my fabulous apartment

Posted on May 29, 2009 by chloe elizabeth

When I decided that I would be headed to NY for the summer, I started to stress about finding somewhere to live. Having lived alone for the past 4-ish years, and knowing plenty of people in NYC to have a fabulous social life sans roommates, I wanted to find a place to live on my own. So, I got on the Google group for the singles in my church in NYC and posted a “sublet wanted” ad. I got a few pretty quick responses. Thanks to the oh so fabulous Sarah, I found a great place! (It’s nice to have a person “on the ground” to help out in these situations.)

Said fabulous apartment is a studio located in Greenwich Village. It is teeny-tiny, but perfect sized for me for the summer. It’s a fourth floor walk up in an older building that has lots of character (and characters…I can currently hear neighbors fighting in the courtyard–it sounds like a breakup). I am seriously in love with it!!! Even if it is just the slightest bit slanted…ha ha ha.

And here are some pictures (straight out of the camera…no time to edit these, so I apologize for how dark they are) to show you what it looks like:

Yes, this is the view from my front door…with the door open. I told you it’s small. But notice the AC unit in the window…that’s the only thing that would have been a real deal breaker.

My cute fireplace (excuse the pile of clothes…I still need some hangers).

From the corner looking toward the door. Notice that I have no microwave, no disposal (you can’t see that, but I’m telling you), and a mini-fridge. It’s a good thing I’ve lived without these things before, or this would be really difficult. 🙂

View from the bedroom/living room/kitchen window.

My hallway…which leads to my closet and bathroom (the doors of which don’t close on their own).

My bathroom is actually quite large. I love it! plenty of room to be organized and move around.

Another bathroom view.

And the view from the bathroom.

My apartment is seriously awesome (even if it does slant). I love my neighborhood. I love the fact that it’s at the back of the building (through a courtyard). I love that it backs up to more apartments, instead of a street. It’s in the heart of Greenwich Village, but totally secluded at the same time. Pretty much amazing!!!

last days in p-town

Posted on May 24, 2009 by chloe elizabeth

My brother and sister-in-law came up for her brother’s wedding. I was happy to stick around P-town a little longer to help out with childcare. In case you can’t tell, I seriously adore these two munchkins. We had so much fun running around my dad’s backyard on Friday. It was a great way to spend my time before heading off to New York, which happens in about five hours…I suppose I should finish packing?

These next few pictures tell a little story. My nephew was upset because he wanted to play with the dogs’ stick (my brother was playing a game of fetch with them) and we wouldn’t let him. But I figured out how to make it all better.

Pouting on the steps.

Deciding that sitting on the steps while everyone else is having fun wasn’t totally worth it.

Me sneaking up behind him to “scare” him (he loves to “scare” and “be scared”).

Which led to a game of chase, that ended with us wrestling on the ground.

My niece is getting so big!!! She is just as crazy as my nephew, too. These two little Las Vegas babies sure loved playing outside on the cool grass.

My nephew decided he needed to steal the stick from the dogs…two different times. He was so pleased with himself. It was hilarious!

A little girl just loving life.

This was a great way to spend my time before heading off to New York, which happens in about five hours…I suppose I should finish packing?

a hike to stewart falls

Posted on May 20, 2009 by chloe elizabeth

I called my friend AnnMarie when I got back to P-town to see if she wanted to get together for lunch, or maybe go for a hike. I’ve always wanted to hike to Stewart Falls, but just never have. (Don’t you love how many things we all “want to do” that never happen because we don’t make plans.) She opted for hiking. So this morning, I got my overtired, insomniac self out of bed at 7:40 am (working is going to be painful if I can’t figure out what my issues with sleep are) and met up with AM.

It was absolutely beautiful. The weather, which we questioned initially, held and we were able to hike in perfect conditions; cool, slightly moist, and a beautiful covering of clouds. It was just what I needed to get me out of my little funk. I love just having time to talk, especially to someone whose thoughts and opinions I really value, and it was so great to be able to do it in such beautiful surroundings. I felt refreshed both mentally and physically afterward (once we got back to the car after taking a loop we didn’t realize would be quite as long as it was).

The sign says 1.5 miles. What we didn’t know was how long the walk from Sundance up to the car was going to be. Turns out around 1.5 miles. And after the 2 miles we’d already hiked at this point, the sun that eventually came out when we were on the road (which was uphill the whole way) with no trees to shade us, we were ready to be done.

But we both decided that the extra mileage (we’d planned to just go there and back) was well worth the better views. It’s so easy to forget how beautiful a place is when it’s right in your backyard. I think I might actually miss these mountains this summer. Thankfully, I’ll be back in time to see the leaves change.I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but if you’ve never been up to Sundance in Utah (not the film festival which takes place mainly in Park City, but the actual Sundance), it’s so worth it.

And now my question is, why when there are so many things to get out and do when we want to be social, do we so often opt for food? (Okay…in NY, I get it. But not here.)

photography class

Posted on May 16, 2009 by chloe elizabeth

I’m taking a class from one of my besties, Candice. It is run through jessicasprague.com. It’s called Portraiture 101. I am LOVING it. I feel like I am learning so much. I will be taking her basic class next, Oh Shoot! (I’m going in reverse order.)

Anyway, my first week of shooting was with my sister’s kids, so I will not be posting any of those here. But when I stopped in Vegas on my way back to P-town, I forced my three-year-old nephew into modeling for me. (Yes, it was forced.)

Here are a couple of shots, showing what a difference a scrim can make in outdoor shots. The top is without the scrim (he wouldn’t uncover his eyes because of the sunlight…I don’t blame him), then two with the scrim–and I totally put the ladybug on his face.

my nephew…the breakdancer

Posted on May 15, 2009 by chloe elizabeth

We were down on the Strip tonight (I’m in Vegas), getting some delicious ice cream. When we came out, there was some music blaring from the outdoor bar, right next to Harrah’s. My niece (age 15 months) and nephew (age 3.5) both started dancing. There were some women in the bar (on the other side of a little fence) who started watching them.

And suddenly, out of nowhere, with no prior instruction or any way he would have seen this, Tannon starts to breakdance. Yes! BREAKDANCE. This got a huge response out of the women…which just egged him on. Breakdancing it was from then on. We were all (the grown ups) laughing to the point of tears. It was so funny.

These photos aren’t the best quality (I should have turned my flash on much sooner…so most of them are pretty blurry, but you can definitely tell these kids are moving). I’m posting them anyway because I think they are hilarious. They are in chronological order…from the two dancing together, to Tannon ruling the breakdancing world. Love it!

P.S. In case you were wondering, I do love all of my nieces and nephews, but my sister has asked that I not post pictures of her kiddies on my blog (for reasons I completely understand), unless I go private (which I don’t want to do)…just know that I had a fabulous two weeks in AZ with all of my nieces and nephews down there.