“Single-ISH” In the City

So I recently moved into my first one bedroom apartment… I know, I know, I’m a grandmother who’s about to become a “quinquagenarian”, and according to the “American Dream” I should be living in a house, where all of my kids and their babies can come, and visit, and possibly move in if they need to….

THE HELL YOU SAY!!!!

Let me just say that this is the best thing I’ve done for myself (besides going vegan, and healing some old childhood trauma) in EVER!!

My previous place (although I lived virtually alone) was a 3 bedroom, intended for if one of my adult kids ever needed to “come back home” for a bit to gather themselves due to some unforeseen financial hardship, or relationship drama or whatever. So though I technically lived alone, it still was designed and decorated with all of that in mind.

But THIS time, for the FIRST time, I have my own place. I went from my momma house (which was shared with her and 2 younger brothers), to my own first apartment with my own kids, to my first marriage in a house in which there were 6 people and well…..it goes on from there. But now all of the kids are finally GROWN GROWN, and GONE GONE!!! And let’s just say that Ari Lennox had it right when she sang: “I just got a new apartment, and I’m gone leave the floor wet, walk around this Bitch naked, and nobody can tell me SHIDDDDDD”!! I

If you’ve never heard that song, check it out. She literally made that song for ME!!

I’ve discovered so many things about ME, my decorating style (which I thought was always “motherish) turns out is a little modern/contemporary/minimalist. That I didn’t know how much I TRULY enjoy walking around with no clothes on.. I mean my GOODNESS, even I get sick of seeing me naked sometimes. This place has lots of natural lighting, so my balcony doors have windows above them that don’t have blinds nor curtains, and I’m on the 3rd floor. The building across from me has 5 floors, I’m sure the top 2 get PLENTY of shots of this nakedness, and IDGAPHUCCKKKKK!!! As much as I pay in rent to live in this place, they gonna get as much nakedness as I choose to give them. On my days off I like taking extra baths and showers changing clothes a few times (when I do wear them) and just walking around drinking wine while pretending I’m some SUPER diva… so in essence, I guess I like playing dress up! Cooking has DEFINITELY become my favorite past time. So much so that my boyfriend brought me an air fryer to try different recipes. One of my faves is Parmesan Brussel Sprouts cooked in it, tossed in maple syrup and balsamic vinegar (I’ll be doing a Youtube video on that one soon). AMAAAAAAAZIINNNNG!!!

I have become quite the handy woman. lol. I’ve always been really good at putting stuff together, as a kid, being the oldest of my siblings in the house, whenever we got new toys, I was the one who had to put them together. Be it bikes, big wheels, telescopes or any gadgets. But because this place is definitely smaller than I’m used to, I gave away and tossed all of my old furniture, and started over. I ordered a couch that I had to actually put together which was funny to me, because I didn’t even know that was possible. But I mean I had to put the sides, the back and the bottom of it on, before adding the legs and cushion. Interesting to say the least. Add to that an accent chair, a very sturdy living room table, an entire patio set with 2 chairs and a table, a whole bed, and an ottoman. I’ve become “Kita The Tool Woman Taylor” up in this piece! And pretty proud of it.

Now, I am also pretty proud of where I live, the location (downtown Decatur), and TOO many amenities to name. I definitely enjoy giving tours to the people who’ve come to visit me so far. From the rooftop club house, to free wifi throughout (you have to get your own in your apartment), to a state of the art gym, to seating areas all around the property with tvs outside to enjoy, to fire-pits, to a pool area that you can enjoy year round (no swimming after October) But the area itself which has 2 big grills inside of the pool area, heated seating area with a tv (both upstairs and downstairs) small water falls etc. And outside of the pool gate, there is a bar, with a tv, a green egg, and 2 more grills. I also have a water fall right outside of my apartment which is very soothing for my outdoor meditation, and there is an entire community gathering area/building with video games, free coffee 24/7, 4 tvs, a fireplace, glass rooms to host meetings (open for use to any resident), pool tables etc. I live above the place where I get my nails done, as well as a Jason’s Deli, a Whole Foods, Bad Daddies, and a few other restaurants, and places. Having neighbors of ALL ethnicities and economic back grounds has been fun to say the least. There is a dog park and wash on the property, and I forgot how serious some folk are about their pets.

But not to get caught up in all of that, when people ask me why I chose to move here, instead of a house, I’m usually taken aback at the “audacity”, especially when they say “I would NEVER pay that much for an apartment” and I haven’t even told them what my rent is, but they’ve assumed based on all it has to offer, which means low key they know it’s worth it. Or some have admitted to looking into this place when it was first built a little over a year ago. So they thought about it, but it’s okay. I also realize that not everyone understands free thinking outside of the box of what society considers “the norm”. And choosing what makes THEM happy and not what other people say is the guideline for happiness! I love it here, I love the apartment living for now. I have lived in a house or 2 and it was okay for me when my kids were little, and I’ll be buying soon, mostly to have something for my little “family” to to pass down”!

But for now, I am so enjoying the “FREE”! Only obligated to a couple of rooms, minimal decoration (which was hard to do, I had a lot of SHIT!), I don’t even have cable (there are plenty of televisions around this place to go watch when I NEED to), something I haven’t done in a while. I only have internet service, and a fire-stick. And I don’t miss it AT ALL!!! I haven’t watched the news in over 3 months and my life feels lighter. When Le’Boo comes over, we usually just listen to music, or sit around laughing and talking shit for hours, television isn’t even thought of. We’ll find a good movie to watch from time to time if the mood hits.

YUP, “apartment living is the life for me” (old people will get the “Green Acres” starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor reference. DAMN I’M OLD!! lol). Only drawback is that I’ve never had all hard wood floors and I find myself sweeping and swiffering a lot more often than I’d care to admit, because you can see EVERYTHING even though they’re a light grey. Also that everything is done via computer, or electric I guess you could say. So you need a fob to enter all areas of the apartments, even your own door. They made sure we ain’t around here passing out extra keys *insert guilty laugh*. I’ve locked myself out twice now, and had to use an emergency “pin number” to gain entry. Also our package/slash mail room is in a whole ‘nother building a bit aways from my actual door, and with the way I’ve been ordering furniture and stuff, I have to wait until the boyfriend is around to pick up my heavy deliveries, or get one of the kids to come by and help. But those are the only complaints I have.

The nakedness, and absolute JOY of coming home to this place everyday with wine waiting in the fridge make up for the little inconveniences! So if you’ve been looking for me, I’ve been here, at home, enjoying the new place, and everything else that 2020 has given me that I asked for! I’ll be posting more on my Youtube channel soon so make sure to go follow “All Things Kita Redd”. And I’m working on my podcast which I’ve been so caught up on the details of the name and cover art that I haven’t recorded my first one yet, but stay tuned for it as well, so many GREAT topics to explore that I’m SUPER excited to say the least.

“Now let me go check on these GahDamn garbanzo beans, to see if they cooked yet”!!

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