First off, thank you to everyone for your nice comments about our move! It felt wonderful to be so understood and also so encouraged!
And, in a related tangent, I have a Sartorial blog project for someone in New York City to take up.
Sometime last summer, a friend and I left the office for lunch and started talking about what we’d miss if we moved out of the city. I was saying how I love that everyone looks so great and puts a little effort into even a (seemingly simple) t-shirt and jeans. It may sound silly but I love that sweatshirts are rare (even NYU students seem to ditch the NYU hoodies after freshman year, and they never seem to take pride in showing up for class in a combo of Adidas sandals and pajama pants). And even if I may never be worthy of Bill Cunnigham’s lens, I love being inspired by all of the trend-setters and trend-followers walking past me at any given moment. In fact, I love the line in the documentary about the famous street-style fashion photographer that fashion is a manifestation of culture.
My friend Bonnie distilled the appeal of New York’s fashion culture in such a fascinating way: you never know how old anyone is from behind here.
It’s so true! I’d never really thought about it that way. As we chatted, I started imagining a Tumblr blog celebrating how fabulous New York women are with side-by-side photos of them from the front and back and a “you’d never guess her age” angle. Unfortunately, I can’t think of how it should be done such that it doesn’t come off like an objectionable TLC show. But that doesn’t mean someone else can’t do it properly, right?
As we settled the bill, a women in a crisp white shirt, fitted dark jeans, and bright red Toms–hair in a loose French knot–walked by. We guessed 36. We’ll never know for sure, but when she turned at the corner… maybe more like 72? I really do find myself in awe, saying “I’m going to be like her” so often!
I can’t say this, of course, without thinking of that hilarious moment in the “Cleveland” episode of 30 Rock…
And we’re headed out west this fall, back to California.
Excited? I think so. Can I be honest? We are going to miss New York and the friends we’ve made here terribly. And we’re really nervous. It’s been a really difficult decision.
We keep using the analogy of that boyfriend or girlfriend that one loves, one could–in all likelihood–happily be with for years, but can’t see marrying. (Neither of us has actually been in this situation, but we think we can imagine it.)
New York is, in this scenario, my boyfriend. We’re very happy together; I like his friends; he’s smokin’ hot (if sometimes a little too moody); and I’d love to just coast along a little longer, rather than risk missing his company. But there are some things that make me think that ten years down the road, I’d be nagging and nitpicking and wondering if he were really the one (and sadly, it has a little to do with money). So it’s probably better to say goodbye now and end on good terms. It doesn’t mean I won’t sometimes wonder “what if?” It doesn’t mean I won’t think of him on holidays or that I won’t miss his cooking. And hopefully we’ll stay friends and I’ll visit a lot. Slowly I’ll move on, and in all likelihood I’ll find the one I’m supposed to be with. And who knows? Maybe like those old couples in When Harry Met Sally, we’ll end up together after all those years. But there’s some sort of catalyst (let’s say I’m going to go study abroad for a year) and now seems like the right time to break up.
Aron finishes his residency this June and got offered an absolutely fantastic position at with Kaiser in Sacrament0–it offered everything that he and I wanted. (As in really, really amazing!) So we are going to be making a homecoming of sorts, back to California in September after our month of traveling Bali. Our plan is to live in Davis–a small university town where we first met and where he grew up.
It’s funny: when I was in elementary school, they asked us to draw our idea of Utopia. It was one of those assignments I wasn’t really too interested by, so I just made something up. I drew a town where everyone rode bikes. Those of you familiar with Davis might see where I’m headed with this. Davis is famously bike friendly. I’m hoping it’s a sign.
There’s so much to say about all of the complicated feelings we have about such a big adjustment in a year of a lot of change. I’m confident we’re going to be happy (we would be wherever we go as long as we go together) and if you asked for a list of things we’re excited for, we’d have no trouble drawing a long one up. It’s a wonderful place! But right now we find ourselves fixating on a lot of the things we’re going to miss. Our list of things to do for the move, and before the move, seems to grow volumes by the day. But I also want to be sure that we savor these precious few sweet months in the city. I have a feeling we’ll be sharing a lot of last gasps.
This weekend, Ashley and I tried to get some videos of Hudson’s new tricks–crawling, pulling himself to standing, and even cruising. He loves his rattle, so Ashley tried to get him to follow it and cruise along the couch. Then I gave it a it a try.
Umm…
Here are some of Ashley’s favorite links from around the web…
Time to sort through my starred list! Here are some things that have been on my mind:
White on white quilts are my favorite, but bias or not, this one has such a wonderful backstory.
I’ve been looking at homes a lot lately, with moving on the brain. The Børge Mogensen home is amazing! This looks like an ideal beach house (check out that shower). And so many pin-worthy images of the Corkellis house, found via Door Sixteen (too bad the site isn’t pin-compatible).
I’ve joked to Aron that to make it onto the NY Times “most emailed list” you need to write an article about a golden retriever, and to be successfully shared among bloggers, you should make something referencing pantone colors. Of course, I have nothing against either–and so I feel obliged to pass along this lovely children’s book.
I think this sweet ad was more memorable than most of this year’s Oscars (zzzzz). It was mentioned to me a half dozen times in the days following (justly so).
Have I mentioned how amazing I think Alan Rickman is? Hila led me to this excerpt from Emma Thompson’s notes on the making of Sense of Sensibility and I love hearing about behind the scenes chatter with Mr. Rickman and imagining his distinctively saucy voice.
Beautiful (and really clever) IKEA plus H&M DIYs
One of our readers is a sleep coach and offered to chat about Hudson’s early morning wakings! Brooke was so nice and encouraging–and, quite perfectly, her business is named “Sleepy on Hudson.” Those of you hoping to get more sleep soon might take note. (Thank you, Brooke!)
It took me a minute to recognize the term “Venn Diagram.” This is a good one.
But here’s the poster I’d chose for a hypothetical gallery wall in Hudson’s room.
I’ve been reading “>Bringing Up Bebe (observations on French parenting) and find it at times fascinating, at times frustrating. It has made me laugh, too, but not as much as I laughed reading Anne’s observations on French swimming pools.
Finally, thank you, everyone, for your interest in the apartment! I’ve been doing my best to send personal replies to inquiries, but wanted to share a few more details in case we go the rental route. We are of course hoping to sell, but will decide in the next week or two for certain (actually, it’s pretty likely that we’ll rent), and then we will determine the fee, etc. In the meantime, I wanted to make sure to mention that our building is a co-op: the board has to approve a renter and there’s a maximum rental period of two years. We’re hoping to stay through the end of July. I’ll be in touch with those who have expressed interest ASAP!
Have a great weekend! I’m feeling spoiled by the 70 degree weather we enjoyed yesterday and will be wishing for more of the same.
