delirious new york: BECOMING A NEW YORKER
I was looking something up this morning on Urban Dictionary and for fun typed in “New York”. This was the first entry that came up, which I’ve come across months ago on Facebook, but it was a fun read from my new perspective of someone who now actually eats, sleeps, LIVES New York.
1. New York
In reference to the city, let’s just say that you know you’re from there if any of the following apply to you:
You say “the city” and expect everyone to know that this means Manhattan.
You have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.
You can get into a four-hour argument about how to get from Columbus Circle to Battery Park at 3:30 on the Friday before a long weekend, but can’t find Wisconsin on a map.
Hookers and the homeless are invisible.
The subway makes sense.
You believe that being able to swear at people in their own language makes you multi-lingual.
You’ve considered stabbing someone just for saying “The Big Apple”.
The most frequently used part of your car is the horn.
You call an 8’ x 10’ plot of patchy grass a yard.
You consider Westchester “upstate”.
You think Central Park is “nature.”
You see nothing odd about the speed of an auctioneer’s speaking.
You’re paying $1,200 for a studio the size of a walk-in closet and you think it’s a “steal.”
You’ve been to New Jersey twice and got hopelessly lost both times.
You pay more each month to park your car than most people in the U.S. pay in rent.
You haven’t seen more than twelve stars in the night sky since you went away to camp as a kid.
You go to dinner at 9 and head out to the clubs when most Americans are heading to bed.
Your closet is filled with black clothes.
You haven’t heard the sound of true absolute silence since the 80s, and when you did, it terrified you.
You pay $5 without blinking for a beer that cost the bar 28 cents.
You take fashion seriously.
Being truly alone makes you nervous.
You have 27 different menus next to your telephone.
Going to Brooklyn is considered a “road trip.”
America west of the Hudson is still theoretical to you.
You’ve gotten jaywalking down to an art form.
You take a taxi to get to your health club to exercise.
Your idea of personal space is no one actually standing on your toes.
$50 worth of groceries fit in one paper bag.
You have a minimum of five “worst cab ride ever” stories.
You don’t notice sirens anymore.
You live in a building with a larger population than most American towns.
Your doorman is Russian, your grocer is Korean your deli man is Israeli, your building super is Italian, your laundry guy is Chinese, your favorite bartender is Irish, your favorite diner owner is Greek, the watchseller on your corner is Senegalese, your last cabbie was Pakistani, your newsstand guy is Indian and your favorite falafel guy is Egyptian.
You’re suspicious of strangers who are actually nice to you.
You secretly envy cabbies for their driving skills.
You think $7.00 to cross a bridge is a fair price.
Your door has more than three locks.
Your favorite movie has DeNiro in it.
You consider eye contact an act of overt aggression.
You run when you see a flashing “Do Not Walk” sign at the intersection.
You’re 35 years old and don’t have a driver’s license.
You ride in a subway car with no air conditioning just because there are seats available.
You’re willing to take in strange people as roommates simply to help pay the rent.
There is no North and South. It’s uptown or downtown.
When you’re away from home, you miss “real” pizza and “real” bagels.
You know the differences between all the different Ray’s Pizzas.
You’re not in the least bit interested in going to Times Square on New Year’s Eve.
Your internal clock is permanently set to know when Alternate Side of the Street parking regulations are in effect.
You know what a bodega is.
You know how to fold the New York Times in half, vertically, so that you can read it on the subway or bus without knocking off other passenger’s hats.
Someone bumps into you, and you check for your wallet…
You cringe at hearing people pronounce Houston St. like the city in Texas.
Film crews on your block annoy you, not excite you.
delirious new york: I MADE IT!
So I’ve made it to Brooklyn/NYC!!! This city is so amazing and filled with such dynamic people and places. There is always somewhere to go, something to see, and something to eat. I’m getting settled into our new apartment and adventuring out a little bit in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
One of my favorite places to sit back and relax is over in Brooklyn Bridge Park just past where Main Street ends at the waterside. [see where I’m talking about here] You have the Manhattan Bridge to your left, the Brooklyn Bridge and Jane’s Carousel off to your right, and the skyline of Manhattan in the distance. The people watching is great here, boats pass by up and down the east river, there’s plenty of room to sit and enjoy a snack. Its the perfect place to watch the sun go down over the city.
I hope to take my real deal camera out in the coming weeks and share some better images of some of the great things this city has to offer in the summer.
a view from the top: DOWNTOWN MIAMI
So long to my beautiful view of Miami’s Bayfront Park, Watson Island, Dodge Island (where the cruise ships sail out of) and South Beach. I’m 27 floors up at 100 North Biscayne in Downtown Miami. It been an incredible view for 6 years, with rainbows, waterspouts, hurricane days, Ultra Music Festival madness days, Miami Heat Parade days, and of course best of all sunny days like today.
throwback thursday: BROOKLYN BRIDGE
A little post for throwback Thursday, is a photo of my now hubby and I on the Brooklyn Bridge in 2004. Though I had visited the city many times before, this was his first trip to New York City, and our first trip just the two of us. As we crossed the bridge, strolled through SoHo, and meandered around Central Park, we spoke of moving to the big city one day, but in that whimsical not-so-serious way. Almost a decade later, we’ve celebrated with our wedding party in this same spot and are now headed to our new home just a quick walk from there. If you have a dream, it’s yours to make happen…
brooklyn bound: MIAMI BUCKET LIST
Less than a week to go before I’m headed to our new home in Brooklyn. We have a long holiday weekend ahead of us and I plan to spend as much time as I can with our friends and family. Extra celebrations are in order too since my birthday is next week. There isn’t much I’ll miss about Miami, but there are a few details that I hope to get a last fill in of before heading out of town. Such as…..
beach day - Publix cake (my birthday cake request!)
a shared plate with the hubby at PF Changs- Cuban food for lunch
- family outing to the Cheesecake Factory
- afternoon drinks at World of Beer
- quick bite at Chick-fil-A with my BFF
Certainly a do-able list. Thankfully I’ll be close to the Brooklyn Bridge soon enough, perfect for a morning run, because I’m going to have work off all of this delicious food we plan to eat!
brooklyn bound: OUR NEW HOME (sneak peek)
Here is a quick little sneak peek of our new home in Fort Greene. We are renting in a great building that is pretty new and so awesome. Some of the things we like most about this place are:
- THOSE WINDOWS! Yes, they are floor to ceiling in the majority of the apartment
- 10 minute walk to the Brooklyn Bridge
- 15 minute walk to Target
- two subway stops into Brooklyn making it a quick jump into manhattan
- super short walk TO subway station (through a promenade, not streetside)
- washer and dryer IN the unit
- lounge downstairs complete with WiFi, TVs, pool table, and kitchenette (even better, its rentable for parties)
- good sized gym
- pretty finishes and a great floor plan layout
There will be many more pictures to come once I get the keys, move in, get settled, and begin to explore the neighborhood. Stay tuned…
brooklyn bound: IT’S HAPPENING!
It’s finally happening… we are Brooklyn Bound! After a (rather short) job hunt, I landed an amazing job as Design Project Manager for a pretty cool company. They want me in NYC next week so we are cranking away packing up our home I record time, with some help from our amazing friends and family. We already had an idea of where we wanted to live in Fort Greene Brooklyn, so securing our new apartment from Miami wasn’t too hard. It’s a pretty sweet place, and there will be plenty of posts on it in weeks to come.
Admittedly, I am a HUGE fan of large bags. I like being able to throw my wallet, ipad, makeup, and keys in my bag, and still have room for some sketch paper for a meeting or snacks to sneak into a movie. All of this is great when you arent walking all over a city all day carrying said bag on your shoulder. But the last few times I’ve been to New York City (my soon to be home), I noticed these large bags were absolutely terrible for walking around the city. Something smaller, with just enough room or the essentials would be more fitting for window shopping in SoHo, or strolling the Highline in Chelsea. I’ve rounded up a few of my favorites which I’m trying to choose between. Take a look…
// image via Atlantic Pacific // 1. Coach legacy leather mini tanner crossbody (bright coral) // 2.Kate Spade bourbon street fabric freddie // 3. Coach legacy leather mini tanner crossbody (cognac) // 4. Coach legacy leather penny shoulder purse (cognac) // what’s inside: Coach legacy leather card case, NYC metrocard, Dior Addict Lip Glow, Kate Spade sunglasses, iPhone 5
Our current home, most commonly referred to as “the townhouse” has seen its fair share of days. It’s a simple, open plan, wood townhouse, and from the outside somewhat reminds me of the models I used to make out of Lincoln Logs as a child. You don’t see many homes like this in Miami. My dad bought this place in 1979, at the age of 24. It has great a great layout for entertaining and just hanging out with friends or hosting a get together.
Over the years my dad grew up, married my mom, and when they found out that I was coming along, it was time for them to move on to bigger and better homes. But my dad never sold the townhouse. Years later, my dad and I moved back to this wooden home while I was in high school. It became the hangout for movie nights, superbowl paries, and where my teenage friends and I rang in many new years.
Skip forward, and a few years later I was moving back into the townhouse as a grown up myself. Not even quite 21 years old, David and I moved in here, it is our first home together. As a designer, remodeling this place has become an occupational hazard. I would design, and David (trained by his carpenter father) would construct whatever I dreamed up. We have brought the townhouse into the 21st century and love coming home to our completed hard work night after night. I’ve chronicled a few of our projects on this blog including the renovation of our front yard and back yard, and I hope to add a few more posts in weeks to come about the interior of our home and how we transformed the space for our happily ever after celebration. It’s taken nearly a decade to get this home the way we want it, just in time to hand it back over to my dad as we move on to bigger and better adventures in Brooklyn.
![delirious new york: I MADE IT!
So I’ve made it to Brooklyn/NYC!!! This city is so amazing and filled with such dynamic people and places. There is always somewhere to go, something to see, and something to eat. I’m getting settled into our new apartment and adventuring out a little bit in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
One of my favorite places to sit back and relax is over in Brooklyn Bridge Park just past where Main Street ends at the waterside. [see where I’m talking about here] You have the Manhattan Bridge to your left, the Brooklyn Bridge and Jane’s Carousel off to your right, and the skyline of Manhattan in the distance. The people watching is great here, boats pass by up and down the east river, there’s plenty of room to sit and enjoy a snack. Its the perfect place to watch the sun go down over the city.
I hope to take my real deal camera out in the coming weeks and share some better images of some of the great things this city has to offer in the summer.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/e2653b879c5263beaf61fed79c6f63a4/tumblr_mo8kg6stJr1rwsxbfo1_1280.jpg)
