Step 1 of adulthood: ✓

I'll begin this post with saying that I have very very good news, aaaand not-as-very-good-but-not-quite-bad-news:

1) JOB(S) - After hearing the ear bleeding news that the 48723947892 places that I've been applying to for a real life job with a salary and benefits probably won't actually be contacting me for an interview for a couple of months....

I GOT A FULL-TIME JOB! I GOT A FULL-TIME JOB! I GOT A FULL-TIME JOB! I GOT A FULL-TIME JOB!

If you're a frequenter of my blog, you know that technically I didn't have "a couple of months" to sit around and wait for something to fall in my lap due to my family rollin out, sooooo last Thursday I applied at Zara, a clothing store based in Spain that I have a slight-moderate obsession with at the Randolph/State street location that is a part of the Block 37 mall. I filled out the application/turned in my resume, scored another follow-up interview today at 2PM, was interviewed by managers Katie and Tara, and received an offer as a full time associate! While I wasn't originally thinking about going into retail after graduation, I am really excited about getting employed there, as I vocalized during both my first and second interview that I would love to work my way up through the company, and would be honored to work my way up to maybe management eventually, or corporate. I mentioned that I was a communication major with a minor in theatre, and they both mentioned how I could potentially be a fashion PR professional if I prove myself and decide to advance my career.

These are the two questions I asked at the conclusion of my interview to both of my employers and what their answers were:

1. What is your favorite thing about working at Zara?
They both mentioned how its something different every day, and that there is always some kind of new and different challenge to tackle every day whilst at work, and that its never a boring day. Tara mentioned how much she loves the clothing and that getting new pieces every week is always exciting since they never know what they're going to receive next.
2. What goals does this Zara location have for the next 6 months-year?
Since this particular store is doing extremely well, their current location is beginning to feel too small for the amount of business that they could be doing, meaning they'd be looking to expand somewhere on State Street proper, or open up another store across the way for their nicest/most exclusive line. The point is, there is going to be a great deal of expansion in the very near future, which is something that I would be so excited and privileged to be a part of.

In short, I'm so excited to be able to contribute myself to a company that is taking off with new and expanded locations throughout the world that will allow me to work with European fashion every day.

(and onto the not as fun topic that still needs to be figured out ASAP)

2) APARTMENT(S) - Now, for a slightly less thrilling update, the whole finding a place to live within the next 6-8 weeks thing has easily been the most agonizingly rough process. Me and one of my best friends Brea from Valpz are planning to live together, HOWEVER its also imperative that Brea finds a job before she can commit to an apartment. ALSO, in order to move into the dream apartment (more about that later), we need a third roommate. Preferably a friendly girl between the ages of 21-27 that would be okay with having one cat around. So.....if you have any friends or if your friends have friends looking to live in Chicago that fall into those three main categories, tell them to hit me up ayyy-sap.

But anyways, on Sunday, me and my friend Lauren took a quick lil walk around south Rogers Park so I could take pictures/put down information for available/affordable/nice apartments in the area. These are a sample of some of the places I found:

While the places above^ would probably be perfectly fine, I couldn't help but shake the thought that there had to be something better...

...and I was right.

The picture above is 1310 W Arthur Ave, a house I've noticed and passed many a times en route to my friend's house a few blocks away from the Loyola CTA Red Line station. I've always admired it, as the landlords have always done an excellent job at keeping it looking picturesque and put together with the fetching curb appeal. 

 Virtual Tour of 1310 W Arthur Ave.

The apartment is 3 Bedrooms/1 Bathroom and is overall 1,900 square feet. As you can see in the above video, it has huge beautiful bay windows, nice historic detailing, A DISHWASHER, free laundry, and tons of extra storage space in the basement. ANNNNND as if it couldn't get any better, its a reasonable price per month, cats are allowed, and they offer a July 15th move-in. 

But what is the very best/most interesting part/something I think may just so happen to be a sign that this is the place?

How ironic is it that our prospective landlord is from Valparaiso, IN and has extended family in Chesterton? I have yet to meet anyone that resides in this area thats ever even heard of Valpo, let alone Chesterton. Usually when I tell Chicagoans, potential employers/city college students/resident that I go/went to Valparaiso University, they nod their head and do this "Oh okay" thing, which typically prompts me to add something along the lines of, "Oh, haha, its just about an hour away in Northwest Indiana!" or "We're really well known for our basketball team! In fact we made it into the NCAA Sweet Sixteen last year!" so they in turn know its actually quite close by/may ring some bells if they hear our basketball team is good. However, Greg gets it!!! THEY GET IT!!!

(The only issue is, of course, finding that third person to live with us/making sure the two of us have some kind of an income to make a life there.)

Sometime within the next week or so, Brea and I will be scheduling a meeting with some apartment finding services such as Apartment People or Chicago Apartment Finders, where we can explain both of our money/job/living situations and see what the apartment experts have to say about what/where we can or cannot afford and then show us apartment listings that would suit us well. I gotta say though, I'm not giving up on this W Arthur, a.k.a. my Dream home very easily. 

Also, this weekend I'm jetting out east to Maryland and Pennsylvania to see some family that I haven't seen in quite awhile which will be a nice little break before my schedule gets crazy hectic again. Plus, Mama and me will be spending a day in D.C. where we get to go to all our favorite Smithsonian museums and explore and act like tourists for a leeeeettle while ;)

I'll write after I return from ze Capital! In the meantime, if you don't already, please feel free to follow me on Twitter and/or Instagram :)

Love alwayzzz,

Rachel Noel ♡♡♡

Oh and P.S. Since I'm an enormous sucker for quotes/after I incorporated one into my blog last week, I made the conscious decision to add a little "Thought of the Day" quote to my blog at the end of every entry I make, so here ya go: