Everyone's favorite questions:

When is Lorien headed to school?

Have you found a place for her to live yet?

For weeks we have been asked those two questions everywhere we go.  Up until today, the answers have been:

I don't know. Classes start on the 26th so sometime before then.

and

No...followed by a long explanation of the hurdles we've been trying to get over to get her housing.

Lorien has been little to no help in figuring out her housing situation.  She has no opinion.  I think it is because we are going to pay for a good portion of it so she feels like she can't be particular and expressing any option would be particular.  I'm not sure.  So without Lorien's input Will and I went down to Southern California on our own to pick out her place for the school year.  

We walked around college neighborhoods like we were dating again.  We loved it!  

We took the Big Blue Bus around a little bit to get an idea of what Lorien's commutes would be like.

We saw a few places.  We only saw the outside of the first place.  It doesn't have availability in our needed window so we didn't really need to see the inside.  The second place was super close to Lorien's school but it was kind of a mess...and there were a lot of girls living there already. 

 

The last place was really great!  It was reasonably priced and in a high rise building.  We looked at two units there.  One was kind of a mess but the other seemed perfect!  We were sold!  We signed the lease for Lorien and made a move-in date.

She will be living on the 13th floor of this bad boy!

She has a killer view, including being able to see the LA temple from her bedroom and living room.  It is a sweet apartment!

I was walking on air as we left the leasing office.  We finally had a place for our baby to live when she leaves the nest.  The place is clean, close to public transportation, shopping, and the bustle of the city.  I think she will be comfortable and successful here!  Mission accomplished!

Before flying home we had dinner at a really great place in Santa Monica.  Will ordered the whole fried fish.  I could only eat one bite because it looked to gross to me.  I don't like eating my food when it can watch me.  Barf.