Had a great weekend with the man visiting. I've moved into a new, also temporary place until we make the big move, so he got to see my adorable pad, which is still about 20% from being completely unpacked. The clothes and the shoes...they are a project.

As usual, we ate and drank too much. This is what happens when time together is like a multi-day celebration. It's hard to get into a normal routine when you have to pack in all of the stuff normal couples do over several weekends into a couple of days. This brought us to the discussion of keeping in shape. I'm a yoga girl. I'm fine with only doing that, it keeps me healthy and stops me from slapping people around, with its calming and balancing nature. He, however, has always been a sports guy. Soccer, basketball, whatever. The only thing is, this isn't a convenient or consistent way to work out, since it is heavily dependent upon getting a bunch of other like minded people together to get a game on. Also, it takes up a LOT of time, with the traveling to the place the game is happening, playing, and often, with the end result over some victory or losing beers, which ummm pretty much defeats the physical activity of the whole thing.

The fact is, if he could just find a workout he could do on a daily basis, that only takes a few minutes, he would be more likely to stick to a regular routine and stop complaining about the gaining and losing of the LB's. He really does obsess over it. The problem is, he cries boredom with any such workout, and I guess being bored for 30 minutes a day isn't acceptable. I don't see the big deal. He has a job. That can't be endless excitement all day long, right?

So he tells me he found a great workout. The sand bag workout. Awesome. So he read about some gimmicky nonsense in a men's magazine and now he wants to purchase bags of sand to heave to and fro? Silliest thing ever, right up there with the thigh master. It is, in fact, the men's magazine equivalent of the late night infomercial for the thigh master and all of its similar work out "tools". Only it's a bag of sand, so since it's not formed plastic in a girly purple color, it's totally a manly workout accessory. I'm sure that bag of sand will stave off his workout boredom...for 3 whole minutes.

How did he become so gullible and actually get on board with this idea? He's actually really pumped up about it. Help, people. I see sandbags cluttering the floors of my future home. I'm so not pumped about it. Unlike most clutter that I can just throw away if it gets annoying to me, they are heavy.

Not for the reasons he stated, but the third loft is from the place Elizabeth wants. The first picture is the loft that falls a close second, and the middle loft is an absolute no-go.

The stained concrete floors, the exposed brick walls and wood beams in the ceiling, along with the attention to detail is what makes her want the last loft. The place is immaculate. Every hallway, any common area, the pool, or wherever you look and walk it's perfect. Nothing out of place, everything clean.

When you consider the loft itself, you'll find they restored and sealed the original beams brick and metal. They made some minor (but well done) additions like staining the concrete to enhance the look of the place, but it seems to be a near perfect melding of old and new.

You can't say that for the loft in the second picture. While the photo I took gives it a relatively cool look, the place is like the bizarro version of the place Elizabeth likes. They painted all the awesome original brick, wood, and metal (With a select few omissions) a whitish grey. The hallways are dirty, the common areas worse, and the management seems to have no desire to do anything about it. The woman who walked us around the complex told us the pool was not open yet because of construction and you could tell she wasn't telling us the whole story. It was all over her voice and choice of words.

The layout wasn't too bad, but they have something like 20 floor plans and we magically couldn't view any but the most basic. Hiding something?

They really brutalized what could have been a pretty sweet place.

The loft featured in photo numero uno (As the Asians say) comes in a close second. They preserved the original building as much as possible. The two odd things about the place are the garage-style doors and the lack of a closet in the second bedroom (it's across the hallway and tiny).

When we originally saw the place in construction we figured it would be a live work space. They had these big garage doors on the face of each unit. We figured it would be smart for moving big projects and equipment in and out. Then we saw the concrete barrier built right in front of each door when we got closer. They obviously weren't designing the place for moving equipment in and out with a big concrete slab making things awkward.

They must have changed their minds partway into the design of the place, it's the only explanation. It is pretty cool, however, that you can bring it up on a beautiful day and turn your living room into a covered porch. Well, until evening brings the sun down and you notice that everything in your place is covered in a fine mist of pollen.

The place was otherwise well done. The bathroom kicks ass, the place has a more wide-open feel, and there is a space we could put an office in, allowing for the second bedroom to not have to double as both. Plus it's a 2 minute walk to her sisters.

Can you tell I like this loft the most?

I guess we look at things differently. I'm imaging how much easier it will be to fit our stuff, eat food, disappear into a different area of the place at times, and get to and from the places we'll often be frequenting.

She's looking at things in another way, at least on the forefront. She's got the artsy eyeball on things and she's right, the other place was finished a little bit better than the other. And since I'm not allowed to bring anything I own we probably won't have as tough a time fitting everything in as I make it out to be. Plus I get storage through work and the place is somewhat short term anyways.

So in the end, either place has the Bracelet Seal of Approval and I have to do something I'm loathe to do. Give Speaker props.

His reasoning wasn't spot on, but his picks were.

Betty, April...You should be ashamed of yourselves for letting a guy (albeit a metrosexual) get the best of you here.