WEST SIDE till I die!

This morning I went on another run along the West Side Highway just a couple avenues from our house that runs along the Hudson. There is an area designated for people biking and roller blading and an area for runners and walkers (pictured left). However, runners mostly use the path for biking as I did so you don't have to avoid the walkers in your way. I find running along the water with others exercising around you both much more enjoyable and challenging. Being amongst other people provides a natural urge to push yourself and the scenery is much better than that found on a gym treadmill.

A few interesting sights along my run today...

An intimidating and freakish 5-6 foot rubber ducky -

A cool gargoyle statute amongst the flowers -

ar

Dinner Party

Sunday night Paige and I hosted our first dinner since moving to New York. Paige is an excellent cook so I always look forward to these. We had one of Paige's close friends, Mike Vitris and his girlfriend Emily over. The main course this night was a lasagna which was excellent and led to over consumption by each of us. Emily brought over an excellent Zucchini bread which was nice as it reminded me of the z bread my Me Ma used to make. It was such a great way to end the weekend, 3 bottles of wine, incredible food, and great company.

ar

coin laundry

Today I did our laundry here for the first time in this apartment. Like many places in New York we do not have a washer and dryer in our place so we have to go down the street. The plus side is that I was able to write some blog updates while waiting on laundry to finish. I didn't have an internet connection so being productive in other ways wasn't an option. It is a great opportunity to people watch and see who lives in your neighborhood.

Most interesting person there this morning was a homeless lady doing laundry. I guess I assumed laundry was something they didn't do. Although, they have to wear something while they are washing their clothes and she opted for an outfit that was so incredbily drenched in urine I felt I was going to have to rewash my clothes. But cheers to her for making an effort to stay clean.

ar

we have left the building

I have now lived in New York for just over a month and my brother and sister are leaving Atlanta for Zurich to live in just under a month. I am so happy for them as I know they have wanted to go abroad for quite sometime. Speaking for myself, I feel that we are also so fortunate that we have both made these changes at the same time because I'm sure it would have been harder on us had one been staying in Atlanta. They are here this weekend for a going away get together and I am excited for the fun it holds. After Sunday the next I'll see them is going to be New Years 09 in Zurich, hells yeah!

*Update - read "Have you been drinking?" to see how the weekend turned out. It was a good one

ar

"happy birthday baby"

July 20th was Paige's birthday, but unfortunately due to all the chaos surrounding us I wasn't able to plan much of a date night. Well, before I lose all points I had planned an early birthday surprise to take her to see Twelfth Night in Central Park with Anne Hathaway. I knew Paige wanted to see it and a friend of ours (Vitris) went and gave rave reviews. Alas we had just signed our lease the day prior so Paige opted to postpone date night and be productive for our apartment - the time was well spent going to Ikea, Target, Costco, Home Depot, etc in a rented U-haul cargo van. She is a smart one!

So we cooked dinner (first time here), drank wine, and watched t.v. which sent a peaceful wave of normalcy over us for a night. It was lovely, and I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. She deserved a night with her mind off things.

ar

surprises, bull rides, and puppies

Last weekend was Paige's birthday. We have been so incredibly stressed with her long hours, finding a place to live, and me finding a job that we haven't had many opportunities to sit back and enjoy the fact that we made it here. I wanted to do everything I could to make the time enjoyable for her.

During our going away party our friend Priscilla decided she wanted to fly up and surprise Paige for her 25th birthday. They are really close and have celebrated their last few birthdays together seeing that they are only a week apart. The issue here is that she wanted to surprise Paige. I'm not good at surprises so Priscilla was on my ass to make sure I didn't blow this one. Somehow I didn't. She arrived Friday (17th) before Paige got home from work and hid in the bedroom. I gave Paige a card from Priscilla as if it had arrived in the mail, and as she finished reading it Pris came out and the surprise was complete. Paige gasped and then began crying, it was definitely a reward worthy of holding in the secret.

Priscilla with one of Paige's closest friends from high school, Limor

Friday night we went to a mexican restaurant near us, Arriba Arriba, which was quite tasty and the ladies found plenty of eye candy. We then went to a few bars around us in an effort to explore the neighborhood. Saturday night we went to a bar called Mason Dixon which is on the Lower East Side after a stop over at our downstairs neighbor's patio. They have a patio that is out of this world so it was a fun way of getting to know them and their friends. Sunday morning we got up a little haggard and made our way to brunch in the UWS at Good Enough to Eat. We had heard many positive reviews and upon seeing the line outside we had high hopes for what was to come. I was not impressed and don't feel the need to return. I don't believe they seasoned anything properly and each dish left you needing more flavor. Afterwards we went to my cousin's place to see their new golden retriever pup Jackson. He was adorable!

Successful weekend for the books.

ar

home sweet home

Yesterday we signed the lease to our dream apartment in NYC. It's in Hell's Kitchen, which we find to be a pretty sweet area. It reminds me a lot of the Virginia Highlands and Little 5 Points mixed together (hoods in atlanta for those not in the know). Frankly, I also find it nice to tell people I live in Hell's Kitchen. Personally I feel that name puts off a great vibe, edgy, fun, free - not the norm.

We started our search here in HK, but quickly left after most of the places we were finding were a little too far out. We then focused our attention on the Upper West Side which we still love (particularly the 70's and Central Park West. We found 1 place we loved that I let slip through the cracks and 2 that we strongly liked that we weren't the first application in. My cousin Jessica put it best describing the one i let get away by saying, "yeah, you fucked up!" haha, thanks jess. Well, with this one, I feel I have found redemption. This place has even more character, a full dining room, and the kitchen is 3 times the size. My mission to find an apartment became an obsession after I let the first one get away because I didn't want to live in regret the next few years with comparing our 'alright' abode to the one we lost. Now I am confident we will never fill that way, and we are more than pleased with what we now call home.

Our place is a brownstone built in 1908 and located on 46th and 9th. There are only 4 units in the building and they are all floor thru's. Our unit is located on the parlor floor which during the pre-war days was considered the entertaining floor. This floor was home to the features we wanted: 15" ceilings, extensive crown molding, fireplace, beautiful hardwood floors, etc.

ar