First Impressions NYC

I so wish I were writing an organized post right now, but I am not. This is a ramble to update the fam and keep a record for myself:

I guess we are New Yorkers now! I can tell because I am laying on my bed listening to people, cars, planes and bangs. City life.  I can tell bc when I cross the street, I see a lady detach her hair and brush through it! I can tell because we just paid up the wazzu (sp?) for our modest apartment. But by golly, it feels great! I know I've only been here 3 days, but I am beginning to understand the sense of accomplishment and pride that comes with "being a New Yorker" because I have managed to move here. It is a big ordeal in terms of time, expectations, logistics and finances to get yourself here. 

We have a space to call our own and T has a high chair again! We were too tired to set up her real crib tonight, but tomorrow she will sleep on an actual mattress for the first time since Jan 30-- 7 months ago! She has literally spent half her life on the move. It was amazing and fulfilling and free, but it is time to settle down again. We are in the Harlem 1st ward and we are excited to move our records there starting tomorrow. I'm grateful to have a little over a week before school starts for Scott so we can get settled. I'm even hoping to paint!!! Our ikea trip is scheduled for Monday.  With no further ado, here are some pics:

We are quite shocked Brenda's car pulled our heavy ubox home from Chelsea. Wow, a few barriers to this working but we made it in the end.

Unloading on the street. We were quite the sight. Really. And we are so grateful to our friends Brenda and Josh who helped us soooo much!!

You can only barely see them, but our broker Carlos is the tall guy on the left. We expected a turndown service for a month from him for all the money (brokers fee) we gave him for a total of 1 hour of work over the past 3 days. Carlos and Sandy his partner were nice enough. 

Here is the kitchen. Lots of cupboards, a dishwasher and a full size refrigerator! We are totally spoiled in the NY world. We even have a gas stove which Scott. (And I) much prefer to electric!

This is the living room/ eat in room. We are hoping to get our table and couch at ikea on Monday. Also note the heater. We are happy heat an water are included in our rent. And bc we have a baby NY law says our owners have to put in window bars to every window. Yay!

Here is our bathroom. I kind of love the bulbs. So far the tub/shower doesn't drain... Well work on that...

Our bedroom- big and lots of natural light! It's a good thing bc this room doesn't come w a light. 

Ts room is long and narrow. It will also double as my sewing room and the office. She has a walk in closet w shelving which may be my fav feature of the house.

On this side of the bldg we have a ramp which will be really nice using the stroller. There is street parking here, but so far I'm still really glad we are carless, the hassle of moving for street cleanings, searching for a spot, insuring, and preventing bumps and scratches is too great.

This is the entrance to our building. It's nice. We already have two friends here, afcorro, a nice grandma who lives below us, and Louisa (pictured) who has already offered to drive me to the mall. Pretty good for not being here 12 hours yet :)

And lastly, here is the lobby. Nothing fancy, but it has a cool light fixture and fresh paint. Our owner says the UPS man for this building is really good and packages are never stolen from doorsteps. We are thrilled to have laundry in the basement and be in an elevator building. I'm so happy to have a playground across the street and I've heard a rumor that there's a splash pad nearby... 

So we are basically living in Manhattan with the benefits of suburbia. I know I'll have more obstacles but today I'm feeling pretty positive about this whole New York life!!