A bit of everything from our day yesterday:

Times Square. It’s only a few blocks from the apartment. We considered going to the TKTS booth to get half-price matinee tickets for a show, but the listings didn’t perk our interest. We’ve already seen Anastasia. Sponge Bob Squarepants? No.

But this is why I made Don walk over this way:

Whoo hoo!

Escape to Margaritaville’s  neighbors: Hamilton!

And Scientology.

We journey back to the Upper West Side, where we walked around in Central Park on a day that almost fooled us into believing that Spring was here.

We had a vegan brunch at a great restaurant and we moseyed around the neighborhood, enjoying all the brownstones and shops and museums.

I’d heard of Book Culture but had not been there yet  – so happy we stumbled upon the shop. Fantastic book store.

We went back to The Sill so I could grab another ZZ plant for my office at home. Then we headed back to the apartment because we were tired and Don starts rehearsals this morning and I am headed back home.

It was a great weekend. Sad to say goodbye to my husband but I’ll be back soon.

Happy Monday.

A loooooong day yesterday! But a good one.

After packing up the car, we headed down the NYS Thruway to the Palisades Parkway to the George Washington Bridge to the Henry Hudson Parkway to the West Side Highway to the apartment. The Company Manager and her assistant were waiting for us and gave us the keys. We parked in a loading zone with the hazard lights blinking – only for a short time – but we got a ticket. Dang.

Anyway, this apartment building is narrow and our apartment in on the third floor, so we had to go up and down three long flights of stairs several times. We were pooped. And winded – which makes me realize we need to get in ‘stairs shape.’ Oh, and there isn’t a microwave here, and we found a small one at a local hardware store on the way home last night and Don had to schlep that up the stairs. It was sort of the ‘last straw’ for the stairs yesterday.

It’s a really lovely apartment. We have to get used to the NYC street sounds (especially on a Saturday night!) but it’s relatively quiet during the day and we have our noise machine on at night, so no problem for sleeping.

This is one view of the living room. The photos were taken right after we arrived, so no tweaking had been done yet. Note how much the coffee table resembles the mini version I have in the newest dollhouse. It’s a pretty hip looking place and ‘on trend’ with the cool light fixture on the ceiling and the modern look to the furniture.

After I took this photo, I moved the coffee table closer to the sofa. I love the photo of Manhattan with the Flatiron Building front and center. As I write this, we are currently sitting side by side on the sofa. But I will eventually, I think, choose to blog at the little white table in the first photo. The floors are black wood laminate and they’re pretty cool looking.

The bedroom – it has a cool light on the ceiling as well, but I neglected to get it in this picture. I ended up moving the bed to the left so there was room for each of us to maneuver around the bed. There’s a nice sized closet with lots of room for clothes. There is also a linen closet right outside the bedroom and a coat closet next to the bathroom. The bathroom is very tiny, too difficult to photograph, and the kitchen is pretty tiny, too, but I will grab a photo of it later today.

All in all, we’re thrilled.

After settling in – I did a lot of the unpacking and  ‘stowing away’ while Don drove the car to a parking garage nearby – we spent some time thanking our lucky stars for this place which is only a few blocks from the rehearsal rooms and the theater. It had previously been occupied by the Music Director of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and when the show closed and he moved out, it was offered as a possibility for Margaritaville. It’s all in the timing.

The view out one of the windows. That’s the fire escape you’re looking through.

Eventually, we Ubered up to the Upper West Side to visit The Sill before it closed. The Sill is a neat little plant shop. The original shop is on Hester Street on the Lower East Side, but they just opened a new branch on Amsterdam and 81st.

Specializing in apartment friendly plants, it’s light and airy and very hip.

We bought a ZZ plant and a Chinese Evergreen (both easy care because Don will forget to water them) for the apartment. I may have to add a monstera deliciosa next time I’m here.

Broadway on the Upper West Side.

We made a brief stop at Barnes & Noble (the same branch where I got to meet Louise Penny) and then moseyed over to Central Park. We were hungry and I realized that I was dehydrated and I was getting cranky and tired, so we grabbed some chinese food at a restaurant called The Cottage. Delicious! Felt much better afterwards and we headed back to the apartment to watch a little television and then we hit the sack.

I slept surprisingly well (the mattress is a little too hard for me) and we’re having a lazy morning. I’ll be here until tomorrow morning (I think.) That could change. We’ll see how it goes. Don starts rehearsals tomorrow at 10 am, so he’ll be gone all day, but I could do some more exploring, couldn’t I? On the other hand, back at the ranch I need to chop up the melting ice on our driveway, so we’ll see. It isn’t cheap to garage a car here and we have that darned parking ticket to pay.

Happy Sunday.