After scrolling through hundreds of apartment listings, touring a few places in person, and crashing for a week at chez Linder-Scholer, we finally found a spot to settle in for the winter. It’s not exactly what or where we initially envisioned, but—as with so many other parts of this process—we just stumbled on an opportunity, looked at one another, and said, “you know what? this could be something good for us.”
Serendipitous moments like this feel life-giving and affirming, especially in our current state of ambiguity and change, but they also aren’t reliable enough to keep my anxious brain from asking constantly along the way, “yes, okay, but what is the PLAN?”
So I’ve been working on maintaining a balance of active planning/preparation and also openness to the unforeseen and unexpected moments of potential good. Right now, the end result is that we have a lovely place to live (hooray!) but the process has entailed lots of research, energy, and screen-time dedicated to getting us to this point.
The search process
Over the past two weeks, I truly cannot stress just how many apartments we have looked at on Zillow and Apartment.com and Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace…
And by casually driving past buildings.
And scanning cute blocks for RENTAL signs.
And scoping out potential units in person.
And calling people I found online and hoping they’re legit.
Because, while we were looking for a wildly fast move-in-ready place as in…like…right now, we also had some pretty specific needs that we were looking to fill, such as:
A 6-month or month-to-month leasing option
October 1st or soon thereafter availability
Covered parking (because I paid my street parking dues in my twenties and “treat yo’ self” at age 33 means not having to scrape my car and scramble for parking)
A <20 minute commute to Taylor’s office in NE Mpls and my family in Shoreview
Kitchen counter space for cooking and maintaining bakery production
Natural light to counteract my intense winter malaise/hibernation tendencies
As we arrived at our closing date, we had narrowed down a few options but not found one spot that hit the entire checklist, so we gave ourselves one more weekend to think about it and make a decision. Handing over the keys to our house, we drove to Shoreview to drop one car at my parents’ house on the way to the cabin, when we spotted a brand new apartment complex along the way. At precisely the same time, Taylor and I turned to one another and said, “oh, that place looks nice!”
[Note: I’ve observed this type of verbal echoing happening more and more frequently in our post-quarantine marriage, perhaps from all of the time we spend together. We also continue to (mostly unintentionally) dress alike pretty regularly, which I’m sure is off-putting to everyone but us and perhaps dis-concerning to our new neighbors.]
We made a quick call on the way up to the cabin and learned that it was above our price range and not accepting <12 month leases…except for one sole unit, which they were having trouble renting because it lacks a patio or balcony. We quickly assured the property manager that the lack of outdoor space would not be a problem for us (between Oct-April in Minnesota, lol) and submitted an application. Four days later, we moved in our mattress, tv, plants, one box of kitchen basics, one box of wine, and our weekend bags of essentials.
Our new place
We landed on a brand new apartment and townhome complex in Vadnais Heights called The Reserve at Sono, which we already thought sounded pretentious, but then additionally learned that “Sono” is short for “South North Oaks” (referring to our proximity to the high-end gated community next door). Cringe.
The complex is just as bougie as it sounds, but easy and comfortable are exactly what we are looking for during this in-between stage for us—a place that allows us to pour all our time and energy into designing the dream that comes next, building our own custom tiny home.
While I never expected to find myself back in the same community that I grew up in, suburban living will get us comfortably through the winter. I already know all about the nearest coffee shop (my besties and I regularly walked there after middle school) and the best weekend takeout (Paninos, duh) and where to get my pastry fix (Taste of Scandinavia, especially during this ephemeral window of pumpkin cookie season).
Please enjoy this audio throw-back to my high school obsession with Ben Folds and his 2001 anthem that’s feeling awfully apropos at the moment
So for now, we have a brand new 2BR, 2BA apartment with an enormous kitchen, light-filled living area, dedicated WFH office space, heated covered parking, and access to multiple community kitchens, lounge areas, grills, a game room, outdoor fireplace, and lots of parks and wooded walking areas nearby.
We are also exactly 3.9 miles from my parents’ place and only 5.8 miles from my sister and brother-in-law, who are expecting their first baby’s arrival in late January (YAY!). Proximity to family feels particularly important right now and we feel lucky to be able to pull in close as my family faces a few different transitions, together.
Settling in
The storage POD with all our furniture won’t be delivered until this coming weekend, so we have spent the last week making do with what we’ve got. Eager for a “settling in” ritual last Saturday, we started to prepare the first meal cooked in our new kitchen, only to discover that the gas hadn’t been connected to our oven. So we shoved the half-prepped ingredients back into the fridge (sans tupperware or tin foil, both packed up) and cooked a frozen pizza in the community lounge space downstairs while we watched The Office and cozied up by the fireplace.
Since then, we have taken in the colors of the changing leaves (and watched a group of older women playing pickleball, because we have a pickleball court!) from the community patio space as we grilled and enjoyed a beautiful fall dinner outside.
We filled the living room with our plants (which somehow have been thriving in the chaos of our move) and the kitchen with apples and gourds from the same quaint orchard that I went to as a child.
Tomorrow, I plan to bake for the first time in our new space, using our local apples to make whole wheat apple muffins for breakfasts and apple cider blondies for sharing. I’m already imagining and looking forward to the warm kitchen smells and fall vibes and gentle comforts of falling back into routines and baking projects.
This weekend will be busy as we unload the storage POD and cram everything into our new space, but we are eager to check it off the to-do list and return to a more “normal” pace of life where we can catch up and see folks again. Can’t wait! L+T
Our winter way-station