We're In!

The move was a success! It was a long process, but overall not bad. Actually, I'm very impressed with how efficient we really were. For some reason, this within-the-building move seemed to go much easier than the last time we moved within a building. This time, as we moved things into the new place, we put away what we could right away. Often Eric would go back to the old apartment and load up carts and boxes with stuff, while I stayed in the new place and put away the last load. So as a result, now that moving day has passed, the amount of stuff to be unpacked is minimal. There's still a lot to do, of course, but it could be much worse.

Eric and I moved everything ourselves except for the couch. His friend Jesse came over after work and helped Eric move the couch, which also went much more smoothly than we would have expected. The last time we moved that couch it was quite the ordeal, and our friend Jose tells us that the movers nearly gave up on it when they tried to move it into our original NYC apartment. But this time around, Jesse and Eric moved it masterfully and it was in the new place in no time.

Our old apartment starting to empty out

Achilles being oh-so-helpful while Eric sets up the TV in our new apartment

Achilles came back and forth with us all day long, but in general was pretty unhelpful. I said we should strap things to his back and make him do his share, but we let him off easy. All he wanted was for one or both of us to sit down so he could cuddle up and take a nap. He does have a knack for finding the soft spots to lay, though, I'll tell you that much.

Early in the day, Achilles found the only soft spot in the new apartment - a basket of clean laundry. How nice for him.

Finally! Someone sat down so Achilles could cuddle!

So, we were able to get nearly everything moved into the new place on Tuesday, then I spent yesterday bringing up some more odds and ends, cleaning the old place, and getting the cable and internet set up in the new place. When Eric got home from work we finished moving things and cleaning the old place, and this morning we handed in our keys. Farewell, old apartment.

One thing that I must mention is that apparently some wires are crossed in my head. You may have noticed that the title of my last post was "Movin' Up" because we literally moved up, from the eighth floor to the tenth. Yet for whatever reason, I got my directions backwards EVERY TIME I referred to the two apartments. If we were in the old apartment on the 8th floor, I'd talk about moving things down into the new apartment. From the 10th floor apartment, I'd want to move things up to the 8th floor. It was insane. I even kept pushing the wrong elevator buttons as I moved things back and forth. Eric quickly took to calling me "crazy woman," and I started to seriously worry about my mental health. Even now, as I've been writing this post, I've had to correct myself a couple times and make sure my directions are accurate. The only explanation I can think of for this is that when we moved within the building in DC, we moved from the 13th floor to the 2nd floor, so if I'm still thinking about that, my directions are correct. But I have no idea why that would be so ingrained in my mind that I CAN NOT get it right this time around. Sheesh.

Anyway, it will be a little while before I'm able to post pics of our completed apartment. I'm working furiously today and tomorrow to get it to some semblance of order, because my mom and stepdad are arriving tomorrow night for a weekend visit. I know they won't mind the chaos, but I hate the thought of guests in this mess. My inner hostess is screaming that everything won't be in its place, there likely won't be fresh flowers in the dining room, and our pictures won't even be hung, but what can you do? I'll do what I can. For now, this is the state the apartment is currently in:

The bedroom

Living room

Kitchen

Dining room

Despite the mess, we love this apartment. The only downsides I've discovered so far are more street noise (which makes sense because we're actually facing the street now, instead of a courtyard and other buildings), and some construction noise during the day. Street noise doesn't really bother us, though, and the construction won't last forever, so it's not a problem. Oh, and we also lost some kitchen cabinet space for the sake of the pass-thru kitchen, but we've made everything fit so it's okay. We also have extra closet space which is wonderful.

Another really nice thing about this place is the direct sunlight. We face east, so we get direct sunlight in our apartment until noon, and even after that point it's so much brighter than our last apartment. Achilles loves to lay in the sun, so he's a happy camper. And the biggest positive, of course, is the view. Oh, the beautiful, beautiful view!

Achilles, being grateful that we put his chair in the sun for his lounging pleasure

The view from our living room, looking to the right (southeast)

The view looking straight out our living room window (east)

The view to the left (northeast)

So, there's my update, and now it's time to get back to work! Enjoy your weekend, everyone. I'll be back next week to share pictures from my mom's visit!