What's it Like in Brooklyn?

What's city-life like?

Now that we have been living here for about a month, we have things mostly organized and have settled into a routine after much trial and error - of course we'll have to be ready to change it up again once Cannon starts school in a couple weeks.

We live in Ditmas Park, a neighborhood of Brooklyn. The apartment buildings are mixed with blocks of large Victorian houses, which gives it a bit of a suburban feel. It's definitely more quiet than other parts of the city and I feel completely safe taking Blue for a walk at night. The tree-lined streets add to the beauty and give plenty of shade on hot days. I can't wait to see all the autumn colors this fall!

In front of our building waiting for Daddy to come home. He says our building looks like a castle.

Ryan leaves for work at 8:15am and takes the subway into Manhattan to be there by 9am. He doesn't get home until 7pm, so we have had to tweak our nightly routine. Cannon and I eat dinner at 5:30 and he's in his jammies by the time Ryan comes home. Ryan plays with Cannon for a bit, we finish up bedtime routine together and they read together until 8pm. Then Ryan has a chance to eat and we get to have the rest of the night together. He takes a short lunch on Mondays so that he can get home early for family home evening and then after Cannon is in bed, he goes to the laundromat. Wednesday evenings he goes grocery shopping after Cannon is in bed and I supplement during the week. Amazon Fresh had a day of free delivery, so we ordered our groceries from there one time and it was great!

I was looking forward to the challenge of how to fit a 2000sqft house into a one-bed-one-bath-650sqft apartment!  Specifically, my challenge was how to create an aesthetically pleasing and functional home, free of clutter, while on a budget. We had to order more shelving and other things to help with the function and flow, but little by little it's coming along. It's not quite there yet, but I feel happy when I see my work and creativity all over my beautiful little space.

Before

Dining "room"

Entry

The leaning tower of bikes

My gourmet kitchen...still a work in progress

Living room...

...and the other half of the living room, which also doubles as our bedroom.

Bathroom

Cannon's bedroom, which I think is coming along nicely, is large (by NYC standards) and there's definitely lots of space for playing and creating. 

I think Blue misses her backyard, but we try to make it up to her by taking her for multiple daily walks and getting her to the park as much as possible so she has time to run and fetch her frisbee. She's still unsure about the multitudes of unfamiliar sounds, smells, and people she encounters every day, but she's getting to know her way around the neighborhood. Getting on and off our elevator spooks her...fearing that someone might be lurking behind the door. One day she wouldn't get on the elevator because someone had left a broom and dustpan. She likes things to be predictable and free of riffraff.

She's not a fan of the subway

She's so happy to have her daddy home every night

Like many buildings here, we don't have central air. We stay cool with our portable AC and window AC we put in the bedroom, in addition to our regular fans. Some days have been hot and humid, but certainly not as bad as Texas or Florida. We can manage, especially knowing that winter is right around the corner.

Our modes of transportation include: subway, bus, walking, or biking (before Cannon broke his arm). And we have taken Uber a couple times. I am actually enjoying not having a car. I don't really like driving and I don't like to get gas in the car, so this is a win for me! We walk to church and Cannon will walk to school.

Newkirk Plaza

This is the way we go to get to the subway.

There are so many awesome playgrounds around Brooklyn and Manhattan and we have kinda made it a goal to see how many different ones we can get to. Our favorites right now are Nature playground at Prospect Park and Teardrop Park in Battery Park City. Nature playground has no regular playground equipment, but instead is made up of stumps and trees damaged by hurricane Sandy. They are great for climbing, plus there is a huge sand pit, a working pump that brings up fresh water from a well, and big grassy areas.

Union Square

Splash pad at Prospect Park

Teardrop Park - he loves the 14ft slide and the water feature on the other side of the rocks

Parade playground at Prospect Park (this is where he broke his arm)

Nelson A. Rockefeller playground in Battery Park City

Ample Hills ice cream and soccer with some kids at Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5 (look at that gorgeous view of Manhattan!)

Nature Playground, Prospect Park

Cannon and his friend Oliver at Nature playground

Fun at Heckscher playground at Central Park after our visit to the Lego store; not pictured, but he loves the slide at Billy Johnson playground (on the UES of Central Park)

And the food...it's nothing short of amazing! It's a good thing we walk all the time! There are so many little dives and eateries everywhere you go. We love walking to Newkirk Plaza and getting pizza at Lo Duca's. In fact, I had pizza five times the first week we were here!. Ryan brings home treats from Le District, which is close to his work. So many restaurants, so little time...and money!

Cannon has had a hard time with some things (anything out of routine will put him in a state of discombobulation), but he is also finding many ways to enjoy our new life. He loves church and the new friends he has made. Our ward is small and very multicultural - it's great! We have been able to get together with other families at the park after church or during the week. He is having fun exploring the city with us and is looking forward to first grade! And we discovered that he loves to go clothes and shoe shopping! I asked Cannon his thoughts on living here and this is what he had to say: worst: that there's all kinds of strangers; best: playing Legos with Daddy, getting ice cream and hot dogs, going to the library and book store; exciting: going to the Jets game; hardest: breaking my arm; craziest: when Daddy surprised me with a place that I really wanted to go.

First day at church

That time we had to stop for ice cream and enjoy it on the stoop of a random church near a noisy and crowded intersection because it was hot and we had to walk 11 blocks to wait in the non-AC post office for one hour to pick up all our packages and schlep them back another 11 blocks.

Appointments with his orthopedic specialist at NYU Medical mean that we get to have fun in the city afterwards

9-11 Memorial, which is across the street from Ryan's office

We can't remember the name of this place, but you walk up a ramp and there is a grassy area on top of this rock and it overlooks the bay (Battery Park City).

Jets game and Di Fara pizza

Brighton Beach, August 3 (the day before he broke his arm)

Rockaway Beach with Daddy, August 22

We have no microwave, dishwasher, garbage disposal, or laundry room; we have a total of two closets; Ryan and I sleep on a couch that pulls out to a bed, but we are happy! I am loving it here and I feel like I'm home!