UWS

Upper West Side On the Horizon

After a brief trip to NYC, my first time away from my girls, we fell in love, with the Upper West Side.  I always thought that was an "urban" myth (pun intended) to fall in love with a city; but it is true!  So YAY we have a decision.  We don't get to immediately move into our perfect dream home (HA), first things first.  We have to cross a few MILLION t's and dot a few i's.  

We are about two weeks out from the actual moving crew packing us up! Is this really happening? Are we going to fit a 3 bedroom home with ump-teen closets in a 2 bedroom, 1 bath?  We shall see.  My main task these days is downsizing, downsizing, downsizing.  This is a task most Texans would never be asked to do.  Around here, we get older and gain more and more square footage.  This is almost a rite of passage around here, more land, bigger house, MORE car garage.  Instead we are opting for less of everything!  What do I take, what do I store, what to give away?  It is all making me numb to things in general.  I don't even know what I like and don't like anymore.  I have realized most things can be replaced if need be. One of my good friends had a nice tip:


If it is less than $25, and you haven't used it in six months, get rid of it!

There's a handy little site called:

www.apartmenttherapy.com

If you haven't checked it out, you will surely catch the DIY, OCD, FYI vibe for small spaces and decorating tips.  These people are seriously creative.  It's Pinterest with the actual instructions.  

Now I have always been one to love a good purge, but this is another level.  It is amazing how many tiny things one can acquire - pictures, craft supplies, books, makeup, costumes... Where does all this stuff come from? Do I have a serious shopping problem? Maybe...but that is neither here nor there - the stuff has to go.  Another problem: two mini-me's who equally like STUFF.  

Anyway, I think we have finally narrowed down a neighborhood, which gets me really excited! As I have mentioned before, I love visualizing all the different possibilities that can transpire.  I love dreaming about the different restaurants we will eat in, the parks we will go to, the museums we will visit.  Of course in my mind, things such as double wide strollers, sticky fingers, no naps, and tantrums don't come up.  Real life, I know, will not be quite so shiny - but it will still be an adventure nonetheless! 

UWS while house-hunting

So the things that drew me to the Upper West Side (UWS is what the cool kids say - #uws), were the wonderful pre-war buildings, top notch elementary schools, and WIDE sidewalks.  In our particular neighborhood of Houston, off the Washington corridor, the sidewalk department is seriously lacking, as in THERE ARE NONE.  When I am not dead lifting the stroller up on a curb, I am dodging a low hanging, untrimmed branch that is trying to decapitate me.  So obviously I was drawn to the well-groomed, grandiose UWS.  Go big or go home! (In three years that is.)  Now, I do realize that these sidewalks may be obsolete if ten feet of snow occur.  But please let me continue to have this fantasy for a while!  It had a strangely old-world, residential feel, different from the feel of the hustling and bustling downtown or midtown area.  If I can't have the suburbs, at least let me have somewhat quiet.

Another not so great thing will be the shockingly small square footage, and most likely no washer/dryer or CAR! GASP! Not being able to drive to the grocery store? Gym? TARGET? IS THERE A TARGET? Whatever will I do without a Target, Chick-Fil-A, or YMCA? Man, I'll have to get some new hobbies.

Meanwhile, I have a whole house here in Houston to try to show to potential renters while managing two toddlers whose primary job is to "unclean" what I have just put away. ;) I love them for it (normally) but this is a challenge.  Somewhere I heard cleaning up after babies is like brushing your teeth with Oreos.  My two (almost three) year old is sort-of understanding the concept of the move in that it will occur as part of her birthday celebration (which cracks me up), like this is all for her!!!

Well, soon my whole house will be covered in post-its (storage, temporary housing, NYC...).  A moving truck is on our horizon.  We can do it!