One more week at our house!  Technically, we don't close until June 25th, but we take possession of our apartment June 15th, and seeing as that has furniture, we are so excited to move in.  Now that the shower is over and I don't have anything else to occupy my mind, it's suddenly become a lot more real.  Today I also met with the manager of the Starbucks downtown, who agreed to let me transfer to his store, which will be very convenient - only 2 blocks away from the loft.

Invitations to the August training class have all pretty much been sent out, and since Joey's clearance is scheduled to be finished tomorrow, we are 95% sure that September 13th is our official start date in DC. Having an actual date makes things a lot more real too!  We are also about 85% sure we have found a place to live in DC.  Actually, its in the "urban village" Shirlington, which is very close to Arlington, VA, which is where Joey will be training/working.  We're really excited about the place - its this super cute newly renovated apartment complex called Windsor at Shirlington Village.  It has a shuttle directly to the metro, and I believe where Joey works is right across the street, so this is clutch given DC's notorious traffic.  It also has its own 7000 sq ft exercise facility and is right by the running trail that takes you into DC (it's only 3 miles).  They usually only take 2 dogs per apartment (I've been confronted with this restriction at almost every one of the million places I've inquired) but Windsor agreed to make an exception!  Here's the link for the apartment if you're interested: http://www.windsorcommunities.com/apartments/northern-va/shirlington/


Another perk is the nearby Shirling- ton Village (see picture), which has tons of restaurants and cute shops and is apparently very dog friendly.  Also, two dog parks are within walking distance which will be crucial given the three dogs living in a 900 sq ft apartment.  Apparently Shirlington is also home to many other FSOs as well as other young professionals, which is really exciting because hopefully it'll be easy to make new friends.  It definitely makes it easier to move knowing where we are going is neat - be it downtown Des Moines or Shirlington, VA.