Read all about it..

Firstly, apologies for my tardy post. It's been one hell of a week, mainly spent on FaceTime to the mothership! But I finally have some exciting news, Jonny and I have our wedding booked this November in London and we can't wait. I'm not going to bore you all with the details as invites will be out soon (thanks to Jenny!!) and then we'll hopefully see you all on the big day. Enough said.

So, this week I have learnt a couple of very important things: 1. Don't arrange to meet an American at 'half-past' the hour, they just don't get it - if you say half seven, they think you mean 6.30. Trust me, it causes all kinds of confusion. 2. If you're ordering a drink in a bar, don't just stay for one, the chances are if you hang around for two of three, the barman will buy you one back. Especially in the Irish bars, which as you can imagine we frequent quite regularly.

In addition to the Irish bars, we have of course ensured our stomachs are well fed. There are so many amazing places to eat. In fact, even going to the supermarket with Jonny to buy a simple dinner takes at least an hour as he stands dribbling over the deli counter and ahhh-ing at the cheeses. And on Sunday we found Smorgasburg, a Brooklyn flea food market in a place called Dumbo right near the park. Anyone who comes to visit us can expect a trip down there. It's about a 10 minute walk from our apartment and you can choose anything from pulled pork sarnies to lobster rolls and Vietnamese street food - as you can see Jonny was pretty pleased with himself.

Oh blimey, I almost forgot. The Strip House! Thanks so much to the guys who clubbed together to buy us dinner here. One of the best meals I have ever had. The 1920s setting was super plush (I felt a little underdressed in my Converse), the steak was mouth watering and even the broccoli got a few Mmm's. Delicious. And the best bit is, because we were so hungover from a night out with the British expats the evening before, we took it easy on the red wine, so have enough to go back for round 2!

This weekend we have the Margraves arriving for a couple of days (minus Luce unfortunately). I'm so excited to see them and will update you next week on what we get up to.


 

Home sweet home

Meet my first ever walk in wardrobe!! It was the thing that sold it for us, well actually mainly just me.

So we got the keys and moved into our Cobble Hill apartment yesterday. Jonny literally had tears in his eyes when the management agent called to say we could move in without the need for a guarantor or having to pay a hefty wedge to some security company to vouch for us. As you can see we are very happy!

We arrived at 9am on the dot in a taxi with all our belongings - by that I mean a couple of suitcases full of washing, two pillows and a blow-up mattress - and were greeted by our doorman Claude (Yes I have a door man), who looks exactly like Morgan Freeman - a picture will follow, as soon as I stumble home drunk one day and ask for his autograph! There is also a night one too who scarily looks like Hannibal Lector - I'll be calling Jonny to come and meet me don't worry mum.

Our apartment is 4Jn (I just had to check on the door as I'd forgotten) and if you're wondering the little 'n' stands for North building. So here it is:

                                                                         Kitchen

                                                                   
                                                                      Bedroom

Lounge

Bathroom

View from the window

And wait for it, this is where all the magic happens. My new office. Ta dah.....

Jonny's first job was of course to get the internet running, while I went out for drinks with some of the  girls that I have met. I didn't feel right leaving him on our first night but he insisted and I feel better now as he's gone to work this morning and left me with this...

We're off to find Ikea later to get the bare essentials and I have spied a few cute furniture shops that I plan to explore this weekend, so hopefully next time you see our 'apartment' - it's not a flat I keep getting told, it will look a little more welcoming. 

Thanks for dropping in!

Work and play

I feel like Carrie Bradshaw, tapping away on my computer in the hotel room as the rest of NYC carries on at a million miles an hour outside. Actually scrap that, there is not a single pair of stilettos in sight - it appears packing every jumper/cardigan/jacket I own along with my beautiful shoe collection (all except my trusty Converse and Havianas) in the sea freight boxes was a bit of an oversight. It's ok though, they'll be here in 10 WEEKS!

So Jonny started work yesterday and so far so good, although I'm not sure how much he's actually got done as we're still trying to sort out somewhere to live. Thank god we have Patrick, a little property broker - he looks about 12 - who has been tralling round Brooklyn searching for the perfect apartment for us. Well I think he's finally got there, I dropped the holding deposit off this morning so with any luck we could be residents of Cobble Hill by the beginning of next week!

Cobble Hill is a lot like Clapham or Battersea I'd say, it's the first stop on the metro over the bridge from Manhattan and is filled with one-off shops, bars, cafes and restaurants. It's also really near Brooklyn Heights, which has amazing views over the city (see above). We decided against Williamsburg in the end becuase, well lets face it, the Stone just isn't cool enough (just kidding Jonny!!), no, Cobble Hill just feels really relaxed and more us, plus it's home to Trader Jo's, a cheaper version of Whole Foods!

Last night we also dragged ourselves along to this expat meet-up group, which was happening in a bar near our hotel. I was completely expecting it to be like speed dating for friends but it was actually a lot of fun and I've even got a couple of the girls numbers so I can meet them for lunch and stuff. A great night but my head is paying for it now.

Bright lights, big city

After a teary goodbye at Heathrow - me because I will miss my fellow Margraves and Jonny, mainly because he had just drove dad's (dog-bitten) jeep into a wall - we made it through security at terminal 5 and I couldn't help but smile at the designer shops while day dreaming of the bargains I'll pick up stateside - Jonny was fine too once we got him a Guinness.

A little frazzled from the past three months of life admin, visa dilemmas and knackered from all the eating, drinking and socialising we'd done before reaching this point, getting on the plane was quite frankly a relief. The plane journey was pretty uneventful - Jonny fell asleep and I watched a nice little film that I can't remember the name of. It starred Ryan Gosling though, and before we knew it we had landed at JFK.

Breezing through immigration - none of the nightmares we were expecting - we were out on the street hailing a yellow cab and on our way to the hotel where we're staying for the first few weeks. 

Waking up on that first morning was the weirdest feeling, half like we're on holiday and half not and the last few days have been equally amazing and terrifying as we try to work out how the hell we go about setting up home in the BIG apple. Jonny's new work mates have been amazing, taking us for beers on our first afternoon and offering help in any way they can. We've managed to kit Jonny out with new shoes, trousers and a swanky new man bag courtesy of Macy's for his first day on Wed - I feel like a proud mum. 

Yesterday we started our hunt for somewhere to live, stumbling across an amazing block of new build apartments, smack bang in the centre of Williamsburg. Definitely a little out of budget but it comes complete with gym, swimming pool, games room, door man and I think there might have even been a - wait for it - wine-tasting room, so I have made it clear to Jonny I'd feel at home there. I'll have to wait and see. 

Off to the social security office tomorrow to try and make Jonny a legal alien. Eek, keep your fingers crossed, I've heard they're a little skeptical of furry northern Irish men.