New (york city) Hair

New season, new city, new hair. I've had a bob since about April though I have been seriously admiring Carey Mulligan's short pixie cut for a while now. I went online the other day to see what other short haircuts I could find and saw that Michelle Williams also chose to go short again back in the spring (see this Huffington Post article). I love short hair for its no fuss, wash-and-go'ness and decided that why not make another change and go short again? So I did.

How do I feel? Not that different, I was in the kitchen this morning and bumped into one of my roommates and forgot I had gotten a haircut until she said something. Lol, I guess that's a good thing.

I am, for once, at peace with my hair.

Haircut by Leah at the Sam Brocato Salon in NYC.

It's been 3 weeks

...since I landed in the Big Apple. Don't know what to write about today. Oh, I moved into my apartment last Saturday. I've worked hard the last few days to get my bedroom feeling homey and decorated. The walls are painted white, I was thinking of having them painted but with the bright pink and orange bedding from IKEA, the white walls are kind of okay.

What I built since Saturday:
- put my bed together with the help of one of my roommates (thank you!)
- an Expedit bookshelf
- my Vika Amon desk (the whole desk with the legs and all only cost $19.99, they've got some great deals at Ikea in the US).
- a lamp
- sweet white faux leather office chair (only $59.99 but it's super chic - thanks Ikea!)
- my head, shoulders, knees and toes - and my legs and feet from the several trips made to Ikea and Bed Bath & Beyond

Still need to:
- hang the mirror, bulletin boards ($5.99 each at Ikea, great for displaying jewellery/necklaces especially), whiteboard
- get some favourite photos printed and pick up some inexpensive frames from Ikea to decorate the walls.

Here's what the room looks like so far, will keep you posted as it gets more Kristiina-ified. Still unsure about the layout of the furniture, I'm gonna play with it and see what works best.

random wanderings

I'm sitting in a park at Grand St and Chrystie St, listening to La Roux's "If by Magic", hoping the $3 salmon maki I got at the corner fish market sits well with me, not that it's a need-to-know, but so far I'm feeling fine. Lol. I got off at World Trade Center PATH stop and started making my way up Church St, then east on Canal St, then up some more and blocks and blocls later I'm here now drinking a taro bubble tea and watching kids play throw the ball against the wall.

New York, I'm starting to love you, though you scare me some since you're so large and I don't really know where I'm going yet. I have an interview at Aeropostale corporate tomorrow, and I'm still waiting to hear back about an apartment I found in Brooklyn (in a super pretty and quiet neighbourhood called Windsor Terrace). Please keep your fingers crossed, the place is PERfect!

Newbie in New York

I landed in Newark on Wednesday night, and thus my NYC journey/adventure has begun! It's been a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences over the last 5 days so far.

Day 1 - Scared shitless. What have I gotten myself into? Will I like it here in Ameeeeerica? WTF, I don't know where anything is or where I am, lol. I wondered if this is what it could feel like to be blind, not knowing where you are or where you're going... I missed my mom a lot that day. Mommy!

Day 2 - Feeling a little bit better. Phil and I went to see Inception at the movies in Battery Park City. Crazy film, I kept imagining what New York would look like if it folded over itself like Paris in the movie. We were crossing the street and saw the sweetest thing ever, a dog jumped up to kiss a police horse's nose and they were both sniffing eachother's noses. Cutest thing ever.

Day 3 - I think I can do this. Chug chug chug, I think I can, I think I can... Phil took me to the Sunset Park neighbourhood of Brooklyn. I think I could live here. Sunset Park is very latino and people were out and about with their families, men were playing cards and dominoes in the park, kids swinging on swings, Spanish being spoken everywhere, reggaeton blaring from car stereos. Sunset Park is on a hill, and from the top of the park in Sunset Park, you get a fantastic view of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty off in the distance. We also explored the super-gentrified/baby stroller central of Park Slope. Lots of neat shops, great restaurants and lots of baby strollers.

Day 4 - We went to Jones Beach in Long Island (pronounced "Lawn-guylland") for the day with my cousin and her girlfriend. It was windy still from Hurricane Earl having passed through the day before and the water was quite wavy, a bit too cool to swim but it was plenty sunny, and my nose got plenty of sun. Later we got some "greazzy drippins" from Wendy's and then had Japanese ice cream in the East Village. Walked down St.Mark's Place and saw lots of neat vintage boutiques I'm definitely going to have to go back and check out.

Day 5 - It's Labour Day. No America, I will not give up my "u" in Labour Day :). Lol. Feeling really good about being here, excited to see some apartments, Craigslist can be a bore when people don't get back to you, but it's all good. I think it's gonna be good living here. Now, to find a place that is bedbug-free.

More to come...