Settling in

Our things arrived last Friday at 7:30am, and it's been mad house since.
Unpacking and finding a place for everything is no picnic, but with the kitchen/bath/guest bedroom (where we currently "live") done, I took some time to block the shawl I made as a thank you for Andrey's coworker. We couldn't have done it without her! Hopefully it will be ready for gifting tomorrow. :)

Getting ready to make this place a home

So, all our stuff is coming tomorrow and the previous tenant had finally taken off his lamps.
As expected there are hole all over the ceiling, scuff marks and discoloration. Will have to cover all this up before the furniture comes. Living in an empty apartment has it's advantages I guess... :)
Also, the genius used some plaster based white wash for some of the walls that I guess were less than perfect, and that stuff rubs of like crazy! Not a good thing when half the wardrobe is black! So yesterday we headed to OBI, the local equivalent to Home Depot (btw, I LOVE that place, will be going back for sure, so much stuff I can DIY with their help... :) ) and got some putty, a putty knife, paint, brushes and so on.

Now I'm off to covering all the holes, then repainting the walls (thank got it's not the whole apartment, but it's still plenty) and then the ceiling. Will hang the lights we got here, and I guess we will be ready for tomorrow. :)

4 hours later:

BEFORE

AFTER (The hook is a set up for our lamp, used their hole)

 BEFORE

 AFTER

Moving, again...

Today we are finally getting the keys to the apartment and checking in. Before that a quick trip to IKEA, then off to the apartment to get the keys and to wait for delivery of the new stuff. A couple of trips from our current place should be enough to move all our things and we are officially spending New Year's at our new
home! :)

The exterior shots:

Keep looking for the inside:

Paris Anniversary Day 3

TBA

Paris Anniversary Day 2

So today the weather gods weren't as kind to us as yesterday, but still it wasn't too bad and it didn't rain all day. Managed to get to Eiffel Tower, Place du Trocadéro, the Pantheon, Notre Dame, and stroll around the Latin quarter. Musee d'Orsay and Monmart tomorrow. :)

Paris Anniversary Day 1

Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Élysées, Champs-Élysées Christmas Market, Place de la Concorde, 

Jardin des Tuileries, Palais Royal and the Louvre: DONE! :)

I LOVE PARIS!!!!

Our train to Paris, all ready and waiting... :)

Always read about fog creeping across the land, but seeing it is soo different. Suddenly The Hound of the Baskervilles feels more real.

We're here!!!

We've found an apartment!!!

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!!!
We finally got an apartment! 2 months to the day of searching, visiting, applying and being rejected (great training for one's ego, btw) and now we are the proud owners of a 2BR with a fireplace and a balcony, 10 min by foot from Andrey's work and 5 min from the lake!  :)
Finding an apartment is no trouble here, finding and agency willing to rent it to us, is!
The stats are:
- 72 apartments seen
- 41 applied for
- 2 "sorry not for you" callbacks
- 10 "sorry not for you" letters

It's a Chanukkah miracle - got the call on the second day of, and a New Year's present - lease starts 1.1.2013

This is rudimentary sketch, but this is future home:

Now off to Pinterst to make a shopping list for supplies  needed to make all my home decor plans/dreams come to life!