing his pearly whites at every passer-by.

We usually bring along our "Alex-approved/cootie-free" kiddie seat, but the manager at Houston's must have been proud of their fancy clip-to-the-table high chairs because he more or less insisted we use it instead of the one we brought. Turns out, that thing is only practical when you clip it on at the end of the table, not over a seat, where spirited and long-legged babies can stand up in their seats and reach things halfway across the table.

After lunch, Grammy and Poppa took A home for his nap while Timothy and I went to check out another apartment.

The management office at the complex was empty at two in the afternoon, so we took that as a sign and crossed that apartment off the list. In fact, we were tired of looking and pretty much had our minds set on the first place we visited, so we decided to go with our gut. We went back to the apartment and picked up the gang so they could check out the complex while we filled out paperwork.

Some girl on her way to the pool at the complex - proof he's not partial to blondes...

We ended up renting a 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment at Broadstone Seville, a complex located in uptown Dallas. We loved the open floor plan and the big windows in the living spaces. The floors are a really nice wood laminate that will be easy to clean, and the kitchen has stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, and a huuuuge island. Oh yeah, and the sparkling pool and fitness center aren't bad either. You can see the floorplan here and pics here if you are interested.

We signed on for a seven month lease starting on May 19, so that should give us enough time to get to know the area and start looking for a house. We hope. If I can give up the pool and the fitness center, we might thinking about moving at that point.

We had a steak dinner to celebrate our signing, then headed back to the hotel so A could go to bed at a decent hour.

We left for home this morning, Alex slept four out of the five hours it takes to get to Fayetteville, and the hour he was awake we spent laughing and playing in the backseat. Can I just reiterate how wonderful our child is? Pretty doggone wonderful.

So it was a great, productive weekend, and now I will have to shift my packing efforts into high gear. Jealous much?