Monday, June 22, 2015

Settlin'

This week's post title courtesy of Sugarland

I'm typing and posting this from our new home! We has interwebs!!  Man...so much faster than Comcast down in Arlington, PLUS I don't need to have the ethernet cable plugged in :P

Whew, so we are definitely settling into the new place.  Kamil was sweet enough to put up with my design tastes and hung up pictures on the walls (my stud found studs, hehe) so we're feeling a LOT more at home.  Still haven't spent the night, as we are sans bed, but it's getting there!  I'm tempted to pull out the bed-couch just so we can call this home, but not sure we want to do that yet.  But hopefully we can sleep on a bed soon!  We are planning an Ikea trip for tomorrow to buy a frame, and I'm praying that the king size bed will fit in our bedroom, since you never know for sure...

Here are some photos of the progress:


 
 On a side note, does anyone have any suggestions for transferring iPhone photos to my computer more efficiently? I'm thinking I may have to get to know the "cloud" better because right now I have to email the photos to myself, then download them, then upload them to Blogger, then post.  Thoughts?

Saturday I got to know one of the maintenance guys here, as the a/c wasn't working properly:

That white stuff is ICE, man. So we had to have it defrosted, and they should be back today to finish it up.  And hopefully we can entertain some friends soon!  But first we gotta make some... ;)

We got to see my family last week for Hannah's birthday, so here are some baby photos for your enjoyment as well:

 the birthday girl all tuckered out

I leave on Wednesday (Kamil's first day of orientation) to go back to DC for some more weddings, and then it'll be back to New York for good!

That's it for now,

Loves,

LL

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

On the Long Island

Had to get a quick post in now that I have a chance to sit back and breathe for a minute in the midst of this move.  We're about to have our "obiad" with the family, as Kamil and I have been camping out at his parents' until we get a bed of our own.  Which was purchased today!  So, progress! :)

It's weird to think that we are actually here to live, rather than just on another visit to see his parents. And, of course, to see Puszek, their dog (pronounced "poo-shek", the name literally means tiny speck of dust in Polska).


Isn't he cute?

Kamil's parents were gracious enough to come down and help move our stuff into the U-Haul, and then they even drove the truck back up to New York! 

Hi Mama! Hi Tata!

I'm still reeling by how. much. stuff. we have, and I'm creating a new Goodwill pile as I unpack and try to find room for it all in our new place.  More pictures will come once things are more put away.


So each day we've been back and forth from Chez Stefanowski to Chez Stefanowski (haha).  We've been trying out different routes to see which is fastest.  Unfortunately there's no quick interstate to take, but I've enjoyed seeing the different little businesses along the way.  Also, SO many Dunkin Donuts!  I don't know how I'll resist the temptation to stop by one every day, especially as I go through coffee withdrawal, as Poles don't properly enjoy their java.  Adding more water to coffee left sitting in the pot for two hours does not a happy Lynettka make. :P


Here's the outside of our apartment building.  I love love love our little stairway (although I've already tripped over my feet running upstairs, lol) and I can't wait to hang paintings along the wall.  So, things are coming along!

Tomorrow morning we head to Pennsylvania to see our niece on her birthday, so more driving.  But it'll be a nice change from unpacking.

More later when we're back in New York!

Loves,

LL

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Movin' on up!

Last weekend's trip in Savannah was ahh-mazing and so much better than I expected!  No offense to Georgia, but with the packing and moving, the thought of a looong drive was upping my stress levels.  But Kamil and I enjoyed the town so much that we added an extra night to our stay!  Those who know me, know that I'm not the most spontaneous person, but I was really happy with our splurge :)

Quick re-cap of the trip:

We arrived Friday and had dinner down by the water.  Saturday we toured a bit of the town, which included seeing this house and also the homestead of Flannery O'Conner.  When the city was built, the founder included 24 planned squares in a grid throughout town, 22 of which now serve as pretty little parks every few streets.  It's so cute!  It's like a bigger, cleaner, more peaceful version of Old Town Alexandria. Love!

The wedding was Saturday night and was hot hot hot but at least the rain stayed at bay.  Here is the required photo of us:


 ready to dance!

We were the old married couple who left shortly after the cake cutting.  Apparently some folks partied until after midnight.  Crazy kids ;)

Sunday we checked out the Cathedral for Mass, and ohmygosh it is a GORGEOUS church!  (like, seriously, Fr. Rippy, this is what a Cathedral should look like...ahem)

this doesn't do it justice

It's been nicknamed the "Sistine of the South" due to its beautiful artwork throughout.  Beautiful Catholic architecture in the heart of Dixie? Yes, please :)

After Mass there was a wedding brunch, and then we had the whole rest of the day to explore some more, do some window shopping, and just relax and not worry about the packing awaiting us back in Arlington.  Also!  Savannah is a neat town in that it allows for open alcohol on the streets, so after dinner we ordered beverages to go and continued our tour by the waterfront.  Pretty neat!

enjoying a peach Long Island iced tea

So Monday we began our long drive home and made it back around dinnertime.  Since then it's been pretty intense packing-mode for me, and Kamil has done his fair share as well.  Also, Deidre treated me with a day away to a winery in Manassas.  We enjoyed the beautiful landscape, and also being one of very few people around on a work day.  And then I had a "last" dinner with some ladies at Austin Grill in Old Town.

thanks for the wine, Deidre!

It's strange because I keep having these good-bye events, but it's not really good-bye because we're not leaving until Monday, and I'll be back a few weeks later anyway.  So it's still surreal that I'm moving.  I'll be glad once we're settled and I can get into a routine.  How I miss routine!  But I'm definitely enjoying being spoiled by all the time I've had with Kamil :)

p.s. I'm really excited about this show, is anyone else?

Loves for now,

LL

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Georgia on my mind

Song titles/lyrics are always my go-to for titles, even back in college for term papers.  It's amazing the words that stick with you over the years.  Last week when Kamil and I were driving to Pittsburgh we decided to actually use the "free" 6-month trial of XM radio and listened to the 90s on 9 station and I impressed him with the songs I still have memorized after all this time...

Anyway.  Tomorrow morning we leave for Georgia for the 1st wedding of the month.  I hope the drive doesn't wear on us too too much!  I'm excited to see the city and do some exploring, since the wedding isn't until Saturday evening.  Spanish moss, here we come! ;)



This week has been pretty relaxing as we got some things taken care of for the move.  I've packed a few boxes, but there are many many more to go.  We also got a couples' massage which was a nice treat on Monday.  The weather here has been very bleah so it's been a good week for getting things done.  Although, I can't complain about the weather too much because it's cooled everything down which is MUCH appreciated.  Unfortunately, it's looking like the weather will be similar in Georgia this weekend, with rain and high temperatures all three days :P  At least there will be Chick Fil A's nearby!  I'm hoping to get my fill in before we move to the north where they are no more :(

Deidre came over last night with wine, which was a great break from the packing.  She and I are going to get together again next week, but it's feeling like all of my encounters with folks are part of one. long. good-bye.  Sunday was the choir's farewell and I bawled my way through that.  Then Tuesday we had dinner with Dan and Shannon and they gave us little gifts for going away.  And when I was organizing some things and going through the many (MANY!) mementos I've accumulated over the last five years, it was a little crazy realizing how much has happened in my life out here.  I found concert tickets from a show I saw before I had met Kamil and that was kind of surreal.  For all of my complaining, it's been a life-changing ride out here, and of course not all of it has been bad (although those DC drivers tried their best...). 

at the Angel Oak near Charleston, SC, during a pre-Kamil trip ;)


So yes, I will miss life out here and most especially the friendships I've cultivated over the years.  My greatest fear in the move will be finding friends on Long Island (prayer request!), since DC is such a great place for meeting young adults at a similar stage in life and finding affordable things to do and see.  Sigh, I'd best get to wrapping this post up before I get too weepy. 

Anyway, now to pack some more boxes and our suitcase for tomorrow's travels!  The Stefanowski tour continues!

Loves,

LL