Monday, February 3, 2014

"Modern Light Fixtures"

I wanted to give everyone a chance to see what the "Modern Light Fixtures" mentioned in the previous post look like. So here they are for your enjoyment. Let the modernness blow your retro/contemporary minds! 






This last one is my favorite. It's so modern that it doesn't even exist! Because hey, in this modern age, who needs a light in the living room!?


P.S. We don't pay $1650 for an apartment without AC, dishwasher, parking, etc. We've made plenty of bad decisions but that isn't one of them. The apartment for $1650 mentioned in the previous post is in our building but not the unit we currently rent.  

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Apartment Hunting Hell in Chicago





29 weeks along. There are few things in this life that are so scrutinizingly counted in weeks and pregnancy is one of them. Which is why when most people ask, I tell them my wife is just over 6 months pregnant so they don't have to start doing math on their fingers. There are all sorts of things you do in preparation for a child. For us, that mostly consists of siphoning off all the baby stuff from my older siblings who have come to the end of reproducing. It also means trying to figure out where were are going to put the little munchkin come April. 7 months ago today we signed a lease and moved in to our second apartment here in Chicago, located in the quaint neighborhood of Lincoln Park. That apartment has one bedroom. 1. As in less than 2. We conveniently realized this was going to be a problem 1 month after we moved in when the pee stick came back with two unmistakable lines.

So, here we are, trying to find a new place with 2 bedrooms. This, however, isn't easy nor cheap. It's very stressful and time consuming. Tonight we pulled up a listing for an available apartment in our current building. That listing inspired this post. And here is why. Take a look at the photo I've included. Notice the light fixture in the photo? Now go ahead and look at the description. That's right, "Modern light fixtures." Because we all know there's nothing more desirable in an apartment than "modern light fixtures," especially the ones that are simply a metal rod and a light bulb. But I guess when you are listing an apartment for $1650 that DOES NOT HAVE an elevator, air conditioning, in unit washer/dryer, parking, or adult sized bedrooms, then you're forced to promote its "modern light fixtures." We've got 5 months until our lease is up. Here's to hoping we can survive the "modern light fixture" listings and actually find ourselves a place that is "baby approved."

p.s. The funny thing about the light fixture in the photo is that it's exactly what our kitchen light looks like. Of course, that's because I recently replaced the bulb and couldn't figure out how to get the tacky and completely non-modern glass globe to hang back on.