Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!

Pumpkin Festival 2010

2010 was an eventful year to say the least. A year of new adventures and firsts. To name a few highlights from our First 2 1/2 months in New York…

First one-way-plane ticket (first flight with cat). First apartment in New York. still awesome.

First 30-day Unlimited Metro Card in New York – true sign of a New Yorker.

First Halloween in New York. We did arrive just a few days before but we made the most of it with a few hours volunteering at the American Museum of Natural History and a few hours hanging out at the Central Park Halloween festival. Not too shabby for our first week in the city.

Coney Island Sunset - Nov 2010

First trip to Coney Island. We had Nathan’s, we walked the boardwalk, we strolled on the beach, and we watched the sunset after putting our feet in the ocean. Definitely have to revisit this one when the weather warms up again. I don’t think I fully considered what all New York has to offer but this was a real eye opener.

First Thanksgiving in New York. First Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! We got to enjoy this holiday tradition with amazing Columbus Circle viewing thanks to a friend’s fiance and his role as one of New York’s finest at the Columbus Circle station – the officers get passes for their friends & family to view the parade from a special area and we were lucky enough to be on the list. Words cannot express how awesome that was. First winter coat in New York. First use of said winter coat.

Snoopy at the Macy's Thanks Giving Day Parade 2010

First job in New York. So far so good on that front.

Clarissa & Jessica with coffee on the Hudson

First house-guest in New York. First use of our IKEA sofa bed, which we love but hadn’t tested prior to Jessica’s arrival! The hilarity that ensued as Paul and I tried desperately to muscle the bed out and repeatedly stated our surprise since it was so easy at the store while a single strategically placed and conveniently forgotten black zip tie held two of the metal bars together was simply ridiculous. Einstein’s definition of insanity. Of course it was only funny after we found the zip tie. Before that it was enraging. hindsight. Anyway, we got to show one of my best friends the city we love. I suppose we should add to this list: first injured house-guest, lol. Jessica didn’t realize how much walking we were going to be doing and she was sure she pulled or strained something from it all. :)

First Holiday season in New York! Seeing the city dressed in twinkling lights with trees and menorahs in every window and to run into a Holiday Market at every turn has been a blast. What with our house-guest, we pushed most of our shopping to the last-minute, although to be honest that’s our norm. Despite all our best intentions we seem to always end up shopping for one another on Christmas Eve. It was so much fun though to have the trains at my command taking me from Union Square to Columbus Circle lightening fast then when I realized I needed to double back to Herald Square – no problem! Most New Yorkers I know complain about the train – it’s too infrequent, dirty, unreliable, too expensive, etc… – but I love it, so far. The recent cost hike didn’t help it’s cause though. Shopping in the hectic world of Manhattan was both intense and exhilarating. Everyone out there had the same goal – find that perfect something and get through the checkout line asap!

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First snow. First Blizzard! We did have a small sprinkle a couple of weeks before the blizzard. It was the really cute soft snow that made the city look nice but really wasn’t sticking around for long. I, of course, snapped photos on the sly with my phone and tried to contain my excitement at the white stuff. But then the blizzard came. Talk about snow! It’s still melting and re-freezing and re-melting and so on. More on that later…

First New Year’s Eve in New York. We played it low-key this year. Dinner at home, relaxing together and then the roof for the big moment. The silliness of neighboring party-ers wishing us a happy new year from their rooftop to ours, the city lights, the drunken party-ers rushing up to the roof having just missed the stroke of midnight as they were in the elevator, the popping and chiming of fiery flowers in the sky over central park, the glow of our bridges, the snow-covered rooftops, the sudden bursting of sound and light from a one story rooftop as someone lit a bottle rocket, the realization that I was on that roof embracing the new year while bidding farewell to the last with the man that I love, in the place we chose as our home was both magical and priceless. 2011 has big shoes to fill but our story of discovery is just beginning…