Our Apartment

I probably should've shared this back in January, but I figured I'd wait until now. Just because. Here's what our apartment looked like. Granted, it seems a bit bigger than most NYC apartments. But since we were living in Queens, rather than Manhattan, housing was a bit cheaper. Also, please note the size of that kitchen. 

This was the view out of our living room window. I took this back in Januaury, at the height of the polar vortex. It was terribly cold. 

Our tiny bathroom. At least we had a full sized shower. 

The living room/dining room/office {desk on the right}. Yes, we used the couch in it's "futon" position. Otherwise, it was way too narrow to sit on comfortably.

Facing back the other way. You can see the kitchen off on the left. 

Our bedroom. We had two beds, a queen and a double. So we slept in one, and used the other {smaller} one as a dresser. We lived out of our suitcases the entire time. 

Kitchen, part one. Despite it's small size, it was hard to get the whole thing in one shot. Note how much counter space we had. 

Kitchen, part 2. Little stove, little fridge, both very blurry. Sorry. 

Museum of Modern Art

One of my last days in NYC I ran some errands around town. One of my stops included the MoMA. While we never had time to actually go through the museum {a sad thing, but it gives us something to do the next time we're there}, I did pop in to visit the museum's giftshop. As a bonus, I got to stop and take a few pictures. 

Here's what the ceiling in the foyer looks like. In case you were wondering. 

There were these beautiful flowers throughout the foyer. I think they were fake. 

Right above the main entryway 

The front of the MoMA, including the famous steps, and the unknown-to-me-until-I-got-there hot dog vendors. 

The view down 5th Avenue, since 5th is just so pretty. 

Rockefeller Center

I initially went to 30 Rock for the express purpose of going somewhere else {the bookstore}, but I couldn't resist taking a few pictures and wandering around before I headed to my intended destination.  The only bummer was that I didn't see anyone famous while I was there. 

The main entrance {facing into the plaza}

The famous statue and fountain

It's crazy tall 

The flags around the skating rink 

See! It's so tall!

NYC: Week 9

Our time in NYC is winding down. But the weather is warming up, so I finally feel like I can go out and explore. Here's how I spent the last 7 days 

Monday: Once again, the start of the week starts with chores. I cleaned the apartment and went off to Target for groceries. With our time here winding down, I didn't buy too much. Most of Luke's co-workers were out of the office today, so he took the day off. We went down the road to try a new burger place, and then I dragged Luke along to get the groceries. 

Tuesday: The weather is finally starting to feel like spring! It's still a bit chilly, but not nearly as bad as it was. I went into the city to meet Luke for lunch. We ended up just getting sandwiches at Subway. Afterwards, I dragged all our laundry down the block. I'm really hoping that this is the last time I have to do laundry while we're here (but I think I might need to go one more time next week).

Wednesday: Today was so nice, I didn't need a coat! It was fantastic! To enjoy the weather, I took the subway all the way down to Greenwich Village (it's around a 40 minute ride). I walked around for a while before heading to Washington Square Park. I LOVE the Village. It's an older part of the city, so the buildings aren't quite as tall. The people seem more off-beat, which also means that they seem more friendly. If we were gonna live in NYC for a while, I think this is the neighbourhood I'd want to live in. 

Thursday:  After thinking on this for a while, I decided to sign up for an embroidery club that's hosted by my favourite crafting blogger. So I went out to pick up supplies. Trying to find a craft store within a reasonable distance is kind of tricky (all the good ones are out in Brooklyn, sadly), but I found one only a few stations away. Despite the rainy weather, and getting a bit turned around, I found a Michael's. Go me! 

Friday: To get ready for my project, I also needed a bit of fabric. I found a pretty good fabric shop in Chelsea, and got what I needed. I also found a few thrift stores, and poked around a bit. I don't usually have much luck thrifting, and that's continued to be the case out here. Average stuff is marked up way more than I think it's worth. Oh well. 

Saturday: Luke's been working so hard the entire time we've been here. It finally caught up to him, and he felt pretty sick today. Instead of going out, we just spent the day at home while he recovered. We did order in Chinese food. Getting food delivered is a serious perk of living here. 

Sunday: Sunday's are our quiet days, so I don't have any good stories. We did make cookies, though! We don't have any bowls, so I had to mix the dough up in a soup pot. 

Central Park

One of my favourite places to explore in is Central Park. It is HUGE, and there's so much to see. Here are some of my favourite pictures from the last few times I've been there (and I've only made it a third of the way through!)

The famous fountain, full of snow.

Throughout the park, there are these pretty little streams. 

Look, we were really there! 

There were all sorts of bridges and arches, which was Luke's favourite part.

I have no idea what this building is, but you always see it in pictures of NYC. I'm pretty sure it's an apartment building. It's also really hard to get a good picture of it.  

The city, facing south.

And again, with a better view. 

NYC: Week 8

Well, I'm officially caught up! Here's what I did last week. 

P.S. Two whole months have already gone by. I almost can't believe it! 

Monday: I went out to Target to go grocery shopping. The whole thing takes about 3 hours, from the time I leave until the time I get back, so this is the only adventure I had today.

Tuesday: More chores today. I cleaned up the house and went out and did the laundry. I guess I'd been letting it pile up because there was a lot to carry all the way to the laundromat. Oops. 

Wednesday: The weather has started to warm up a bit {meaning the temperature is hovering around just below freezing}. So I sort-of went out. I walked down to Starbucks to get some work done. I ended up not staying very long, as it was very busy and distracting. 

Thursday: Today was actually nice, so I went out for a bit of adventure. A branch of the library was putting on an exhibit about The Beatles, so of course I had to go see it. They had some neat memorabilia, but it was a smaller exhibit that I was expecting. There were some costumes on display, and some set lists, which I thought were the coolest things to see. Although I have to say I enjoyed going through the museum in Liverpool a lot more. Afterwards I met up with Luke and we had dinner together. 

Friday: My neighbours got their kids together in the morning, and they invited me to come along too, so I spend the morning chatting and playing. Afterwards I spent some time working, then went into the city to see Luke and have dinner. 

Saturday: Luke didn't have to work today, so we took it easy in the morning, meaning we got a late start to our day. In the late afternoon we went to the Manhattan temple, which was really nice. Afterwards, we walked around and enjoyed the first nice evening we've had. We stopped at a place called Holey Cream to get a snack. Apparently they specialize in fancy doughnuts, but they also have fantastic milkshakes and smoothies.

Sunday: Today was Daylight Savings, and I'm never sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, I hate loosing an hour of sleep. On the other, I love that it gets dark later. 

NYC: Week 7

Monday: After a nice weekend, the temperature dropped quite a bit, so I spent the day working and hiding inside from the cold. I'm always amazed at how cold it feels even if the temperature is only a few degrees below freezing. I'm not used to a humid cold, even though it's been two months.  

Tuesday: I went and got groceries in the morning, then went into The City to have lunch with Luke. We went to a little Italian place called Pomodoro, which was super good. Afterwards, I was going to go home, but then I decided to go on an adventure instead. After a few train transfers, I made it to The Strand bookstore. It's huge! Three levels, and there are rows and rows of shelves on every floor. I spent almost two hours just browsing around. All was well until I was waiting for the train. I saw rats #2-4. Yuck.  

Wednesday: Lunch with Luke again! This time, we just went to Subway. Afterwards, I went shopping at Old Navy and H&M for a new coat. They both had a bunch of cute clothes, but no coats warm enough to combat the cold snaps that just won't stop.

Thursday: You guessed it, cold again. For once, I'm actually missing Utah weather.  When it's cold, I really don't want to go outside, but I made myself go out for a quick walk around the block.

Friday: I ran some errands in the morning, but by the time I thought of something fun to do, it was nearly dark. So no adventures today.

Saturday: We had a huge adventure today. We went out and walked around Rockefeller Center. For lunch we stopped at a food truck and had hot dogs. We walked down to Central Park and spent a few hours walking around. We saw ducks, giant bubbles, and cool archways, and only made about a third of the way through.  

Sunday: I made Luke watch the Oscars with me. It was quite entertaining. I like Ellen as a host. 

NYC: Week 6

Halfway there! Here's how I spent the week...

Monday: I spend the day being a professional, and sorted out my work problems. Go me! I {finally} got paid! 

Tuesday: The closest Starbucks is just a few blocks away. I walked down and spent a few hours working. Fun fact: they have the best chocolate chip cookies! 

Wednesday: Yet another arctic chill came through. Since it was super cold, I opted to stay home and watch the Olympics

Thursday: I finally got around to refilling my metro card, meaning I was back to going out and running errands. Grocery shopping at Target, then lunch with Luke at Pret a Manger. After lunch, we went in search of a thrift store - he wanted to find a used computer to use at work. We didn't find it, but we did go on a fun adventure around the Garment district. 

Friday: Worked out some more work problems. Luke came home late, and neither of us felt like going out, so we ordered chinese takeout. I love living near places that deliver! 

Saturday: Luke wanted to put in a few hours of work, so I went out thrift shopping without him. The shops were a dud (mediocre clothing for NYC prices), but I got to walk around the city for a few hours. I started in the East Village, walked up to Union Square, past the Flat Iron building, the Empire State building, then headed up a few more blocks to Luke's work. In total, I walked 3 miles from start to finish. For dinner, we went to Shake Shack, which was super crowded and pretty tasty. On the way home, I found a cute little bakery (Baked by Melissa), which makes the cutest mini cupcakes.

Sunday: I was feeling sick, so we just stayed home and enjoyed each other's company. We watched the Olympic closing ceremonies, which was awesome and sad at the same time. I love the Olympics. 

Roosevelt Island

A few weeks ago, there was a weekend of nice weather. Taking advantage of it, we went out to explore Roosevelt Island. I hadn't heard of this little spot until we got here. Between Queens and Manhattan is a little island. And I mean little. While it has several apartment buildings, two parks, and a few restaurants, you can walk across the island in about 5 minutes. We walked the majority of the perimeter in about an hour and a half, including stops for picture taking and admiring. 

The best thing about Roosevelt Island is getting there. You can take the subway via the R train, but there's a better way. If you're in Manhattan, you can use your metro card to ride the cable car across the river to get to the island. It takes about 10 minutes, and it gives a great view of the city. It's too bad you can't take cable cars all over the city. 

View from the cable car. That's Manhattan on the left and Roosevelt Island on the right.

Halfway there! 

 Facing south on the Queens side of the island.

Spot the boat ^

On the north end of the island, there's a lighthouse. This was as close as we could get because they'd blocked it off. 

Watching the sun set over lower Manhattan.

The Oscars

It's easy to get distracted from your goals. One thing leads to another, and soon you're no longer on the track you thought you were. Every day life wears you down. I found myself in a place like this for awhile. 

Then the Oscars happened. 

Watching people's dreams realized gives me inspiration to continue workings towards my own goals, no matter how long it may take or how hard it may be. 

And yes, one day I hope to win an Oscar. 

NYC: Week 5

Hey guys, here's the next part of my weekly updates. I'm still catching up. This is the week of February 10th to the 16th.

Monday: I'd been feeling a bit stuck at home, so today I went out to try and fix that. I went to Barnes and Nobel and picked up a map. When I was in London, I got a really handy pocket map that made getting around really easy, and I wanted something similar for NYC. It wasn't quite what I was looking for {it only covers Manhattan}, but it easily fits in my bag and I don't have to struggle to fold it up. 

Tuesday:  In our neighbourhood, there's a fantastic bakery run by a French-trained baker. It's a bit out of the way, maybe half a mile from our place, but it had great reviews, so I went out with my neighbour to give it a try. The pastries were pretty good, but I think I'll wait until the weather is a little warmer. It was a long, cold walk. 

Wednesday: I had plans to go out and about in the morning, but they fell through when I ended up getting myself lost. Instead, I spend a few hours at the library before meeting up with Luke for lunch. We stopped at a bodega, where I had the worst burger ever. Turns out, bodegas are not the place for burgers.

Thursday: I got asked to do a special work project! This is big news for two reasons. First, work has been really slow lately, so this is a great chance to actually do something. Second, this special project is actually going on the website! For people to read! So I spent my day writing. 

Friday: We didn't have a very romantic Valentine's Day. I had to finish up my special projects, Luke worked late, and since it was still so cold we opted to just stay home in the evening. We ate oatmeal, and stayed up late watching cable. 

Saturday: Luke went in to work for a little bit, while I ran a few errands in our neighborhood. In the evening, we watched some of the Olympics and got burgers. Because those two things go together so well...  

Sunday: Luke's been working with a friend of his from high school. Tonight, that friend's brother was in town, so we went over and had dinner all together, which was a really good time. Luke got to catch up with friends, and we played some games.