We've MOVED!!!

(View from the observation deck of our building...)

In what must be some kind of a Manhattan apartment-hunting record, David and I found an apartment we liked within two days of looking (right after Thanksgiving -- a very quiet weekend), applied for the place, and two days later signed the lease for it... so that we could move into it less than a week later! Our moving date was mostly dictated by the fact that it was the only day in all of December that we could move, given our schedule (we are currently casting for DD Chicago here in NYC) and the requirements of our new building (tenants can move in only on a weekday, during specified hours). We rented out storage space to store some things and disposed of a HUGE amount of crap we'd both had carried with us in life or had otherwise accumulated. We were shocked at how much stuff we possessed. It was an exhausting yet worthwhile process of culling down, and starting fresh together -- we'd never had the chance to move into a fresh new space we'd chosen together before, so this was, in a lot of ways, our "honeymoon moving experience." Stressful? Yes (how could it not be, apartment hunting in Manhattan is full of demoralizing torture and misery). Hectic? For sure, we'd just gotten back from 3 months in Canada, right onto casting, there just didn't seem to be enough time to even unpack... but worth it? YES. Because the apartment we found is just right for what we wanted.

The apartment we have rented is in Hell's Kitchen, just minutes west of the Broadway Theater District. It is in a luxury doorman building and we have fantastic views of the city. We can see right down 42nd Street! It is a spacious one-bedroom, with a dining area large enough to accommodate a true dining room table (which I wanted), a large living space, tremendous amount of light (we get sunrise and sunset), and a balcony (which David wanted). The building has a gym, and various modern amenities... like an ELEVATOR. We have had enough of walk-ups with all our travelings! It is bright and airy, it is a corner apartment with views of the city. The hardwood floors are all new as well as all the kitchen appliances, and David and I are marveling at our suddenly more "grown up" Manhattan way of life.

(Southwestern view from our bedroom...)

We still have a lot of unpacking to do... and A LOT of setting up, as we have disposed of most of our old Ikea furniture. We want REAL, proper furniture. We are steadily setting up house as we can. Our time is split between casting and running to the Container Store or Crate and Barrel or their equivalents. Sometimes this process is daunting, so speedily the change occurred. But really, we love our apartment, it has been a terrific change. Tomorrow we have the day off, so we shall go downtown looking for various furniture!!!

Hooray!

(View from our balcony, just outside the living room...)