The Funky Junkie: The Newlywed Nest

I've been having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that in the past three weeks, I have gotten married...

...been to paradise and back...

...and came home, packed up, and left our hometown to begin our life together in our big fat Greek basement apartment.

The two days following the honeymoon were spent in a frenzy throwing all of our stuff into boxes, hard-core cleaning my apartment, and trying to see as many people as possible before we left State College. Because this time, it wasn't just us leaving--many of my friends are headed off to all corners of the country (and world!) in the next few weeks. And this time, it's not just for a summer or for a semester--it's real life. I couldn't have imagined a better way to spend one last night at home than sitting around my parents kitchen table with my new husband, old friends dropping by, and enjoying some wedding cake.

We rose early on Thursday morning to begin our journey with a 16-foot Budget Truck and the big blue un-air conditioned SUV. Oh yeah, on the hottest day of the year. Let's just say I might have managed to sweat a good portion of the calories I gained on the honeymoon.

I will be honest--I got a little emotional as we drove the familiar streets of State College for one last time on our way to stop at a friend's house (to pick up a very classy wedding gift :-)). But those feelings were quickly replaced by excitement to start a new adventure and to unpack all of our new toys. And then those feelings were replaced by a little bit of fear of driving on the Capitol Beltway all by myself. And then the 100+ degree heat made me stop having feelings.

Other than a flat tire on the truck in Maryland, the trip was very smooth and we arrived to our new home to a little housewarming gift from Georgia, the Greek landlady.

Champagne in the fridge.

After everything was moved in, she invited us up for some sandwiches, beer, and some Greek wisdom on marriage--you will definitely be hearing lots about Georgia in future blogs.

So here I am, blogging from a new spot, drinking coffee from new mugs, and ready to share all of our new adventures, stories from the wedding and honeymoon, and a new scene of thrifty shopping!