Hello, hello, hello!
So glad you came back!
After signing my lease and finding out I couldn’t move in
until the 8th, my mom and I got a game plan together. We moved to a
hotel on Friday evening and stayed there until my move-in day. She also decided
to extend her trip a couple of days so she could be here to help once I ACTUALLY
got moved in. Mommy, thank you SO SO MUCH!!!!
We decided it’d be best to start ordering furniture and
scheduling delivery for the day of or day after my move-in date. Our hotel was
in close proximity to a really good TJ Maxx, Century 21 (an incredible discount
store), and a Bed, Bath & Beyond. Speaking of which, if I don’t see the
inside of a Bed, Bath & Beyond for a month…it will be too soon. Anyways, we
utilized those places to accumulate housewares like towels, sheets, a duvet
cover, blankets, etc. Our tiny little hotel room was practically bursting with
all of our stuff!!! It was ridiculous!
Another wonderful place we utilized was IKEA. Oh yes, you
all know about the wonder of IKEA….or at least, I’m sure you all know. If not,
you should go to your nearest IKEA and find out! I think I’ve been to the
Houston IKEA maybe twice in my life and neither of those times was I searching
for myself. Now it was my turn to make decisions about what kind of furniture
was going to adorn my studio apartment and IT WAS SOOOOO OVERWHELMING. But I
think maybe that’s just what happens when you go to IKEA….you get ridiculously
overwhelmed.
It is an absolute fantasyland! A one stop shop for any and
everything you could POSSIBLY need to furnish a place at extremely reasonable
prices. After doing some research, we figured out that you could get to the
IKEA in Brooklyn by taking the IKEA Express water taxi, which is free on the
weekends. So, after stopping and getting some Broadway show tickets at the TKTS
Booth at South Street Seaport, we headed to Pier 11 and got in the long line
for our boat.
Once we boarded, it took maybe 15 minutes to get there and
off we went! I felt like a very anxiety ridden kid in a candy store, feeling
drawn to one candy thinking it was perfect but then questioning myself as to
whether or not that candy was REALLY what I wanted or if I wanted the other
candy that I really really love too…this was a theme that emerged throughout
the course of the weekend. You’ll see what I mean.
Surprisingly, I decided on a loveseat and coffee table
almost straight out of the gate! As we walked further and further through the
showrooms, I got more and more overwhelmed. (I think I’ve used that word too
much…but oh well! It’s the truth!) Then I picked out an 8-drawer dresser that
can also double as an entertainment center if I decide to get a TV. It’s all
about saving space in these New York apartments, you see.
Once we were done there, we arrived at the marketplace.
Which is literally just chock full of home furnishings!!!! AND I JUST HAD
ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF! I mean there was just so much to
choose from! If I’d had unlimited funds, I would have gone hog wild!!! That is
what dreams are made of, people! Alas, I settled for some glasses, silverware,
and knives. Just to have a little something to start with.
Then came the picking room. For those who haven’t been to
IKEA, this is basically a giant warehouse where you locate the heavy boxes that
the furniture comes in, load them up on a trolley, and proceed to the check-out
line. Did I mention these boxes are heavy…and they are sometimes several
shelves up off the ground?! Given that it was just Mom and I, we opted to have
the picking done for us. It was a small fee and VERY worth it. We talked to an
employee who told us we would have to check-out with the items from the
marketplace and then get in the HELLA LONG home delivery line in order to
schedule the pick and delivery. Did I also mention the check-out lines were
HELLA LONG?! It’s back to school and moving season, so whatever.
After checking out, our cashier told us that we actually
didn’t have to get in the home delivery line, but instead go back to the
showrooms where we would find a pick and delivery kiosk. We made our way there,
scheduled the delivery, paid, and prepared for our exit. But wait, there is
only one way out of the showrooms…and that’s to go BACK THROUGH THE ENTIRE STORE!
At this point, Mom and I could not WAIT to get the HELL out
of there!!! I think it had been about 3 or 4 hours…WHICH IS ENTIRELY TOO LONG!!
We were cutting and weaving our way through that store like we were being
pursued by the police or something! But don’t worry, we made it out alive and
back to the boat that brought us home! Or at least to our hotel.
The next few days were spent collecting other various items
from the stores I mentioned earlier. Mom had to get real with me and tell me it
was time to bite the bullet and start making some purchases.
I have this thing about visions. In my head, I can picture
exactly how I want something to look. After I saw my apartment, and did some
serious Pinterest browsing, I had a very clear vision of what I wanted my color
scheme to be, how I wanted my furniture arranged, and what I wanted the general
feel of the place to be. I’d been holding off pulling the trigger on purchases
because I was worried it didn’t quite fit my “vision.” I’m weird that way. And
I get extremely picky when it comes to bringing my visions to life.
Finally deciding Mom was right and I needed to start
committing, as she put it, we racked up on things like towels, dishes, bedding,
and other various household goods. We stockpiled everything in our hotel room
like little chipmunks storing nuts for the winter.
Oh, I also ordered a bed from Macy’s during the Labor Day
weekend sale. It’s perhaps the nicest mattress I have ever had and I am so so
happy with it! It wouldn’t be delivered until a week after I ordered it, which
meant about 4 nights in my new place with no bed, but the sale was just too
good to pass up!
Before we knew it, it was Tuesday morning and we were
cramming all of our belongings onto a hotel cart and making our way out of the
hotel to the waiting Uber car. It was moving day, and we had quite an
interesting few days ahead of us!
To hear about move-in day and the days that followed, tune
in tomorrow for Part 4!
Obviously I have to talk about the two Broadway shows Mom
and I attended while she was here. The first was Finding Neverland, based on
the film of the same name about author J.M. Barrie and what led to him writing
one of the greatest stories of all time, Peter Pan. The show stars Matthew
Morrison, aka Mr. Scheuster from Glee, as Barrie and Laura Michelle Kelly as
Sylvia, the single mother of four boys who inspires Barrie to write his
masterpiece. It’s a story about growing up, but not growing up too soon. It’s a
story about imagination and inspiration. A story about family and love.
I figured I would like the show, given that I’d heard so
many good things about it, but I was not prepared to love it as much as I did.
The last 15 minutes of the show I was basically sobbing and I have NEVER done
that in a show before! Well…I cried quite a bit at the end of Once…but not this
much! The story gets a bit sad at the end, but it was also because I witnessed
some of the most beautiful scenes I’d ever seen on stage! One in particular was
just so stunning, you’d have to see it to understand! The music was beautiful
and the performances by the whole cast were incredible, including the kids.
I think it also got to me because there I was embarking on a
great change in my life…growing up if you will…and I was watching a story about
how the boy who never grew up was created. I strongly encourage seeing the show
if you’re going to be in New York anytime soon! Bring some tissues!
Completely changing gears, the next evening we saw Something
Rotten! A comedy musical about down on their luck playwrights, the Bottom
brothers, who are struggling to write a play better than the Bard himself,
William Shakespeare. Nigel Bottom, absolutely fed up with Shakespeare and all of
his fame and glory, decides to consult a soothsayer, Nostradamus, to find out
what the next big thing in theatre is. His answer: musicals. Cue an absolutely
FANTASTIC musical number called ‘A Musical’ and you’ve got the whole audience
giving one of the longest rounds of applause I have ever heard!
William D’Arcy James plays Nigel and Christian Borle plays the
rockstar, Shakespeare. This was the third time Mom and I have seen Christian
Borle onstage (we kind of love him) and he was just so fantastic, as was James.
If you enjoy laughing out loud, having a fantastic time, and funny Shakespeare
quips, this show is for you!
Have a great Friday night!
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