Our New York anniversary

Today marks the anniversary of our moving to New York City from Los Angeles. Five years ago today, fresh off our honeymoon, we were pulling into Times Square with our giant moving truck. We had driven over 3,000 miles and had arrived the afternoon prior to our scheduled move-in–as planned–and stayed in a hotel by the Newark airport. I was sick from food poisoning–the culprit probably something I ate around the time we were crossing into West Virginia–and had slept through the last day en route. Fortunately, we had called a moving company and had some guys coming to meet us just to unload the truck.

We thought that leaving the hotel at 5am to drive the 13 miles to our apartment would mean beating the morning traffic and that we’d have no trouble getting a spot near the front of our building and meeting the movers by 9am. The next morning after some missed turns and who-knows-what, we ended up waiting in line during what turned out in fact to already be rush hour at the Holland Tunnel; and then we learned that no trucks are allowed. So the police escorted us out of line and pointed us toward the Lincoln Tunnel, which is how we ended up arriving in the center of Times Square. Welcome to the city! Three hours later we had navigated all of 13 miles to the East Village. I hobbled upstairs and the movers had all of our stuff (that took us a full day of packing with two friends) out and in within about 45 minutes. It was wild.

[Leaving my parents’ house in Long Beach, CA, after picking up their dishwasher and adding it to our haul]

[Approximately 9:50am on June 12, 2007–after a three hour trip from Newark and 45 minutes of unloading]

 [Unpacked; see more recent photos here]

 

Our apartment has sold and is in contract and I can’t believe it but we only have another month-and-a-half before we fly to Bali and bid farewell to New York. (For now.) So today we are trying to figure out what iconic New York experiences we want to be sure to do (again or for the first time) before we go. We are trying to keep our bucket list small enough to be realistic (it’s one to-do list among many). Help us out! What are your top three things to do in New York–iconic or otherwise?

P.S. That top photo is from Manhattanhenge–the day the sun sets in perfect alignment with Manhattan’s East/West grid–last year. Today is one of the days that happens this year and, if the clouds clear, it’s something to see! Here are more photos from last year.

Also, marking three years in New York. And four years.

A big week…

It’s hard to imagine that anything could make this week more exciting than buying a house, but we’re also celebrating the end of Aron’s residency! I can’t believe how near he is to finishing–just a few more weeks now. Tonight is the Chiefs’ Dinner, where we toast (and watch others roast) the three chief residents–Aron and two of his colleagues. Both Aron’s parents and mine are flying in for the occasion and we’re all going to take turns beaming with pride (when we’re not poking fun at him). It’s going to be a good time.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Off the market! Our new home.

Today is our closing date! We signed the papers and that 1964-Streng house in California is officially ours! I can’t believe it. I’ll have to take a lot more before photos when we move in this September in anticipation of sharing some good “afters.” We will practically be starting from scratch with furniture, so it’s going to be a big (but fun) task figuring out how to fill and personalize a whole home. There’s a pool–and a jacuzzi!–so maybe we’ll mull it all over while swimming laps! Ha!

I recently met Deborah Needleman (the founding editor of Domino Magazine) and so was inspired to pick up her new book

 at Anthroplogie. I love it so far and I’ve just begun. My favorite tip from the chapter I’ve finished is (roughly) that the best lighting will evoke candles. Seems simple, but it’s making me look at fixtures in a whole new… ahem… light. What are your favorite sources of inspiration for decorating/furnishing? I have a feeling there’s a lot of pinning in my immediate future.