The day my Thanksgiving sweater emerged..

What's that? Thanksgiving was 4 months ago? Yes. I know. I'm extremely behind the times, but if you had inherited a sweater as festive as the one my mom gave me to celebrate giving thanks, I think you would rather share it later rather than never as well.

Besides that, I realize that I have a lot to be thankful for. As Thanksgiving Day came, I found myself feeling more than thankful. I was feeling thankful for the experiences of the past few months more than anything. I was also thankful to have Alex's family (sadly minus Chris and Kait) cram into our apartment for 5 days, thankful for Laura and Bryce for creating a traditional Turkey feast for all of us (and for the giant dining room table we were all able to sit at in the Chelsea loft where they were staying), and thankful to catch the tail end of the Macey's Thanksgivng Day Parade. Heaven knows I couldn't have fought the crowds longer than the 4 minutes we were there.

We spent the week as tour guides, and as payment Alex's family treated us to all our favorite eats, shows, shopping, and entertainment hot spots. Since we're still working on our documentation skills, Alex's dad managed to get a few photos here and there (including but not limited to the most unflattering yet hilarious photo of us on the Meri-Go-Round).. 

We are so thankful for all the memories that came from these wonderful visitors, but we are not thankful that between all five of us we gained about 500 pounds. All in all we can't wait until they come to visit again. Maybe next time we'll have real furniture for them to eat, sit, and sleep on. Enticing, I know.

Where have we been?

Let me explain. Living on one income has meant only living with the necessities. The necessities include a roof, a floor, and a few unexciting yet mostly organic groceries in between. And by groceries, I mean cereal and the occasional box of Trader Joe’s Jo Jo’s. Alex is still trying to debate that video games, denim, and 5 pints of ice cream are necessities, but 5 pints of ice cream won’t fit in our freezer, which (in addition to our bulging waistlines..) clearly classifies them as unnecessary. We’re still working on the video games and denim.

Internet has fallen right to the middle of the list between want and need. It had risen to the top of the need category until our air mattress popped at 2 am, at which point our sanity and our sleep deprivation needed a real bed. Shortly after that, it made its way atop the list yet again, until our radiator stopped spewing steam and our pipes stopped clanking every hour on the hour- leaving our frigid apartment around 45 degrees and a space heater trumping the internet.

The answer to this was Starbucks. Geographically speaking, we are within walking distance of about 800, give or take. So it seemed easy and convenient enough, walking a few blocks to indulge in free internet to enlighten social media on my whereabouts and share filtered pictures of the food I’ve been eating. But I was wrong. There is nothing easy or convenient about standing one legged amidst a jungle of computer cords, balancing my laptop on one knee amongst starving artists and up and coming actors who have sprawled themselves onto every usable surface within sight, who are streaming Netflix carelessly- leaving the internet slow and useless for the rest of us. Meanwhile, trying to pretend that I’m undecided about what to order as the glances from behind the counter change from subtle to irritated. Finally, once I master my balancing act and the internet finally connects, one of the starving artists who fell asleep in the corner awakens and starts to pack up their things in the slowest, sloth-like manner I’ve ever seen. So I half run, half dive into their seat before they’ve even fully left, just to ensure that it will be mine for the taking. And then, once they leave, I sprawl and stretch and bask in the glory of free internet- until my screen goes black. And I realize that I left my charging cord at home.

It’s at this point that I reconsidered buying a space heater instead of the internet.

Needless to say, it’s been a challenge to share our latest happenings- namely the past few Holidays, our new bed, and Alex’s recent jump into employment. However, soon enough- things will be changing. With employment comes great responsibility, and we realize that we are responsible for sharing the thrills and shrills of our life (mainly for our mothers sakes), which include but are not limited to our new Britta water filter, as well as full posts describing any and all celebrity sightings. Soon enough, you will all be bombarded with be-lated pictures of where we went, what we did, and who we are wearing. Life’s great, and I can’t wait to finally be able to share it from the comfort of my own couch.

Sandy

Photo credit: unknown

We had just returned from Utah when we heard rumor of a hurricane, or “super storm” if you will, that was making its way up the East Coast. I was panicked. My co-workers weren’t panicked. No one within a 10 mile radius of me was panicked. I was no longer panicked.

The night before the storm, we walked over to Duane Reade and bought 4 cans of baked beans, a glade candle and a 24 pack of water so that we were “prepared for the worst”. I was slightly worried that we might lose power, but we also hadn’t paid our utility bill since we moved in, so either way I was expecting a power outage.

It was comical how naively unprepared we were for the unimaginable devastation about to wreck havoc over the next couple of days.

We sat on our air mattress, trying to decipher if we were hearing ambulance sirens or just the wind. Water slowly rose up our street filled with fire trucks, emergency vehicles, and people (including us) dodging airborne branches and debris, waiting to hear if we were safe or needed to evacuate. We were put on standby, and told to go back into our apartments. So, we plugged in our borrowed radio, and waited.

We spent the next couple of days inside, glued to the radio, using the vivid descriptions of news anchors and our imaginations to try and comprehend the damage that had been done by Sandy. However, we never could have imagined.

We were more blessed than we knew how to handle, we didn’t lose power and our apartment was still standing, water free. When the winds and flooding came to a stop, the dark, quiet and still streets of Manhattan were filled with fallen trees, submerged subways, and a feeling of awe at the power of Mother Nature.

Along the entire East Coast, power, homes and loved ones were lost, but the generosity and service that I saw the following weeks renewed my faith in the power of good people. We were lucky enough to have the opportunity of spending a Sunday serving the people of the Far Rockaway’s, just one of many areas that was hit the hardest, with friends by our side, and new friends made.  

Photos courtesy of Lauren 

As life has slowly tried to get back to a new normal, I will always remain changed as I know so many others will too, at just how blessed we were, are, and continue to be, and how grateful I am for the examples of service, kindness, and love, especially from those who lost everything. Sometimes, when so much is lost, it allows you to see what you really have. Which, in my case, is more than I could ever ask for.

Smartie Pants

I realize that this "costume" speaks volumes about our desperation to fit in on Halloween while on a very tight budget, but let me tell you that I consider finding a place in Manhattan that sells small hot glue gun sticks for all the change in your wallet because you're not willing to spend the $10 minimum to put it on your card, a complete success.

We even splurged and bought a pumpkin, with full intent to carve it into a festive masterpiece, but we ended up watching Vampire Diaries and over indulging on calorific delectables instead (with friends, which we also like to consider a success). It's probably not the most epic all hallows eve that this city has ever seen, but letting street children trick or treat directly off my pants was pretty magnificent.

9.30.2012

We made it! One year down, and only eternity left to go. I sure do love this husband of mine. We saved our beautiful wedding cake top all year in anticipation for the one year mark, sacrificing ice cream and frozen chicken space in our freezer much to Alex's dismay. And then, in the midst of the moving mayhem, we shoved it into my in-law's freezer and found ourselves cake less on our anniversary. So, being the stalwart traditionalist that I am, we celebrated in the Upper West Side at Cafe Lalo with the closest thing to cake we could find- some Tiramasu (the best in the world) and hot chocolate with marshmallows. Something I never thought I'd be saying one year ago, mainly because I never thought I'd be able to trick an exceptionally handsome someone into marrying me.

This past year has unfolded many an adventure, as well as one too many experimental pasta dishes for dinner.. And Alex has stuck by my side through it all.

They say the first year is the hardest, which I'd say is pretty accurate seeing as how Alex has had to deal with half woman half beast every morning for the past 365 mornings. But I'm also convinced that the best marriages consist of wise negotiations, and a truck load of patience. Luckily for me, Alex was pretty close to perfect at both as I slapped that ring on his finger last fall.

The celebration commenced at the M83 concert in the Hammerstein Ballroom, where our minds and the speakers were blown simultaneously to amazing and sentimental music. We could barely eat the free pizza afterwards, because our cheeks were so sore from smiling. 

I don't know how many more ways I can proclaim that I married way up, so thank you Alex for a wonderful year. Thanks for trying to remember to put the lid on the toothpaste more often. Thanks for suppressing most of those urges to buy new video games and putting food on the table instead. A big thanks for introducing me to Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider. And thanks for loving me all day, every day. I couldn't be more grateful for you.

Here's to one year!

Moving on up, to the East Side.. to a deluxe apartment in the sky..

Well, it’s not really in the sky unless you count being on the second floor. But it is on the Upper East Side in a beautiful neighborhood with restaurants, shopping, parks, and lots of dogs. Speaking of dogs, our place is also dog friendly! Even though we can barely afford peanut butter and jelly sandwiches right now (security deposit + first month’s rent + brokers fee = we might as well not even have a bank account because there’s nothing in it anymore) we love having a place we can finally call our own! We have given the phrase 'living out of a suitcase' a more literal meaning.. we like to call it- the sofacase:

We bid farewell to The Pod Hotel, and Alex managed to move all of our luggage to our new place by himself while I was at work- a true accomplishment. Our apartment is in an old pre-war building on 73^rd street- it has big windows, wood floors, and even a dishwasher- we can’t wait until we have actual dishes to wash. We don’t have a doorman, but we do have the next best thing: a buzzer to ‘buzz’ people in. We also have a wonderful blow up mattress which serves as our bed, dining room table, and sofa. We did have to make the trek to Target up in Harlem the night we moved in for the basics- shower curtain, bath mats, hangers, and then to the grocery store (we went to 5 before finding one with decent prices- $8 for peanut butter? Let's get real New York.), and then to Washington Heights for our air mattress- needless to say we were exhausted when we finally got home at 2 am.

But, there truly is no better feeling than laying your head down at night under your own (rented) roof, even if it is on an air mattress with a box as your nightstand.

Goodbyes

When you’ve got two weeks exactly from the day you’re hired to the day you start your job, it leaves little time to mourn over selling everything you own. The only exception was Lil’ Red, my best friend in car form who’s safely gotten me through many a snow storm in Sardine canyon- I was still writing the KSL car ad when I got a call on her, and the next day she was gone. I bought Lil’ Red in 2005- she saw me through high school, college, marriage, and a plethora of awkward phases in between. That car was a 4-door box of memories.

And then, an hour after Lil’ Red’s new owners drove her away- the check engine light came on.

Of course it did.

After visiting the mechanic they had a hefty bill to pay, after that I realized that I gave them extra tires to Alex’s old Audi instead of snow tires, then the bill of sale I gave to them had issues, then the title was mailed to the wrong address and never made it to their house. Everything that could go wrong, did. And in the meantime, we were working full time and trying to plan our move and move out of our house. It was crazy, and by crazy I mean completely insane, but in the end I learned a great lesson in kindness, and patience, and couldn’t have sold my car to greater people.

Speaking of moving, we couldn’t have done it without all of the help from our family and friends- lifesavers! They were there until all hours of the night cleaning, packing, lifting, loading and moving boxes.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we have the best friends and family anyone could ask for. And even though saying goodbye wasn't easy, we'll still see them on holidays, and via unflattering angles on Skype.