relocating

disclaimer: i had this written way before i posted it because i was waiting for kyle to post on his blog about this. but here it is now!

you may be one of the handful of people who already know this, but…

kyle got a job in knoxville, tennessee at a design firm called morris creative group. eek! excitement! 

this is the beginning, people. we finally have a chance at a real start to a real life together. i couldn't be happier. or more proud. 

part I

so, obviously knoxville isn't in west virginia, which means we have to pack up all of our stuff and hit the road. we decided on a whim tuesday morning to drive to the volunteer state to look for places to live. kyle's brother, sister-in-law and nephew just happened to be in gatlinburgh, about an hour from knoxville, so we crashed with them and drove into town for the search. 

let me just tell you -- looking for apartments sucks. it sucks about like trying to shave your legs in the snow. we (kyle) drove all over knoxville looking at places we had found postings for online, only to find the "charming 2 bedroom home" was actually nestled over the hill in some sketchy neighborhood with piles of old mattresses in the yards. and if the places we saw weren't going to give us herpes just by looking at it, it costs double our budget. so basically the first day of searching was a complete disaster. we fought. i cried. our feet hurt. it was terrible. 

then on wednesday, we searched some more. and it was pretty much more of the same thing. just less crying. more overall frustration. we went to place after place on our google map we made on my computer, and each place, one after the other, was just a huge disappointment. 

then we looked at this place. 

it's in the same building as kyle's new job, which would be awesome. he could just walk downstairs to work, which means less gas money and more coffee drinking time. plus it's beautiful. but -- it cost way too much. and it was superrrrr tiny. like less than 500 square feet. i'm not even sure kyle's bed could fit in the bedroom. so that was that.

we have a couple of things lined up to look at when we go back again sunday, so hopefully one of those works out. 

at one point during all the frustration and tears, i thought "why are you freaking out? you get to move to an awesome city with the love of your life. calm the eff down." so i did. for a while. i was still frustrated that we hadn't been handed the keys to some amazing loft in downtown knoxville, and of course i don't want to live in a dangerous part of town or somewhere that has to be scrubbed down with bleach before moving in. but, i know if i can just keep everything in perspective, this will be fine. everything will be fine.


part II

so round two of place-hunting commenced sunday evening. we had a few places in mind we wanted to see the next day, so we made a master list while sitting in a local coffee shop. kyle put them in order according to location, and i tried to see what i could gather about the neighborhoods of each using google map street view. kyle also (accidentally) called one of the landlords, who talked to him for 30 minutes on the phone (he's chatty) while we sat in the quiet coffee shop. he set up a time for us to see the place, and we went about our planning.

the next day, we had breakfast, gathered our thoughts and went to meet Mr. Max to see a place on Rose Drive. because of some of the surrounding houses, unusual street location and unkempt yard, i didn't really have very high hopes. then this happened.

aside from some repairs and clean-ups that needed to happen to this place, i was pretty much in love with it -- the old details, the fireplace, the zillions of kitchen cabinets -- i mean, come on. there are some things that need replaced, painted, or wiped down, but other than that, it's pretty adorable. and honestly, i'd rather live somewhere that needs a little t.l.c than live in a cookie cutter place that is the exact same as the neighbors all around us. 

i'm just excited to have a place of my own and be with kyle and be able to decorate. and as awesome as this all is, i still feel that simultaneous feeling of excitement/anxiety/sadness. leaving home is still the epitome of the word bittersweet.

look for your "change of address" card from us. we'll be sending them out asap.

love.

krq.

"who would have thought, that when you were trying to kiss on me all those years ago, that you would be moving to tennessee with me?" 

-- kjd (for the record, he was trying to kiss me all those years ago.)