As you may remember, last summer we bought a condo. We figured that interest rates probably wouldn't drop lower (they haven't dropped by much!) and that home prices would probably go up soon (untrue - but they haven't dropped, so almost as good!). We decided on a condo because there are only two of us and we don't need too much space. We also both hate doing yard work, so the condo ended up being an obvious choice. Finally, it's located right next to a metro stop. Although neither of us use the metro to get to work, we both
can, and it's great for going into the city for after-work happy hour, etc.
We both really like the location and the layout... but when we visited, we knew we had to do something about the paint. It looked like this:
Do not adjust your screen - you really do see four colors in that last photo (blue, cream, red, and green). We repainted nearly all of the walls in the apartment, and although you could say it's less unique, it suits us a bit more. Here's a photo of the living room:
(Yes, the green was one of the few colors we kept intact.)
Something we didn't have to change much of was the kitchen:
Although when Beau-papa was here this summer, he helped us install a backsplash (well, actually, he pretty much did it on his own).
I found this line. I was a bit surprised, considering that the rally venue was now almost directly behind me and over a footbridge, but... well... I didn't have much choice, did I? Besides, this was my chance to visit some of the campus I'd heard about but had never seen.
Oh! Here's a familiar landmark! I'd seen this stadium before, but never from this side.
Or from this close...
We continued on past the recreation center, and then finally got to the arena. I don't have any pictures of it because the security was really intense. As you might be able to tell from the pictures, it was a gray and rainy morning, so many attendees had brought umbrellas. We weren't allowed to bring them in with us, so there were hundreds of umbrellas decorating the low walls of the parking garage. I'd been warned about the "airport-like" security, so I had come prepared, bringing no purse and stuffing my pockets with my wallet, keys, phone, and camera. I also brought a library book because I figured I'd need it during my hours of waiting. Little did I know that it would cause a stir! Several women were turned away because of their purses, and the trashcans were full of lighters and bottle openers. The policeman almost confiscated my book, but I managed to convince him that I wasn't going to use it as a projectile (it was a library book, for goodness sake! I wouldn't risk my credit there).
It really was almost like being at a rock concert. Cameras were flashing, people were screaming... I'm surprised no one threw underpants! Here is my video documentation of the whole thing:
