One month down.

Well, one month and two days to be exact! I'm love, love, loving Cincinnati, and everything that goes along with it.

The city itself is amazing. It has all the big-city feel I loved about Chicago, including great restaurants, ambiance, museums, walk-ability and bars, but it's smaller, and easier to maneuver. It's also convenient to have a car again, although the year of living in the Windy City has convinced me I'd be perfectly happy never driving one again.

The other great part about Cincy, is the natural beauty, not just outside the city, but even in downtown. There are flower gardens everywhere, the river running right through the center of things, and the hills are just amazing. I've taken a couple of day trips to go hiking at state parks outside the city limits, and have also spent some time exploring my new neighborhood and getting the lay of the land.

I joined a book club, and my first meeting is on Tuesday. The book is "Canticle for Leibowitz," a post-apocalyptic story by Walter Miller. Not really my thing, but I've been here a month and still need some friends! On my quest to find this novel, though, I found a great bookstore a couple minutes from my house, which happens to be next to a WHOLE FOODS! Yay! It's also in the same shopping center as Gap, Banana, Nordstrom Rack and T.J. Maxx. Now that I know where I'll be spending most of my time (and money), I'm starting to really feel settled.

The job is going really well. I couldn't ask for better coworkers, and the work is actually a lot of fun. Really! Who knew health benefits could get me riled up?

Finally, I'm almost done decorating my apartment. I'm still struggling with a color scheme for my bedroom, but I have a feeling something will come to me. The second bedroom is finished, though...so if you're ever looking for a place to crash, you've got one in the Queen City!