I moved!
It’s August 2022 already, and I feel like the year has gone by so quickly! I’m just getting back into sewing, crafting, and feeling creative enough to make something. As I’m writing this I am looking out of my window onto the fading sunlight of the Midtown Manhattan building skyline. It’s a view that still surprises me every day.
Some nights the Empire State Building lights are different colors
In the fall of last year, we decided to look for a place to buy in NYC. This was the first time I went through the process of looking for a home to buy and the experience was very different from looking for an apartment to rent. In my past experience as a renter in NYC, it feels like the apartment chooses you rather than the other way around, for reasons financial or geographic or romantic or because you absolutely need to move next week. And after, you either adapt to the circumstances or move on. During one memorable summer, I lived with 6 people and a gray dog in a Brooklyn townhouse that was running a word of mouth restaurant in the backyard until it was shut down by the health department. The sliders were delicious though!
The past couple of years I had been sharing a studio apartment with my partner. The studio apartment was 400 sf, which is large for NYC standards! I loved the neighborhood we lived in, but during the pandemic it felt like a small space that we spent all day inside. Also, the apartment faced the building's interior courtyard which was relatively quiet, but only provided a view of other apartment windows.
We spent a few months looking at apartments in different neighborhoods of Manhattan and finally found our current place at the end of last year. This year, we closed on the home, painted the apartment, moved, and have been settling in. Our new apartment has more space and a view of the city, which is thrilling to watch every day. It’s on the east side of Manhattan which I have not lived in before, so I’m enjoying exploring a new neighborhood. I’m also thrilled to still be able to walk to work.
This could use some more organizing
One of the last things in the new apartment to come together has been my making area. I have an open cubby storage system against one wall, where I keep yarn, patterns, and a stack of fabric that suits my mood. It has been useful to see all of the supplies that I own. I would like to get some better task lighting to sew and draw at night.
I’m pleased with how the living room decor turned out. One of the first things I made after moving was the new throw pillow covers. We also made these custom pendant lamps over the dining table. Can you tell what we used for the lamp shades?
