Sunday, March 01, 2009
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Still making progress...
Man, I feel like this week has flown by, yet I still have a ton left to do! I have been working my butt off trying to get everything unpacked and put away. I was slowed down on Wednesday when I tried to hang my Elfa shelves and thought I hit metal when drilling into the walls. On Thursday morning, I talked to the super, and he said it was concrete... so I hired a handyman to come drill into the concrete on Friday. Back to Wednesday, I attempted to hang up at least 5 different shelve things all over my apartment to no avail; these walls are ridiculous! Because I couldn't get the shelves hung up, there were so many boxes I couldn't unpack... it was a frustrating day. I was able to put together the one Elfa shelf that was freestanding and unpack my books (6+ boxes), so that was progress. I also spent a small fortune at Bed, Bath & Beyond (thanks to the SBC crew for that giftcard!), and that helped me organize the kitchen. Thursday night we went to Tao; it was a nice distraction from the "wall frustrations".
On Friday morning, the handyman came and was able to hang up all of my shelves. It turned out that there wasn't cement behind the walls but some kind of plaster... It was still too hard for me to drill thru it, whatever it was. The guy spent 4 hours hanging stuff up... He did a good job, but geez... at $85/hour, I didn't want him here for that long! Anyway, all of my selves, curtains, etc. are up, so I was able to spend some time Friday and Saturday unpacking clothes and shoes (which I have a lot of). So far all of the shelves are staying up; I'm paranoid that they're all going to collapse and rip the wall out with them!
A few random notes... 1) I've learned that EVERY store here delivers. I bought two cart-fulls at Bed, Bath & Beyond, and they delivered it all a few hours later. The grocery store delivers, the dry cleaners... Home Depot, The Container Store... It's so nice to not feel stressed about how to get everything from the store back home. 2) I have abnormally long windows. Most curtain rods expand to 120" and my windows are 192"! I had to buy some wire from Home Depot to string across the length of the window... then I had to take my curtains to be shortened because the hooks inevitably hang lower from the wire than they would from a curtain rod... 3) I have a gas stove. Never had one of those before. 4) I'm still searching for a deli nearby where I can get someone to make me salads on a regular basis. 5) I didn't buy the $180 trash can, but I did get one that was $120... Ridiculous, I know... but it's a good one. :)
On Friday morning, the handyman came and was able to hang up all of my shelves. It turned out that there wasn't cement behind the walls but some kind of plaster... It was still too hard for me to drill thru it, whatever it was. The guy spent 4 hours hanging stuff up... He did a good job, but geez... at $85/hour, I didn't want him here for that long! Anyway, all of my selves, curtains, etc. are up, so I was able to spend some time Friday and Saturday unpacking clothes and shoes (which I have a lot of). So far all of the shelves are staying up; I'm paranoid that they're all going to collapse and rip the wall out with them!
A few random notes... 1) I've learned that EVERY store here delivers. I bought two cart-fulls at Bed, Bath & Beyond, and they delivered it all a few hours later. The grocery store delivers, the dry cleaners... Home Depot, The Container Store... It's so nice to not feel stressed about how to get everything from the store back home. 2) I have abnormally long windows. Most curtain rods expand to 120" and my windows are 192"! I had to buy some wire from Home Depot to string across the length of the window... then I had to take my curtains to be shortened because the hooks inevitably hang lower from the wire than they would from a curtain rod... 3) I have a gas stove. Never had one of those before. 4) I'm still searching for a deli nearby where I can get someone to make me salads on a regular basis. 5) I didn't buy the $180 trash can, but I did get one that was $120... Ridiculous, I know... but it's a good one. :)
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Pictures
Me in my new kitchen touching the wall & the fridge at the same time
Standing next to the fridge - it's shorter than me!
View of the wall of windows & the alcove (to the left)
View from the windows back towards the kitchen & front door
Getting my sofa put back together
Me on my good-as-new sofa with *some* of my boxes
View from my windows with the snow on TuesdayWednesday, February 04, 2009
Day 2
Well, today was an eventful day to say the least. The movers showed up to deliver my furniture at the same time that my new MacBook arrived - very exciting! Most of the move was uneventful, but I did have one major dilemma - my sofa would not fit in any of the elevators or stairwells in my building! The movers gave up and had no alternative options for me, but thankfully I remembered reading about people in New York having to disassemble their sofas when moving in and out of small places. So, after a quick search on the internet, I found the sofa doctor. Within half an hour, some guys were here completely taking apart my sofa! They moved it up to my apartment and put it back together like new. I was and still am amazed and so very grateful that I was able to get the sofa in my apartment. (Some of you know that I lusted after this sofa for 6+ months before buying it, and I'm still totally infatuated with it.)
So, I spent the afternoon trying to unpack and get organized, but I eventually had to stop because 1) I ordered an Elfa closet system from The Container Store that won't be delivered until Wednesday and 2) I need A LOT more shelves in my kitchen and bathroom to even get 1/2 of my things to fit. I've already downsized quite a bit (again - I did this once as I was packing in Atlanta), but there is just so much less space here than in my place in Atlanta. Yes, I knew this before ever moving here, but I was foolishly optimistic that I could fit the majority of my stuff!
Tonight Monisha and I checked out Sapporo (Japanese ramen place that was mediocre), went to see Billy Elliot (fantastic), went grocery shopping at my local grocery store which is 1/2 a block away from my apartment (love it), and got a slice of NY pizza. Tonight I get to sleep in my own bed for the first time in over a week, and I really hope to be finished unpacking tomorrow so I can practice taking the bus on Thursday!
So, I spent the afternoon trying to unpack and get organized, but I eventually had to stop because 1) I ordered an Elfa closet system from The Container Store that won't be delivered until Wednesday and 2) I need A LOT more shelves in my kitchen and bathroom to even get 1/2 of my things to fit. I've already downsized quite a bit (again - I did this once as I was packing in Atlanta), but there is just so much less space here than in my place in Atlanta. Yes, I knew this before ever moving here, but I was foolishly optimistic that I could fit the majority of my stuff!
Tonight Monisha and I checked out Sapporo (Japanese ramen place that was mediocre), went to see Billy Elliot (fantastic), went grocery shopping at my local grocery store which is 1/2 a block away from my apartment (love it), and got a slice of NY pizza. Tonight I get to sleep in my own bed for the first time in over a week, and I really hope to be finished unpacking tomorrow so I can practice taking the bus on Thursday!
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
First Day in NYC
I thought some of you friends of mine might be interested in this journey I'm on to New York, so I will try to post regular updates! I got the keys to my apartment today, which was exciting. I also met the doormen of my building and the super - I can't believe I have a super! They were all really nice. I think if I smile a lot then I can get whatever I need. (A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!) So, the renovation of my apartment turned out really nicely. With the exception of the mess that the contractor left and the outlet covers that were missing, I was very pleased! The miniature kitchen appliances will actually work perfectly for me, but I was right - I can spread my arms out to the sides and touch everything in the kitchen...
Monisha is great to have along with me as she always has great suggestions about placing furniture, etc. She is also my feng shui expert, so I'm confident I'll be placing everything to compliment my zen. I did some shopping at The Container Store, Home Depot and Bed, Bath & Beyond... My biggest dilemma was deciding if $180 is too much for a trash can? I also want to paint but don't want to paint... I wish I could use the paint function on computers to just color in the wall.
The movers should be delivering my furniture in the next hour, so the place will start to feel like home. I still have so many things to figure out since I've had to condense my belongings by at least half - I'm sure I'll many more bags of things to donate/throw out after the next few days. I keep looking at things and then telling myself that I have no room for them... like a paper towel holder that sits on top of the kitchen counter... Yeah, no room for that. Shelving systems are my new best friends.
Last night we grabbed dinner at yummy Dos Caminos as it's only 3 blocks from the hotel. I'll update again soon and hopefully upload some pictures, too.
Monisha is great to have along with me as she always has great suggestions about placing furniture, etc. She is also my feng shui expert, so I'm confident I'll be placing everything to compliment my zen. I did some shopping at The Container Store, Home Depot and Bed, Bath & Beyond... My biggest dilemma was deciding if $180 is too much for a trash can? I also want to paint but don't want to paint... I wish I could use the paint function on computers to just color in the wall.
The movers should be delivering my furniture in the next hour, so the place will start to feel like home. I still have so many things to figure out since I've had to condense my belongings by at least half - I'm sure I'll many more bags of things to donate/throw out after the next few days. I keep looking at things and then telling myself that I have no room for them... like a paper towel holder that sits on top of the kitchen counter... Yeah, no room for that. Shelving systems are my new best friends.
Last night we grabbed dinner at yummy Dos Caminos as it's only 3 blocks from the hotel. I'll update again soon and hopefully upload some pictures, too.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Packing & Being an Emotional Wreck
So, I've been packing today. I hate it. Seriously. I've always hated packing even for small trips, and now I have to pack my entire life into boxes... I just hate it. It's been about 5 years since I've had to do this. Even though I switched apartments last year, I stayed in the same building and basically carried armfuls of my things from the old place to the new one. Now I have to go through everything I own... The act of purging useless stuff is good and somewhat therapeutic, but gosh... it's exhausting. I wish I could snap my fingers and be done with it. And come on, what I have to look forward to is... UNPACKING! :( (Yes, there are more things to look forward to, but wallow with me for a minute, okay?)
I think it's really starting to set in as reality that I'm moving several hundred miles away. I have been tearing up and crying at the most ridiculous things, like Ghost Whisperer. I also got a new tattoo, which is always a sign of emotional instability. :) (There are some pictures floating around; I'll post some when I get my hands on them.) Anyway, this phase is good and bad, I guess. It's good that there's something to feel sad about... that there are people here who I'm sad to leave... But, it's emotionally exhausting, and I'm always glad to get over this "hump". The good news is that I know I'll get over it. :)
In other news, I'm taking bets on how many wardrobe boxes I'll fill up... :-D
I think it's really starting to set in as reality that I'm moving several hundred miles away. I have been tearing up and crying at the most ridiculous things, like Ghost Whisperer. I also got a new tattoo, which is always a sign of emotional instability. :) (There are some pictures floating around; I'll post some when I get my hands on them.) Anyway, this phase is good and bad, I guess. It's good that there's something to feel sad about... that there are people here who I'm sad to leave... But, it's emotionally exhausting, and I'm always glad to get over this "hump". The good news is that I know I'll get over it. :)
In other news, I'm taking bets on how many wardrobe boxes I'll fill up... :-D
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