Rooftop

Manhattan sunset 

Our apartment building has a great rooftop deck with amazing views!  We've spent some time up there soaking in the sun and capturing some amazing photos.  There's also a great grilling area complete with a refrigerator which we've yet to use.  I'm sure the inspiration will strike soon.
The rooftop is an urban oasis 32+ stories up in the air.  You can feel the warm winds blow, and if you listen closely, you can hear the hum of the city below.  It is a perfect spot for reading, laying in the sun or enjoying a glass of wine at sunset.


Stephen likes to jump over or go through the gates that block off some parts of the roof, of course.  This is the same guy that I have pics of at the very edge of the Grand Canyon.  Shouldn't surprise me.    He captured these great pics of the East River and Yankee Stadium "illegally."    :)

View of the East River

The Rebel Photographer

Yankee Stadium lit up in the distance

Our First Week in the City

We are finally here!  We've had a blast so far and it honestly feels a bit like we're on vacation.  Slowly, we're becoming accustomed to life in our new city.

When we first arrived in the apartment, we just had 3 suitcases and 2 cats!  Luckily, Stephen had planned ahead.  He was great!  He ordered some things he knew we needed right away from amazon and they were waiting for us when we got to the apartment.  The rest of our things finally arrived from Dallas on Sunday.  Living out of suitcases and with limited furniture for that long was difficult. But, we made it and now we are busy unpacking and making this our home.  There are only a few boxes left to go!

Here's our apartment before  our stuff arrived. Our apartment is up on the 27th floor and we have some amazing views. Even the cats enjoy it!  We can see Central Park and the Empire State Building from our windows. The sunsets have been beautiful! I'm so excited to have my camera now to capture some of them. 


One benefit to not having any of your kitchen items is that we've gotten to eat at some incredible restaurants! :)  I had my first NY bagel at a bagel shop just around the corner.  Something truly special.  The moment any of you come to visit, I know where to take you first.  Whole wheat bagel (1 of about 20 flavors) toasted with butter and 'schmear' on the side.  You'll be in heaven.


We've had Chinese, bbq, sushi, pastrami sandwiches at the famous Pastrami Queen  (probably the 2nd place I'd take you), hot dogs, pizza, pasta, burgers, frozen yogurt and we haven't even left the Upper East Side.  This city is filled with amazing restaurants and food no matter what your budget.  I'm just glad we've been walking everywhere to help offset this epicurean adventure. 

Pastrami Queen

Picture of my classroom, still lots of work to be done

I've been able to meet with my team a few times and they seem great!  Our philosophies seem to match up very well and I think I made the right choice.  I'll be teaching 1st grade, so it will be a bit of a change.  I have 16 kids in my class and I also have a full time assistant teacher. My school  is just a 10 minute walk from our apartment, also.  Sounds great now, but hopefully I feel the same way on rainy, snowy or cold days!