Archive for: May, 2010

Kitschen

Posted: May 12 · Comments: 4

The most arduous part of unpacking has definitely been the kitchen.

This was the state of things after (almost) all the boxes were unpacked. And after all the moving and the direct contact with grimy newspapers, all those dishes needed to be washed. So having made the decision to forego sleep the other night, I did it. I washed and dried and put away all the dishes. Keep in mind: we have no dishwasher.

Things are starting to come together. Note that the stove knobs were busy soaking in the sink when this picture was taken, but have been put back squeaky clean.

The kitchen still has a ways to go. But we were really glad to find a place that has a separate kitchen and one that hasn’t been renovated in a while. I’m thinking the kitchen is probably from the 80s, however it actually has many qualities of a retro 50s or 60s kitchen, which makes all my little kitschy vintage kitchen things feel right at home. The cabinets are a very pale pink laminate (which is stereotypically 80s-90s, but is actually a material used in many 50s and 60s kitchens right along with the knotty pine and the steel cabinetry), the countertops are a pink faux-marble formica, and the floors are 12″ square ceramic faux marble with pink and grey tones. It doesn’t sound too appealing, I know, but we’re going to work it. Trust us.

So after all that hard work, it occurred to me that I could actually cook a hearty breakfast for myself. I missed being able to cook so much in the dorms. Not that I’m an extravagant chef, I just like cooking little meals and knowing what’s in my food. Thanks for the pots and pans, Mom and Dad.

Moved.

Posted: May 10 · Comments: 4

First night:

I’m officially out of the dorms (they even stripped the sticker off my school ID). So far, it’s kind of like camping. Complete with wildlife.

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The Nest

Posted: May 8 · Comments: 4

Say hello, ladies and gents. We’ve found it.

Kitchen

Living Room- My bedroom door on the left, Eva's on the right.

Other side of the living room

Eva's bedroom

Daniel's bedroom

Bathroom

AND a fire escape.

Let me just say for the both of us, we’re a little smitten. A lotta smitten. We’re beyond psyched.

I should also note that we saw a lot of apartments. All told, I saw 18. I think. It was exhausting. And when we walked into this one, we both just knew we wanted it.

The apartment’s on the Upper East Side, mid-eighties. Obviously, this isn’t too close to NYU, but lots of thought when into this decision. If the Upper East Side sounds super-ritzy– especially when capitalized– you might have been jaded by Gossip Girl. In reality, it’s actually one of the cheapest areas to rent an apartment in Manhattan right now (aside from places really far north like Harlem and Inwood or really far south like the Financial District). So that was part of the reason.

We actually did most of our searching in the East Village, but we weren’t really liking any of the options down there. And really, they aren’t very close to NYU either. Where we’ve settled, we’re very close to an express train that leads us right to campus, so the commute will be so much more bearable than a 30 minute walk from the East Village would have been (though it will be about 30 minutes). And while the East Village is endearing in it’s own special hippie-dippy/crime-ridden way, this new neighborhood is pretty cool and exciting in its own way.

And we love the apartment. It’s so much bigger (and cheaper!) than so many places we looked at, and we’re both excited and feeling a little guilty for sort of going back on the “small space living” challenge. It’s not huge, but it’s also not the shoeboxes we kept seeing. However, it does offer some unique challenges. For example: no closets, except for the small one in Eva’s room (where I assume she’ll want her clothes), which means the vacuum cleaner and his friends will need to find a home.  Not quite sure how we’ll deal with that one.

Okay, okay I’ve gone on long enough, we have a long time to get to know this space. But recognize: things are about to get crazy. Many, many posts to come.

Ready or Not

Posted: May 7 · Comments: Comments Off

Before.

After.

Watch it happen with today’s little experiment here.

As you might be able to tell, it’s about to get real.

Life
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The Bad and the Ugly

Posted: May 5 · Comments: 5

I will parse no words: apartment hunting is a harrowing, wicked task. Even with a broker, sorting through apartment after apartment basically amounts to an exercise in sustained frustration, one that might make you weigh the relative benefits of living out of a cardboard box. And as rough as walking around the entire southern end of Manhattan in 90 degree weather is, it’s even harder for the brokers: they have to find the listings and deal with finicky landlords. On several occasions he was supplied the keys to the apartment without the benefit of keys to the building, leaving us to wait outside and hope somebody who lived there would come or go, allowing a window of opportunity for a sneaky entrance. It’s been totally exhausting.

This weekend, Eva’s family was here on Saturday and Sunday, so I went out looking with our broker all by my lonesome. While it definitely would have been nice to have us both there, she really didn’t miss much. And we’re on the same page 99% of the time, which made it okay for me to go it alone. Teamwork!

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to post some photos of some of the places I looked at, some with some fairly memorable features. We are not planning to rent any of them. Most are in the East Village, where we did the majority of our searching. Please excuse the terrible photos!

It doesn't look bad, but this second bedroom was only 6 feet across. No grown-ups allowed.

Design dilemma: what to do with a tiny nook with a nice window and huge pipe running down the middle? If you can figure this one out, you win a prize. Except not really.

Always super fun to walk into a place that's in the midst of serious renovations 10 days before you want to move in. It'll be done! Uh-huh.

I love the website Awkward Family Photos, but some of these places made me think there should be a site called Awkward Rooms. This kitchen: like, so awkward.

Scary bathroom. Check out those stains on the tub! Mmmmm.

My favorite bathroom. The floor is the same black and white checkers, but smaller scale. Not a good room for epileptics or drunks.

The perk of the apartment with the checkered bathroom was this shared roof deck with a nice view of a community park. It was also an 8th floor walk-up. It was also on Avenue C (I think), which is a really, really long walk from campus.

So those are some glimpses of all the fabulous options! In reality, we’ve definitely seen some places we wouldn’t mind living in, these were just some memorably bad ones. Is the search for the Nest almost over? Or is it just beginning? Your guess is as good as ours, stay tuned!

Life
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