Neurosis, a New Apartment and Other Disjointed Thoughts

We have been all over the place lately. Geographically and mentally. I probably make up 90% of the mentally being all over the place. Okay 100%, we all know Mike is the calm, stable, grounded one in this relationship. But I'm all over the place in a frenetic, lots of exciting change happening kind of way. The excitement is largely centered around our finally securing a place to call home. It has been a long time since we have had a place that we could call our own and we are so ready! But as anyone who has moved knows, a long To Do list accompanies any move. In the past week I have scheduled movers, deliveries and shipments. I have filled out countless change of address forms for bank accounts, credit cards and magazine subscriptions. I've set appointments to install cable, Internet and phone service. I have researched storage solutions, read consumer reviews of products and bookmarked color schemes and design ideas. More frighteningly, I have spent, bought and spent some more on furniture, electronics and decor. Mike has likened my hyper-focused research, planning and execution to his playing with army men as a child.

"You are determined to get everything just right. This guy is shooting this guy and this guy is launching a sneak attack on this guy. And then once it's all set up, you don't know what to do with yourself".

He's completely right. I lay awake at night rearranging furniture and hanging window treatments in my head trying to figure out which set up will be perfect. Crazy, right? But anyone who knows me, knows that I turn into a hyper focused planning monster when I have a project. I was IMing a very dear friend the other day about all my design ideas and color schemes and it wasn't until the second or third time that she said "Wow! You have SO many great ideas. Maybe you should start with one room..." did I get the hint that it may be time to slow down, take a breath and realize that Rome (or a 500 square foot apartment) wasn't built in a day.

But seriously, how great is it to have a friend that can handle several minutes of rapid fire IM's on accent colors, wall decals and decorative storage and still gently tell you that you're crazy while making it sound like a compliment. Love you Jill!

The point is, it made me realize that the reason I am obsessed with making this apartment perfect is because it is sooooo not. We are spending an ungodly amount of money on the tiniest apartment I have ever lived in. It has no dishwasher and no laundry in the building (hello laundry service!). It is a 4th floor walk up (hike up) and 3 of 5 windows look at a concrete wall 2 feet away. The living room is the size of my bathroom in our old apartment in San Diego. When you sit on the toilet in our new bathroom your knees hit the wall in front of you. But...I absolutely love it! It has hardwood floors and high(ish) ceilings with crown molding. The kitchen is big by Manhattan standards and has enough counter space for my beloved food processor and KitchenAid. There is a dining room (unheard of)! The living room is still big enough for our new Jennifer Convertible (the Hyundai of sleeper sofas). The bedroom has a walk in closet, a view of NYU and great morning light. Oh and did I mention it's in Greenwich Freakin' Village? That alone is enough to make me close my eyes and write the rent check. I thought about posting pictures, but it's empty right now and I want to wait until all my army men are set up before I share.

As for being all over the place geographically, when you rely on public transportation and two feet, roaming around the far reaches of Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens (in Mike's case) feels like all over place. We have been covering some ground lately. Here are a few places we've been and things we've done that are worth mentioning:

Last weekend we stopped by the Bang On a Can Marathon in the Financial District, which was a 12 hour marathon of off the wall, boundary bending musicians. The orchestra that we saw used a combination of normal instruments (i.e. with strings, keys and horns) and pieces of metal and other contraptions. The resulting sound was both beautiful and intense, and at times overwhelming. Plus it was at the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center which I found out is the best place to view the rebuilding of the World Trade Center.

While making the obligatory trip to IKEA in Red Hook, Brooklyn, Mike and I discovered several new favorites. First of all, IKEA seems at odds with the eclectic/artistic/industrial feel of Red Hook, which is located on the East River in South Brooklyn and has killer views of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. We stumbled upon the best brownie in history (the Sweet and Salty) at Baked, an adorable little bakery with equally fantastic chocolaty granola. We also enjoyed the fried mac n' cheese fritters and grilled chicken on baguette with fig jam and blue cheese at Hope & Anchor Diner down the street. But what really took the cake was Red Hook Bait & Tackle. It's a kitschy dive bar that's decorated like a hunting lodge and bait shop. They have 2 great pinball machines and Big Buck Hunter, which it turns out I LOVE. If you've never seen it or played it, it's a video game where you shoot antlered animals with a plastic rifle. We liked it so much that when we had to make a return trip to IKEA last weekend, we planned for another round of mild video game violence. After walking the 10 blocks from Big Box Hell, we were completely bummed to see that it hadn't opened yet for the day. It was 1:20 and the bar didn't open until 2. We debated for a few minutes and when the bus didn't arrive right away, we decided to grab a beer at the BBQ joint next door while we waited for RH Bait & Tackle to open. All this for Big Buck Hunter. We walk into the Ice House ready to wait it out and directly in front of us is Big Buck Hunter! We totally dorked out and high fived each other. Apparently in Brooklyn it's hip to pay homage to all things trailer park. $2 cans of PBR and Old Milwaukee abound and there's Big Buck Hunter in every bar. So this just in, crappy beer is cool.

If you know Mike, you know that he does not think crappy beer is cool. I call him a beer snob, he calls himself a craft beer lover, but all I know is the beer he likes does not come in a $2 can. Sunday, we attended The Brooklyn Beer Experiment in Gowanus in a performance space/music venue and it was well worth the hour long-hot sidewalk-sweating everywhere wait. It was an amateur competition featuring local home brewers (Mike's considering entering next year) and cooks preparing recipes made with beer (I'm considering entering the cooking with cheese competition in the fall). You pay $18 and try 1 oz pours of each of the home brews (plus an extra pint from the bar) and taste all of the 26 home cook's dishes and then vote for your favorite. There was a panel of judges (local brewers, restaurateurs and television personalities) who announce their picks (and the prizes) as well as the audience picks at the end of the afternoon. It was a ton of fun and the food and beer were all really interesting. Our favorites were the beer braised short ribs with a spicy potato salad and the s'more bites made with a cherry lambic jam (lambic is a sour fruit beer). It was kind of like acting out my fantasy of being a judge on Top Chef except instead of sitting at a big fancy table with internationally acclaimed chefs and critics, I was crammed into a corner using Mike's back as a writing surface getting beer spilled on my sandals. Clearly another great week in NYC!