Home Sweet Home in The Big Apple!

We made it. We're finally here. After three months of transition and adventure in New England, we finally drove our packed Pilot into Manhattan and unloaded it for good. To be completely honest, I was nervous I wouldn't like New York. But I have to confess that after just two nights here, I already love it. Sure, it's loud and dirty, but there is a magic to this city that has charmed me. Every little store, every street, every building is a little mystery to be discovered.

Our apartment also rocks. 450 sq. feet never felt so huge. I love our little home base in the middle of this bustling metropolis. When I walked in for the first time on Friday, I could literally feel my chest relax; we can live here, yes yes we can. Above is the view from inside our front door.

Forgive the mess, but Will's closet lacks a hanging bar at the moment (no worries: there is a hardware store at the end of our block. Holla!). Will's room is the first room on the right when you walk down the hallway. There is a twin bed eagerly awaiting visitors (that means you! come visit us!). Like the drapes? They don't go down to the floor, but considering they came from a Walmart in NJ that we visited early on Saturday morning before we said goodbye to the dear Pilot, they ain't going back. They cover the window--so they work for me!

Here is Will's new crib. Where did this come from? Somewhere deep in Brooklyn. How did we get it? MY SISTER IS AWESOME. She and I drove to Brooklyn to pick up this bad boy from a family selling it on Craig's List. Why didn't I buy a crib in, say, a neighborhood closer to us (which would pretty much be ANY neighborhood)? Because I am a naive transplant who freely admits she is way out of her league in this city. But hey, it's a handsome crib, huh?

Okay, here is our living room. Let me point out a few key features:

1. The TV. Got this for free off craig'slist from a woman who simply wanted it out of her apartment. When Brittany and I drove to her apartment on Broadway, we realized why: this TV is HUMONGOUS. It must weigh 400 pounds. With the help of a towel and an elevator, Brittany and I manage to get this from her 4th floor apartment to the front door of her building. In order to get it into the car, I had to bat my eyelashes at 6 Canadian guys walking by on the street. Bless those boys. They--and my awesome husband who helped get it inside our apartment--are the reason we are able to watch Food Network (me) and football (Clay) right now.

2. The rug. Bought this in 3 minutes at Lowe's. Hilarious. But its perfect.

3. The lamp. Clay, Will, and I walk 25 blocks to buy four lamps today--and then 25 blocks back. A cab would have been the easy way out, right? We like making things harder :-).

4. The curtains. We live on the first floor. Our first night here, everyone who walked by could see everything we were doing inside. Shopping list item #1? Curtains :-).

This is the still the living room; I took this in front of the window in the picture above. Our fridge is in the living room, yes, but thank God we have a full size fridge!

I wondered all summer what Columbia's understand of a "kitchenette" was. Now I know. There is room for ONE person and ONE person only in this space. But instead of this making me cry, this makes me laugh. Am I crazy to say that this might be my favorite kitchen we've ever had? It is so cozy! Now if only we could find inexpensive dinnerware so we have something to eat on...

As I said, we got rid of the car on Saturday at noon. Friday night Clay and I realize that we really need to make the most of the time with the car that we have left, so Saturday morning we wake up and drive out to NJ so we can hit up Walmart (I really don't like shopping there, but hey, we needed food AND house stuff--and we're on a tight budget--AND we had a time crunch. Walmart, here we came...). I am not joking when I say we filled up FOUR carts. USAA froze our credit card because they suspected illegal activity. Hilarious. I mean, WHO ARE WE???? WHAT IS OUR LIFE??? I was THAT woman in Walmart buying 12 cans of beans and 6 bags of pretzels. I would have had a meltdown if I had had time. Instead, I shopped and shopped and shopped for the next 9 months. Who knows the next time we will see prices like these? NYC is expensive!

Here's our lovely bath. It looks like every other bathroom I have ever seen in NYC.

Here's one side of our bedroom. Look at how much room we have! Crazy! Clay has already been hard at work at his desk. Classes start Tuesday!

Here's the other side of our bedroom. See those side tables? Those are totally GOD. I may have had a minor, er, major meltdown today (it was bound to happen, right?) over bedside tables and dinnerware. Don't ask me why; it was just the breaking point. In the midst of this meltdown, Will wakes up from his nap, so he and I decide to get some fresh air by walking around the block. What did we find? A display of FREE STUFF outside someone's apartment building that included these TV tables and plates. Dude, someone was watching out for us. Amazing grace, indeed.

Here I am with sweet Sue and Sandy. Sandy is my grandmother's sister-in-law, and Sue is her daughter. They are the angels from NJ who drove into the city and picked up our car to drive it back to their house for safekeeping. When my mom comes (!) next weekend, we will head out to New Jersey, pick up the car, and drive it south. It will live in Kentucky for the year. Today was our first full day without a car. I know its easier to NOT have a car in NYC, but man, having a car sure makes getting places (and stuff to and from those places) easier. Now we are officially car-less!

Brittany comes back tomorrow from her friend's bachelorette party weekend, so we can't wait to see her again before she heads back to the west coast. Tuesday is Clay's full day of orientation and class--but then we have our first date in the city when we head to the Yankees-Orioles game! Mom comes in on Thursday, we head out of the city on Sunday, and then the adventure continues...

What we are doing is exhausting and expensive and challenging in many ways. But we know it is the right thing, and that peace grounds us more often than we expected.

Come On, Irene

We did a lot of this over the last four days.

Note the candle :-)

The power went out on Sunday morning, and it took our water supply, internet, and phone with it. Sunday was actually fun--it POURED all day long, so we played as a family and ate some of the fresh fruit in the fridge.

But then Monday came along, and all the stuff in the fridge and freezer started to smell...no water meant no showers, no cooking, and no flushing toilets. We actually met a lot of nice people as we all paraded to the Lake to fill up jugs of lake water so we could flush the toilets. We finished our jar of peanut butter. We played lots of spades. And we spent lots of time outside :-). Another good day.

Tuesday was the day we started to think the gods just wanted us to have lots of ridiculous stories to tell after this summer. Teach in a tent? Check. Pee in the woods? Oh yeah (a lot). Go days without showering? Check check check. Eat crackers for dinner. Again, multiple checks. We couldn't help but laugh. But it was pretty discouraging when a lot of neighbors got their power back on only to come home to a dark (but beautiful) cabin. But hey, we're together, and we are SO grateful the hurricane wasn't worse! And at the end of the day, we were going to sleep in a BEAUTIFUL home!

Got power back today. Hallelujah. No phone or internet (I am posting from the VT welcome center across the border), but hey, we took showers with soap, so we are celebrating. Can't wait to cook dinner tonight.

48 hours from now, we'll be in our apartment in New York City.

It's been an awesome adventure this summer. We've learned a lot about life, love, friendship, and what really matters. Our final destination is right around the corner!!

Next post will be from THE BIG APPLE!

Hello, Lake George, NY

Thanks to our AMAZING friends Liz and Jesse, we aren't homeless this week :-).

Nope, instead we are staying at their CHARMING cabin on Lake George, right across the border from Vermont. Our first few days there were B-L-I-S-S-F-U-L...

I don't know how it happened, but Will got lots of beach time this summer: Lake Winnie, the Atlantic Ocean, and Lake George. We are so spoiled!

Sweet.

Here are beautiful Liz and Caroline. Liz has been a dear friend since Saint James days, but she is actually from Louisville...such a small world. We were in each other weddings, are both in the private school world, and we both become mothers in 2010. Awesome.

Dear friends are such a gift.

Terrible picture of me, but hey, it proves we are here :-)

Isn't she a cutie pie? LOVE Sweet Caroline!!!

We had a GLORIOUS visit with Liz, Jesse, and Caroline this past weekend, and then they headed back to CT to start their school year and miss the approaching hurricane.

We stayed at the cabin.

And then the power went out.

Goodbye, Maine

Here are a few pics from our final day in Maine. Will is sad to say goodbye to Maine and his wonderful grandparents!!!

I LOVE this picture.

The List

Last week, I emailed a faithful group of friends and fellow readers asking them for book suggestions. I have at least 9 months to read as much as I can; I want to read good stuff. I looked through a bunch of school lists and bestseller lists, but ultimately I decided that it is the opinion of you all that I respect and cherish the most.

So...without further ado, here's my reading list for the year (in no particular order). Will it expand? It is every day :-). But I am off to a great start, thanks to the wise responses of dear friends and family!

• The Life You Save May Be Your Own by Paul Elie (recommended by my father-in-law and pastor extraordinaire Pat Gahan)
• Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (TWO people recommended this one: my sweet college friend Shannon and and my dear GPS friend Kim)
• All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren (friend and GPS English Dept. Chair Katy Berotti)
• Rebecca by Daphne DeMaurier (longtime family friend Beth Williamson)
• My Own Country by Abraham Verghese (dear GPS friend and prolific reader Deanna)
• Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (Deanna)
• Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (Deanna)
• To Serve The All of My Days by R.F. Delderfield (U.S. History teacher and dear friend Ted)
• Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond (Ted)
• Not So Quiet by Helen Zenna Smith (Ted)
• The Crying Tree by Naseem Rakha (amazing person, friend, and librarian Katie)
• Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (Katie)
• Bossypants by Tina Fey (my dear friend and running partner Ashley)
• The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis (former neighbor and awesome English professor Sara)
• Strange as This Weather Has Been by Ann Pancake (Sara)
• Keeper by Kathi Appelt (Sara)
• The Best Advice I Ever Got by Katie Couric (Mom. She's wonderful.)
• Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner (Almost-Dr. Adele. She is going to save the world. I have read this one, but it deserves re-reading)
• Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (best husband ever Clay)
• The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis (Clay)
• The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball (me :-))
• One Amazing Thing by Chitra Divakuruni (me)
• Sarah’s Key by Tatianade Rosnay (me)

Thanks to everyone who responded, many of whom offered inspiring titles I have already read and thus not listed here. Any other titles that I could add? I am hungry for good books! xoxo

Mainly present.

It's official: I LOVE MAINE.

Pat and Kay with Will

The entire time I have known Clay, mid-August has meant pre-season football/XC/field hockey camps, faculty meetings, and lesson planning.

This year looks a lot different.

AWESOME signs in Kennebunkport

This year, mid-August means precious time with Clay's parents, driving and walking tours of the Maine seacoast, and fun adventures with Will.

As you all know, this reality is bittersweet for me. This week, I found myself checking the GPS website and Facebook a lot, and admittedly every update and post made me feel a little bit like I was missing out. As if my body and mind were permanently programmed to follow a school schedule, my thoughts drifted to class rosters, summer reading assignments, and professional development articles. It felt strange texting my school friends and wishing them luck on the first day of school--and then crawling into bed and finishing Julie and Julia. I am normally exhausted and stressed--but also exhilarated and pumped--at this time of year. I am a teacher. August means game time, right?

The "Wedding Cake House" near Kennebunkport

But then I once again realized that I was missing the whole point.

For the rest of our lives, as educators and parents, August is going to mean the start of school. Every August for the past 25 years (25 YEARS), August has meant the start of school. Hopefully next year we will have jobs and August will once again mean meeting students and planning classes. This might just be (and I can't believe I am saying this), the only August for a long, long time when school isn't starting for us.

We've been given a year to totally switch things up.

I have the rest of my life to think about the start of a school year.

This August, I am going to think about my son taking his first steps, what books I am going to read this year, and how grateful I am to reset my mind's schedule and find freedom in transitions.

Antiques on Nine, an exquisite shop owned by our friend Susan's sister!

Lucky for me, there are plenty of beautiful, refreshing, and inspiring sights in Maine to capture my attention.

Ben and Jerry's in an adorable New England mansion on the water? Of course.

These people take their ice cream VERY seriously.

Loved the horse-drawn carriage (where are we??)

This is a single-family home overlooking the peninsula in Kennebunkport.

Dude, these people know how to live in style!

The gardens in Maine are fabulous.

There are lobsters EVERYWHERE up here.

This is one of my favorite signs :-)

Just in case life isn't sweet enough already, check out this candy store in Ogunquit.

What else do I love about Maine? Perhaps the fact that our next door neighbors threw a wedding in their backyard. Clay + Sara = wedding crashers :-)

A few more sweet pics from today:

We love you all!

Will is a WALKER!

We have been LOVING our time in Maine with Pat and Kay.

In NH, I ran a lot and ate a little. In Maine, especially with Kay's cooking, I run a little and eat a lot. Fresh salads, turkey butternut chili, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies...I am blessed with a mother-in-law who rejuvenates my soul through food. She has inspired me to be creative and thoughtful with the food we will eat in NYC. After eating in the dining hall all summer, I had honestly forgotten how much I love food, love cooking, love grocery shopping. Sure, Clay and I will be on a limited budget in NYC, but we will also have every ingredient we could ever want at our fingertips. We are also going to a variety of flavors and cultures within walking distance. Indian? Thai? Vietnamese? Yes please. I hope to introduce these flavors to Will and explore culinary treasures as we also seek out artistic, educational, and musical treats around the city.

I also just finished Julie and Julia, the memoir of the foodie who cooked her way through 500+ Julia Child recipes in one year. Loved the book, but more importantly, it reminded me how much I LOVE reading.

6 days in Maine and I am reminded how much I love eating, cooking, and reading.

Maine rocks.

Pat and Kay hosted a wine and cheese reception last night. Will had a blast.

Today we headed to Ogunquit, ME. One awesome part of this great seacoast town in The Marginal Way, a 1-mile path along the ocean.

Checking out the beach. People drive for hours to go to this beach.

Thankfully, we didn't have to drive for hours; we walked for a few minutes.

Will loves the water!

And. Then. Will. Walked. On. His. Own. For. Awhile!

We were so proud of him.

He has been on his feet for months, but he has been hesitant to let go of our hands. But today, he walked, unassisted, for minutes at a time.

We've got a walker on our hands!

And he is so happy about it!