The Sullivans Take Manhattan Part Three: Little by little...

Our new apartment is turning into a functioning home. We just got the last unpacked box out of here this weekend and that feels very good. Our dining table is still covered in yet to be dealt with items and there are frames laying on the floor when they belong on the wall, but it's coming along!

The number one priority for us was getting the kitchen ready to actually be used. Tiny kitchen or not, we like to cook dinner at home 4-5 nights each week and fitting everything in has been a big challenge.   We already had a good pot/pan set up at our old place which we were able to hang on the wall here. We also had an old kitchen cart from college that really needed to go. It was still in fine shape, but doesn't fit the space, and Sean hates it as one comes to hate the kitchen cart they bought at Meijers in a moment of desperation 4 years ago. We did a lot of measuring to figure out what would fit (surprise, not a lot fits) and finally settled on a small prep counter from West Elm which would give us two shelves and triple our counter space. Lucky for us, West Elm is close by and we were able to put the box in a cab rather than pay for delivery. Unlucky for Sean, it was extremely difficult to assemble.

Also very unlucky for us, the size of our apartment has been pretty limiting of what pieces of furniture we can actually buy. We don't want to buy things we don't love just because they work in the space, knowing that we are not going to live here forever. So we try to buy furniture we love that can serve multiple functions over time. This means the cheapest option isn't always doable. Last weekend we also found ourselves hemming and hawing over a new TV stand (the old one also being a college relic that was just too big to fit well). We finally bit the bullet AND paid for delivery and now that it is here, we love it. But as someone with limited furniture buying experience and a limited budget, getting past that initial purchase is still really difficult for me.

Goals for this weekend include finally hanging up a lot of stuff on these blank walls. Our wine rack, new reading lights, photos and art, a double towel rack in the bathroom...etc. There seems to never be a good time to move, Sean and I have both been so busy this month that we have been stalled at getting everything in it's place. Someday soon, I hope to have some very nice photos to share!

The Good List

There are always days that seem a little worse than others. When maybe you didn't get enough sleep, or your apartment is a mess, and other little irritations turn into big ones. It's probably raining and gross outside and you didn't eat breakfast. Anyway, today was obviously one of those days for me. When this happens, I like to force myself to think about good things until I stop being grumpy and feeling sorry for myself. Sometimes I even make a list. It's pretty silly, but it always helps. Here is the good list for today:

-remembering to wear your raincoat and boots even though it hasn't started raining yet

-a sturdy umbrella that can withstand the wind

-comfort food in the form of a big pot of tofu and red lentil curry

-fine tuned Pandora stations

-running for the bus and catching it

-Hillary Clinton is now on Twitter

-listening to Moon River, the best line is obviously "Two drifters, off to see the world, there's such a lot of world to see"

Yep. I have high hopes of sleeping well tonight.

Birthday and JUNE

June is here which seems kind of crazy. It's a very busy month for me at work with two big conferences to plan and staff but getting them out of the way will make for a relaxing summer which I am looking forward to. So lets get on to the fun stuff...

Tuesday night I walked home across Central Park and ran some errands, then headed home. When I got to our building with grand plans of cooking a nice dinner for Sean in my head, I could not open the front door to the building. No matter what I did with my key, that door would not open. I started dripping sweat in our tiny entryway for ten minutes trying to turn the lock. I sighed. I swore. And then I gave up and left. I called Sean and told him he would find me pouting on a bench somewhere in Riverside Park because that door just hated me. But then I had a great idea. Why not go to Trader Joe's and pick up some groceries since I was locked out anyway? Well, this was my first trip to Trader Joe's on Broadway and 72 and let's just say it was an educating experience. The line to check out wrapped all the way through produce, cheese, and meat. People do their shopping WHILE they're already in line to check out. It was rough. After waiting in line with my heavy basket for 30 minutes and carrying my bag home, my arm was ready to fall off. Of course when I got to our building and tried again to open the door, it opened quite easily. Of course by this time it was also 8pm, Sean got home and we gave up all hope of cooking dinner. We ordered pick up from a sushi place very close by and it wasn't terrible. End of story.

Wednesday was my birthday and it was also a beautiful day, perfect for the wearing of my chosen birthday dress, a blue shift from J. Crew with silver polka dots (which I tried to find a photo to link to because I know you were very curious about my birthday dress but it was impossible, that dress sold out in about five minutes two months ago). We've been on a strick no shopping rule, so I actually bought this dress in MARCH but hadn't worn it yet due to the complete lack of appropriate spring weather in New York. One of my colleagues insisted on birthday pie and got me a piece of strawberry rhubarb. Birthday pie is a requirement and it was delicious. Sean surprised me when I got home from work with a bouquet of roses and a stack of very fun presents including new pajamas and a straw hat (can I pull it off? the verdict is still out). We had a nice dinner in our new neighborhood at Boulud Sud. A very lovely birthday.

In other news, on Thursday I played an epic game of capture the flag with colleagues in Central Park, which I am still sore from. My team won, obviously, and I like to think my amazing defense skills had something to do with that. Friday consisted of a long day at work and complaining nonstop about the downpour in New York. It rained all day long. Literally all day. The kind of rain where your bus takes 30 minutes longer than it should, the streets fill up with water, and an umbrella can't keep you dry. We got soaked walking just a few blocks to a bar. We got even more soaked walking another few blocks to dinner. When we left four hours later it was somehow STILL pouring.

This morning the sun is shining a bit and it looks like the sky got all the rain out of its system so we are in for a nice weekend. Sean and I have some furniture shopping to do and I have birthday money burning a hole in my pocket, which means we have a date with the Flatiron district and Union Square.

Happy Weekend!

Life Changing

Beds with built in drawers to store your clothes.

Living a few blocks from Shake Shack.

Your evening commute including the option of just walking across Central Park.

It's taken me a few days, but I can finally say I am very happy that we moved. Loving our new little home on the Upper West Side.

Tips for moving into a tiny apartment

1.  Make peace with getting rid of stuff. New rule: if you haven't used something in over a year, you probably don't need to keep it.

2. CLEAN. Scrub. Wipe down. Do it again. Because the bathroom walls and oven nobs have probably never seen a sponge and they will be better for it. Celebrate the hidden OCD clean freak inside you and let it out.

3. Unpack immediately. Boxes take up a lot of space when you don't have much space to begin with.

4. Get rid of more stuff as you unpack it.

5. Have friends over as soon as possible. This will automatically brighten up a space that doesn't feel like home.

6. When in doubt, go to Ikea. But try not to buy too much stuff.


That's it for now. After some minor moving mishaps and severe dust allergies we are mainly settled and enjoying our new neighborhood!

When you're excited to be moving...

Because you find yourself catching a cab to Queens at 1:00 a.m. knowing that in a few weeks you will be able to walk the ten blocks home.

Sean and I had a busy Saturday! I got a haircut, we went out to Brooklyn to visit a friends new baby (so sweet), had dinner with Jocelyn and Cory at Casa Mono (one of our fave restaurants in Gramercy), and then went out for a going away party in midtown. Long day, so we are spending Sunday watching marathon episodes of the West Wing. It's the best.

The Sullivans Take Manhattan Part Two: So Long, Astoria

When I began thinking about moving it was difficult to see it as a good idea. We have an apartment that (despite its quirks) we love, that is a reasonable price, and very close to the subway, a bank, a grocery store, a great dry cleaner, and most everything else we could want. Astoria is a certainly not a bad neighborhood and actually has a lot to offer. We have enjoyed living here. There are great restaurants, great bars, and one of the best beer gardens in NYC. It took a while to find the best bagel place, or the good thai delivery places, or the dentist. It took quite a while to be able to give intelligent directions to a taxi driver. It took even longer for our apartment and this neighborhood to feel like home. Now that it does, why would we want to leave, you might wonder. And many people have wondered, as I explained to them what a great apartment we already had.

It's easy to get stuck in a neighborhood rut in New York. One where you hardly leave your own neighborhood (case in point: Sean and I this weekend). Moving to the Upper West Side isn't just like moving to a new apartment, it's like moving to a new city. Lansing to Ann Arbor for example. Commuting time between our old and new place is about 45 minutes. We won't be making it out to Astoria very often and will need to find a new reliable dry cleaner, new dentist, eye doctor, and affordable hair salon, among other things. The change in scenery will force us out of our comfort zone, which is always a good thing. Our time in New York is not necessarily permanent and while we are here, I want to take full advantage of the city that is available to us. The Upper West Side is my dream neighborhood (ok it's actually a close second to Union Square but let's not go there), and if I have the opportunity to live in my dream neighborhood, I should probably take it.

That said, I am going to miss all the best parts of Astoria. The cheap manicures and haircuts. Sweet Afton, Vesta, Il Bambino, Brooklyn Bagels, Petey's Burgers, and all the other delicious restaurants around. The extremely quick (and cheap) taxi ride to the airport. The friends we have in Astoria who we will no longer bump into at the grocery store. The endless supply of Greek cafes and brunches.

Forgive me, it's too appropriate.

So Long, Astoria by the Ataris