Posts Tagged ‘condo’

Filling up the home

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses,Tags: , , , , , ,
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Today we received our new furniture! Last weekend, we bought a set of couches and tables from hhgregg. We scheduled to have them delivered today and our home is finally feeling homey. For two months now we’ve been living here with a completely empty living room. It was big and cold and empty, so there was no reason to hang out there. Now with the couches, it’s a fantastic place to spend more time in.

large white truck filled with furniture stopping for couch delivery

I heard the truck as soon as it arrived. Here come our couches!

couch wrapped up in cardboard and plastic

The loveseat took careful maneuvering to get upstairs without hitting the hall lights.

assembling three pieces of couch

The larger sofa had to be disassembled to get it up.

boxes of end tables and coffeetable with two guys assembling the pieces

I hadn’t realized the tables needed to be put together!

new couch set with two couches, coffee table, two end tables, and pillows

Our new couch set, currently on cardboard until we get those felt pads.

I’m very happy with this couch set! It’s not the prettiest, but the material is so soft and I love how cushy it is. All four of the end units recline, so I have plenty of options. The matching pillows are a fabulous addition since I enjoy hugging a pillow or using it as a cushion for my laptop. Plus, we discovered that the coffee table is actually on wheels so we can slide it around. How fun!

Setting up our Homeowners Association

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, stories,Tags: , , ,
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Tonight was the very first meeting for our new HOA! The builders are ready to turn things over to us residents, so we met up in the library of the local high school and got to know our neighbors, elected our board, and hashed out some issues. We easily met quorum, with over a third of the units represented (and a few more of the units aren’t even sold yet!). All we needed was 10%, which would be 6-7 people (66 units total) and we got 23. It’s very encouraging to see so much of the community engaged and willing to spend time attending.

front of freedom high school with entrance, school name, and flags flying

Getting ready to join the inaugural HOA meeting.

There are three positions on the board and I thought it was kind of strange that we chose three people irregardless of what position each might take. What if we got all three vying for President and nobody wanted to be the Treasurer/Secretary? And why is there a Vice President when it seems to make more sense to break out Treasurer and Secretary, which can use very different skill sets? One gentleman came in well-prepared with a handout of his qualifications – I totally voted for him and thought he’d be a great addition to the board, but he lost out because this is not his primary residence. While I understand the concern that he would not be living in the community, he did say he’s only 5 minutes away and would share his email and phone number. Everything else about him screamed excellent candidate and I don’t think it should have been overshadowed by the fact that he is a few streets over.

Alas, we ultimately chose the three other people up for positions – the one who I didn’t vote for admitted he had no experience like this. There is so much to navigate that I would have preferred the guy with far better credentials. After all, I don’t want lack of knowledge and expertise to hinder the development of my community and any initiatives we take on. This man is a mechanical engineer by trade and I think he said he’s from Russia. The other two that I agreed with the others on were a banker who came in with some great knowledge (and vibrant personality) and a massage therapist who is very active in the community (and the lone woman on the board). I’m happy with our board though – great diversity in background, experience, profession, interests, passions, gender, ethnicity, etc. I might have considered getting involved if I was technically considered an owner (I’m not on the paperwork so I’m only allowed to attend the meetings and vote as a proxy for Panda).

We spent a long time going over a variety of issues that we all griped over – not enough parking space, challenges with snow plows plopping piles of snow we couldn’t shovel, house settling issues, dog defecation, temperature differences in the homes, doors that get stuck… at a certain point, I felt like people were bringing up maintenance issues that should be dealt individually, though some of them were a common problem across all units that we want to take action on as a group. It was nice to compare notes with other homeowners on how they handled certain nuances of these homes and have people to commiserate with about things that can’t be helped. I thought it was really cool to be able to connect with my neighbors on these things. 😛

As we finally wrapped up, I got a chance to chit chat with a few more of my neighbors. It’s been so cold and dreary lately that nobody comes out of their homes so it’s been difficult meeting people! I’m looking forward to some community events in the coming months – we’ve talked about a barbeque, block party, pool party, pot luck, and more. Most of the residents in attendance are older and have children who are around college age. There were a few of us in the 30ish range, some with young children, and some just couples. Culture-wise we have quite a diverse offering! South Americans, East Asians, Southeast Asians, Eastern Europeans, and general Americans at the least. Many have invited me over for food, which I think would be awesome.

I had a ton of ideas that I shared with the lady board member, including an email listserv for the community and maybe even setting up a website that we could post things to. Of course later down the line we can also talk newsletter and other such communications. I also suggested mapping out where everyone lives so we can easily visualize where our neighbors are. I’m really looking forward to being involved in this HOA and I’ve offered to help out with some of the more techy things. 🙂

The move

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog,Tags: , , , ,
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We finally did it! Panda booked two guys and a truck for today and we got almost everything moved out. There are some stray kitchenware and toiletry items we kept but pretty much everything else is all packed up and moved over. It took a little longer than the two hours we estimated (2.5 total, almost down to the minute), but it felt like quite a bit longer. That was probably due to the prep work we did beforehand and then all the setting up and unpacking afterward. I’m glad that it barely snowed today, so we had pretty decent moving conditions.

It feels great to be moved in, even though there’s plenty of unpacking to be done. At least it’s a chance to reorganize. I’m taking it slow and making sure everything goes in a designated place. It’s also a chance for me clean off some of the things that needed a wiping after some time. While we were moving in, we met some other neighbors who are also Chinese and got a chance to connect with our downstairs neighbor again. It’s going to be fun living here.

room with mattress propped up against wall and wooden headboard for bed

Almost ready for the movers!

room with random items all over floor during moving and packing process

Still had some things to sort out.

living room area with glass desk and leather couch

Have we even prepped this room? Can’t tell.

mover carrying boxes against back using strap

Whoa, that’s how they get all our crazy heavy stuff out.

leather couches wrapped in plastic wrap

Thank goodness they came with all the materials to pad the move.

view of moving truck and guy going up ramp with boxes from third story apartment

We definitely didn’t need a truck so large.

girl sitting against wall of empty room

Now the room feels so spacious!!

guy standing by moving truck loading desk frame

That’s all our stuff, ready to head out.

carpeted stairs covered in brown paper taped together with blue painter's tape

Panda did a great job covering the stairs to protect the carpet.

brown paper paths laid down in condo to protect floor from move

Pathways to every part of the place we’d want access to.

moving truck backed up on driveway unloading through garage

Moving through the garage was pretty convenient.

365great Day 274: kitchen islands

laelene Posted in 365great,Tags: , , , ,
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365great challenge day 274: kitchen islandsMy favorite feature about a kitchen is generally whether it has an island. Ever since the house in LA, I’ve enjoyed having one as a gathering spot. I like how you can stand, lean, or sit by it/at it. It’s the type of setup where you can hang out casually and spend time in other people’s company. Of course, being in the kitchen is also a fabulous location within any building – you can eat or drink while connecting with others. I love the little island we get at our condo and I can’t wait to see how we use the space. It’s going to be great!

Homeowners

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog,Tags: , , , ,
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Yay, as of today, Panda and I are officially homeowners! Ok, so technically I’m not on the mortgage but hey, don’t ruin my moment. 😛 It was wild going to what is our NEW HOME tonight just to move a few things and check it out… at night it appears much larger and it feels so surreal that all of that is ours. I hope this freshness and awe lasts for a long time. We really have a spectacular place and I can’t wait to settle in.

fancy room at title company for going through settlement paperwork

This morning, we went to the title company and took care of settlement.

set of four house keys on folder

When it was all said and done, we got our keys!!!

happy girl prancing in kitchen of brand new condo balancing on one leg with arms and other leg outstretched

At night, I had to go visit our new place. Love it!

girl standing hunching in pain as back spasms

Yeah I got a bit ambitious and ended up pulling my back. Oops!

Weird. Wonderful.

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog,Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

Yesterday. What an… unusual day. Today. Another oddity. (But scattered in between were precious moments of wonder too.)

Let’s start from the beginning. I got to sleep in a bit yesterday because we had our condo walk-through scheduled for 10. It wouldn’t make sense for me to go to work first, so I just met Panda there. I originally planned on going to Target first to go return some stuff and get a notebook, but the time I allocated for that got taken up by a challenging deicing process. I’d completely forgotten about the icy rain the night before and found my car encased in one solid layer of ice.

tree branches completely encased in layer of ice

I woke to a very frozen world!

car door handle completely covered in layer of ice

I couldn’t even open the car door by pressing the button.

top of car covered in ice with small stick pointing straight up encased in ice too

Haha, there was even a bit of ice standing straight up around that little stick thing. Nothing can escape the layer of ice!

iced over pine trees with tops missing from breaking off due to the weight of the ice

As I was cleaning off my car, I heard crackling and I thought someone was pouring hot water on ice, but it turns out the trees were breaking apart.

When I finally got it all off the windows, I headed to the condo. Along the way, I was careful to keep a distance from the other cars. The van in front of me started shedding ice sheets when it picked up speed and eventually my own came flying off too. We met at our new home and were taken inside by one of the guys who manages all the construction. He showed us all the light switches, faucets, doors, rooms, plugs, appliances, windows, heating and cooling systems, plumbing, etc. We have a lot of low flow options to help save water, including the toilet, shower heads, and kitchen faucet. I played with a bunch of the windows, which flip inwards so we can easily clean the outside. Smart! The demo guy was baffled that I wore a heavy jacket and multiple layers, yet bounded around barefoot, even stepping outside like it wasn’t freezing out. I’d never thought that was weird and suddenly I felt like a nymph or something after that, haha. It was fun to see everything brand new and ready for use! This is our new place!!

new kitchen in condo with stainless steel appliances, wood cabinets, and granite countertops

I’m so glad we went with stainless steel appliances. Lovin’ the kitchen!

large open space of living and dining room with cherry hardwood floors

I joke about turning this into a dance studio… wouldn’t that be cool?

master bathroom with standing shower, bath tub, sinks on opposite sides, and toilet

I can’t wait to have a shower where I don’t have to deal with a curtain!!

master bathroom sink with vanity area, dark granite countertops, and light wooden drawers

This sink is mine and the opposite one will be Panda’s. I might need some of his drawers though. 😛

master bedroom in new condo with tray ceiling

The master looks smaller when it’s not the model home, but we don’t want a giant space anyway.

paperwork for new condo with manuals for appliances and other instructions

They provide us with a ton of manuals so we can figure out how to operate and maintain everything.

hallway of new condo with hardwood flooring

On the opposite end is my favorite room, the most massive one that’s about the size of a two-car garage. I would love to get a grand piano and pool table in it, lol. Totally not happening anytime soon, if ever. But the dream lives on… From this room you can see straight down to the kitchen.

hallway bathroom with standard countertop and tiles

The hall bath is for the other bedrooms and guests. It’s the only counters that aren’t granite – the upgrade just wasn’t worth it.

new condo porch with white railing and view of houses in back

Oh I’m going to love hanging out on the porch when it’s warmer.

evergreen oil lamp from homegrown collective november 2013 box made with pine cones, evergreen clippings, berries, and parrafin oil in mason jar

I brought along my newest craft as a house warming gift to bring some holiday cheer to the place!

bush with leaves completely frozen over

It’s so fascinating how the ice created that layer over everything.

front door entrance of new condo

I doubt we’ll be using the front door all that much, except to pick up packages that don’t fit in the mailbox!

front of new condo with frozen driveway, one garage door open and one closed, and brick facade

Hello beautiful. I can’t wait to move in!

By the time we finished, it was about 11:30 and Panda and I went to get an early lunch together before going to work. Apparently I’d missed a fire alarm at our office that morning and not long after arriving, I was heading to the restroom when the doorbell rang. Since I was on my way, I went to answer it and found a guy from the power company telling me he had orders to shut off our power. I thought I’d been pranked and the shock of that announcement had me completely baffled. A lot of people weren’t in the office due to the weather, so I didn’t even know who to get. We eventually got that sorted out… whew!

melting icicles on car's mirror

By the time we went to lunch, the icicles were nearly all melted.

footprints in snow on grass next to path

Some people decided that walking on the grass was better than the path, I guess.

trees branches covered in layer of ice from winter storm

Good thing these trees were trimmed last month, or the branches might have broken off. This looks so surreal.

Later in the afternoon, Autumnfall asked me to accompany her to the local grocery store to get some candy canes for a promo we’re going to run. Along the way, we had a ton of fun admiring our surroundings, getting pictures of iced over plants and the scenes along the walk. That’s when we saw that breathtaking hawk make a pit stop. As we were nearing the store, a random guy said, “Hey ladies” in a rather creepy way and as we were checking out, this old man stood waaay too close to us even though the line was for four possible registers. Just adding to the strange occurrences of the day. Back in the office, we took some time for a photo shoot with the candy canes and got some pretty hilarious shots. More to come on that, when the promo starts (we’re giving away candy canes)!

walking path flooded with muddy water after winter storm

Our walk turned out to be quite the adventure, with giant puddles and hawk sightings and tunnels to go through. Oh, and creepy men too.

bush with all leaves iced over from winter storm

More iced up plants!

red berries and green leaves of plant covered in layer of ice

Iced up berries!

plant with brown branches and black berries covered in layer of ice from winter storm

Ok, ok, just one more iced plant picture!

thickening fog obscuring cranes atop new construction building

The fog was thickening and starting to obscure the cranes up top.

rectangular ice fallen from pine trees onto pathway

I promised no more iced plants, but here’s just some ice that fell from pine trees!

After work, I made that Target run I’d meant to do in the morning. I ended up exchanging one item and realizing that the other was from Charlotte Russe – oops! And of course I left, completely forgetting that I wanted to get a notebook too. There’s another Target on the way home, so I figured I could go there and also swing by a gas station for gas, but I completely blanked on the exit and missed it. I reeeeally need to write out my thoughts though, so I decided to make a slight detour to yet another Target. When I arrived, there was a girl crying her heart out near the front. It reminded me of how I’ve been feeling lately and I sort of wish I could bawl it out too. But for now, the tears won’t come even when my heart is heavy. Maybe the writing will help. While browsing notebooks, I found a really fun set of festive ones. Even better is that they’re eco-friendly. Always a plus in my book!

colorful bunch of towels hanging out to dry in target store

I thought this looked funny so I took a picture and then a Target guy happened to come to collect them and he explained that they use them to wipe off the carts. Since they don’t have a dryer, they just hang them where they can. How nice! A wet cart is certainly no fun to shop with.

very foggy night with street lights glowing yellow and blurry on the road

Ooh, the fog is really settling in now.

set of three notebooks by green inspired in blue, green, and red with gold dots and quotes

My newest thought-catchers. 🙂 So pretty!
The blue one says “Looking at the stars always makes me dream.” -Vincent van Gogh
The green one says “Happiness is a bright and shining thing.” -Unknown
The red one says “Joy delights in joy.” -William Shakespeare

So finally, I made it home and was watching The Voice and The Sing-Off. After about an hour of the air running, I started to wonder why it wasn’t heating up. I tried resetting the thermostat with no success, so I just turned off the air and bundled up. After doing some writing, blogging, and news watching, I went to bed. I didn’t sleep very well, waking up frequently once it started to get light out. Around 7, I looked out to see the snow blanketing everything. The plow trucks hadn’t made it in yet. I kept going back to sleep and waking up to check on the status of the roads… things didn’t seem to improve much so I decided to work from home today. I had trouble getting up and really working because of the chillier air. I waited a few hours before calling management to send someone to look at it. I learned that there’s an emergency option that uses the heater in the closet rather than whatever’s outside. They figured the outside one got frozen over (no surprise there) so it wasn’t working. I just need to wait for the ice to melt to use it like normal again.

layer of snow covering all ground, cars, and trees

Why good morning, snow.

barefoot on porch in sunlight with shadows of railing

I went outside once the skies cleared and appreciated the sun for a bit.

sun shining brightly through tree branches

When the sun came out, the snow melted from the trees quickly!

During what normally would have been my lunch break, I decided to take a shower. Now that’s one perk I like about working from home! When I want to refresh myself, I can just hop in the shower AND still have plenty of time to eat some lunch. Come 3 in the afternoon, I was getting antsy being alone with no one to talk to for so long while I tried to pound through work. I took advantage of another benefit of working from home and got changed into some workout gear, then went running! I can’t remember the last time I did that (sometime in college probably) and in snow? Gosh, that would have been over a decade ago. Still, it felt good to clear my head even if I was rather out of shape. I listened to some music and just tried to stay in that zone for as long as possible.

brown fungus growing on tree branch

It looks kind of gross, but it kind of reminds me of a fungus I like to eat called wood ears.

sofa sitting by side of road covered in snow from storm

Somebody had left some furniture by the side of the road, like this sofa. Would make for a pretty cool photo shoot!

When I decided to slow for a bit, I found a playground with a little climbing arch and climbed up to sit on it. It was so nice to peer into woods, groove to my music, and shut out the world for awhile. When it got too cold, I got up and jogged back. I had put the key to the apartment in my leggings thinking they were tight enough to keep it in place. When I was going up the final set of stairs, I stopped to pull it out only to find it was gone. I patted all the way down my legs and started to get worried… I guess I’ve learned a lesson about sticking a key in your pants. Doesn’t work so well when you’re jolting it around while running. Luckily, it had stopped falling down right around my ankle. Thank goodness! I then picked up with work again (albeit with slightly shaky fingers).

metal playground equipment with bars in arch shape

Saw this and couldn’t resist. I just had to climb it.

dblcam image of person with headphones in ears against blue sky and feet stepping on bars of playground equipment with snow on ground

Sitting on the bars, enjoying the amazing air as I watched a squirrel in the distance.

running trail covered in snow broken up by footprints

My running path was a little treacherous but I didn’t slip once. What a serene place.

I’ve felt off ever since returning from my extended Thanksgiving break. Last week was cut short since I got back halfway through the week, which kind of threw me off. Now this week has only been two days and it feels like the week should be over already. My internal clock must be all out of whack. I hope tomorrow brings a more normal day; I could certainly use some boring old normalcy in my life right now.

A sense of impermanence

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , ,
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panoramic shot of newly built condo

Hello future home.

Ever since I moved here I haven’t quite felt settled. There’s not much space for me, I barely brought along any stuff, and I didn’t know anyone other than Panda. Now I’ve got a job and (soon) a condo, so I can finally feel like this place is my home. I don’t think of myself as a Virginian yet and I don’t know how long it will take, but if I stay long enough it’s bound to happen. Going back to LA for Thanksgiving was a chance for me to bring over more things and the upcoming move to the condo is a chance for me to claim some space of my own. I’m looking forward to making 2014 the year in which I get to embrace life out here.

For now, I still feel like an outsider. Everything is an adjustment – I’m not used to the weather, the change of pace in lifestyle, even the people… at times I wish I could just retreat back to my parents’ home in LA, lounge around, and not have to worry about being all grown up. So much seems so out of place in my life right now. It’s a feeling I can’t quite put my finger on – a little bit of melancholy, a little bit of confusion, a little bit of yearning. I’ve dived into songs to try to express feelings I can’t place, but I think I just need to write about it. I’ve pondered putting together a fictional story to try to capture my thoughts and funny enough, my best friend recently reached out to me about her own writing. Perhaps reading her stories will help me collect my ideas for mine.

It’ll be nice when I have the move to focus on, so I can shift my efforts to building my new life.

Pre-drywall walk-through

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses,Tags: , , , , ,
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Panda and I had our pre-drywall walk-through at the condo this week, where we got to check out the general frame and make sure we were getting outlets, cables, and ceiling rough-ins where we needed them. It was cool to be able to see the place in this unfinished condition right before they get the drywall installed and the interior starts looking like a home.

view upwards of wood beams supporting interior of condo frame mid-construction

There’s a whole lot of wooden beams!

colored stickers on window indicating approvals for construction of new condo

Got all the approvals in order for gas, plumbing, wiring, etc.

unfinished porch with single wooden support post

The porch is still in the works.

new condos construction site

The next building is already well underway.

pile of white panels laying on ground by construction site of new condos

Outside there are a ton of materials still to be used.

wooden beams for framework of walls and ceiling of condo under construction

This is where our sales guy explained to Panda how I get the walk-in closet. 🙂

bathtub sitting in wooden framework of new condo being built

Can’t wait to make good use of our new tub.

open hvac box with wiring and piping

All kinds of HVAC stuff going on in here.

wooden framework of stairs and walls

One last chance to see the stairs from this side before the walls get in the way.

large blocks of insulation sitting on wooden beams for future ceiling

There are random chunks of insulation everywhere.

trees and shrubs laying on ground getting ready to be planted on new condo lots

Many more trees to be planted between us and the single family homes we face in the back.

365great Day 142: future plans

laelene Posted in 365great,Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
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Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 142: future plansAh, the anticipation of what’s to come! It gives you something to dream about, to hope for, and to think about. One of the main things on my mind these days is that ever-enticing move-in date, when Panda and I will have our brand new condo to call home! Here I took a picture of some construction plans for the site, which has yet to be built but today I saw they started the initial stages of laying the foundation; so exciting!! When you make plans, it gives you something to make decisions around and it often triggers tasks you can do, like buying or selling things, arranging and rearranging your schedule, and perhaps preparing to usher out the old to make way for the new. Sometimes it’s just another part of your day, but sometimes it’s a life-changing event. Whatever the case, our ability to think to the future and run scenarios in our imaginations is a pretty unique skill. So here’s to the future! Let’s make it great.

That dream condo

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , , , ,
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the three stages of the villas being built: foundation poured, frame up, and exterior completed

Here you can see some of the other buildings going up! Closest to us the foundation has just been laid, then you can see the building where the frame is up, and finally at the end you can just see the one where the exterior is completed. Then of course over on the model home side you can see models of homes with completed interiors as well.


Wow, things are moving fast! It’s only been a week since we first started looking at properties and that first day we came across our dream condo (I’ll call them the Villas). We wanted to keep our options open, so we continued looking and found another great option yesterday in Ashburn (further north and west of the regions we’d been looking in). We had set up an appointment for today to meet with a loan officer working with the builder of the Villas and after another look at them, we’re pretty set on our favorite model. The Ashburn one we like is called the Matisse model and it’s more traditional: 2 storied stacked condos, garage and balcony in the back “alleyway,” and a good 6-8 middle units per building. Meanwhile the Villas have 6 units per building, 2 of which are middle ones. It’s also unique in that is it ranch style and each condo is located on a single floor (not counting the garage space). Plus, the Villas are more high-end, with standard granite in the kitchen, nice large spaces, and a ton of windows.

For both properties, we were really attracted to the end units that allowed for a lot more window real estate. I love how bright and airy they feel compared to their center counterparts. The Matisse had a super cool Roman shower (I wish I took a picture!) with two showerheads on opposite sides and little seats too. I also loved the little window in one of the walk-in closets (totally claimed that for myself!). The Villas boast expansive single-floor layouts with a nice bonus room on the second floor units, a nice large porch, and a huge living room/dining area. For both models I loved the island in the kitchen, which is pretty important to me. On the Villas, Panda really likes how the garages face the road so there isn’t some small alley to maneuver into and you don’t have to walk around the entire building to get to the front door.

the future site of the pool and clubhouse for the community

Our ideal location is a very short walk to the community pool and clubhouse!


As for the location themselves, the Matisse is going to be very close to a future metro stop, which will be great for commuters. If I get a job in Tyson’s Corner, it will be a straight drive/train ride over. The Ashburn area is also a great region that’s developing very well. We loved the community feel though it did feel more crowded in our condo community. However, I’m also looking at jobs in the Arlington and Alexandria regions, which would be nearly twice as far and a much longer commute than I’d want. On the flip side, the Villas are located pretty equidistant from Tyson’s or Arlington, not that far and not that close. It’s reasonable middle ground and it’s very close to Panda’s work in Chantilly. The region is also growing and expanding, but it’s still a little more private and quiet, which we like. Oh, and the Villas will have a community pool and clubhouse whereas the Matisse community will not – definitely a good bonus.

The Villas are a higher price point than we had originally wanted to look for, but with all the bonuses, the nice materials, and a ton more space, I think it’s well worth it. We’d both be really pleased with our living situation (though we certainly could do with a lower price!) and the unit we’d most like in the current building is available! It’s a great place to grow into – we don’t need anywhere near that square-footage right now but in a few years, we wouldn’t feel any pressure to move as we build our family. I checked a bunch of details like the water pressure, the tub size, the window heights, the location of the AC unit (and how much noise it produces), the angle of the sun throughout the day, the availability of ceiling lights (not included but they make it easy to put one in), and the various storage options. I got almost every single feature I wanted and the only upgrade we’d pay for is a better floor tile in the master bath.

Now it’s just a matter of discussing things with our parents to see if they have any additional insights, prepping our financials, really honing in on getting me a job, and then getting ready to commit! I had expected to spend a good 5 or 6 months looking and deciding, but if we don’t lock down this unit soon, the next building they release will have even higher pricing and we don’t like the location quite as much. It’s such a crazy whirlwind, but when we both like the same condo out of all the ones we’ve seen, how can we go wrong? Our dream (first) home will be completed in November (possibly December) so my hopes of spending the end of the year there just might come true!

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