taking a break from apartment hunting, at a cafe on south BedfordJoe and I came back early from New York yesterday after signing a lease on an apartment. We found a place in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, off the
Lorimer stop on the L train, right near
Dumont (you know, one of those place that serves expensive mac and cheese) and
Union Pool. We chose
Williamsburg because Joe will be able to get to and from work very quickly (important when he's on call). St. Vincent's is right at the 14
th St/Union Square stop. Also, most of my friends live in
Williamsburg. Convenience is key--otherwise I'd want to live in a nicer neighborhood, like Carroll Gardens (where we used to live). I definitely wouldn't call our new neighborhood nice. It's slightly sketchy. But then again I'm used to living in an idyllic, cute little Kansas neighborhood where we don't even have to lock our doors.
So the last week was pretty
sucky. We stayed with Joe's brother in Red Hook while apartment hunting in
Williamsburg, so we had to walk. A LOT. In the cold rain. It rained non-stop while we were there. We spent four days straight wet, cold, and tired, looking at expensive apartments that were total crap-holes. I think I said, "I hate New York" about 800 times. I was so discouraged that by day three I just stopped speaking all together. I was too depressed to even complain anymore. Finally, at the end of the fourth day, we somehow found a miracle, an apartment that we could afford that didn't make us want to puke. So what if the bathroom is so tiny there's no room for a sink? The stove looks like
this. Yeah, totally awesome. In fact, the whole apartment is very vintage and unique. (I really prefer that to those newly renovated apartments that have about as much character as a dorm room.) Also, it has a back yard. With a garden, benches, and a grill. And one entire side of the apartment is covered with built in wood cabinets and shelves for storage. The guy who lives there now is an artist who paints and designs window displays for
Bergdorf Goodman and Barney's, and he's moving to Sweden indefinitely. He's subletting to us and leaving his paintings and some furniture. I'm pretty happy about it--the apartment's a steal, and I really like his paintings.
So things are looking up. Except for the fact that I'm feeling somewhat torn about moving back to New York. At this point in my life I feel like I've sort of already been there done that. In a way moving there feels like taking a step backwards. Now that I'm older my priorities have changed a bit, and I'm less concerned with living in the hippest city in the country and competing in that arena and more concerned with living a peaceful life and having good relationships. Right now I live on a quiet street in Kansas. There are no crowds, no loud street noises, no rat race. It's hard to give that up. It's hard to give up having my own studio in my home. In New York, our
apartment will be small, and my studio space will have to be combined with the living room or bedroom. I'll be the first to admit that I'm completely spoiled, and living in New York is so expensive that I will not be able to have the quality of life that I'm used to. Yes, there will be outstanding restaurants and shops and fun things to do there. But I'm not sure I'll be able to afford any of those things. These are all thoughts that I'm struggling with now. In a perfect world, I'd move with a positive attitude and be super excited and ready for anything. But in my heart I know that's not how I really feel. What I do know is that I'll try to make the best of it and see how it goes. Oh, the crazy things we do for love.
I updated the shop just now with a few spring/summer things. Everything is in size 6 only, except for the bamboo denim skirt, which is a size 10. In a few weeks I will post more sizes! I just haven't gotten around to grading some of the patterns yet.
Essery Dress by By Malene Birger, photo from Lark
Yes!!! My life has been cuh-razy hectic with trying to sell my house and move, but I will be updating my online shop with spring/summer clothing! The new skirts, tops, and, dresses will be available next Thursday, May 28 in very limited quantities. And then after I move, I'll do shop updates throughout the summer. More info soon to come...
I finished this last week but didn't get the chance to take a photo of it until last night. The dress is made out of a soft but sturdy linen in a pale natural/taupe color. It's so neutral that you can wear really bright colors with it. I'm curious about what it would look like with some blue suede flats or wild printed leggings (I like the white version). Can you tell that this pattern is a hybrid of the "winter plaid top" pattern and the Sunshine and Shadow dress pattern? I wanted to make something super comfortable and perfect to throw on with some canvas sneakers for running errands on the weekend. Yoga pants are comfy, but you want to feel cute when you go to the farmer's market, right?
I really fell in love with these Opening Ceremony shoes when I first saw them, but they were way out of my price range, darn. And Martha's lace up sandals from Urban Outfitters were so cute on her that I really wanted them too, but they were sold out. Luckily I found a twenty-five dollar pair from Target that are so comfortable. I really just needed one inexpensive thing to add to my spring wardrobe to update my style because I don't have any money to spend on fashion right now. I like these too.
It's Braid Wednesday! Check it out here if you're looking for some hair inspiration. I'm so lazy with my hair, but I'm glad Elly started this because it's totally fun.
taking a break from apartment hunting, at a cafe on south Bedford
