Lately

We are moving on Sunday. The truck is arriving at 8AM.

It has been complete and utter insanity over here - trying to pack and get things arranged, some family health issues, and on top of all that I seemed to think it was a good idea to take a 2 week full time course that ends tomorrow. 

Boxes are everywhere. We're trying really hard to purge our things.

(How do people acquire so much STUFF!? It's not cool.)

Getting incredibly sick of takeout.

And feeling stressed out by all the clutter.

But. It's all good. 

UWS, here we come.

Always white

The backbone is always white. Always.

But I don't usually go for blues...

I like it here though.

{via a merry mishap flickr}

Twinkle lights

Love this idea of stringing them in patterns to have more of a chandelier feel.

{from yahoo shine via apartment therapy}

See?

I wasn't kidding.

{via a merry mishap flickr}

Kitchen Envy

I just really have a thing for white + red.

{via a merry mishap flickr}

Things be crazy

Just popping in to say - things be crazy.

Hence, nothing interesting to say right now.

My mind is basically forming thoughts like this: a;sldkgja;lwkeg209385;lksdjg;alk120948

Aka - no coherent thoughts.

Not true.

The one coherent thought is that I passionately despise my current sofa, and desperately want a new one.

{photo via xJavierx on flickr}

Brave

I want to be more daring with bright, loud colors, I really do. But sometimes its hard to take the plunge. 

{photo via coco+kelly on flickr}

Solution

I just found out that TOMs - maker of the only truly comfortable shoes I own - is coming out with a line of ballet flats in Spring 2012. You can see more styles here. I am so beyond excited, and have my fingers crossed they fit exactly like their original style.

(Where have I been? They also have fleece lined boots. Maybe TOMs will solve every one of my shoe problems!)

{Photo via FabSugar}

The Great Flat Hunt

Yesterday I mentioned my constant hunts - winter boots, wool coats, monthly calendars, sofas, apartments,  and the list goes on. It's just an aspect of my personality that I can't shake. I am always searching for something.

The hunt that trumps all other hunts - so much so that it would really be better termed an odyssey - is for stylish and supremely comfortable flats.

I'm sorry, but sometimes being a woman is hard. Men's shoes are always comfortable. Always. They lace them up, and bam, good to go. On the other hand, women have to make a choice. 

Do we want to look nice and suffer? Or do we want to be comfortable and frumpy?

It's a terrible choice. A choice I'm unwilling to make. And hence the odyssey.

I never wear heels. My knees can't take it, and having part of my living come from teaching dance and fitness classes, it's simply not a risk I'm willing to take. So it comes down to flats.

I cannot even begin to tell you how many flats I have tried on, purchased, ordered, and returned over the past couple of years.

(Enough that I am now a VIP Zappos members, that's all I'm saying)

You'd think that by now shoe companies would have tried to make more of an effort to combine comfort and style for something as supremely basic as black flats. But not so much.

I need shoes for walking. I need shoes for booking it through the mall. Through the city. Across a parking lot. I want arch support and cushioning and unblistered heels.

The closest I've come are the flats above - $20 from I.N.C.

Totally flat with no arch support, but a teeny raised heel gives a little boost, and the pleather stretches to accomodate my wide little feet.

Sadly, both pairs have disintegrated into nothingness.

I also have a pair of the Air Bacaras - part of the Maria Sharapova Collection by Cole Haan.

These fluctuate between being wildly comfortable and digging into my foot with painful abandon.

They are definitely good for walking - they're relatively cushiony and sturdy.

But the tight elastic around the back sometimes leaves black and blue indentations around the back of my heel and my poor little bunion.

Today the shoe sadness reached it's climax when I found myself standing by the front door before work, barefoot, with no shoe options.

I didn't want to wear boots because they don't fit over my jeans (read: large calves). Jared had to put his foot down and tell me I couldn't wear my Toms to work (one pair is irreparably stinky. one pair just got a giant hole ripped in the canvas). My Air Bacaras were killing my bunions. I wasn't wearing my damn Uggs to the office.

It became blindingly clear. I HAVE NO SHOES.

So. I'm wearing my $20 hole-in-the-bottom flats. Because at least they're not squishing any toes.

Winter boot hunt

My latest quest (because there is always. always. a quest.) is warm and super comfy non-Ugg winter boots. That must also be stylish. See? There's the kicker.

It seems if you want toasty warm shearling, Ugg kind of has a corner on that market. They are totally hoarding the sheep for their own selfish Uggy purposes.
And I don't like it.

I have a pair of Uggs and I wear them strictly for practical purposes. I'm sorry, I know they're not the most stylish - and I'm totally not rocking the teenybopper mini skirt + Uggs look - but honey, they keep your feetsies freaking warm.

Ever since I saw that Elephant feet commercial I decided that there simply must be some boot alternatives out there that would allow me to be both warm and stylish. And yet apparently not. Because only Ugg is wise enough to line the entire boot with shearling. For example, Matt Bernson, I totally love your boot, but why not go crazy and actually line the footbed with shearling - you know, the part that actually gets super cold?

Lola Cruz ankle boot; Kodiak Bisset

Matt Bernson Tundra boot; Gentle Souls Warm me Up boot

Kelsi Dagger Jaxen bootie; Ugg Bellvue II

2012 goal: Put it down

Technology has made it so amazingly easy to capture moments - whether it's what we had for dinner or a breathtaking view, our smartphones are there to snap the picture, email it, text it, tweet it, and blog it. All at once. But we're all so caught up sharing our moments, that we risk losing our ability to enjoy them.

So this year, every once in a while, think about putting it down and just enjoying.

{photo of NYE 2010 by Dave Beckerman via Hither & Thither}

We're so ready

Me and my city kitty.

Recap: 2011

It was a busy year.

Here are some things that happened:

January

Started a Masters in TESOL  program. Hated it. Juggled two online classes with a 2 hour commute, working full time, and teaching 4 dance classes in the evenings. Was beyond stressed and miserable. On the plus side, there was a crap-ton of snow all winter. The office kept closing. It was wonderful.

February

Apparently nothing exciting happened that I can remember. More snow. Super busy.

March

Pippi came to live with us. I was nervous since I'd never had a pet before, and worried I wouldn't like it. As evidenced by this blog, I'm more obsessed with our little kitty than ever before. She is hilarious and the cutest thing ever.

April

In the midst of The Semester from Hell, we went to the Bahamas. We ate and read and sunned and swam. As we sat on our balcony watching the sun set I decided I was stopping the Masters program as soon as the semester ended, even though it meant big obstacles for career growth at work.

May - July

Post-trip I had four-months worth of mysterious, infuriating red bumps that kept appearing on my body. I spent way too much time in dermatologists' offices. It drove me totally crazy. Then it suddenly went away. (Note: Beware of hotel towels)

After months of a different kind of misery, my MA classes ended. I got A's. I left the program.
Jared continued to love me in spite of all that nonsense.

August

Drove to Pittsburgh to visit some good college friends. We both felt vaguely motion sick the entire weekend. Talked and talked and ate and ate. We literally have not stopped talking about Mad Mex since. 

Then spent a week in LBI at the gorgeous beach house of our generous family friends. We ate apple fritters the size of our heads. Jared gorged himself on gummy worms. Everyone yelled at me while I read Game of Thrones: Book 3 cover to cover and refused to interact with anyone until I'd finished it.
At the end of the month, Hurricane Irene swept in - that nasty wench.

September

Celebrated the wedding of good friends. Reduced my hours at work and became a consultant instead of full-time employee so I had more time to teach dance/Zumba classes and less time imprisoned in my cubicle. It was a pretty awesome change.

October

Our first wedding anniversary. One year! It flew by, and yet also seemed like we've been married and living together forever. It happily coincided with a friend's wedding down in Charleston, so we had a long weekend full of she-crab soup and pralines, a beautiful loft hotel room, and one of the best meals of my entire life. All capped off with a surprise fall snow storm.

November

Took the Amtrak train up to Rochester for a Rutgers girls reunion. Highly recommend train travel. Lots more eating. Lots of giggling. Lots of baby bump rubbing for our very first pregnant friend.

December

After 2 months of seriously obsessive NYC apartment hunting, we found one. I told work we were moving, and they agreed to let me work from home. I'm making progress on potential new career plans. 

Things are happening. And I'm really really excited for 2012. 

To Do before we move: Eat AT our Chinese Restaurant

Before you laugh....

Before you start off thinking this is the lamest To Do list in history...

Let me explain...

For us, and I'd tend to think for a large percentage of the population, Chinese food is strictly a takeout experience.

It's fast, it's easy, it's usually reasonably priced, and you're guaranteed leftovers for at least another meal or two.

I have eaten in a Chinese restaurant literally one time. I was maybe in 2nd grade. I went with my parents and grandparents and lots of aunts and uncles. There was an abundance of greasy noodles and little pots of black tea.

So. My To Do list included: Eat AT our favorite Chinese restaurant. 

I wanted that tea dammit.

When we moved into our new apartment last year, we started our search for really delicious Chinese food. Living in Middlesex County, NJ - with a really ginormous Asian demographic - we knew there had to be some really good-ass Chinese food hiding somewhere. We just had to find it.

And finally, after a couple of really disappointing attempts, we did.

Jade Dynasty, on Amboy Ave in Edison.

Everything we've had there is awesome.

It's super fresh, not greasy, and therefore shockingly does not leave me curled in a ball with an angry stomach wondering why I bothered eating Chinese food again.

No. This stuff is freaking good.

And bonus: the manager is the sweetest, happiest lady, who remembers everyone and always has a smile on her face.

On Monday night we ventured over. The ambience leaves something to be desired with a vague high school cafeteria vibe, but it's amazing how much fresher and crispier and more delicious everything is when you eat it fresh out of the pan instead of post-delivery.

We pretty much always order the same thing.

Me:  Steamed veggie dumplings + Veggie mu shu (with fried tofu)

Jared:  Won ton soup + Chicken with broccoli

It's worth it.

Go.

Things I'll miss about NJ: The Cathedral

I'm not religious by any stretch of the imagination, but I've found it incredibly comforting to live directly across from this giant cathedral. Sometimes they go overboard on the bells (and sometimes it sounds like whoever's playing the bells is drunk off their rocker), but I always enjoy looking out at this impressive structure. The bagpipes and funerals can be a bit of a downer, but I'll never tire of peering out my window and seeing stretch limos waiting at the curb and watching wedding parties erupt out of the front door on the weekends. On certain holidays (and when the church is so packed that people have to stand on the steps to listen to mass) the choir and organ music will be piped out of speakers onto the street and we can hear it from our couch as clearly as if we were sitting in a pew.

 

For the next month, leading up to our move, I'll be posting about many of the things I'll miss (and some I definitely won't miss) about living in New Jersey, where I've been a resident the entirety of my 26 years. Jared and I are also working on a To Do list of places we want to go and things we want to squeeze in before we leave. So far, they are all food-related. Shocker!

It's happening.

We're moving to New York.

The Upper West Side, to be exact.

After an obsessively long apartment search, fueled by a perfectionist (moi) and a tight budget, we found a great place just a couple of buildings from the park. It fits pretty much every one of my exacting specifications (walkup, but not way up; faces front; faces South; allows cats; open kitchen) and is actually in our budget.

It lacks little things like, say, laundry, but honestly, godspeed to you if you're trying to find those things in an NYC apartment with a normal-person amount of money.

We anticipate moving on February 1st, and are really excited to start this new and very grown-up-feeling chapter.

{photo by Bumby Foto}

Christmas 2012

 

* Pip waiting patiently to open her presents *

* Our tree with it's stash of presents on Christmas morning + A no-longer-patient Pip pawing at wrapping paper *

* Jared with a towering stack of gifts + His parents and their tree on Christmas Eve *

* My parents' tree on Christmas morning + A very generous yield from Santa *

* Our very-full advent calendar tree *

Page 196

The poet Jack Gilbert...wrote that marriage is what happens "between the memorable". He said that we often look back on our marriages years later, perhaps after one spouse has died, and all we can recall are "the vacations, and emergencies" -- the high points and low points. The rest of it blends into a blurry sort of daily sameness. But it is that very blurred sameness, the poet argues, that comprises marriage. Marriage is those two thousand indistinguishable conversations, chatted over two thousand indistinguishable breakfasts, where intimacy turns like a slow wheel. How do you measure the worth of becoming that familiar to somebody--so utterly well known and so thoroughly ever-present that you become an almost invisible necessity, like air?

- Committed, by Elizabeth GIlbert

Page 111

I'm not sure I ever understood the almost embarrassingly remedial notion that you are somewhat in control of what happens within and around your relationships. I shame myself by admitting this, but it's true. I once believed that desire was as unmanageable as a tornado; all you could do was hope it didn't suck up your house and explode the thing in midair. As for those couples whose relationships lasted decades? They must have been very lucky, I figured, that the tornado never hit them. (It never occurred to me that they might have actually constructed storm cellars together underneath their homes, where they could retreat whenever the winds picked up.)

- Committed, by Elizabeth Gilbert

Page 80

So this transformation of marriage from a business deal to a badge of emotional affection has weakened the institution considerably over time--because marriages based on love are, as it turns out, just as fragile as love itself.

...

To put it simply, I do not need this man in almost any of the ways that women have needed men over the centuries.

...

So where does that leave us? Why do I need this man at all? I need him only because I happen to adore him, because his company brings me gladness and comfort, and because, as a friend's grandfather once put it, "Sometimes life is too hard to be alone, and sometimes life is too good to be alone."

- Committed, by Elizabeth Gilbert

Page 48

We Americans often say that marriage is "hard work."  

...

Life is hard work, of course, and work is very hard work...but how does marriage become hard work? Here's how: Marriage becomes hard work once you have poured the entirety of your life's expectations for happiness into the hands of one mere person. Keeping that going is hard work. 

- Committed, by Elizabeth GIlbert

Page 45

And while we of this brave new species do have possibilities that are vast and magnificent and almost infinite in scope, it's important to remember that our choice-rich lives have the potential to breed their own brand of trouble.

...

The problem, simply put, is that we cannot choose everything simultaneously. So we live in danger of becoming paralyzed by indecision, terrified that every choice might be the wrong choice....Equally disquieting are the times when we do make a choice, only to later feel as though we have murdered some other aspect of our being by settling on one single concrete decision. By choosing Door Number Three, we have killed off a different -- but equally critical -- piece of our soul that could have only been made manifest by walking through Door Number One or Door Number Two.

...

In a world of such abundant possibility, many of us simply go limp from indecision. Or we derail our life's journey again and again, backing up to try the doors we neglected on the first round, desperate to get it right this time. Or we become compulsive comparers--always measuring our lives against some other person's life, secretly wondering if we should have taken her path instead.

...

All these choices and all this longing can create a weird kind of haunting in our lives--as though the ghosts of all our other, unchosen, possibilities linger forever in a shadow world around us, continuously asking, "are you certain this is what you really wanted?"

- Committed, by Elizabeth GIlbert


*Um. Welcome to my life.*

Page 35

In the modern industrialized Western world, where I come from, the person whom you choose to marry is perhaps the single most vivid representation of your own personality. Your spouse becomes the most gleaming possible mirror through which your emotional individualism is reflected back to the world. There is no choice more intensely personal, after all, than whom you choose to marry; that choice tells us, to a large extent, who you are. So if you ask any tpical modern Western woman how she met her husband, when she met her husband, and why she fell in love with her husband, you can be plenty sure that you will be told a complete, complex and deeply personal narrati e which that woman has not only spun carefully around the entire experience, but which she has memorized, internalized, and scrutiinized for clues as to her own selfhood. 

- Commited, by Elizabeth Gilbert

Merry Christmas Eve

I can't get enough of the holidays. Every year it seems to go by faster and faster. Everything looks so much prettier decked out in greens and lights - our apartment and our neighbors' yards always seem lonely and dark when the decorations come down. But for the past month I've been very much enjoying the extra bit of cheer brightening up our place.

Wishing you the very merriest of Christmases.