Week One in The Big Apple.

Well, family and friends...we made it our first week!

I have lots to share, but I'd like to start by sharing my first big realization... that I am no longer around the ones I love. Just days after our big move, my best friend shockingly lost her father. For the first time, I was not a quick car ride away from the ones I love the most. Even though I am physically in NYC, my heart has been in Dallas these past few days. I am beyond thankful for technology and for being able to stay in touch with those nearest and dearest to my heart. Praise God for His continued support these past few days and I ask that you keep Brenda and her family in your prayers.

In a mini-van we go...
Yep, that's right. We drove a mini-van. To New York....no, not just to NYC...through NYC. I think we deserve some type of medal. Note to self: street lanes and traffic lights are just a "guide" in The Big Apple. As you know, we pretty much sold everything we owned, donated a ton to charity and stuffed our little mini-van as full as we could...and when I say stuffed...I mean we popped open the windows accidentally because it was so full. Upon leaving Texas, we picked up Whataburger one last time...until we meet again!

Our mini-van on our street in NYC!

Whataburger...until we meet again!

Pickle and Sundae sleeping on the trip!

Food
Is absolutely overwhelming here. It is everywhere you look! Every ethnicity you could think of and every hour of every single day. It's awesome. You can also order just about everything to your door!

Dinner at a Chinese Food Restaurant on 79th Street (our street).

Public Transit
Is getting easier. Richard can definitely navigate the city better than me...thanks to smart phones, you can look up subway, bus and walking routes as you go. This is so helpful! I think buses are my favorite here. I'm getting better with the subway. I hate taxis.

Of course, our first picture in the city and Richard doesn't look at the camera! LOL :)

Laundry...

Has been easy! As you know, we were using a community laundry facility in Dallas (due to our CARES placement). The machines here are SO much better and cost less. Who would have thought!? Richard picked up a super cool "laundry backpack"! 

For the love of furniture...
We have spent 10+ hours at IKEA in one week (I'm not kidding). We've had 3 meals in that store...and taken a subway, bus, water taxi and taxi to get to and from IKEA in Brooklyn. I am happy to say that all of our furniture was delivered yesterday...now we just have to put it together (the fun part)! We have never been so excited to see furniture! Furnishing 450 square feet was fun - but definitely a challenge b/c everything needs to have a dual function.

Water Taxi to IKEA

Our apartment: wall to wall furniture and boxes

 
 
Pickle and Sundae do NYC!
The dogs are adjusting pretty well (although they will be happy when we have furniture too)! They have both been going to the bathroom outside on the concrete without any problems. We do have a huge park a few blocks away from us with 2 dog runs. They liked the "little dogs" dog run...not a fan of the "bigger dogs" dog run. However, Sundae doesn't really like to leave our side and Pickle just likes to chase balls around...the other dogs just get in her way! We also met another couple our age that moved from Dallas to NYC a year ago and they have a doxie too! :) 

We saw this sign at Macy's (the largest Macy's in the world) while buying our mattress! Too cute.

Dallas Friends
We have already seen several friends from Dallas due to work trips and pre-planned vacations! What a comfort to see familiar faces during such a big transition. That was a huge blessing!

Lunch with Annie and Kyle at Lenox Hill Grill in the Upper East Side.

Meeting Amber at Grand Central Station!

Drinks and wings with Steven at Blondie's in the Upper West Side. The wings are great here!!

Weather
The temperature drastically dropped a few days after we got here...it is COLD. Well, Richard loves the weather. I'm freezing. Ha! We also got stuck in the rain without proper rain gear...however, that won't happen again! Check out Sundae in her cute raincoat!

 As you know, NYC does not have central AC. We bought 2 AC units from Home Depot (yes! there is a Home Depot in the city!). They were installed today - woohoo! We have been told it gets very hot here in the summer and we will be happy with our purchase!

Overall

Everything is going well. It has been a very long transition process and I am sure it will take us a little while to get settled and into a normal routine. I've definitely had my moments due to lack of sleep, not having a functional places to live and adjusting to a new city. One of the biggest adjustments is walking all over the city (after a week, I am finally no longer sore)! Living in NYC is definitely a different lifestyle and takes a lot of learning...we have learned so many things in one week! We are still very excited about our new adventure, getting plugged into a church (we already tried one out) and living in this exciting city! Everyone here has been so nice and love hearing all the accents. NYC is such a melting pot - we love it. Stay tuned for more details.... 

The first church we tried!

Saying Goodbye to Dallas

I've never experienced a move before and I believe even if you have, each stage of your life is so different. Richard and I are experiencing a mixture of pure excitement, wonder and joy about our NYC adventure...but a very bittersweet feeling leaving our wonderful nest of good friends and family. During this time I thought everything would go by so fast, but it has been quite the opposite. I have been enjoying every minute of dinner with friends, birthday celebrations, church services, bachelorette parties and just seeing people... much more than I have ever appreciated. Friendships and family relationships are such a work in progress and take time to develop and moving to a new city feels like you are starting over again. In my moments of anxiety, I have been reminded by friends that have moved away that you are gaining a new experience and a new network... you aren't losing what you have worked so hard to build...you are just making it bigger and better!

It's funny... when you prepare to leave a city,

you start to see all the reasons you love a city and it's uniqueness.

We've also been told by other "traveling" couples that when you move away from everyone you know ~ you each rely on one another more than ever before...building a new strength in your relationship. Richard and I have been thinking about what we want to get out of our time in NYC and what we want to accomplish. We have started our little list and hope to share those experiences with you in the upcoming months as we head down our journey together. We are pretty pumped!

Here is a glimpse into our lives as we prepare to leave Dallas...

Goodbye Lunch With Our Families :: Tex-Mex Style!

Goodbye Dinner @ Gloria's With Prit & Dana
(2 very sweet ladies I worked with at the City of Mesquite in the Fire Dept)

Goodbye Lunch @ Ali Baba's with my Community Service / Historic Mesquite Crew!

Richard heading off to NYC to meet with our broker and find an apartment!

St. Patty's Day Parade with Alisa, Brandee & Amy!

Richard boo-ing the NY Rangers! :) Our niece, Chloe, was SO ready for some cake at our Going Away Lunch!

Our super cute cake that Bren made! Love her and her talents!

Our "Going Away Fiesta"!

Our "Going Away Fiesta" included a pinata, playing Loteria (Mexican BINGO), Cascarones (basically throwing confetti filled eggs at each other...yep, look at that amazing shot up there) and other fun games! 

Our "Southern Style Farewell" included a crawfish boil and frying just about every food you can think of!
 Fried PB&J and  Pickles were two of my favs!

Our "Southern Style" Farewell!

Saying Goodbye to Sean at our fav spot - Pluckers!

Saying goodbye to Jessa at "Into My Garden Tea Room" in Downtown Plano!

Saying goodby to Grammy at her farewell concert!

My Capital One co-workers!

Goodbye Happy Hour with Richard's Co-Workers!

Richard's co-workers gave him a goodbye sign with a mini-van when they found
out we were driving to NYC in one! :)

Saying Goodbye to Christie & Frank :: Our friends we met in the CARES Program!

Walking Sonny home one last time... It has been such a blessing developing a relationship with her! The night before we left, she brought tons of food (as usual) and two dresses, fingernail polish and cooking pans for us. So thoughtful.

Goodbye Texas!

Jessa goes to New Orleans, Richard goes to New York

New Orleans


I had the opportunity to travel to New Orleans for my job! The retreat was fantastic. We received a tour of the city, looked at the work Capital One has been doing through various nonprofits in the city and experienced wonderful food and fun nightlife! The best part of the trip was doing a deep dive into Charter Schools in New Orleans (including Capital One's interaction model with them) and the amazing work our team has done with the Bayou District Foundation creating Columbia Parc (President Obama has even toured it...even if you don't like him, it's still pretty cool!).

Here is the story of the creation of the Bayou District Foundation:

In the Fall of 2005, in the months after Hurricane Katrina’s devastating hit on the Gulf Coast, a group of civic-minded New Orleans residents formed the Bayou District Foundation. Their vision was to assist in the rebirth of the City of New Orleans by helping to restore the areas in and around New Orleans City Park. Today that vision is a reality. Bayou District Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit whose members include highly engaged community leaders within both the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana.




Bayou District Foundation is constructing a mixed income residential community on the site of the former St. Bernard Public Housing Development and in surrounding neighborhoods. Bayou District Foundation is building a world class 0-5 early education center for 150 low income children and is working with New Schools for New Orleans to introduce a K-8 charter to the Pilotland neighborhood. To complete this 'cradle to college' pipeline; BDF is partnering with the Orleans Parish School Board and the Recovery School District to bring a world class college prep high school to the Bayou District. The Bayou District Foundation effort also includes the restoration of New Orleans City Park’s golf facilities.


Pictures are on this website of the community that we were able to tour: Columbia Parc




Trip Highlights: Parkway Bakery & Tavern for Po-boys in Mid-City, Breakfast at Ruby Slipper (I had an omelet filled with shrimp), Meeting with the Bayou District Foundation, Tour of Columbia Parc (the place-based initiative Capital One has been working on to restore a post-Katrina neighborhood), Tour of Gentilly and Lower Ninth Ward, Lunch-n-Learn on Charter Schools with New Schools for New Orleans, Dinner at Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House, Karaoke Bar on Bourbon Street, Blue Dot Donuts and Lunch @ Emeril’s!

Bourbon Street, View from my hotel (Loew's), Street in New Orleans, and yummy dessert!

The awesome welcome kit our New Orleans team provided - all New Orleans-themed!

Columbia Parc

9th Ward - very cool eco-friendly homes....very expensive. Brad Pitt has a home in this area.

My first "chicken 'n' waffles" experience...it was good!

9th Ward - very cool eco-friendly homes....very expensive. Brad Pitt has a home in this area.

One of the new apartments in Columbia Parc (nice, huh?).

Columbia Parc

New York


Richard had a busy time in NYC! He met with a broker Monday - Wednesday searching for an apartment...they looked at over 30 apartments! He said he was sore from all the walking. We are so happy that our #1 pick (based on location, price, dog-friendly area, square footage) is the apartment we got! It will for sure be a different atmosphere than we are used to, but we are SO excited ! On Thursday and Friday, Richard worked from the NYC Office and had dinner with his new team. He had the opportunity to try a variety of food each night and swears he lost 4 lbs from all the walking he did! He also saw dauchshunds everywhere he went. :)

The entrance to our NYC apartment building!!

Richard preparing for his 3-day apartment search in NYC...check out his super cool spiral!

When Richard wasn't apartment searching, he was exploring the city at night!

Our NYC Apartment!! WOOHOO! Upper East Side in Manhattan!

Food Highlights: Shake Shack, Gray's Papaya, Ray's Pizza,
 Random Hot Dog Vendor, Mughlai, Nanoosh and BlueWater Grill

The crazy amount of paperwork we had to complete for our apartment!

February Fun

Happy Heart Day!

We decided to go on a "duck hunt" this Valentine's! We've never cooked duck before...so we thought we would give it a try! We spent the Saturday night before Valentine's Day shopping at Whole Foods for a duck and yummy sides. Whole Foods now has a wine bar in the middle of the store...you can drink a glass of wine while shopping. So fun!

Duck Hunting!

Getting ready to put the duck in the oven!

YUM

Beard Contest

Richard's beard contest has come to an end. The official voting began this week on TPN's facebook page. Richard is up for: "Best Named Beard", "Best Lumberjack Beard" and "Best Ultimate Beard"

"The Wife Shield"

Kristi's Baby Shower

Our close friend's Kristi and Ben are about to have baby #1! We are SO excited for them. We can't wait to meet Miss Kaylie Petty!

Babyshower Fun!

Jude's 2nd Birthday

We can't believe our sweet little nephew is already 2 years old! Time sure does fly. =)

Such a funny picture! Jude wasn't too sure about his new bike and helmet.

Jude LOVED the balloons!

Mindy's Bachelorette Party

Richard and I are in our friend's Mindy and Evan's wedding this upcoming April! We are so excited for them. :) We celebrated with manis/pedis at Polished, the Omni Dallas, dinner at Hattie's and nightlife nearby!

One of my closest friends is getting married! Fun night out in Dallas with the bridal party.

Pink Pandas

Richard joined a kickball league with another CARES Team that we have become friends with over the past 2 years! They are named the "Pink Pandas"...ha!

CARES

This is our second to last month serving as a CARES Team - very bittersweet as we are just getting to develop relationships with residents in the Corners/Corners East community.

Homemade Italian Night was a huge hit!

Dessert Night for Valentine's Day!

Pickle and Sundae

Pickle and her new toy! She loves playing with Richard!

Sundae is such a lap dog! What a cutie.

We're Movin' To NYC!!!

We are beyond excited to announce that we are moving to New York City!! As you know, we have been talking about our huge desire to move to NYC for over 2 years now. This is a move that we have been in deep prayer and research about... God has provided direction and we are ready! 

Here's the how, why and when:

How: Job relocation. Richard works for an Omnicom Marketing/Advertising Agency, TPN. He has accepted a NYC-based position on the digital marketing team supporting Bank of America. Jessa works in the Community Affairs department of Capital One. They have agreed to transfer her position to a work from home position in the NY-market!

Why: Big dreams. Richard's desire to move to a big city came true when he was offered a full-scholarship to UT-Dallas. His big city dreams have continued to grow and since his first visit to NYC in 2007, he fell in love with the largest and most diverse city in the world. Not to mention, this is a huge career opportunity for him! NYC is the heart of the Ad Agency world and gaining experience in the NY market is huge. Jessa has never moved outside of the Dallas area. Throughout college, the CARES program and her career, she has continued to meet people from all over the world and all walks of life. Her desire to experience new culture has continued to grow with each passing year. NYC is also a hub for the nonprofit realm. Just like Richard, gaining experience in the NY market is huge for her career. 

When: Soon. Richard's transition period is April. We will fly up to NYC in March and lease an apartment and begin the move the following month. We are so blessed to know people in the area and more specifically, people that have made the move from Dallas to NYC. This will help guide our new journey. 

***

Are we anxious? Of course! Who wouldn't be with such a life-changing move! But, we are so excited for the opportunity to meet new friends, experience a new way of life, enjoy one of the most dog-friendly cities in the world and dive into history, culture and food! 

What about the dogs? They are getting excited. Ha! We are in the process of buying warm winter clothes, shoes and rain jackets for the little ones!

Are you coming back to Texas? Eventually, yes! I mean c'mon....we have to come back for the Mexican food at some point. =) 

Does this impact your plan on starting a family? Absolutely not! A valuable lesson we have learned by example from friends and family is that you can start your family anywhere! Whether that be in Nicaragua or Japan while on a long-term mission, Michigan for a job relocation, or Texas after leaving your friends and family up North. This has no impact on our timeline. 

What about a church? One of our top priorities! We already have church recommendations for the area and can't wait to get plugged in! We ask for your prayers on starting our church search. 

Are you no longer a CARES Team? This chapter has come to a close. We have been a CARES Team through Apartment Life, Inc. for over 2 1/2 years. Most couples commit to a 2 year period. We are very sad to leave apartment ministry, but have gained so much from the program. It was a life-changing experience that we will never forget. 

So, when are you buying your plane ticket to come visit us? :) Everyone is invited! 

We want to share this experience with you! We appreciate your support, prayers and excitement as we enter this new chapter in our lives.