who are the people in your neighborhood

Wednesday afternoon Jamie and I took the girls for a little stroll around our neighborhood just to get out a little bit before dinner. 

 Right in front of our apartment building is an awesome park that is basically our front yard. The girls love the playground and I like all the green space. Although I do not like the bird in the photo flapping way too close to me (I have a bird phobia... which doesn't come in handy in this pigeon-filled city!).

 Less than a block from our apartment is a subway station which is so nice when we want to head downtown or run errands.

 A few of you have asked if I'm ever "scared" walking around here. No, so far I haven't ever been scared- even at night. Often (like in the above photo) there are people sitting around on the streets at all hours and you have to walk right past them which can be a little awkward, but I've never been scared.

 There is a Starbucks a few blocks from our apartment which, of course, we frequent too often.

 And now that Jamie has the whole family addicted to Mister Softee ice cream we eat way too much of this, too! :) You might imagine with all the walking we do that I'd lose weight... but NO between ice cream, starbucks frappacinos, and having restaurant delivery several nights a week... no weight loss for me!

 But how can you turn down ice cream like this??

 We found a place to sit and enjoy our ice cream (the bus stop!).

And, yes, Annie is with us on this walk! We were trying out a new backpack carrier that my friend Becca told us about. Annie loves it! (And I do, too.)

 People here sit on the sidewalk in front of their apartments like it's their front porch (cuz it really is).

 And Audrie talks to EVERYONE. These cool dudes walking past us... Audrie cheerfully hollers out "Hi!" with a big smile and wave to them. She cracks me up.

As this girl passed us Audrie said to her "You look like Princess Jasmine!".  I used to cringe and tell her to stop, but it's not like we're going to see them again and I don't suppose she's really doing anything wrong??

 On this walk we stopped at a new park (there are a billion parks in our neighborhood and we are still finding new ones all the time).

 Annie was ready to play!

 Audrie headed to the swings.

 There are always lots of moms (and dads!) in every park we go to. Our neighborhood is a very family friendly part of the city.

 I usually have to follow Annie around to make sure she is not stealing snacks from the other moms.

 Our sweet little Annie is growing up so fast!

 She's getting more blond. And tall. And changing too fast.

We love her so stinkin' much!

 She decided to get brave and try the tire swing.

 Audrie thought she looked lonely and joined her.

 These two are actually really enjoying each other's company more all the time. They play together really well and I love watching them giggle together.

 Next to this playground was an area in our neighborhood called Cloisters Gardens. So stunning! My photos don't do it justice. It really is an oasis.

 Beautiful little nooks where you could read in the cool shade.

 Jamie and Audrie ran off ahead of me...

 Up the steps there is an area where you can sit and look at the Hudson River. The breeze off the water was so nice!

 You never would have thought that you were in the middle of Manhattan!

 It was almost like looking over the Buffalo River (almost...).

There was a cute elderly couple enjoying the serenity (well, until Audrie came barging through!).

 We were tired from exploring the park, so we decided to catch the bus home. While we waited for the bus Jamie and Audrie acted like big dorks.

 Audrie likes taking the bus!

 Annie was pretty sleepy and ready to get home.

 We got home in time to see the sunset out our window.

Such a beautiful view of our new home! Hope you enjoyed this little tour of our neighborhood. :)

mellow yellow

I have been wanting to put something in our entry way that we can throw our keys and mail on when we walk in. But I also wanted it to be practical and have lots of storage space. (So not just a table.) I looked on craigslist and found this old oak dresser for $50. (It does have top drawers but I didn't remember to take a 'before' photo until I already started taking the drawers out to paint.)

 The only catch was that we had to go get the heavy dresser. (And we have no car...) It was only about 15 blocks away but with no car that is still a problem. Jamie had been wanting to try out Zip Car so he checked it out and it was only $15 to rent an SUV for an hour, so he did and went and picked up the dresser for me. So nice of him!

The dresser is very sturdy and has really cool handles. Annie was a 'big help' while I was sanding the dresser....

I decided to branch out from my usual turquoise and go with a warm golden yellow color. (PS- before I left Arkansas I discovered that Sherwin Williams has these quarts of sample paint for $5! You can pick any color from the hundreds of paint chips and in just a few minutes they whip you up a tub of pretty paint. They warn you that it's not high quality paint because it's supposed to be a sample, but I've used it on a filing cabinet, a picture frame, and this dresser- and it's been great!)

Again, my assistant Annie helping me take off the handles. 

I sanded it (very lightly because it was so rough anyways it didn't have much shine left on it and also because I didn't want to make a mess in our apartment), then I put three thin layers of yellow paint on it, and then Jamie put the coat of polyurethane on it (while the girls and I were gone for several hours).

I really love how it turned out!

I swiped one of Jamie's instrument lamps to decorate with (don't you love the new lamp shades he and Jason are making out of old sheet music??). 

I finally admitted to Jamie that we've reached the max on painted furniture in our home. But even as I said it out loud I knew I'll probably find something else to paint soon. ha!

sharing, caring

Now this is some good sharing! ;)

lots of toys

 I have a couple weeks off work so on Monday we headed out to do a few things on our 'To Do' list (a billion things we want to do with the girls in NYC). Our first stop was in Times Square at the gigantic Toys-R-Us store that has a four story Ferris wheel in the middle of it. So fun!

 Even the hard-to-impress Annie was amazed. :)

 We waited in line for a few minutes and then got buckled into a cute yellow bus (which Audrie was not thrilled that we didn't get the Scooby Doo car, but it was a good lesson in "you get what you get and you don't get upset!). But after the ride started she was happy again.

 It was $4 for a ticket and considering the prices of things in Times Square I thought that was pretty good.

 Annie loved it!

 After the ferris wheel we walked around and checked out all the cool toy exhibits, bought a ton of candy....

 and then headed over to 59th street to another amazing toy store, FAO Schwarz!

 It was about 20 blocks away but we decided to walk because it was a fun part of town and we got to sightsee along the way.

 So many pretty churches on Fifth Avenue!

 Y'all, Jamie is ADDICTED to this specific ice cream truck, Mister Softee. He won't stop talking about it! Please tease him.

 And it was hard to pass by my addiction... cheap purses being sold on every corner!

 Another beautiful church (I tried to appreciate some architecture for my brother's sake, but I didn't know what to stare at).

 Then we arrived at the magical toy store.

 Audrie spent most of her time drooling over the miles and miles of dress up clothes.

 She hasn't STOPPED talking about this blue cinderella princess dress that she has to have in her life. We told her she would have to wait and tell Santa about it. (But for $80 I hope by Christmas she has forgotten about it... or Samanthe can sew her one!)

And of course we had to visit the big floor piano! I think I had more fun playing on it than the girls. :)

(photo credit- Jamie)

 Audrie could have stayed there all day if we had let her.

This next picture was in front of a green screen at the store... something about getting your picture made into a puzzle or a book..? I just thought the girls looked cute standing there (mostly because they were actually being STILL for a moment in time)!

After a couple hours playing in the city, we got on the subway and headed back to our quiet neighborhood. The girls slept good that night! (me, too!) I think tomorrow we're either going to try the Brooklyn Children's Museum or the Central Park Zoo. It still blows my mind that we have SO many crazy choices of what to do every day!

way too much whining

God has been amazing to us as we've taken this LEAP of faith and we are blessed that's for sure. But I still find myself getting a little whiny now and then. Please forgive me for how shallow this post is, but I'm just keepin' it real. ;) A few of you have mentioned being jealous of our adventure so maybe this will help lessen that for you.

So in case you were wondering what I could possibly have to whine about... here ya go:

1. Walking everywhere we go! It took me about 3 weeks for my legs and feet to stop hurting, so that's nice that I'm not in actual pain anymore. But we honestly walk at least an hour a day. Just running errands, going to the parks, going to work, etc.

It's awesome to have this city at our fingertips, but it's not so fun to walk down the sweaty, stinky streets to get places. I know we could take a taxi (and we do occasionally) but we're trying to not spend the money and get lazy.

I've decided my personal threshold is about 12 blocks. If I have to walk farther then 12-15 blocks to get somewhere then I get a little grouchy! :)

Oh and also we are usually pushing both girls in the stroller and carrying stuff in our arms while we walk. I do miss my purse, too. I love my bookbag but it's strange to have to carry everything I need for the day. I'm used to throwing it in the car but now I have to pack my water bottle, lunch, laptop, papers for school, change of shoes (if I want to wear cute shoes at work... I need practical shoes to walk home in).

Someone told me that in the Fall here when it's cool and lovely outside- that the walking is more fun and invigorating. We'll see about that. :)

2. it's DIRTY here! (If you aren't rolling your eyes at me by now then see what you think of this.) I'm having trouble adjusting to the nastiness in this city. Trash on the streets is bad. I can't even begin to fathom how people just litter like it's no big deal. It's so gross. And then dog poo everywhere and puddles of smelly liquid that you don't even try to imagine what it is. Also the pigeons are gross (and scary!) because when you get close to them they start flapping their wings and stirring up the dusty dirt and grit on the street. Gets in my eyes. Ugh.

And even our apartment building is dirty to me (and I really love where we live). Every time I walk in the lobby I have to resist the urge to go get a huge bucket of warm soapy water and a mop. I just want to clean the entire lobby every day. And the stairwell is dirty (the girls sometimes use their hands on the stairs to walk up and I have to make them stop because it's so gross).

3. lack of PERSONAL SPACE. I feel a bit smothered by the smelly people, loud traffic, and buildings. I get tired of being bumped into and just want to stand in a big field of sweet grass and trees and blue skies... and take in a big deep breath of fresh air (and twirl around while I sing "the hills are alive....!!").


4. And last but definitely not least. I MISS YOU. You people. Come visit us!



Ok, I'll try to quit complaining now and focus on the blessings we have...

Playmates...the G rated kind - by Jamie

 My goal is to blog at least once a week so I'm gonna sneak this one in.  Audrie and Annie have been learning to play together lately.  Usually Audrie is a little too rough but she's getting better.  This week at the park I stumbled upon this...

 They look like they are solving the world's problems.  When I saw them doing this my mind jumped forward about 30 years and I imagined them sitting at a table, sipping coffee, and talking about how crazy their parents were for dragging them to New York City when they were kids.

And Audrie is even sharing with her sister now.  We walked to McDonald's today just to get outside and grab some ice cream.  Audrie's face is priceless in this photo...

I hope and pray that these girls grow up loving each other...and hopefully be able to afford their own ice cream cones.

making our way around this city

So we've been here a month now. Hard to believe! Each week that passes we start to settle a little more into this crazy huge city and find ways to make it feel like a home.

The geography doesn't change the fact that it's still hard to go out with a 1 year old and a 3 year old, but we've been forcing ourselves to go on family outings a few times a week. And occasionally we even smile during those times... ha!

(photo credit- Jason)

Ok, no really, we are having fun as a little family running around this town. We went last weekend to the Brooklyn Flea Market to scope out the scene there and I LOVED it! Tons of booths with vintage dresses, cool funky jewelry, cute vintage shoes, and tons of spray painted junk (which you know I adore). Oh and while we were there I stood in line for an organic grilled cheese sandwich and I was standing next to Gretchen Jones (the winner of last season's Project Runway).

And Jamie found a rack of cut off jean shorts to add to his wardrobe. (He thinks he's "bringing back" cut off jean shorts for guys...) Yeh.

Audrie always has a blast on our outings. And some of my personal favorite times here have been when Audrie and I take off on our own and run errands in the city. The other day she and I took the subway downtown to a bath & body store called Lush that has amazing products. And it was a slow day so the clerks totally spoiled Audrie the entire time we were there.

Audrie has been doing amazing walking the long distances. And we have some fun talks on our walks. Tonight we ran a few errands after dinner and as we walked she saw an airplane. She said something about wanting to get on that airplane and go to her old house to play. (*tear*) She's mentioned her friends back home a few times and it breaks my heart to tell her she will have to wait until Christmas to see them. And the worst story is- a few weeks ago Jamie was saying night time prayers with Audrie and she usually asks Jesus to make all her little boo-boos better. But that night she turned to Jamie and said "Daddy, will you ask Jesus to please bring my kitty back?"! (ugh. break my heart!!!)

Annie unfortunately is the deal breaker on most of our outings right now. She doesn't love being in the stroller for long periods of time, so sometimes I put her in the sling (which she still likes). Also she is kind of like Cinderella at midnight- if Annie doesn't get put down promptly for her afternoon nap by noon she turns into a she-devil! This girl loves her sleep.

(photo credit- Jamie)

This past Sunday we went to a local Farmer's Market near Columbus Circle and they had some great stuff! Tons of unique produce items, too. It was fun to check all that out. Although I will say that living in this city is kind of like living in one big farmer's market every day, because on my walks home from work I can stop at a million different little markets or shops and quickly pick up anything we need for dinner.

There's something about farm fresh okra from 'Jersey' that doesn't quite sound right to me...?!

I honestly haven't had a chance to really get my camera out and take photos like I want to. I usually just snap these quick pics on my phone. But I am so distracted as I walk because every few blocks is a photo opportunity. Here is a church door Audrie and I passed on a walk the other day.

Jamie and I are actually planning a real date night this weekend! So excited. I think we're going to go eat a nice lovely dinner at whatever interesting restaurant we find (we usually use the Urban Spoon website to find new places to try) and then we are going to get tickets to see the Broadway musical "How to Succeed in Business" (Daniel Radcliff is starring in it right now) or we might go see an off-Broadway production of "Rent" (a neighbor friend we've made at the park is actually married to one of the main actors in the production!). I love that we have such fun options for a date night out!

"I'm like, this is hard!"

Came home today to find Jamie whimpering in the fetal position rethinking his new career...

 Ha! Just kidding. (I actually just snapped this pic on Sunday afternoon while he was chilling in the floor.) The girls saw him resting peacefully and remedied that quickly.

Then Annie pulled his hair while Audrie bit his kneecaps...!

(at least the girls were using good teamwork. Ha!)

But seriously Jamie is still doing a rockin' awesome job being a stay-at-home daddy! I know he is tired of me asking him all the time if he is happy doing this but I'm just in awe of his ability to juggle these two firecrackers all day.

I know it's not an easy job but Jamie is such a great dad and the girls are having so much fun with him!

I have the next few weeks off work so we will get some good family time in before my school year starts on Sept 6th. That's when the real test will start for all of us. But we are taking it one day at a time right now and enjoying the journey!

breakfast with the girls

I'm so glad we brought Audrie and Annie's little table with us. They eat almost every meal here and it's so easy to clean up. (Although I did discover that if you let a clump of soggy frosted mini-wheats dry up... it's stronger than cement! I really think you could lay bricks with it.)

Since I don't have to be at work until 9:30 for staff development during the summer, I've been able to have breakfast with the girls every morning. It's my favorite time of day.

Ok well maybe at least second place favorite to the time when I get off work each afternoon and walk to the park to meet Jamie. And the girls run squealing toward me with their dirty happy faces. That's pretty great, too.