Coming Home

Once we arrived at the airport, we realized that it wasn't really open yet. We'd arrived by 3am, but the check-in desk doesn't open until 3:30. So we had to stand around and wait for awhile. We got checked in, after a little confusion from the woman behind the best {I don't blame her. Starting work at 3:30am would make me confused, too}. 

Then, it turns out that TSA agents don't start work until 4am. We wandered around the airport, but it's pretty small, so there wasn't much to do or see. I did find this statue: 

Fun, right? Turns out it's done by my mom's favourite artist, Romero Britto. 

Look who it is! Don't mind me, I've only been up all night, packing and stressing. Also, this photo makes me think that maybe I could pull off a pixie cut. Thoughts?


Finally the security area opened, and we went through. I once again had a bit of trouble, since the names on my ticket and  passport don't match. This time, though, I was prepared. I had a friend send me our marriage certificate, so I was able to get through without needing a thorough pat down. 

We met up with everyone else in our little group, and settled in to wait until our plane could begin boarding. It wasn't a long wait. We settled into our seats before realizing that the flight was less than half full. We all moved farther back, so we could sit together. After waiting more than 20 minutes to take off, we were informed that our plane wasn't fit to fly. We were moved onto another plane, and set back by about an hour. I am of the opinion that our flight wasn't cancelled due to maintenance, but to the convenience of combining to nearly-empty flights. 

The upside to this unexpected delay meant that we wouldn't make it to our connecting flight. Yes, I know I said upside. We were put on a later connection, with enough time in between to stop and have lunch. Our connecting flight went much smoother than our first flight. No maintenance issues, no delays, no nothin'. 

We landed in SLC around 2pm. One of Luke's coworkers was kind enough to offer us a ride back to Provo. As we walked out of the airport, we were all amazed at the drastic change in weather. We'd left the damp, freezing NYC air and returned to Utah's warm desert climate. It was wonderful. 

Our apartment was just as we'd left it, thanks to two great friends. Never have I been so glad to return to Provo.

NYC: Week 10, Plus Monday and Tuesday Morning

This last week in the city was stressful. I had lots of little loose ends to tie up, plus packing, and a brief move {don't worry, I'll get to that}. 

Monday: Since we leave in a week, I need a new suitcase {the one I brought to New York got damaged by the airline}.  I considered just mailing everything home, but then thought better of it. I looked up a few places, then headed out around noon to begin shopping. I looked at JC Penny and a few boutique-ish places in Midtown, but I didn't have any luck. I met up with Luke for dinner, and went home empty handed. 


Tuesday: Day two of the suitcase search continues. I looked up a few more places, and headed out. I heard that there were some good shops in Brooklyn, but I didn't have any luck. In Manhattan, after striking out at a few more stores, I finally found one at TJ Maxx. It's blue and shiny, making it look kind of like a mermaid. But it suits my style, it's super light, and I'll be able to find it on the baggage carousel. 


Wednesday: I talked with our "landlord", who asked us if we would be willing to move to a different apartment for the last few days of our stay. He had some other people book our apartment for after we had gone, and then they changed their dates, and wanted to come in sooner. Since there was only two of us, and we didn't have that much stuff, we agreed to switch apartments for a few days. We decided that we would move over on Sunday. 


Thursday: Souvenir shopping! I went back to the NY Public Library and a few spots nearby, before heading down to Chinatown and Little Italy. I got what I needed, plus a few things for myself. Then I went back home to do a little cleaning and get the laundry done {last time at the laundromat!} Sad story: I left my quarters at home, and had to go all the way home and then all the way back again. 


Friday: A little more shopping! Mostly I stuck around Midtown. I wandered, shopped, and got myself a little lost. This was also Luke's last day of work! We talked about going out for dinner, but decided to just stay home and eat whatever we had left {I hadn't been grocery shopping in about a week}. 


Saturday: Today was pretty uneventful. After working so hard for the last 10 weeks, Luke just wanted to have an easy day. So we sat at home for most of the day. I did a bit of packing and cleaning, since we're relocating tomorrow. I also may or may not have started a countdown until we get to go home...


Sunday: Today was the day of the switch. Our new place is just a few blocks away, and much bigger than where we'd been staying this whole time. It has three bedrooms and has two floors {I guess it's kind of a split level}. We missed church because of the move, so we just bummed around all day. We napped, and then later we went out on a walk in our "new" neighbourhood. 


Monday: Our last day! I can hardly believe it! We straightened up, then went out for one last trip around town. We went down to the Brooklyn Bridge, saw the Statue of Liberty {sort of}, walked around the financial district, visited the World Trade Center memorial garden, and stopped for dinner in Times Square. Late in the day, we headed back to get ready to go home. We packed up, and decided that we'd be better off staying up all night, since we had to leave for the airport at 3am. 


Tuesday: Our "landlord", as a goodwill gesture for making the apartment switch, offered to drive us to the airport. He picked us up a little before three, and dropped us at La Guardia. The rest of the day really deserves it's own post, since it was a bit stressful. 

What Up, 212?

The best part about living in New York City is just wandering around and discovering new things. Here's a few of my discoveries, shown in to particular order. 

I went to see "Ladies and Gentlemen...The Beatles!" at the NYPL Museum. I enjoyed it, but I liked the museum in Liverpool better.

The Manhattan Temple spire. Usually a temple has pretty extensive grounds, making it easy to take a picture. Not so when you're in uptown. This was the best I could do. 

One of my last days in the city, I went down to Little and Italy to do a bit of souvenir shopping. Let me tell you, this is the place to do it. Everything much cheaper. Plus, once you get off the main street, you find some really quaint restaurants, interesting shops, and some great archetechure. The only downside is that it's quite south (one stop away from One World Trade Center). 

One night, Luke and I tried to get dessert at Serendipity, but it was cold outside and the line was long. We walked down the block, and found this place instead. They have every type of candy you can imagine, and an ice cream bar upstairs. A much better alternative, if you ask me. 

Bloomingdale's is HUGE! It takes up a whole block, and it's several stories high. 

Gorgeous architecture on 5th Avenue.

Quite possible the most perfect townhouse ever. I found it while walking on the lower east side. 

A hotel across from city hall. While most of the buildings around here are boring office buildings, there are still a few intricate buildings like this one. 

This is probably my favourite find. One day, after a long day of errands and exploring, I was trying to find the closest subway station so I could head back home. After checking my map and walking for blocks, I still couldn't find it. So headed one street over to a different station. As I walked, I noticed a little space between buildings. Soon, this little space came into view. Tucked away from the busy streets is this little oasis, complete with trees and a waterfall. I only wish I'd been able to come back and read, eat lunch, and do some writing. 

Brooklyn Bridge

Our last day in NYC we headed allllll the way down to the Brooklyn Bridge {took us almost an hour, when all was said and done}. We'd been waiting until the weather was nicer, but it was still pretty chilly. I loved seeing the bridge. I highly recommend it, especially if you aren't going to be in the city for very long, since you can see everything from it. Just watch. 

The typical picture 

You can see the Statue of Liberty from here!

Midtown/Uptown Manhattan. You can see the Empire State Building, as well as the Chrysler Building. The view was even better in real life. 

Downtown/Financial District. The bridge's suspension kind of got in the way, but you can see One World Trade Center on the right. 

Look, it's us!

Washington Square Park

One place that I really wanted to see was Washington Square Park. There's this one scene in Gilmore Girls, where Rory goes to visit Jess, and they meet at this park. The weather was nice, the arch was awesome, and I got to do a bit of writing there. 

 The famous arch at the end of 5th Avenue 

Arch again. I'd really love to live in that apartment building on the right. 

Facing west in the park 

Looking east. That building with the green roof is a part of NYU

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.