Fam Jam in New York

We just finished a great week with my family in New York City! My parents visited for over a week and stayed with us 6 out of those days. It was a blast! They arrived Saturday and we spent the day relaxing at our apartment and then headed to Grimaldi’s, New York’s most famous pizza, in Brooklyn right next to the Brooklyn Bridge. Dinner was delicious – the 5 of us easily polished off pepperoni and sausage, a mushroom, and tomato and onion pizzas. After dinner we walked to the water and the sun was setting – it was beautiful!





Sunday was Father’s Day so my parents and me and Nate headed up to Columbia to have brunch with Jenni. We had brunch at my favorite place in the area Community. Their breakfast is organic and delicious!





After brunch we decided to show Nate around Columbia since he had never seen it. Jenni led the tour of the libraries and campus. After that we headed back to Brooklyn – it takes about 45 minutes from where Jenni is on the upper west side to get home. We had a low key dinner in, Nate and I cooked for my parents!





Monday was a low-key day – Nate and I had errands to run and my parents decided to walk ALL of Prospect Park, about 3 miles! That night was our special dinner at Del Posto, one of the best restaurants in New York.



We had a lovely Prix Fixe dinner including amuse bouche, appetizers, pasta dishes, second meat courses, dessert, and then pastries. And several bottles of wine, of course! It was just lovely, and it is an Italian place that felt authentic not contrived. It was a perfect evening.

Tuesday we did a bit of sightseeing in the UN and midtown areas. We also went to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral which was gorgeous, and Rockefeller Center.



Tuesday night we met Jenni and her friend Meghda at the Marriott Marquis, our favorite hotel in NY, located in Times Square. We went to the top floor to their revolving restaurant called “The View” for drinks and the dessert buffet (chocolate fountain… hello!!!). You can see New York lit up at night it’s really magical. It’s one of our traditions – we do it every time we go and have since Jenni and I were little. Before heading back to Brooklyn, we stopped for a tourist shot in Times Square – you have to do it!



Wednesday was another low-key day, but a big night – Nate’s first broadway show! We saw Memphis, which just two weeks ago won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2010. It was an awesome show, complete with lots of music from the 50s. We loved it!



Thursday we had dinner with my grandparents. They live in the Bronx but come into Grand Central on the train. We ate at their favorite restaurant – Mr. K’s some of the best Chinese food in the city! It’s a celeb spot unfortunately we didn’t see anyone! But, President Obama has dined there… his personal chopsticks are engraved and at the front of the restaurant along with many other well-known public figures and celebrities.


Friday we had dinner at Blue Smoke, a jazzy smoky restaurant with some of the best BBQ in the city! Of course, Nate loved this too. The best story from this dinner was that my mom opened a basket of bread and the napkin edge landed in the candle and caught ON FIRE! My resourceful sister calmly grabbed the flaming napkin and dunked it into my water. It was pretty crazy, but funny! :)


Saturday my parents helped Jenni move out of her dorm and Nate and I hung out in Brooklyn. We all got back together Sunday for a second broadway show – but this time, the girls went to Promises, Promises and the boys went to Million Dollar Quartet. Our show starred Kristen Chenoweth (from Wicked and Glee!) and Sean Hayes (from Will & Grace). It was set in the 60s, great music and great acting.


The boys’ show was about the famous recording session featuring Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins. The four jammed all day for fun, it was spontaneous. The boys liked their show!



After that we had a quick bite at the hotel then we said our goodbyes. It was a great week! My dad heads back to Gainesville on an Amtrack train, his favorite, while my mom and sister head to Paris, France. Jenni will stay the rest of July to learn French! Who’s jealous? I know I am!

More on our New York adventures to come!

Apartment Pictures!

Entrance to the Apartment:



Living Room & Dining Room:









The Kitchen:







The Master Bedroom:







The Guest Bedroom:

The Big Move

We’re finally settled in New York City! The move – particularly packing for the move – was a long and tedious process and one I will hopefully not have to repeat anytime soon! So, I found the apartment – that was my last post. After that I headed to Durham with my mom where we packed most of my apartment in 3 days. Next we drove to Gainesville where I spent a couple days seeing friends and family, then I drove to Orlando. I helped Nate pack for 5 days AND the two of us single-handedly (okay more like both hands) loaded the Uhaul he rented.



We also took several trips to Goodwill. It was a lot of work all in all, but everything Nate wanted to take fit on the Uhaul, so that was great! We rented the Uhaul for the entire trip too – all the way to New York. It was cheaper than dropping it off in North Carolina, believe it or not! So we figured why pay more and then have to pay for flights in addition? That made no sense, so we decided to drive the whole way to New York.

We drove that afternoon to Gainesville for a fun last night at my house with both our parents. The 6 of us shared the bottle of wine Nate and I brought back from Napa Valley – it was the Beringer Reserve Leaning Oak Cabernet Sauvignon. It was delicious! My mom made a great spread of food and we all had a great last night in Florida. The next morning we drove straight to Durham in the Uhaul. It takes a LOT longer in the Uhaul! It took us almost 11 hours to get there. Luckily, we had winks, our stuffed animal elephant to keep us company. Even for him, though, it was a long trip!



We had roughly a day and a half in Durham. The first day I was paranoid about someone breaking into the uhaul, and so we were checking on that. We also delivered some of the furniture I wasn’t taking to my friend Jeremy, who is furnishing the downstairs of his house for a woman and her daughter. I was glad that the furniture went to good use!

Our last night in Durham was low-key, we had dinner with Nicholas and then hung out at the apartment for a while. I thought I would be sad, but it felt like the right time to leave. I wasn’t sad at all – just excited! The next morning the movers arrived! We hadn’t heard from them so I was starting to get worried but they were really nice. They started by loading up my apartment, then they took everything from Nate’s Uhaul. We kept on the Uhaul the top of one mattress to sleep on and table and chairs, and my artwork from around the world. We figured since we were driving the Uhaul the whole way we could keep a few things that would be easy for us to move into the Brooklyn apartment ourselves.

After the movers left we drove half the way to New York, stopping for the night in Arlington, Virginia and we stayed with Nate’s friend Nicole! I was excited to meet her and it was so nice she let us stop for the night. The next morning we got up and drove the rest of the way into Brooklyn – over the bridge and everything. It was a bit scary in the Uhaul but Nate did a great job!



We met up with my sister, who had so nicely gotten the keys to the place for us! She let us in and helped us unload the Uhaul, then rode with Nate to drop it off while I started sorting. We got the good news that the movers were coming Tuesday – a day early – to drop off our furniture and everything. We spent Monday unpacking the few things we brought with us. Tuesday the movers came and our living room was filled with boxes!



Anyone who knows me though knows I wasn’t worried! It took us less than a day and a half to unpack everything, and just another day to decorate. At this point it’s just the final finishing touches – so far I think the apartment looks great! I will post pics of the decorated rooms soon! We love our neighborhood! There are great shops, restaurants, a great mix of people, and we are near museums and Prospect Park.



We miss all our family and friends and can’t wait for everyone to visit!

Cheers, D