Eleven days 'til closing day, and the bedroom furniture set is finally gone. I sold it on Craigslist three weeks ago but the buyer wasn't able to get here until yesterday due to family issues. Glad she's the one who bought the set: she loved it and is very excited, and I'm very happy it went to someone who loves it as much as I did when it was new to me (still really like it, but I want something different now, 10 years later).

Last night, then, was my first night sleeping on a mattress on the floor (ever, I think), and it was surprisingly comfortable. Didn't notice much of a comfort difference if any between being on the bed vs. the floor. This is good as (a) it means I can continue to be well-rested over the next few weeks until I get a new bed, and (b) it frees me up to really look at more platform bed options. I have an Ikea bed picked out that I like, but I might shop around a bit more and see if there's something else -- maybe something that would include delivery and set-up! -- that I'd like as well or better.

I've reached the point in my packing where I should probably just wait a week until the last 2 - 3 days before closing and moving so I don't pack anything I need over the next few days. I'm going to contact the Salvation Army to come and get my remaining unneeded shelf (if they will) and the coffee table, and then that will be that. Anything else I can haul to a drop-off location in my tiny car.

The refrigerator is empty of all but condiments and half-and-half, though I'll be getting the sandwich supplies for this week's lunches later today, and the freezer just has a few things, mostly veggies, I've been working on using up and will continue to do so. It can make for some odds-and-ends meals, but those can be tasty, too.

Alas, I really like this stripped-down life. I think I'll be very choosy when I unpack and perhaps sell-off or donate even more stuff than I already have. I always feel uncomfortable with the weight of too many things in my life. It's a constant tension between the me who likes to have books and DVDs and art on the walls and the me who wants to have no extraneous stuff in her life, nothing that isn't being used or appreciated on a regular basis.

Well, the lady who was going to buy my bedroom set (and may possibly still but I'm waiting to hear) can't come tomorrow due to family medical issue that's suddenly arisen. Having been in a similar situation about a year and a half ago, I completely empathize with her. It is very stressful and upsetting, but it also resolved quickly (and happily) for my family so I'll wait a few days before reposting the set in case (let's hope) all goes well, and she can refocus on such fripperies as furniture.

*SIGH*

 
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We've worked through the inspection stuff and I've signed all the mortgage paperwork. The closing is kind-of set for 8/31 which is when I want it to be so I'm going to proceed from here on out as if it's in stone, AND I've packed five boxes of books, so I guess it's really going to happen.

I saw three condos today. The first one was a big hell no. Nothing terrible about it but nothing special, either. The building was a bit rundown with signs of neglect. The condo was small and the floorplan meh. Weirdly, they'd put marble tile in the teeny tiny kitchen which just made NO sense and seemed faintly ridiculous instead of a luxury upgrade. A new counter would have made more sense.

Second one was better but paint color choices -- oy! Orange and yellow main rooms. A rather icky sky blue for the bedroom. Wood laminate floors (meh) and not very many windows. Better use of space overall, though, and I really liked the kitchen a lot. The assigned off street parking area was roomy and looked very easy-access, and the building looked cared-for.

The third one had no parking but was an elegant and very quiet street with plenty of street parking (boo but still -- that's not unusual for the area). The building was GORGEOUS, a beautifully kept up vintage u-shaped property with lions over the doors, original windows, and personality oozing from its pores. It suffered from Tiny Bathroom with Window in Tub, though and though I really loved the kitchen in this one, too, and the location, the personality, etc., it was overpriced for the condition it's in (it's a foreclosure -- in good shape, not a complete disaster but still would need a bit of TLC, and you have to take those on as-is so you can't make the seller do anything).

Still, it was a fun time, and I think we established the baseline for what I'm looking for. My realtor is a great guy, and we had fun tromping around the area (all the condos today were within a few blocks of each other).

More looking at some point next week.

I had tickets to go see Neil Gaiman speak at the Chicago Trib Printers Row Lit Fest today, but I ended up not going. Instead, I went to meet with my new real estate agent.

Yes, after mumblety-some years of being a happy renter, I am looking into buying.

But I'm not going crazy. I'm looking for a condo, not a house.

My dream condo would be a in an older building (like pre-WWII older) with cool details (for instance, this apartment which is somewhere near 100 years old, has picture rail in the living and dining rooms) in an urban setting (I'm aiming at Evanston specifically and closer to the Northwestern campus and downtown than to The City which is immediatley to Evanston's south) where there would be at least some amenities withing walking distance -- a coffee shop, dining, groceries, drug store, that sort of thing. There is quite a big area of Evanston where if you lived on its encircling residential streets, you could walk to pretty much anything you'd need including clothes shopping. Which would ROCK.

I'd also like a designated parking space, a bathroom with a decent-sized counter and NO WINDOW in the BATHTUB (a weird Chicago-area commonplace).

I don't think any of that is too much to ask.

Now to just go get pre-qualified for a mortgage. *gulp*