The Apartment

So Josh and I drove down to Tampa in mid June to scope out the area and find an apartment for me.  We were able to stay in the hotel, which was good to see it from a guest's view before seeing it as an employee, annnnd nice to stay in luxury for a little! 

So after surviving some crazy rain storms, on the third apartment viewing I decided I found my own!  There was a special so I got a month free and was able to afford the big one-bedroom with a "den"!!  I tried so hard to keep a poker face, as coached, but typical Toni, I couldn't contain it and halfway through looking at the apartment I was giddy.  Josh and the leasing agent (who's husband is now my Honda mechanic too- convenient!) just had to laugh at me.  Signing that lease with MY name on it was sooo exciting!!!  ...until of course I had to pay the first month's rent a few weeks later and felt a little tight on cash... Welcome to the Real World!

soooo I don't have much furniture yet, mostly cuz its EXPENSIVE moving into an empty apartment!  But when Gwen came down with me a week or so later, we still had to enjoy a cocktail in the Den on our makeshift furniture.  We blew up my pool floats, laid in the dining room, and took that picture of living room.  The other picture of the pool and pond is the view from my balcony and outside the front door.  Not too bad.  Rent money certainly stretches a LOT further here than in Boston...