Yeah, so: we got a new apartment! We move in sometime in early March. (Precise date is a bit wobbly, but it's okay, since our lease at the current apartment runs through March 15). We sort of vaguely started looking a few weeks ago, because I got my movie money, which meant we could afford security deposits and such without much trouble. We saw a few places we didn't like much or outright hated... and one place we loved.

Two bedrooms. Two full bathrooms. Nearly half again as much square footage as our current apartment. A kitchen that's far better than our kitchen now, if not ideal. A nice-sized dining room that will serve as an office. And, the real selling point, a big balcony with a lake view!

We'll be a block off Lake Merritt, perhaps a mile from our current home, so really nothing in our life will change -- the walk to the Farmer's Market and shops and such is about the same distance, though without the hills, so the journey will be easier. We'll also walk around the lake a lot more, I imagine. It's in an apartment building, so there's no yard, which is a bummer, but there's a little park on our side of Lakeshore Avenue, right across the street. And, hey: Balcony! Lake view! Things I've always dreamed of! I've really missed having a front porch, and this is even better.

We applied, thinking we wouldn't get the place. There were like six other people looking at it the same day we did, and some of them seemed very keen on the apartment. I don't know why we won out -- maybe we got our application in fastest, or maybe the manager just thought our kid was cute. (The management company does seem to love River; they suggested we change his dirty diaper on one of their desks when we went to pay our deposit!) We love our current landlord, Matt, who's a great guy personally and to rent from, so we'll miss him. Fortunately, we do hear good things about this management company, too. (Don't you love the internet? There are reviews of everything!)

Now we just have to pack a ton of books, cull our belongings a bit (we won't have near-endless garage storage space anymore), hire movers, take care of changing our address and getting power and cable and phone and internet set up... Oof. It's daunting when I think of it. At least we don't have to do a crazy breakneck one-weekend move this time. That helps.

And if any of you East Bay folks want a one bedroom apartment in a charming (if a bit run-down) house with a great landlord and a built-in brick barbecue in the back yard, let us know! (Seriously.)