Let's begin with Lent

As promised, here's where we'll do it all over again: wheredidthewkendgo.blogspot.com

PS: Happy Birthday Mum...we miss you!

New

A new blog is in the works...stay tuned!

Say hello to Willi

Meet my new roomie: Willi, an Abyssinian guinea pig. He's a gift from Jordan to keep me company while he's away. We adopted him from a Columbia med student who named him after Prader-Willi Syndrome. He's slowly but surely getting used to his new home and me. He loves wheatgrass and tons of veggies and Timothy hay. He loves cuddles too but still get nervous every now and then. I look forward to lotsa bonding time! :) *wheek*

NEW UPDATE: Willi's actually a girl! :D Willamina then? :P hahahaha....It's an honest mistake! But I was told it was a HE! :P

Home Sweet Home

Ah, its good to have some quiet time. It's been a busy the past few weeks and I'm finally

alone in my apartment and I'm enjoying it.

A little packing, organizing, cleaning and pottering around the apartment is something I never thought I'd enjoy. Ha! But look at me now! Surfing Crate & Barrel, West Elm and Etsy.com for cute pieces I can add to my new home

and apartmenttherapy.com for decorating inspiration.

Lazing my Saturday morning away with a hot cup of "teh tarik", with

Dog Whisperer on the telly PERFECT!

Here are some snippets of my work-in-progress pad:

Moved in

I'm sitting by the window (I have windows! YES!) in my new apartment's kitchen, trying to hook onto any free wireless internet until my cable guy comes on Thursday. Thanks to some very good movers, a very sweet significant other and so much more space - I am happily moved into my new pad, boxes and all.

I'm pleased to announce that I've got more than double the room that I used to have in my tiny studio on the ground floor. I'm in a doorman building, with a live-in super, on the 10th floor with more than 1 window. J and I slept so well on my 1st night here - there were no slamming doors, no sounds of people walking in and out of the building, no construction, just peace & quiet and pigeons that come visit my window sill every once in a while.

I can walk between rooms, to get to the kitchen. I have more than enough closet space (for now..) and I am actually in need of more furniture! Namely, a sofa! The apartment is work in progress for now, so no photos until its actually complete and pretty enough to show the world. But if I can I will definitely do a before and after post as recommended by J. I think I did good this time! :D YAY!!!

I GOT IT!

So, after a couple of anxiety episodes, many miles of walking to see apartments, hand shaking with brokers and doormen, trawling craigslist, nytimes and other real estate rental websites, I've found my new home for the next 12months. It's about 2 blocks away from my current apartment but probably triple the size.

Thanks to the economy and lowered rent, I've managed to find and my broker negotiated a great deal on a beautiful 1 bedroom apartment with all the amenities I desire and so much more! A doorman, a regular sized fridge, plenty of windows, air-conditioning, laundry (a luxury in Manhattan apartments btw), elevator, an oven and an extra bonus, a concierge/doorman! :)

So I will be signing the lease next week and hopefully I'll get the keys soon!!

In the meantime, I gotta arrange for movers, pack my tiny studio and perhaps shop for new furniture, namely a sofa/sofabed to fill my new, HUGE space!! IKEA? Crate & Barrel? CB2? Where to begin?? :D Wheee!!! So EXCITING!!!

Hello New York City!

This blog is a chronicle of a new chapter in my life for family, friends and anyone else who cares: My little life in large Mahanttan - being away from home for the first-time, attempting to feed myself and educate myself on Big Apple living and lifestyles.

Finally, I'm here.We arrived late last night and went to the deli across the street to buy some food.After our showers, we settled into our lovely Marriot hotel room on Lexington.
It is an old hotel and very much a beautiful one too, with an old world, black and white art deco feel. Our beds are soft and fluffy, typical of all Marriots.

This morning, we went to collect the keys to my apartment. After a line-up and photo-taking Aftering lining up for keys and photo-taking for ID - we went to scope out the apartment. Its located in the East Village about a 15-20minute walk to school. The building is old, but everything inside it is brand new! The smell of fresh paint permeated the rooms and I was relieved to find air-conditioners in every room!

bedroom
kitchen
living/dining
bathroom

After checking out the apartment, we decided to take a walk to find my school. The streets are lined with old brick buildings, small stores, rod-iron fire escapes, very much like how you see it on television. It is hot and extremely humid. We're working up a sweat just walking! We find 5th Ave in Downtown, after going through Union Square and several weekend markets to look for an AT&T to activate my new NY cell phone - and eventually find my school, not before stopping by H&M and Coach and walking by many familiar US stores like J.Crew, Banana Republic, Kenneth Cole, Juicy Couture etc! And this is just 5th Ave downtown!! Not even close to mid-town or uptown! Geeee....

Lunch is at a pasta and pizzeria. Yum yum....

Took a subway back to Lexington (trains are ACed but stations aren't!) and retreaed from the heat and humidity. I signed online to set up my phone with iTunes and registered with AT&T. After an hour of trouble shooting - I finally did it. And then it was off to dinner with my Dad's friends at Picholine and then back to the hotel to watch some National Georgraphic, as we are doing now!