the good, the bad, the ugly

what a weekend! we were up before the sun on friday morning to wrap up a few last-minute packing and moving-related errands before the movers arrived.  they had the truck packed in less than 2 hours and we were unpacking at the new place by 12:30 that afternoon.  my mom arrived later that day {after the beau had ditched me for a business trip} and the future in-laws came on saturday and we worked, worked, worked.  inspired by mrs. perk, i bring you the good, the bad, the ugly: the moving edition

the good:

we have a dishwasher! laugh all you want to, this is huge for us.

we have a fireplace!  i am so excited to curl up on the couch with the {will be} hubs and the pup in front of a roaring fire this winter.  it almost makes me look forward to cold weather. 

we have a deck!  it's big enough to get a little table and chairs.  we're so looking forward to meals and post-work cocktails out here.

the bad:

the wallpaper. the horror. 

the top picture shows the guest bathroom wallpaper, which looks like something we had in our house in 1989.  what you can't see in the picture is that the border is actually peeling off and that the already-awful shower curtain has hooks that look like flowers and leaves. ick.  that was the first thing to go and is now replaced with a white cotton waffle-weave curtain and simple, brushed nickel hooks.

the bottom pick is in the dining nook.  what you can't see is the hideous border on top.  primitive farm scenes, again circa 1989.  i am seriously considering asking the landlord's permission to strip all of this ugliness.

the creepy neighbor.  no picture, but creepy.  i had the door open all day friday while the movers were in and out, and he just walked right on in and no, didn't introduce himself, but instead showed me how to break down cardboard boxes {couldn'tve figured that one out on my own} and told me where the dumpster was.  then when i went out to get groceries yesterday, he literally came out on his deck when i went outside, watched me get in the car, and drive away.  when i got home, again, he came out on the deck, watched me unload the car, and then carry everything upstairs.  ick.  the beau has been informed.

the ugly:

the condo itself is lovely, retro-awful wallpaper and weirdo neighbor aside.  great layout, tons of natural light, spacious rooms.  i love it.  but it was in DISGUSTING condition.  it's clear that neither the landlord nor the realtors did anything to clean it before we moved it. 

the previous tenants left quite a few personal items behind, to include:
*long, dark hairs all over the floors
*cat hairs that puffed out of the curtains whenever you vaccumed near them
*maxi pads
*an old bottle of soft scrub cleaning liquid that clearly was never used
*some seriously nasty toilets
*one unopened bottle of strawberry margarita/daquiri mix
*a sample of keratase bain oleo-relax shampoo {score}

it took my soon-to-be mother-in-law over an hour to scrub down the small guest bathroom because it was so icky.  the floors had to be swept, vacuumed, and/or mopped multiple times.  none of the windows had been cleaned, and the sliding glass doors were covered in grime because ummm...THEY WERE SMOKERS.  and let me show you all of the scuffs and patch jobs on the walls, which clearly haven't been painted in awhile:

nice, right?  did i mention the air conditioning and the oven weren't working when we got there? awesome.  the real estate agency is already tired of hearing from me.

we have to-do and to-buy lists a mile long, but it's liveable now.  i'm loving that we are less than 10 minutes from starbucks, target, chick-fil-a, sonic, sushi, a huge, lovely grocery store, and about a million other wonderful things.  now if i can just get myself gainfully employed and actually up there with the beau, we'll be all set!