One Year Later...

One year ago today Joe and I were boarding a flight to JFK hoping and praying that everything would work itself out. This was by far the hardest but best decision we have ever made. Now I do not want to worry my grandmother so I will say this. New York is absolutely perfect for Joe and I now, but there is no telling what the future holds or where we will live. Thank you to everyone who continues to show us support and a huge thank you to my mother who visited us 4 times during our first year in NY!

Photo-A-Day June 12th

From a Low Angle:

These are pictures of our lower cabinets. We have every little nook filled with all kinds of fun kitchen gadgets. I know what most of you are thinking and.... YES we finally received our final two boxes from the moving company. 

What a pain in the butt Bekins has been and I am happy so say that it's almost over. It took exactly 24 DAYS to receive all of our stuff... can you say ridiculous!!!

Are You Fair with Your Closet Space?

This is a questions for all those married people out there or anyone that lives with their significant other. In my case Joe has more clothes then I do but he has a larger dresser so it comes out even in the closet. Shoes are a completely different story. Joe and I were spoiled enough to have his and her closets in our last place but here in New York we are not so lucky. We have one very small closet in our bedroom and have a larger closet off the kitchen but that unfortunately the larger closet has no room for shoe storage. Organizing our shoes was one of the last tasks I tackled but I did it.

This was the before picture (keep in mind these are only my shoes):

I had my doubts throughout the process but I made our limited space work. This is the final product:

Where are Joe's shoes you ask?:

Poor guy I am going to have to figure something else out but for now this will have to do.

The Official Tour of Our Place

I know most of you have been waiting anxiously to see pictures of our place. Well, its official we have completely moved in and we could not be more at home. While viewing the pictures below please keep in mind we still have some decorating to do. We have been so busy that the extent of our decorating has been to hang pictures on the wall where the last tenant left nails. ;) There will be some adjusting of the pictures but for the most part we are moved in and settled.

Our Kitchen:

I love our kitchen because unlike our last place it's huge and has an open floor plan. I have already spent many hours preparing meals for Joe and I. I love our new kitchen so much I have grown to really love cooking!

 Another reason why I love our kitchen is because of the amount of storage. Look how professional our storage cupboard looks!

Our cute little breakfast nook.

Our Living Room:

Our living room is a little smaller then we are used to but I think that is why it feels so cozy.

If I have not mentioned before my favorite feature of our place is by far the built in bookcase. We are not completely done filling it but its a nice start.

Our Bathroom:

Joe and I bought this shower curtain before we received any of our stuff. It was the most "normal" shower curtain I could find but I was delighted to find that it matched our towels to a "T."

Please notice the adorable "spice rack" my mom sent yesterday, I just couldn't help but put it up right away! The only downside is that it looks like I am going to need a second rack because I still have some bottles that are stored elsewhere... but I see some free space on the wall! ;)

Our Bedroom:

Our bedroom is not very stylish yet but that is going to be our next project.

It's not really anything special but it's special to us.

Our Closet Space:

Unfortunately, this is our only closet in our bedroom but...

The owner transformed this walk-in pantry to a walk-in closet! (Please excuse the few bins and things we have yet to find a place for) The owner also installed a huge storage cabinet in the kitchen to make up for losing this as kitchen space. It is kind of odd to have our clothes off the kitchen but because our place is so small (cozy) it has not made much difference. 

Well, that's it I hope you enjoyed your tour. :)

My First Rough Day In New York

Most of you will probably think that this post is about my first real day of being homesick but today was worse then that. Joe was asking me about the rings I owned when I offered to show him them. I walked over to my jewelry box opened the top and realized something was wrong. I instantly knew what had happened and immediately broke down in tears. Joe ran over to see what was the matter and all I could get out was "they stole all my gold."

Looking back I know I should have never shipped my jewelry in my jewelry box (Who does that?) but at the time things were so hectic. We had taped up my free standing jewelry box with painters tape so that they drawers wouldn't open while on the moving truck. After we had left the moving company came to get my stuff and informed my mom that because of the heat in the truck the tape would ruin my jewelry box. They asked her to remove the tape and they would shrink wrap the entire thing. Because of where my rings were located in the box all of them could have been removed in a second. 

My heart is heavy, all the special rings I received over the years for special milestones are gone. Lucky I still have my class ring but everything else that was gold was taken. Looking back I should have known to remove them but it didn't even dawn on me at the time.

If anyone is planning on moving in your life please please please do not give Bekins your business. It's not the financial worth of the items it was what they meant to me and my family. I trust that this person that did this will have Karma coming to them in the near future but it doesn't make this any easier.

Finally - Today Has Come!

Our things have arrived!!!

Now I have never spoken with anyone who has made a cross country move but hiring a moving company was not a pleasant experience. We went through all kinds of issues with Bekins along the way. We were told our things would ship out on Wednesday when in reality they shipped out on Saturday. This caused us to wait at least five extra days. My first moment of panic while unpacking was when I could not locate half of our very amazing cookware that we received for our wedding. My heart rose back into my chest when Joe yelled from the other room that he found them. I thought that would be the end of it but I was wrong. Things were broken (4 plates, 3 glasses, a picture frame, etc.) and to top if off we realized about three hours after starting to unpack they still had at least two of our boxes on the truck. (and of course it had to be my baking stuff) All in all we are very happy to have (almost) all of our stuff here and it was fun to unpack wedding gifts we have forgotten all about!

As you can see some of the boxes have been just a little abused.

We are enjoying the unpacking process a lot and we have only about five boxes to go before we are settled and able to start decorating. Here are some of the surprises we encountered along the way:

Found this inside one of the boxes - Opps! Sorry mom!

This was written on the outside of a box - So glad I was able to see you before I left Laura!

I will post more pictures once we finish moving in and decorate. This apartment feels so much like home I can't explain!

She's Here!

My baby has finally made it to New York! Let me tell you this was quite a site to see. My truck was literally hanging off the back of the trailer. I am sure the first time we drive it around town we will get some looks because the entire time we have been here I have not seen one lifted truck! Isn't she a beaut:

The neighbors were not too excited to have the street turned into one lane for about 30 minutes but oh well. Here is what I was talking about when I said hanging off the back of the trailer:

These guys are good! Joe and I are now going to go wash her and enjoy the beautiful day in New York!

Okay just one more...

Looks so funny!

:)

Shower Time

This may seem to be too intimate of a subject to blog about but I assure you this post is rated G. ;) This morning was the first morning Joe and I were able to shower in our new place... now I have already shared with you how excited I am to have a jacuzzi tub but little did I know I would love the shower just as much. As you can see below our shower has two shower heads:

So I thought big deal you can shower on either side of the tub... okay... kind of cool! To my surprise this is what happened when I switched the water from bath to shower:

Me being me I had to call Joe into the bathroom make sure this is what it was supposed to do. Joe gave me the okay and I proceeded to have the best shower of my life! New York has once again opened my eyes and now I am going to insist on having two shower heads for the rest of my life. :) Oh and here is a better shot of my brand new bathtub!

I think this is part of Joe's secret plan for me to fall in love in NY... it's working!

Move In Day

Today is the day.... We have checked out of our hotel and I am currently blogging from our new apartment! This seems a little more glamorous then it really is because we are still currently waiting for our belongings. We are crossing our fingers that it will be sometime today! Joe and the landlord are running around the apartment installing air conditioning and other things we need.

I can not express how much I love our new place. It has so much character! One big plus is our whirlpool bath.... I swear I am not trying to brag. ;) I have never had a soaking tub and I plan on taking full advantage of it!! Everything in New York has been so amazing... It's drastically different then back home but each have their up sides. I can not picture Joe and I anywhere but here. Here are some "before" pictures:

We can't wait to fully move in!!!

Our New York Life

The last couple of days here have been fast paced and fun. Yesterday we attended a BBQ with some of Joe's fraternity brothers. I probably had more fun at this BBQ compared to other people because we were barbequing outside during a thunderstorm minus the rain! To me this was so different and so fun but I am sure it's nothing out of the ordinary here. 

Today Joe was picked up to play in a flag football game. It was fun to have some time to chit chat with the wives and girlfriends. After the game we grabbed some food at an amazing restaurant on the waterfront in Terrytown.

It was such a nice day out I was not expecting to get so much sun.... The end result:

Thank goodness it looks a lot worse then it is!

Joe and I have truly been enjoying our time here but are VERY ready to receive our things and get settled in. We have been preparing our apartment and are very anxious to move in. Cross your fingers our things will arrive soon!!! :)

Are You Prepared?

Lets rewind to 4:30am this morning when Joe and I were standing outside in the cold hoping we were not going to loose the very little we had brought to New York with us. About 4:00am this morning we were awakened in our hotel room to the fire alarm. No one panicked, we got up started to pull on sweatshirts and put on our shoes. As we were about to evacuate the room we both paused and looked at each other. What do we bring? Me being more then half asleep I insist it's a drill and grab my cell phone before we walk out the door. In the meanwhile Joe had zipped up his backpack ready to bring it but after my comment (and the fact that he was also still half asleep) he dropped the backpack on the counter and followed me out. Fast forward ten minutes when we were waiting to be allowed back in, people begin to tell us there really was a fire. Joe and I turn white, we had left all our "important paperwork" we needed for the move in that backpack not to mention my laptop, our iPad, and my purse! The only thing we had on us was my cell phone, the rental car keys, and Joe's wallet.

This really should have been easy for us because we had only a hotel room full of belongings but when you are half asleep you never know what you will do. Do you know what you would grab? We should have least taken our paperwork and my purse so we have our ID's and important information. 

Luckily the fire in the hotel was set by a couple of teenagers seeing how fast they could put out a trash can fire with a fire extinguisher. Smart kids! We were allowed back into our hotel within 45 minutes with no damage to the building. At least now we know exactly what to do next time if we have to go through this again.

Updates Update Updates...

Exciting news!!!

We officially are residents of Mt Kisco, New York! Joe and I had an appointment to meet with a landlord yesterday but unfortunately the meeting feel through and we began to get worried. We held our breath and called this morning to reschedule. To our surprise we had a new appointment in 20 minutes! As we pulled off the parkway ( <-- hehe NY's word for freeway) I caught a glimpse and fell deeply in love with the town of Mt Kisco. I quickly told Joe that if this didn't work out I would be heartbroken just because of the town. One of my favorite landmarks is the local Catholic Church:

Wow!!

We met with the landlord and fell in love with the apartment and surprisingly enough the lease required no credit check. (I am pretty sure this is because the landlord is a retired officer and loved Joe!) As we were doing the walk thru a mom and son came by to look at the apartment also. As soon as they walked in we quickly told our landlord we would take it. Seconds after that someone called to make an appointment to come see it also... was it meant to be or what?! A neighbor came by to introduce herself and welcome us to the neighborhood. We got the keys and were told we could move in anytime! I will post pictures once we move in and get settled. Here is a picture of our street...

Isn't this street the most perfect street ever? <3

My Amazing Family

The Friday before we moved my Dad's side of the family took us out to dinner to celebrate my birthday and our move. It was amazing to get everyone in one place to say one final goodbye. By the end of the dinner even my little cousins we asking us not to leave. (Talk about tugging on your heart strings) All in all it was an amazing evening and I can not wait to see these people again!

:)

We will miss you all so much!

We have arrived!

It's official I am updating my blog from New York! The journey here was actually not as stressful as I anticipated it was going to be...

We arrived at the airport about 90 minutes before our flight and proceeded to security after checking our bags. I was shocked to see there was only one long line for their security checkpoint. As we were standing in line an airport attendant was checking everyone's boarding passes as they entered the line. I noticed she was pulling some people out of line and taking them somewhere that I could not see. After about 30 minutes in line and  moving no more then ten feet I felt a little uneasy. A couple minutes later when we turned the corner to enter yet another room with lines twisting from wall to wall, I realized why the line was not moving. Apparently, SFO was trying a new way of processing passengers through security. What I finally became aware of what they were doing I became a stress ball inside. (Although I tried not to show it) Once you entered the line at security the attendant would pull anyone who's flight was boarding in less then thirty minutes and placing them in a shorter line. The catch was that this shorter line merged into our line right before you reached the actual security checkpoint. This caused the passengers that arrived to the airport on time to wait an excess of an hour. When we finally made it through security we had just enough time to run to the bathroom and board our flight. My dad called me this afternoon and was surprised to learn that we made out flight. He told me that he had four co-workers that attempted to fly out of SFO this morning right after us and because of their new procedure they missed their flights. We got lucky!

Once we boarded I was excited to learn that the seats that I choose turned out to be crew member seats that they used on international flights...

have you ever seen so much leg room?! And the best part...

we had footrests!

We flew Delta Airlines and I can not say enough how impressed I am with their service. Some people would take crew's attitude as rude but I was excited to finally see an airline enforcing rules. Have you ever been seated on a plane getting ready to depart and seen another passenger board the plane with a "carry-on" that easyily weighs forty plus pounds and is larger then the bag that you checked just to avoid the checked bag fee? I was happy to witness a crew member walk right up to the passenger and inform them that their bag is not a carry-on and they will be charged to check it. The entire flight was smooth and we were very comfortable in our seats. :)

Thanks to my mom and my good friend Sarah (Great minds thing alike) I was able to move to New York in style. Sporting the very saucy OPI nail polish titled "Big Apple Red." Very Fitting!!!

 Another fun little detail we were given are our luggage tags. My mother gave us our original Mr. and Mrs. luggage tags for our wedding. My Aunt Kathy then added to the collection by gifting to us our I Love NY luggage tags. We are really traveling in style these days!

A Special Thanks...

I can not explain how thankful Joe and I are to have the best people in our life. The last day of packing started off with just Joe and I finishing up.We were then accompanied by one of my best friends from high school (who was generously helping us pack on her lunch) and one his friends from childhood. As we were rapidly getting through the last of it I made a joke about how we always put my girlfriend to work when we move. (because lately its been often) Joe then tells me that's how you know who your best friends are and I could not agree more. By that evening our house was a buzz with people helping us finish and friends and family stopping by to wish us well. We defiantly felt the love!

A group of my girls were the last to leave around 12:30am! We just couldn't part but I did have to get up at 3:30am for our flight. Once they started to trickle out (I informed them that they could leave one at a time to make it easier) the tears began to fall. These five girls have been so special to me, some for my whole life and some just recently making a big impact. I will miss everyone so much but can not wait for everyone to visit and explore our new city with us!

One final Thank You to everyone who helped us pack or just kept us company we really value all our family and friends!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Right this very moment we are in route to New York! (Of course I am not actually posting from the airplane – writing from the past) Wish us luck in our new town and I will check in as soon as possible.

Body Boycott

I noted in my earlier post that I am surprisingly feeling stress free and ready to move. Well I woke up this morning and learned that my body has other plans. I have a painful kink in my neck that expresses itself whenever I move my neck, laugh, or smile. It becomes a shooting pain that I can feel from the top of my neck down to my shoulders. I know that stress can affect your body in ways like this but I have never experienced it to this extent. 

Is my body boycotting the move?!

I thought maybe I slept different or used another pillow, but that was not the case. So is it true that I am suppressing my stress and my body is taking the brunt of it? If so, I know the cure is relaxation, heat, massage or stretching but I am really pressed for time at the moment. For the last month I have been coaching my brain for the move and telling myself everything is going to work out. I guess now I have to start coaching my body…

The Countdown Continues

Only two days left of work (not counting today of course) and I am actually feeling really excited. All the stress and panic has surprisingly worn off… thank goodness! We have been packing all week and we will continue to do so throughout the weekend. I hate the actual packing process because I always feel as if I am going to miss something. On the other hand it is an amazing feeling to separate what you need and don’t need anymore. I go through phases in my life when I think I am a pack rat and can not seem to get rid of anything but when my stuff inventory reaches the “panic” stage I want to toss everything in sight! It’s going to feel awesome when we get to unpack and organize our things into our new home.

Once this Friday hits I think that’s when the emotions are really going to hit hard. Leaving my job and co-workers that I have been with for over four years is just the first step in the final days. This weekend we will be celebrating my BIG 2-6 and it could not be more of a bitter-sweet feeling. I simply can not wait to run around with everyone this weekend but knowing it will be our last full day with them might put a damper on things.

Our Big Apple Plans:

We have arranged to stay in an extended stay hotel for the first week to take the pressure off of having to house hunt as soon as we land. We have every intention of resting the entire first day because we have to be up at 3am the night before to get to the airport on time. The day after we arrive we have multiple appointments with landlords and leasing agents as we try to find the best place for us. I already have a favorite so please keep your fingers crossed! Stay tuned moving day is coming quick…

One Week To Go!

And the countdown begins...

It's a very surreal feeling to know that in a week Joe and I will officially be New Yorkers. We began to prepare all of our things for the big move last night. Luckily a lot of our things are still packed from the apartment and just need to be moved out to the garage. As we were packing last night I realized that the majority of what I was packing were our wedding gifts. It sent me into a waterfall of emotions. I could not help thinking about how much our life has changed in the last 8 months! The next week is going to be extremely hard for me, saying goodbyes have never been my strong point.

Here we go!!

IT'S REAL!!!

Most of you know Joe and I have been planning to move to New York in the near near future, but now it’s REAL. Even in my last post I was planning the move and sharing updates but today totally changed things. We booked our ONE WAY flight to NYC! It may not seem to be as big of a moment as I am making it but it sure is. After I clicked the purchase button for our flights I got head to toe chills, I didn’t know if I should cry or jump for joy. I have so many emotions going on I can barely sit still. I am nervous, scared, excited, and more I can not even put my finger on. I seriously can not wait to experience this part of my life with my husband and I will try my hardest not to let my habit of stressing ruin the fun. I guess a part of me never believed the day would come but... WE ARE MOVING TO NEW YORK!!!