River Runs Through It

Our first week here Brent and I wanted to take a break from unpacking and go for a run so naturally we thought we would just go around our cheerful little neighborhood. Welp, our neighborhood is adorable but the hills that seem slight when you are driving are far from adorable when you are running!

Even as I sit and write this on the porch and I look out the last thing you would think was that it is "hilly" (pretty sure that is not a word), but it definitely is. So forget about looking around at the cute colorful houses, we were quickly focused on was there any street that was not on an incline and the answer is no. And for the record, I of course can handle running up hills but all I can say as is these are different, they are long and drawn out and you are constantly going up or down them. It is not just our neighborhood either, it is all of Columbia. We forget we were on such flat land in Chicago.

We did find one of our favorite things so far and that is the River Walk which is just a 3 minute drive from our house. There are two rivers that go through Columbia and on the Congaree River there is a River Walk that goes for miles and miles. I discovered it when Brent was back in Chicago for a few days and has become my companion for when Brent is gone. There are two paths on the river walk we have found so far. One has the inclines and the other is more flat and where most of the runners go. Brent has been joining me on my runs this week and not surprisingly we are enjoying the flatter one for now. It is more of the running path where the other is more of a walking/picnic path. The scenery on the runs is stunning. Growing up on Lake Michigan I would not think that a river is as pretty as a lake but it is. Just being on the water is relaxing and running under the spanish moss and through marshes is like out of a movie.

These pictures are from the first trail I found which and just from my iphone. I want to bring my nice camera down and get some good shots to frame for our house. I also think the running path has some better views. Anyone that visits we will be sure to take you down to the river to see it for yourself.

Back to Reality

I now have had two full weeks of work and it feels great to be back at the American Heart Association!  I have never returned to work for a past employer but it sure does help with the transition. Between 2008-2010 I was the Director of Marketing for the AHA in Chicago. Now, I am the Director of Development here in Columbia. There is not a marketing director here so my role focuses on some of the same things I was doing before but I am also not in charge of their planning their two major social events. The first one, which is only three weeks away, is Heart Ball. The Heart Ball is the black tie gala of the organization and brings about 350 people and includes dinner, silent and live auctions, etc. The other event is under the Go Red For Women movement and is the Go Red Luncheon. This one is about 5 weeks away - so I am busy! Go Red has always been something I am personally passionate about so I am thrilled to professionally be working on it again. It focuses on women and heart disease and knowing your body. When I had my blood clot about 6 years ago it was not heart disease related but because I was adamant on going to the doctor and I knew something was not right I probably saved my own life. The stories I hear of women that go to the doctor and the doctor tells them  it is just stress (which is what my doctor had also told me) and then a week later they have a heart attack or stroke are mind blowing. I could go off on a long tangent here but that is a whole other post. Point is, man or woman if you do not feel well go to the doctor.  If you feel like they are not giving you the right answers, ask questions or get a second opinion. For instance, my doctor told me my discomfort was stress and to get an ekg in the next few weeks. Well, I left her office and walked right over to imaging at the hospital even though it was 4:55 p.m. and asked if they could fit me in to get a CT scan right then. They did and next thing I know I was in the ER. I don't care if you think you are in perfect health or on the cover of a fitness magazine, heart disease is the number one killer and a silent one. K I am done.

My office is much more quaint than any of my offices in Chicago, but it is nice.  There are about 12 of us in the office but we are never there all at once. My colleagues are great but I sure am missing my old friends from Children's, AHA in Chicago and even from Red Chicago years ago. As time goes on I am sure these colleagues here will become just as good of friends as previous co-workers but for now I am the newbie just trying to settle in. My position has been vacant for about a year so as a result both of my events coming home are WAY behind. I am pretty much speed event planning right now. Food, floral, AV, photographer, entertainment...nothing was booked as of a week ago let alone getting sponsors for the events and guests. Surprisingly, I am not to stressed. I loved planning and events and for me it is not hard I just keep going down my master to do list to get things checked off. I also think it is good that I am came in now to see the events and then after May 16th I can breathe and take a step back and make big plans for the next year.

This picture was from yesterday (Friday), as you can see I am the newbie and clearly the last one out on a Friday. Oh, and this was just at 5:30 p.m.!

Move In

We were so thrilled to finally get to Columbia on Friday and now we just had to wait 2 days with our fingers crossed that the movers along with all of our stuff made it on Sunday. It was us, Mr. Jack an air mattress and a bottle of wine as we enjoyed our first night on the upstairs porch still in disbelief that we actually picked up and moved!

Our first impressions on getting to our house was that is more than we could has asked for. It is a true southern gem. It is so old and has so much character yet it is updated (bathrooms, ceiling fans, blinds, windows, kitchen). It has just the right balance of old and new. We went from an 800 square foot one bedroom/office/kitchen/living room/dining room and one bath to a house that is about 2100 sq feet and that is just the inside! The best part is that with the estimated utilities it is about the same price as the one bedroom condo in Chicago. We looked at a lot of places but this one stood out far from the rest. The main selling point was that we will probably never live in an old house like this again and it is the perfect home to welcome us into the South.

The movers made it on Sunday and thank goodness everything went smoothly. We got very lucky and nothing was broken or missing - phew! Brent and I were speed unpackers and somehow were able to have everything pretty much unpacked by Monday night. We were just so anxious to get settled and to start to finally be able to relax after the craziness of the past month. We took the week to have the house cleaned, the security alarm activated, our first run through the neighborhood, and errands picking up odds and ends. I was SO glad I was able to have this week before I started my new job. The timing of everything really could not have turned out more perfectly. Fingers crossed our luck continues as we continue to get settled in. I am hoping my biggest problem will be trying to befriend the HUGE bumble bees in our front bushes!

I know everyone has been asking for pictures and I promise to post some this week!

The Journey South

Finally! Time for us to begin our long drive from Chicago to Columbia. We woke up and packed the car which was pretty much a giant puzzle trying to perfectly fit all of our stuff! Between Jack, our suitcases and some valuables we did not want the movers to take Brent did a great job finding a spot for everything.

By 9:30 a.m. we were on the road! It took us over an hour just to get out of Chicago - one thing we will not miss is the city traffic!! With one last wave to the Chicago skyline we said goodbye!

For the first hour or so Jack cried a little but before we even got to Indiana he had fallen asleep - thank goodness! We drove about 8 hours on Thursday, stopped 2-3 times and stayed the night in Corbin, KY which is about an hour past Lexington. Our hotel was far from ideal but with Mr. Jack we did not have much of a choice and all we really cared about was a bed. Jack was definitely curious in the hotel, Brent and I kept laughing at how funny it was that Jack was with us, I don't know why but just the three of us in a hotel room in the middle of nowhere was pretty funny. Or maybe we were just so over tired that we were giddy! 

Friday morning we were on the road again by 8:30 a.m. Today we only had about 6 hours left which seemed like nothing compared to the day before!

The drive through KY, TN and NC is so pretty with rolling hills and tunnels. Definitely different than the midwest! 

Finally in the distance we saw the Columbia water tower! We had made it! Hooray!

Goodbye Chicago!

Week of March 11, 2013

The time finally came for us to pack up our life in Chicago and head on to our new journey down South.

The last few weeks of work for me were bittersweet. I worked at Children's for about 2 1/2 years which might not seem that long but during that time I went from a Green to a Gillig and the hospital went from Children's Memorial to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. During those two years I met so many amazing friends and families that will always inspire me.

Our last weekend in Chicago, Donielle and Mike hosted a farewell dinner for Brent and I with our close friends. It was so nice to be able to see everyone and then of course go to our favorite piano bar, Zebra Lounge for a final farewell to the city!

Moving week came and went quickly!

On Monday, March 11th the movers came to our condo and packed up our Chicago life. I had to admit I thought it was kind of silly to pay someone to pack up everything but gosh was it worth it! They packed everything perfectly and quickly. It probably would taken Brent and I weeks to do it! Boxes were stacked in every inch of the condo which left us no where to sleep so we stayed out in Wilmette at my parents for the night to get a good night sleep before the movers came the next morning.

The movers came around 9 a.m. on Tuesday and left around 3:30 p.m. Our doorman told us he thought someone was moving a house for as much stuff as we had! Our place might have been small and amidst trying to get rid of things before the move we still have A LOT! It took them 6 hours to load the truck and literally were within one inch of not being able to close it. However, they made it work, truck closed and they were off!

Now that everything was out of the condo we needed to steam clean the carpets and patch holes in the walls. But first we took a much needed break at went to our favorite neighborhood pub for a bite to eat and drink! Sadly, our favorite waitress, Caroline, was not working for us to say bye to but we need feel the need to purchase some PJ Clarkes t-shirts as some good Chicago memorabilia.

Once cleaning and patching was done we took one last walk around the empty condo and said our final goodbye! It was bittersweet and it looked so different with out our stuff in it. I think the strangest part is that someone else will be moving in and making their own memories in our home. We can only hope they have the same great experiences as we did living in 33 E Cedar. Bye bye 10E!

We headed out to my parent's house and pretty much crashed as soon as we got there. Packing up the condo was another huge thing checked off our list!

The next day on Wednesday Brent had to work and my Mom and did some final errands and shopping. I know that I am not moving to the middle of no where, but when it comes to shopping it kind of feels that way! For instance, there is no J Crew in Columbia...case in point. I stocked up on my favorite shampoo from Nordstrom Rack, took a few dresses to be altered and then my Mom and I went and got our nails done. It was a perfect relaxing last day at home with my Mom doing the things we have always done together for so many years and will continue to do just not as often.

Wednesday night Brent and my Dad got home from work and we had a nice dinner that my Mom had made. Another thing we will miss! I pulled up our new house on Google maps and we "walked" around the neighborhood via Streetview. My Dad made a point to show me this video on how Southern Woman act and what they say...pretty funny and he swears it is true. (Ignore the title of the video)

We headed to bed early in anticipation of our big drive the next morning!

Bye Bye 10E

Brent is out of town tonight and I realized while watching TV that after 6 years of living in this condo tonight is my last solo night one on one with 10E.  Brent comes back tomorrow and then packing continues, we have farewells with friends this weekend and movers come Monday and Tuesday. I think it is all starting to finally hit me.

When I was looking for a condo to buy in 2007 I looked in all different areas of Chicago. As expected, I was pretty particular. However, one night with my realtor we looked at a unit in 33 East Cedar and I quickly fell in love with the quaint, boutique building in my dream location. I looked at two other units in the building before finding 10E.

I remember the day I moved in. It was just me and a whole lot of boxes with what at the time was this HUGE condo all to myself (well, and Mr. Jack). I slept on the couch the first night amidst all my boxes and woke up in the morning still in disbelief that all of a sudden I felt like a real grown up living by myself in the city.

Through the past 6 years I went from single to dating to married. This condo is where I went through tons of tears, had lot of laughs and where Brent proposed in December of 2010. I went from working in PR at Red Chicago to being the Marketing Director at the American Heart Association to being laid off to finding another dream position at Children's. And of course, I hosted the 3rd annual holiday party to the 9th this past December.

I am going to miss you 10E. You have been the perfect palette for a 20 something to find herself, her love and her life.

Some 10E memories through the years...

Gross, when I first bought before decorating started.

Summer night grilling on the balcony

Having both of our parent's over

Snowy Cedar street

Lazy Sundays

Holiday parties galore

Hosting friends

Condo/dance floor

Holiday chats

Engaged

6 years later finally kinda looks like an adults home

Home Sweet Southern Home

The week after we got my offer we flew down to Columbia for the FIRST TIME EVER to see the city we will soon call home. Within 48 hours we looked at rental properties, test drove cars and explored the city. 

We celebrated Valentine's Day with a beer in the airport (who needs flowers when you have a move!) and flew in on Thursday into Greenville on Southwest because it was cheaper booking so last minute (and we love Southwest!). We got into Greenville about 10:30 p.m. got a rental car and headed to our hotel for the evening. Friday morning we woke up and drove the 1 1/2 hours to Columbia. 

The anticipation and excitement we were feeling on the drive was indescribable. As we got into town we saw signs for the capital, the historic neighborhood and the campus. We drove around some and then ended up eating lunch at Pauley's Front Porch in the Five Points neighborhood. It was delicious and exactly what we needed. 

After lunch we headed out to the showings we had booked via Craigslist on our own. The first home we saw was an adorable house on Chester Street we had been eyeing since we knew we were officially moving. It was just as perfect as we had hoped! Only problem, three college law students were looking at it the same time as us. Oh, just be glad you were not in the car with me when I saw them pull up. Anyway, we loved the house but now I was soooo nervous we were not going to get it. Brent assured me to keep an open mind as we saw other houses that afternoon. That night we got back to my cousin Scott's house and I just could not stop thinking about the Chester Street house so we went ahead and put an application in. Even though we had some appointments with a realtor the next day I just wanted to make sure we had the option of the Chester Street house....aka the controller/planner side of me came out.

Saturday we went around with a realtor who was just offering us her time as we are just looking at rentals. She was the nicest woman ever! What a warm welcome to the South she gave us and also helped us learn the neighborhoods and get our bearings. We saw some more places but the Chester Street house was still the front runner and we ended up going back to see it Saturday afternoon. 

Many calls and emails later we have the Chester Street house! Gosh does it feel good (and just right!). We are going from our one bedroom condo to a house for the same amount of money...again already love South Carolina. We can't wait to move into our new Southern home and finally be able to start the next chapter of Team Gillig...Southern style! ;)