Marathon Shopping

Nathan and I decided that we would rent a car and head to Jersey to do most of our shopping because the sales tax is much lower in some of the counties and it would be IMPOSSIBLE to get everything home on the subway....so, after renting an SUV at 9am (for only $85!) we drove through the Holland Tunnel and started our adventure....dude, it was insanity. If anyone knows me well, they know that I hit my shopping wall at about 2 hours...

9:45am--Arrive at Home Depot which has only 3.5% sales tax!! We bought paint and painting materials. Our bedroom is going to be Arizona, which is basically a yellow-orange and very bright....I know, I know. Could be wild, but hey! It's paint! The living/dining room is going to be Contemplation, which is much more green-blue than this online swatch can show.

10:45am--Head to IKEA in Elizabeth, NJ, which is also famous for the 3.5% sales tax....so much so that they even post it on their official IKEA Elizabeth Site! We spent a full six hours year and only paused for 2 bathroom breaks and lunch. Thank God for the IKEA cafeteria, you know? Anyway, we are fully set with all the things we need....except for the pieces that were back ordered that we'll be returning to get at a later date and all the things we're realizing we need....eep!

5:30pm--Headed to the Short Hills Shopping Mall to buy our very first desktop computer as a married couple. Well, first computer bought as a married couple, period. Yay for educational discounts at Apple and free printers. We're now fully equipped with a machine that won't overheat or randomly decide not to work or whatever. My laptop has 0% memory left and is so full that our external hard drive can't manage it. Poopsmith! Anyway, none of that.

6:30pm--Eat at Joe's Bar & Grill for great burgers....then we were on our way home.

That was a marathon day and it was finished off with our search for a parking spot near our building that involved a wrong turn taking us through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, me asking a cop how to get back to Manhattan for free (b/c the tunnel cost us $5!), and us finally getting a spot from someone who basically sold us his spot for the night.

The end.

I'm here.

Today I got the keys to our new place. I'm in our apartment in New York. This is so strange. More to come.

Our New Home

For those that want to see where we will be living.....here's a google street view of our apartment in Battery Park City.
(ignore the random limo drivers in the shot....kinda funny though)


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We're on the 23rd Floor of this building, though it doesn't really show a great view. We're on the South West end of Manhattan, and have a view of the Hudson River from our apartment. Here's a map view of it:


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Goodbyes

This week has been filled with goodbyes. I was thinking of posting some pictures of it...but sadly, I have not taken one single photo. That's cool.

I finished work on Wednesday of last week, but the annoying thing was that I ended up having to work all day on Thursday and 3 hours on Friday, just to finish everything that needed to be finished. It was nice being at the school when it was empty on Wednesday. Some students showed up around 3 and helped with some things like stuffing envelopes, etc. Bob Yapp was there for most of it on Thursday and so was Kim. Kim actually helped me for something like 2 hours stuffing envelopes and going and getting me sticky "sign here" labels. (Thanks so much, Kim!!) It's really a bittersweet thing to leave that school. It's amazing how much you can learn in just two years at a place. I love those kids, and I really hope that my next working experience will be just as rewarding. I do know, either way, Mid-Pen has really trained me to be able to take on anything. Oh, I should probably mention that my co-workers were great too. Daisy was the best last year, and I was so sad when she left. Boo Hoo! Then Kim came, and seriously, Kim saved my life (thanks, Kim!). Eliza and Andrea were totally a blast this year and there's about a million inside jokes that came outta that. I loved working with Julia and how she saved my life on many occasions with the yearbook class. Thank God it's going to be in good hands now that I'm gone. Anna was great too. I never ended up painting with her Studio Art class, but knowing that I could if I wanted to was enough to feel included. =) Barb was a great boss...much learned and much gained working with her. Seriously, whoever gets to work for Barb now that I'm gone is a lucky person. Barbara is brilliant, and though she would never bost about herself in this way, she's got SO MUCH experience in schools she really adds so much to Mid-Pen. People should give her more credit. Okay, so I could write about all my co-workers, but I won't because this will get long and people won't read it. Haha.

So, here's the schedule: Today--packing; high school small group; night church; Monday--packing all day; drinks with work people; small group; Tuesday--loading the truck all day (anyone wanna come help?); Wednesday--truck leaves; lunch with Jan & Caleb; cleaning apartment; Thursday--need to buy shoes; getting ready to fly to NY; Friday--7am flight to JFK; Saturday--Brooke's bridal shower; Sunday--get into the city; Monday--get keys to new apartment; meet up with Nathan; sleep in our apt for the first time as a resident of Manhattan. Phew! Insanity.

I'll try to post more in the future. xx

Blog Facelift

I've been trying out a bunch of different layouts and I think I've found the one I like. Feedback? Comments anyone?

Home Hunting

I was tempted to call this post "house hunting" but I knew that it might lead to the misconception that we're actually buying a house...which in fact, is not the case. (though, that might be fun!) If you know me well, than you know that I always refer to the place that I live as my "house" or "home" even if it's just a small apartment. So, anyway, that is what is underway at the Chase house....serious home hunting!

Nate leaves in the morning, actually a few hours from now, for New York to scope out the various apartment listings we've found online and meet with a broker. I'm excited about a couple of the places, especially one in Brooklyn. I'll know for sure by Tuesday! I'll update that soon.

This is all happening so quickly now! Eeek!

It's official...the Chase's are going back East!

Yes, it's true! After almost a year of job searching (but an intense few months), Nathan has landed a sweet position with a company called Arup in New York City (map below for the curious ones). People have been asking a million questions about the move and the answer to most of that is "we don't know!" What we do know is that the move will take place the end of March--signing a lease for April 1st. I've told my work I'm leaving so that's all set too. I'm super sad about that, by the way, because things have been so great there. I guess it's better to leave on a high note than on a low one, though, right?

So, there you go. I'll be planning on doing lots of moving updates, etc, through my blog so keep checking back! And for fellow Sox fanatics....don't you worry. As I have said many times, what do Sox fans do in New York City???? Cheer for the Mets! Haha....




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