And since we have now made cyber amends, I will do my best to compose a few brief catch up posts in the upcoming days.

Here’s November 2008 for you:

My roommate and I finally finished decorating the apartment. To celebrate, we threw a small, very successful housewarming shindig/soiree. Below are a few pictures from the first of many celebrations in 4W:

Though our anthropologie-esque apartment decor received the stamp of approval from our friends, even our elegant peacock curtains were upstaged by our “to die/ sell your firstborn child for cheesecake strawberries” and white sangria.

I have decided–not based on scientific data, but rather on what is best for my sanity, that Gregor is both sterile and has no interest in adopting other young roachlings.

If I see him again, I’ll have my apple ready.

I am a proud registered voter. I did the research and, as a result, feel confident in my choice of candidate. However, as a politically inexperienced, nearsighted, dinosaur-fearing, brunette female, I know that I should simply focus on smaller things and leave the country to the experts or the elected (fingers crossed that the two coincide). Now that you know where I stand, please note that when I whip out political jargon such as “balancing the budget,” I am referring to my own challenges in figuring out how to eat, play, and pay in Manhattan.

I have been living off of my mother’s pantry and subsequently, my Hofstra meal plan, for the past 22 years of my life; therefore I have little concept of both price of food and of how much I should be spending per week at the store. I initially figured that if I indulged in grocery shopping/stove slaving instead of resorting to take-out and grab-n-go, I should be able to comfortably survive off of a five dollar-a-day budget. Good news–this can be done…if you embrace your old college buddy, Ramen. If you do not know me or are unfamiliar with my picky palette, let me fill you in: I would categorize myself under the health-conscious herbivore column, not the freezer pizza fanatic one.

Organic vegetables and vegetarian protein sources are a) expensive and b) have a shorter shelf life than most other foods. A jar of Almond Butter at Gristedes’ Supermarket costs $15.99! An organic tomato has an “enjoyment window”of roughly four days!  At this rate, a young renter’s salad would consist merely of lettuce (and maybe shredded carrots on the weekends). For the splurger, the whole ingredients for flavorful and colorful salads of substance would cost around $35.00 a week plus NY tax (for vegetables alone!).  Eggplant, fresh portabella mushrooms, red peppers, onion, and zucchini, though light in calories, all add up in cost. I will post my most recent receipt in an upcoming entry.

 In the end, I am not willing to compromise my diet . As a result, I must bite the vegetable bullion cube and accept the fact that eating green costs well, a lot of green.

bed

desk

fire escape, radiator, clutter

closet

I will post more pictures of the apartment shortly.

It is truly amazing how so many different nationalities are represented in one overcrowded, underairconditioned subway car. While there are many countries out there still unable settle their differences with one another (even though they are separated by mountain ranges, bodies of water, hundreds of miles, herds of Bighorn Sheep, etc.), Manhattan, an island spanning only 22.96 square miles (according to the ever so reliable Wikipedia), is home to 1,620,867 people–many of who not only practice a tolerance of others, but also welcome and embrace cultural diversity. Just the other day, my “treadmill neighbor” at New York Sports Club was finding strength and inspiration by blasting Celine Dion (Canadian)’s power house ballad “Taking Chances” on her IPOD. I have also learned that one does not have to journey more than a few avenues to experience harmony and understanding.  I mean, why visit the UN Headquarters when you can stand on Fifth Avenue and see an Italian-born D&G handbag sported alongside the French threads of Chanel couture?  My recent discovery of the Jew-talian Bagel and Pizza Eatery twenty short blocks south of my apartment, however,  was the swift kick in my Hungarian-Russian-Polish-American tuchess I needed. At that moment, I knew that if I wanted to emerse myself in this melting pot mania, action needed to be taken. Consuming a California roll would not cut it.

After some internet research and a few phone calls, around 11 AM on Saturday, Sweden came knocking. Flat-packed diversity! Here are my newest additions from Ikea:

kitchen table- Ikea MUDDUS (black)

dresser- Ikea MALM (white)

chair- Ikea POANG (black)

Ahh loopholes.

Apparently, lightswitches, wood floors, doorknobs, bathtubs, electrical outlet openings, and furniture are also, by definition, part of the term “apartment,” and are therefore not exempt from a fresh splattering of Benjamin Moore. Needless to say, when my roommate and I first keyed into our Spin Art nightmare, we dialed the building Super faster than you can turn on a lightswitch that has been painted in the “off” position. 

In the end, after a few harsh words in 2-3 different languages, the apartment was cleaned up. Be weary New Yorkers. I caught some footage of these painters working on their next project across town.  It seems like they have still not learned to use newspaper and painter’s tape:

Allison

Click on the link below to learn everything you wanted to know (but were afraid to ask) about the blogs and the bees:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

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1) A picture with a triangle in the center is actually a video (amazing, right?).  Click on the triangle to watch the video.

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4) Laugh

Enjoy,

Allison