Holiday adventures.....

Disclaimer.....I have no idea why the pictures are loading sideways.....I will try to fix it later on my computer....I just really wanted to show you photos....My apologies....

Christmas was full of festivities this year. The Wednesday before Christmas I finally made it up to Rockefeller Center to see the tree. It is amazing how 20 blocks can seem so far away. It was a brisk walk from Grand Central Station up 5th Avenue but it was a beautiful crisp night and the tree was magnificent. It certainly gets you into the holiday spirit.

Rockefeller Center Tree

After I was cold enough, I hoped on the 6 train and made my way back to Murray Hill to our tree. Not as large but just as charming. Thanks for the decorations under the tree Dorthy. They were the most beautifully wrapped presents I have ever seen. Thank you to all of you who sent cards and stockings. It made our apartment warm and cozy through the season!


I carried it all the way home and up 5 flights of stairs....Worth it.

On the evening of the 23rd, I set off for California. Taking trains to the airport was relatively easy and painless, however you must remember to only pack what you can carry. The train stations are not full of ramps and moving walkways.

Christmas was full of family, hugs and kisses. We made standing rib roast and elephant ears and and time for a bloody mary. It was so wonderful to be home and see my family. I am so fortunate.



The Boys...Peyton is diligently helping his dad uninstall the Sling Box. Trev, you know you couldn't have done it without him.


You may have heard that during this time the East Coast was experiencing a few light snow flurries.....Please see previous post......Needless to say my flight out on the 26th was cancelled. Then my flight out on the 27th was cancelled giving me 2 whole extra days to spend with my wonderful family. (Others were not as fortunate so I feel so lucky that I was on the family side of things!) I even got to see San Francisco!



Golden Gate Bridge....Just in case you needed help. ;)

 When Delta finally picked up the phone on Monday night I was told the first flight out was the 31st! I had 2 thoughts; work is going to kill me, I wasn't supposed to be able to come home in the first place and I can't leave Victoria alone for New Years!! After several phone calls and hours on hold I found a flight. At 8:15am on Tuesday I flew out of SFO to Minneapolis, no problem. 2 hour layover in Minneapolis turned into 3 and a half, turned into 5, turned into 6. Fun. Then we take off, and land in JFK. Few, we're there right...Nope. No gates available so we have to taxi around in circles. Over an hour later we pull up to the gate. Now we're there....Nope. 2am doesn't usually call for several jet way operators, so 10 minutes later we have a jet way.....Then off to the cab line. I began my trip at 5:15 California time and ended it at 3:00am New York time. A good solid 19 hour trip......BUT safe! What more could I ask?

Now we turn our attention to New Year's Eve. We have a fun little group  put together and I am trying to work the perks of my job into a table at the party we are going to.....Wish me luck!

Happy New Year!! Love you all!!

~Lucy

Christmas in New York

So my first Christmas away from family was a success. In fact it was quite multi-cultural!


Lucy packed her bags and headed home to California on Thursday and I made plans to spend the holidays with a couple different friends. And even though I missed my family tremendously all weekend, my spirits were high thanks to some truly wonderful people in New York.



Christmas Eve I made my way to the Lower East Side with my friend Andrew. We spent the evening with his family enjoying delicious Puerto Rican food - including lobster, pork roast, rice, and something that resembled tomales (but to my surprise weren't even close!). His family was incredibly welcoming and made me feel like I was back home with all the food and laughter. And of course Andrew's uncle made sure Andrew kept my wine glass filled!

Christmas day was spent out in Queens with Michaela & Shane (and a few more). Michaela made a wonderful traditional Irish sit down dinner. I didn't know so much food could fit on one plate - and everything was devine! We sat around after dinner enjoying more cocktails and Irish Coffees (Michaela wouldn't let anyones glass get empty) while playing a round of girls vs boys pictionary. Naturally, the girls won. So much fun!

I was a bit bummed that I didn't get a "white Christmas" after everyone that texted that day kept asking. And as if my mini wish had been heard (sorry New York) we were hit with a blizzard the following day - dumping a total of around 20" overnight. When I woke up on Monday to go to work I could barely walk down the streets. The street plows had not come through often enough and the sidewalks were non-existent. People were walking in the streets with the cars because the snow on the sidwalk was almost waist deep and most had not been shoveled clear by the building owners yet.

Needless to say the city was in a panic, and many of the smaller businesses didn't bother to open. All the airports closed and flights were canceled (including Lucy's). Fortunately, she is on a plane back to New York as I write this. Piles of snow remain all down the streets, but that's not stopping me from preparing for New Years in New York and my pending house guest (Jen is also on a flight as I write this). Looking forward to sightseeing with her all through the city.

Overall, the holiday weekend was wonderful. Even though I could not be with my family I felt the love from my friends here in my new hometown. And for that I am grateful. Let's raise our glass to another blessed year - may we be so lucky to repeat it in 2011.

Hugs & kisses to everyone back home!

xoxo

Victoria

3rd & Long Holiday Party......

It was an open bar....enough said.....

Just kidding, but seriously....despite being exhausted, hungover and Victoria having worked all day, how could we say no. We pulled ourselves together and kept our promise to Craig. Afterall, a bouncer is the last person you want to disappoint.

We firmly decided on ONE drink. Yeah right. We all know how our "one drink" motto works at 3rd & Long and with an open bar and the staff on the fun side of the bar we didn't have a chance. There were cocktails, there was beer and yes there were shots. Classic.

However we both made it home safely there was only one hurricane run in and we made it to work with a surprisingly minor hangover.

I will be honest though, after all the festivities we both have the sniffles.... ;-)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!

We love you!!

~Lucy

The big 2-6!

The birthday celebration was a huge success! It took all 8 of us to piece it all together the next day but we all decided that the each of our remembered parts was fabulous. The night began with Victoria and I popping a bottle of champagne at the apartment. (Shocking, I know. I will give you a moment to get back up after falling out of your chair with shock.....Ok.)  Michaela (a friend from the restaurant that we work at,) and her husband Shane met us for dinner. The location was spontaneous but we couldn't have chosen better.

We had only been to the little Italian place around the corner one night on our way back from the Oyster Festival when all we wanted was a hearty meal and a good glass of wine. Apparently, we made an impression because as we walked in last weekend we were greeted with hugs and kisses and where have you been's AND a bottle of champagne on the house. YAY! We all see where this is going right.....
The wonderful meal and company forced our otherguests to meet us at the restaurant rather than the apartment as previously planned. Although the witty Irish dinner conversation is certainly up there as a dinner highlight, I think my favorite part was when they brought out the chocolate cake. It had a candle and all and everyone sang, it was fantastic! I made a wish, (no I'm not telling, but the order is out there,) blew out the candle and looked at the writing on the plate which said, "Happy Birthday Stacey!" Michaela and I ROARED with laughter, but did not say a word. You don't send back birthday cake and you definitely don't complain about chocolate cake. So we got extra forks and away we went.

Back at the apartment we opened more champagne and everyone get to know one another. With the guestlist we had this could have gone so many directions but everyone mingled and laughed and I don't think a smile left my face the whole night.
The Guest List:

• Micheala & Shane
• Mariano (Victoria's friend from school)
• Favorite quote: When asked by Micheala if he was gay or straight he replied by sticking his patten leather shoe in the air and saying, "Honey, do these shoes look straight?"
• Christian (Mariano's friend who we met as his birthday celebration a month or so before)
• Mo (Brooklyn's Ambassador)
• Adam (Victoria's friend)
• Victoria
• Lucy

After we had done another 3 bottles worth of damage at the apartment it was time to air ourselves out. With every intention of making it to Gramercy, (in the 20's) we made it 4 blocks to a place called Banc. The music seemed to be the perfect mix for our group so in we went. We found an abandoned table, Mariano and Christian convinced the waitress that we needed the table without bottle service so we ordered a round of martinis and began dancing. There was no dance floor mind you but with 2 gay guys and Lady Gaga followed by Beyonce on the playlist a dance floor will be made. And it was! We danced until we could dance no more then we hugged and kissed and went our separate ways.

Naturally, Victoria and my way led us through 3rd and Long on the way home. Craig the bouncer found it hysterical and made us laugh some more but after not even making it to the bar, we promised to come back tomorrow for their holiday party and stumbled safely home. That's right there would be more festivities to come......

~Lucy

Where did November go??

So let me start off by apologizing for the lapse in time since the last post. November has been a crazy busy month for both Lucy and I. Lucy started a new job and I have been bogged down with midterms and final papers. With that said, let's get everyone caught up :)





I got a taste of home when Jen came to visit over Veteran's Day weekend. It was nice to see a familiar face and show her around New York - from an insider's view, not the normal tourist stuff. We covered a good amount of ground - Times Square, Herald Square, the East Village, Central Park, Gramercy and of course our local neighborhoood. Makes me look forward to Jen and Kim coming to visit over New Year's!



Thanksgiving was quite the experience! First we were so excited to find out about a company called Fresh Direct. After getting referrals from a couple friends we decided to try it out for our Thanksgiving grocery shopping needs. We jumped online and started loading items into our cart. I closed my eyes as I hit the check-out button - I was worried what the damage was. Imagine our surprise when the total was only $120! Needless to say we decided to add on a case of wine. And we still ended up well below the $200 mark. And when the guys delivered the goods they carried it up the stairs for us! This will no doubt be our new go-to for grocery shopping.


Lucy and I decided early on that we wanted to go to the parade - and we were determined to stick to the plan. We ventured to the Upper West Side the night before to view the staged balloons with our buddy john. After seeing the crazy amount of people waiting around we bailed on that idea and set out for cocktails and dinnerr. On our subway ride home we encounered a typical panhandler (everyday sight in NYC). It should be noted that John & I had a run-in with one on the first subway ride that night. I've mastered the blank "I'm not interested in your schpeal" look. John even complimented me on it :)




Anyways, back to the guy on the way home - he approached saying he had just got out of the hospital and needed money for food. Plus, he was sporting a faux-lookng boot on his right foot. He approached me and didn't seem happy with my lack of sympathy and failure to providde money for his cause. The train pulled into the 33rd St station (our stop) and as we made our way to the stairs the guy fresh out of the hospital with his foot in a boot went running by us - taking the stairs two at a time. We stood at the bottom of the steps laughing with the other riders behind us. The best part was as we exited the subway he was hailing a cab and hopping in. So really, he didn't need the money for medical bills or food. He just wanted to catch a cab instead of riding the train. Lesson learned from this hysterical incident: The city is one big scam. Keep your guard up.






Thanksgiving Day was a success overall. We managed to pull ourselves out of bed at 6am and made it out the front door by 7am. We packed our fresh baked cinnamon buns, bananas and thermos' of bloody marys and mde our way to the parade. As luck would have it we scored a great spot off of Central Park West and 66th. After the parade we made our way home, put the turkey in the oven and went back to bed for a few hours. I eventually got up and pulled the rest of dinner together and opened up some wine :) The home cooking was just what we needed.




Now it's time to move onto the Christmas festivities the city has to offer. The store windows are decorated with funny Christmas themes and it feels like it could start snowing any day now. We finally both ordered decent down winter parkas in a last effort to prepare to live in this weather for the next three months.




Our New Year's resolution: to keep everyone back home updated on a more regular basis :) We'll take this to heart and start in December.



Cheers!

Victoria

Halloween Extravaganza



The Who's.....Or whatever makes you happy.



The Empire Room

Halloween was a huge success! Victoria got her wig, I got my sequins and of course there was champagne all around.

We went to the Empire Room with friends and had a ball. Not only was the party convenient but in true New York style, there was a one hour open vodka bar. Yay! We danced the night away and when our booties could shake no more, we made our way to Third & Long for a few more festive drinks. (Because that is of course what we needed.)

The highlight had to be our friend Mike, (note: Mike was non-committal on the party and therefore refused to buy the tickets ahead of time at a MUCH lower price,) making out with two girls by the coat check. Then, when he went to pay for the coat check and realized he was out of cash the coat check girl said, "Don't worry about it sweetie, here's my number, just call me." Best 60 bucks he ever spent. Way to go Mike!

On the way home, we even saw Waldo! Can you find him....? (This one's for you Dorthy.)

Where's Waldo?

Love you all!!

~Lucy

Nails in the Big Apple

I just had my first mani pedi in New York and it was magnificent! For $8 more than what I used to pay in Cali, you get a 10 minute leg message and while your nails dry, you get a 10 minute back and shoulder message. Best $8 I've ever spent.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

~Lucy

Murray Hill is too good for....

Let me preface this by saying that Victoria and I are not too good for anything. I think you all should know that we have both picked up shift/restaurant work in the big city, are living within our means, sleep on futons, and have plastic plates. (Although we do have real glassware, I mean come on.) My point is that we are not afraid to get our hands dirty, work hard and do things ourselves.
However, our neighborhood does not reflect this in some ways.  Although 3rd Avenue is lined with bars, pizza joints and liquor stores, apparently it is too good for coin laundry, post boxes and hardware stores. Seems a little contradictory if you ask me.

So, for the first time in my life, I sent out for laundry. That's right, I actually had someone else do my laundry. I have to say that it is super convenient, but it still seems ridiculous.

For those of you who have never sent your laundry out, when they do a "Wash & Fold", they condense the 20lbs of laundry into a 1' x 1.5" x 2.5" cube.

I had no idea that it would be that obvious until I picked it up the first time and was mortified. I couldn't make eye contact with anyone I passed and have never walked a block and a half so fast. I wanted to wear a sign that said, "No, no. I am completely capable of doing my own laundry. Murray Hill is just too good for laundromats!" So, this second time around, I had them deliver. Not because, I couldn't be inconvenienced to pick it up, but because I was too embarrassed to walk down the street with a cube of laundry. And delivery was free like all deliveries in New York.

As for post boxes, we have these "mock boxes" as I like to call them. They are post boxes with no openings that have been painted green. They are everywhere and I am sure serve some purpose for the postman, but are useless to the lowly resident. So we stop by the post office on 34th and Lexington anytime we need to mail anything. It's not far, it's just silly.

Hardware stores are still to be determined. I have yet to find one. I am positive that there is one in Manhattan, but imagine boarding the subway with 4 window screens and then lugging them 5 blocks. A little challenging and awkward right? So for now we will be sleeping with the windows closed. Remember folks there are bugs on the East Coast.

Moral of the story.....we can do it, but Murray Hill won't let us! Or perhaps we are missing a huge business opportunity....Anyone want to open a laundromat or hardware store in Manhattan?

~Lucy

Boys are weird & Eddie Money Rocks

As the title suggests, two lessons were learned this weekend.


First, the men (scratch that - boys) in New York are not quite what we are accustomed to in California. They are quick to approach and ask for a phone number, but fail in their follow through. Where's the confidence? Or if by chance they do follow through they are quick to show their "crazy."


Second, the Eddie Money station on Pandora really does rock.

And for those keeping track Lucy's Hurricane Arnold has already passed ;)

Victoria
PS - there was an awesome 80's picture of Eddie Money involved with this post, but due to formatting issues and my anger problems I decided to let it go.

Our Adventure to East Harlem

Target's are not easy to find in New York. Actually, comprehensive stores in general are not easy to find. I understand it, as large amounts of square footage are difficult to find and expensive to rent in Manhattan. It does add to the charm of the city that you have to stop by your local market and drug store each day. Fruit is best from the man with the cart on the corner and the liquor/wine shop on 3rd is by far the most helpful. You get to know people and they you, making the big city smaller and creating your own little community.

But I digress....Target. Target has everything as we know, and is cheaper. We refuse to keep paying $6 for a box of cereal so we decided enough was enough and mapped out the plan. Victoria and I boarded the 6 train together, thinking that Harlem and Target were both 2 person jobs, and headed up to 116th. After almost taking out some rude 15 year olds with serious A.D.D. we ran off the subway and found ourselves deep in the heart of Harlem. Now, as some of you know, Victoria and I were always looking for a cost effective place to live in New York and have a set budget, so Harlem, was at one point a thought. I think we have officially ruled that out now. Let me try to paint the picture.

Close your eyes......wait, you have to read...On the corner of Lexington and East 116th Street you will find 3 taquerias, 2 panaderías, a Wendy's, 1 Irish Pub, 2 tech stores with obviously hot items, 3 pop up stands with used or at least rain worn back packs and kids bicycles and a hodge podge of other shops. There are people everywhere of all shapes, sizes and ages with music playing from every store; one has Spanish, the other Hip Hop. With all this commotion, you would think a few white girls (well at least half white) would go unnoticed, which may have been the case, but we certainly felt out of place. It was as if a Leonardo De Vinci had painted us into a Monet.

Nevertheless, there we were. The Target was located on 117th in between 1st and 2nd Ave according to the map. This means that it was 1 block and about 4 avenues (about 2 blocks each) away. We got about 4 blocks in and thought, who are we kidding? Even if we find the elusive Target, there is no way we are carrying big red dotted bags 8 blocks back through this neighborhood! As tough as we are, we are also realists.

Victoria and I look at each other as we pass two very large dogs (some kind of German Sheppard mix) and make a u-turn around the block. Keeping the pace up and our eyes down (mostly to keep from laughing,) back to the subway we went. A 30 minute ride got us back to Murray Hill where we made a command decision. The Food Emporium on 3rd and an occasional run to the Target on Staten Island will have to do. You live, you survive, you learn.

With love and a sigh of relief,
Lucy

Some firsts....

Friday night was a New York first. Our first "open bar". It is a concept that I still don't fully grasp. How can a bar offer a full open bar? This particular bar offered an open bar from 10pm-11pm. We are thinking that the intention is to get people in early (remember folks, bars don't close until 4am,) get them a few deep so they just keep ordering all night. The other open bar format is a flat rate of say $15, and it is all you can drink essentially from 5-8pm. This is more of a happy hour format but still; we don't get it it. How do they make money, and how is that not a huge liability? Anyway, we partook thanks to our real estate broker who had the inside scoop. Fun bar, good music (even some West Coast stuff) and good company.

The next first was on Sunday night. We left Joshua Tree our usual Sunday football spot realizing that we were the only people rooting for the Jets...I guess it is a Boston bar with no wiggle room. We made our way to our trusty corner bar which we can always rely on to be full of Irish firefighters. (Irish + Firefighter = Jets Fan. It wasn't difficult for me to choose a NY team after learning this, but Victoria has claimed the Giants. Something I will never understand.) Anyway, at the bar, we were introduced to their California bar tender, who happens to be a Monte Vista Alumni. So it was the first person who knew me. Well actually she knows my brother better, but the fact that she knows where Danville is and is a Mustang, means she knows me. It's a small world.

The last first was a triumphant one. Our first GOOD Mexican food. It was complete with fresh guacamole, spicy pork tacos with homemade tortillas and strong margaritas!! Victoria was so happy, I think her chair was actually floating. Mercadito on 7th is our new go to when we need a little taste of home. Ahhhhhhhh!

~Lucy

Lessons from NY

So we have been here for less than a month, but man have we learned a whole lot. Just a quick synapses of some of the key things we have observed or personally experienced:

1. Never look down at the Subway tracks. Ever. No good can come of it. Though if you are as fortunate as me you may end up on the same train as the man holding his pet rat outside of the cage.
2. Every woman in New York carries both a purse and an oversize tote. Inside the tote is the required second pair of shoes, lightweight sweater, scarf/hat and possibly a laptop.
3. “You’re mad cool.” = “We like you.”
4. We really live on the 4^th floor of a 3^rd floor walk-up.
5. New Yorkers don’t wait on the curb or for a signal to cross the street. You just double check for speeding taxis coming your way.
6. We should NEVER be allowed to drive in New York. We can’t understand the parking signs. I don't know how I got away with it before.
7. Plus, you cannot make a right turn on red. Even after stopping. (John laughed at me when I asked what he was waiting for. His reply, “a green light.”
8. 20 street blocks = 1 mile. Avenues are more.
9. One can usually score a free drink from the bartender by sitting at the bar. From our experience it is usually more.
10. “I’m a hustla baby” should be the theme song for New York. We learned this on day three.
11. Fruit from the man on the corner is cheaper than the supermarket.
12. Every place delivers. Even the liquor stores.
13. New York firefighters really are THAT cute!
14. Happy hour drinks are cheaper in NY than CA. Surprising we know.
15. You have to go to a drug store, grocery store, liquor store and deli to get everything you could have gotten in one trip to Target.

No doubt there is more to come, but we are truly feeling more at home with each passing day. Our place is coming together nicely and we are getting into the swing of working and school. Can’t wait for you all to come and visit us in our new hometown!

Victoria

Real Furniture!

Yesterday was furniture day. We could take the air mattresses no more so we made plans to venture to the Ikea in Brooklyn with the help of John’s brother’s truck and Mike, who proved to be not as helpful. Before hopping on the train, we did a little pre shopping of sheets at the Macy’s in Herald Square. Victoria’s discount along with the one-day sale made it the perfect day for textiles. Once we had a plan for the beds we caught the N train and crossed the Hudson.

Victoria and I are very efficient shoppers both with time and money. So with our list and our keen eye for discounts we found what we needed. A few accessories, 2 beds, a coffee table, kitchen table and chairs, a dresser and some shelves fit onto 2 pallets and one shopping cart and then into one jeep and across the bridge we went. Well, wait, the Brooklyn boys refuse to take bridges so through the tunnel we went. We arrived at our building but not before I had to cover my eyes and gasp for my life. New York drivers are something else. Meanwhile, to keep from crying, Victoria is laughing in the back seat. 

Dear Lucy,

Do not ride in the front seat of Mike’s car.

            Sincerely,

            Lucy

This is where Mike (God bless him) was not so helpful….Needless to say Victoria and I carried the furniture up the 3 flights of stairs and into the apartment. All the while Mike is saying, “You okay girls?” It’s not that he didn’t help, he just lost focus so much that we always had to take over. It’s a good thing we are not prissy girls so we made it and back to Macy’s we went.

I have to hand it to this city, there is ALWAYS something going on. This week is fashion week, so to kick off the good times, last night (September 10^th) was Fashion’s Night Out. For the spring fashion week we will be fully prepared, but last night we were not having it. All we wanted were our beds and some DVDs. So…as we walked up 34^th just a block from our apartment we hear a very rambunctious double decker tour bus and I was thinking, “Wow, those people certainly got a lively guide.” As I looked up to see him, I realized that it was not a guide at all but Puffy. (aka -P Diddy, Puff Daddy, Sean “Puffy” Combs.) His fashion week launch involved renting a double decker bus and cruising through Murray Hill. Victoria and I both concluded that we had chosen well with the neighborhood.

Once we got to Macy’s the festivities were in full swing and we realized how quickly we had turned into pushy New Yorker’s. We were huffing and puffing at the lost tourists trying to get into the parties and catch a glimpse of someone. When we checked out at Macy’s we were told that J-Lo was on 8 signing for her new perfume and Tommy Hilfiger was somewhere in the building. We couldn’t have gotten out of there faster. I guess you know that you have embraced life in New York when you run from celebrities. Kimora was about to hop out of a car as we walked by another store on the way home and we decided we had to get off this street. It was like a flood was coming.

With tired arms and rumbling tummies we made it home. Pizza and champagne sounded like the perfect combination. (We got a recommendation earlier for Bravo’s on 42^nd and we are not disappointed.) It was fantastic! We assembled the beds and the coffee table and crashed.

Today involved a run in Central Park, the farmers market in Union Square and the Federer match with our loot in Madison Square Park. Tonight sure to bring more furniture building and perhaps Joshua Tree if we dare. Pictures of the improved place soon.

Love you all!

            Lucy

Labor Day in New York

After a whirlwind first week in NY, we decided to keep it low key and local Sunday night so we headed to our friendly neighborhood bar, Joshua Tree, to take in the late night US Open tennis match. We grabbed a couple seats at the bar and quickly made friends with both bartenders, Zimon and Brian.

The vibe of the bar seemed vaguely reminiscent of one of our favorites back home – cheap drinks and classic 80’s music, complete with cheesy music videos. We sat watching John Isner give it his best before ultimately loosing to Youzhny, all the while “Jesse’s Girl” is playing in the background. Lucy was bummed and commented how her opportunity to meet her future husband has gone out the window since he lost and would most likely be leaving NY before the end of the tournament. Trying to reassure my roommate that there was still hope, I told her that he most likely is out drinking his sorrows away from his loss.

As the bar got busier we quickly started up a round of “shoot, shag or marry?” The highlight was when our bartender, Brian, joined in and threw out Brad Pitt, lead singer of some random band (we had to Google him) and Johnny Depp. You can learn a lot about a person based on this game. For example, I ALWAYS end up marrying the nerd and I need someone who would do well in social situations. Lucy on the other hand requires someone tall J

So we are mid-round and talking with a random Aussie and his Greek buddy from Queens when Lucy screams at me, “Oh my God! He’s here!” Me, not knowing what the hell she was talking about, turned around to see a giant 6’9” guy walking into the bar. Yes, it was John Isner! Of all the bars in New York, he walked into our bar in Murray Hill. Needless to say, we both saw this as an opportunity for Lucy to make a move and land her husband.

After a mini pep talk Lucy went for the attack. In hindsight a better opening line could have probably been used, or perhaps the offer to buy him a drink but I give Lucy a big thumbs up for going for it. This will no doubt make a great opening line when they meet again….and they WILL meet again. It turns out it only took a couple minutes to see him again. We left Joshua Tree and were heading home (or at least I thought so) when Lucy pulls me into the bar next door. There is John, sitting having a drink. Lucy’s ever keen eye spotted him from the street! After staying til closing (that’s 4am on the east coast) we finally headed home. Laughing all the way at the turn of events from the evening and how our “order” to the universe had been filled. This has me wondering, where’s James Franco?? I hear he goes to NYU too…

Victoria

First day in the new home...

View from the bedroom window.

           Having an address is NOT overrated. Even though, our furniture suggests that we are camping in New York, we are happy to have a place to call our own. The day began with Mike helping with the bags, which was really more like Dr. Seuss playing bell hop. The bags were piled high and teetering on the cart as Victoria and I watched in hysterics. God bless his little heart. (As Dorothy would say.)  Farewell Staten Island, hello Manhattan.

        After Mike said his goodbye curbside (no doubt to avoid injury) we lugged our bags up the steep and narrow stairs to our new place. Note to future visitors, only pack what you can carry up 3 flights. Elevators are not a high priority in the Big Apple and we are not bell hops. ;-)

       The remainder of the day was spent with our new friend Jose who put the finishing touches on the apartment. He also scored us an air conditioning unit, which is like gold in New York. 

NOTE: In the back of our minds through the whole thing, is.."We better hurry, because hurricane Gloria is on her way." Somehow moving during a hurricane did not seem appealing. But alas, her direction changed and we didn't even get a storm. Whew!

Victoria's bed, and part of mine.

            After covering the apartment with 409, filling the closet (that's right, just one), and blowing up our luxurious new air beds (thanks John), we grabbed champagne to celebrate. (A side note for all of you that know Lucy well, before the champagne I did manage a Christening fall in the apartment. That's right, sat down on our lounge chairs, and WHAM! Crashed to the floor and got stuck in the chair. My loving room mate did manage a helpful hand through the tears from laughing.)

The green one is said chair that I tumbled from....

           Later on, we decided to explore the neighborhood and stopped into the local deli for something sweet for later and what do you know, there's Jose at the counter! Apparently, he moonlights there after his handy work. (Mom: They had killer cupcakes and I asked if they shipped for you, but only got an, "Are you crazy!?" look from the owner. I tried.) 

             A few bars and some crazy Bulgarians later, we made our way home where we crashed. 

            Saturday was spent running errands. Through which we discovered, a live feed of the US Open in Madison Square Park, a Farmer's Market in Union Square Park and a street fair down University Place. I love this city! A few more pictures of the place are below. Write again soon!

~Lucy

Kitchen. (Thanks Sherlock...)

The spacious entry way...

Our first week in the big apple....

             Thank goodness for friends and couches! As we arrived in New York we quickly discovered that finding a place to land in the Big Apple lacks the laid back, "show me a pay stub and your license, and here are the keys." Attitude that many California apartment buildings have. By day 3 in the search we were beat. However, perseverance paid off and you will all  be happy to know that today, (after a week,) I picked up the keys to a lovely one bedroom in Murray Hill, (and for NYC, it is actually HUGE. All 550 square feet of it... It is amazing how one's standards change.) 
            Despite the stresses of finding an apartment in The Empire State, we have made several new friends and have learned that the stereotype of rude New Yorkers does not hold up at all.  So far, we have been greeted by friendly and extremely helpful people. A special thanks to John and Mike who have taken us in and showed us all that the 5 Boroughs (well, we still need The Bronx) have to offer. 

       So far we have explored Central Park, Midtown, Times Square, The Village, Washington Square, Upper West Side, and many others by averaging 60+ blocks daily. When the legs gave out, we tried the Subway, Buses, the Staten Island Ferry and numerous bridges (thanks to our Brooklyn friends.) We've even made it to the Mets game (see right), and yes sports fans, we saw the "big apple" pop up. 
       So....so far, so good.....more to come and yes, I will post pictures soon. 


~Lucy