Happy Monday gang!
After a weekend of moving, work feels like a welcome relief! Bo and I woke up this morning sore and exhausted, but smiling because we made so much progress this weekend. Our Brooklyn apartment went from feeling like a sea of boxes and chaos to a home in 48 hours thanks to the help of many friends and lots of hard work.
This is what the entire apartment looked like at noon on Friday. There was STUFF everywhere as the movers unpacked all the boxes and left things on the “nearest flat surface.”
This weekend required LOTS of iced coffee including Smith Canteen’s Nitro cold brew. It is so strong and delicious without being acidic.
We took a break from unpacking to celebrate our friend’s 30th birthday at Swan Dive, a seasonal pop-up restaurant and bar in Gowanus. Just a few blocks from our apartment the space served up delicious cocktails and an awesome Summer atmosphere. Unfortunately, the barbecue portion of the pop-up, known as Pig Pit, was pretty disappointing. Oh well, we will definitely come back for an evening of drinks with friends and just skip the food.
We woke up naturally around 7 AM, deciding to take advantage of our energy and finish organizing and setting up the kitchen before starting our long run. We are so in love with our kitchen as it has PLENTY of space to not only prepare and cook meals but also for guests to congregate around the kitchen island. It is an inviting and communal space that will definitely get a lot of action on the blog in the coming months!
We didn’t start our 9-mile run until 10 AM but luckily the breeze from the water kept us cool as we ran through Red Hook, Columbia Street Water Front, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Fort Green and Boerum Hill neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
After our run we spent the rest of the afternoon going through boxes and building the massive, Ikea Pax closet. By 6pm the closet skeleton was complete and the car was filled with donations. I think we counted 20 bags in total!
We hosted our friends Scott and Irene for dinner as part of Bo’s belated birthday gift. Bo and Scott first became friends while building a grill together so I thought it’d be nice to continue the tradition. Dinner included grilled clams, rib eye steak and fresh corn.
Yesterday seems like a blur, as we were going non-stop and did so much during the day that it felt more like multiple days. With the help of Russell and Meg, we hung paintings, moved furniture, donated more things to Goodwill, rearranged three rooms, organized all my clothes, finished the Pax closet and built my new desk. We owe them so much for their help as it wouldn’t have been possible without extra hands. After twelve hours of work we finally took a break to relax over a Summer spread including rotisserie chicken, heirloom tomato salad and corn.
Even though we made great progress this weekend, I can already tell there are going to be a few late nights of projects and unpacking this week! I’ll give you guys a video tour of the house once we’ve made more progress.
