Getting better every day.

I have finally sort-of 'given in' to the idea that I am going to have to take out a gazillion more dollars in student loans this coming year. I hate the fact that I will have to be paying for part of my graduate degree - you're never supposed to have to pay for your grad. degree! But, circumstances are a little weird, and its only for one year. At least I will be getting a scholarship that will give me in-state tuition.

That being said, I have been thinking about the logistics of everything, and I think I have decided that I will have to be OK with living off of loans for the year...*cringe* I had lunch with my advisor last week and had a little mini freak-out when we were talking about my options. He said there's no way I will have time to work an actual job, and since I there aren't any assistantships available.... my options are either:

1. to live with my grandparents (which I would be perfectly fine with, except a) I don't want to invite myself; b) I wouldn't be able to pay them at all, and I feel weird about that; c) their house is sort-of far from campus and not on the bus route, so it would be difficult)

OR

2. to  find an apartment closer to campus, and pay rent using student loans.

At this point, I'm actually leaning toward renting a place on my own. I've been scouring craigslist and newspapers, and I think I can find a decent place for about $400-$500 a month. Not great, but not terrible. My main concern is having a fenced-in yard for Daisy. Fortunately, it seems like the vast majority of apartments are pet-friendly, thank goodness! Its also good that she's not any bigger than she is; the cut-off for most places seems to be about 25 lbs. and I think Daisy is just under. Like, 24 lbs.

So anyway, I'm actually starting to look forward to the move again. Still sad about this whole situation, but... I'm focusing on the positives instead of the negatives, and boy does that make life much easier! For one, I am super-excited to "nest" again - I love arranging furniture, hanging art, buying curtains...its ridiculous, really. And I really kind of enjoy living alone. I mean, I wouldn't rather be alone than with my special somebody, but... I don't mind it at all. Peace and quiet.

Pretty much adorable.

I've been poring over Apartment Therapy the past few evenings before I go to bed. There are some awesome, tiny apartments out there. I had forgotten how much I love design, its been so long since I even thought about art/design at all. Probably 2 years. See? There's an example of me using this opportunity to focus on myself again, and not think negative thoughts. Its good for me to get back to some of the things I love, like art and design.

A few apartments I really like here, here, here

I would just love to live here, but guess what. Its an Anthropologie store. Go figure.

All images from We Heart It