It is STONE FRUIT SEASON, and I’m absolutely obsessed. I suspect that from now on, every summer will be marked by the transition from a regular, balanced diet to eating stone fruits 90% of the time—in the past month, I’ve devoured so many plums (black ones are sweeter, by the way), nectarines (currently my favorite fruit!), and cherries. MMM.

On a side note, I’m 100% #TeamCutFruit. When it comes to cutting them up vs. biting into them, I feel the same the way most people feel about sandwiches sliced diagonally vs. horizontally—they’re technically the same, but the former is somehow so much better.

When I’m not slicing myself yet another nectarine, I’m doing tons of logistical planning because…*drumroll*…I’m moving in two weeks! This was a fairly recent decision—at the beginning of July, I had no doubt that I’d be renewing my lease come September, despite many signs that my current living situation was not ideal.

Allow me to rant for a sec: basement apartments come with a set of realities that are manageable at best and incredibly frustrating at worst. One of the things I despised was the amount of bugs I’d get—when I first moved in, silverfish (the world’s most alien, disgusting-looking insects) were a major issue since they were drawn to the basement’s humidity (another problem in and of itself!). I addressed both by getting a dehumidifier, something I’d never even heard of until moving here. Honestly, the dehumidifier is a godsend—I only wish I didn’t have to empty it so often, especially now that it’s warm again.

The onset of winter also helped combat the silverfish issue, but it brought an even greater one: RIDICULOUSLY HIGH electricity bills. My apartment uses electric heat, which can be super expensive especially if the place isn’t efficiently insulated. One month I remember my electric bill being as high as $450, and it wasn’t even like I was cranking up the thermostat to make my home toasty! I started using as little heat as humanly possible (in Boston winter, mind you) in an attempt to save money, but of course that was pretty uncomfortable too—I would sleep in a million layers, and poor Coconut had to wear a sweater all season. (I will admit, this was pretty adorable though.)

Oh, and of course, when winter ended, the bugs came back. Not silverfish per se, but spiders and house centipedes. Siiiiiiiigh.

My biggest gripe recently has been the general feeling that this apartment is just falling apart. For example, a few weeks ago I was working at the dining table when I heard a sudden crash. I discovered it was a brick, which was super confusing until I realized that the “brick wall” in my living room was actually a regular wall with brick “slices” glued to it and painted over. (Honestly, it looks super convincing, so props to my landlord?) A handyman came by to glue the brick back on but…really!?

Another example of this apartment’s crumbling state is the fact that the wall sockets in my bedroom randomly stopped working earlier this week. Which my window AC plugs into…..and it’s summer now. Alas.

On the brighter side of things, my future apartment is 100+ square feet bigger, lower rent, and not in a basement (in fact, it even has a terrace)! The amenities are also insane—I can’t believe I’ll be living in a complex with a concierge, mailing room, gym, and *gasp* on-site dog park. And, as an added bonus, I’ll be in much closer proximity to the friends I’ve made in the city!

My new lease starts August 1st, and my current lease ends at the end of August, but this complex also happened to be doing a 1-month-of-no-rent special. I swear, when it came to this year’s apartment hunt, the stars REALLY aligned. 😍

In general moving tends to really take it out of people, but I’ve personally found it incredibly invigorating. I think this is largely due to the fact I’m 1) moving into a new apartment that I love and 2) barely moving any furniture. One positive aspect of my current apartment is that it essentially came pre-furnished. When my landlord moved across the country, she left behind her couch, bed frame, mattress, AC, coat rack, dresser, entertainment unit, and Samsung TV, all of which I made full use of. And as much as I’ll miss her Smart TV (and strangely enough, her coat rack—it’s adorable!!), I’m so grateful that I don’t have to transport them.

In that vein, I feel like everyone becomes a minimalist when they move. (My landlord, case-in-point.) The rationale’s pretty simple: packing is expensive and boring, but selling stuff is fun! I cannot tell you how much joy I’ve gotten out of getting rid of objects I no longer need. My recent sales have included never-used pet nail clippers (I chickened out and realized I only trust a groomer to clip Coconut’s!), my set of 10 lb dumbbells, a key tray, and more.

I could go on and on about the joys (and logistics!) of moving, but I’ve got another 2 hours of studying Physics to do today. So to end this off, enjoy a photo-dump of more food I’ve made since my last post—the last two are Alison Roman recipes. Behold kale and roasted mushrooms, vegetable broth, mirepoix (to use as a base for pea soup), chocolate-y salty cookies (using my new cooling tray!), and shrimp and fennel pasta!