Home Decorating: Cabinet Knobs

Now that our lease is signed and we are set to pick up our keys next weekend, my roommate and I are busy planning our new space! One of the less desirable aspects of our apartment are the kitchen cabinets which have ugly red plastic knobs on them. As if we shared a brain, roomie and I both uttered the same word at the same time after identifying this problem: Anthropologie.

Anthropologie has such a cute selection of home goods, and in particular they stock a lot of really pretty door handles and cabinet knobs. We picked out these painted porcelain ones to replace the plastic. I think it'll make our little kitchen look a little more rustic!

The Hunt is Over! My Apartment Hunting Tips

Wow, so that was quick. As you might remember, I've been looking for an apartment. I only started a little over a week ago, but I found the perfect place that my roommate also loved and we signed our lease this weekend! It's actually the place I posted about before on the Upper West Side with the brick walls! So excited!! We have so much space (it's actually a 3 bedroom place, but there are only two of us. We're going to turn the third room into a guest room/reading room!) and the natural sunlight that comes into the building is amazing!

We ended up getting the place for a really reasonable price -- the people who have the apartment above us that is the exact same layout pay $700 more per month to live there, so we're lucky! It all has to do with rent stabilization and turn over rates, but I stared at so many pieces of paper with legalese on them this weekend that I can't even talk about it anymore without getting a headache.

Our apartment is in a great UWS location that's in between Central Park and Riverside Park, near grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, and around the corner from Blockheads and Ben and Jerry's. My two vices: margaritas and ice cream! I can't wait to start moving in after May 1st -- I'll probably clean everything before I move in stuff, but I'm hoping to be all moved in by May 15th! Until then, I will probably just incessantly browse the web for home furnishings.

A few people commented on my other post asking about how I found the apartments I've been looking at, so here are some of my tips for you:

• Most brokers won't be too interested in you unless you are pretty much ready to sign a lease as soon as you see the place you like. They suggested to me that I plan on looking about two weeks ahead of when I want to move (yeah, I know -- yikes!). This seems to be true though, since technically my lease starts May 1st and I signed two weeks ahead of time.
• That said, don't be afraid to make appointments to look at places more than two weeks ahead of time. It's good to get a feel for what's out there in your price range. Unfortunately this was a bit of a shock for me at first, but knowing what areas of town were better to look in made things easier.
• Speaking of budget, try to figure out how much you can allow for rent each month. It's easier to start looking in your price range so that you aren't disappointed after you find your dream place and discover that you can't afford it. Typically realtors tell you to stay around 25% of your annual income.
• Where should you look? This is a tricky question! I looked a lot on Craigslist. I know that it can be sketchy, but I ultimately found the broker that I rented through on Craigslist. It's sort of important to note that my apartment was never listed online (to my knowledge anyway), but the broker showed it to me when I came to look at another place that I'd seen advertised. Most realtors have a few properties within the same area, so be prepared to look at a few if you make an appointment.
• StreetEasy is also another option, and is more legit than Craigslist. It is an NYC realty site and has cool features that can tell you a little bit about the neighborhoods that you are looking at too.

I hope that this helps a little bit! I'm totally new to this process too, but I'll let you know if I find out any more apartment tips!

Apartment Hunting: The Saga Continues

This weekend I did a lot of apartment hunting. As much as it was fun and exciting, it was also sort of exhausting. When you go out with a landlord or realtor to look at places, you'll probably see a bunch of places in different price ranges with different fees and utilities, so it's easy to get things mixed up!

I started off on Saturday in the East Village. I'll be working in SoHo, so I figured that it would be cool to live in a neighborhood that I like and be able to walk to work. Unfortunately, this first day of searching was a harsh reality check on how much I can afford -- all of the places I saw were SO TINY and SO EXPENSIVE! The apartments were all two bedroom "wing" style, which means that there is a kitchen with a (tiny) bedroom off each side. No living area or common space. And these places on 2nd Avenue and Avenue C were going for nearly $2,000 a month before utilities. No way!

 Today was more encouraging. I looked at places on the Upper West Side, and felt a little relieved that there were places that I could see myself living that were also within my price range. I looked at a two bedroom place on West 106th Street that I really liked -- nice kitchen, big rooms and common space, and some exposed brick walls. I love exposed brick walls! As a bonus, I actually have a friend who lives on the same block and loves the neighborhood, so I know that it will be a nice place to live. My potential roommate is coming to take a look at the place this week, so I finally feel like this search is going somewhere.

I really love the fact that all of the places I've been looking at are pre-war buildings. They all have hardwood floors and awesome high ceilings. Most of them that I've seen have been renovated, but some are in tough shape. I guess you just have to be careful and do your research before you sign on a place!

The Apartment Hunt is On

These last few weeks have been incredibly busy, but I am happy to say that I am officially an employed college senior. I won't go into the details of my employment here (blogging about work is Blogging Cardinal Sin #1, right?), but let's just say that I'm extremely happy and excited.

Now that I know I'll be staying in New York, I need to find an apartment. Oh boy. I've always sort of casually browsed apartment listings in preparation for the day when I would finally move out of the Bronx and into... anywhere else, but thinking about it and actually doing it are two different things!

It seems that every Craigslist post that I respond to ends up being totally scammy -- note that if you get a reply that explains that the person had to leave the country suddenly and is renting out the apartment for a ridiculously low price, it's a scam. Amazingly I've had two variations on the same story: man with apartment on Upper West Side is in London either serving as a pastor or studying theology. Ack.

I'm going to try using a broker to find something, but then there's the other problem: I don't have a roommate. Miraculously, all of my friends are either moving away/out of the country, going to grad school, or live in New Jersey within commuting distance of the city. So then, how does one find a roommate? I'm pretty sure I can't afford to live on my own, but I also would prefer to find a place with someone as opposed to moving into someone else's preexisting space. And yes, I've checked Craigslist and let me tell you there are some WEIRD "roommate" requests on there!

So, I'll keep you updated on my NYC Real Estate progress and maybe if my apartment can handle more than 3 people at a time, I'll have a party to celebrate! Oh, and just in case you're wondering, I'm not really expecting a doorman at my building. Someday though... :)

Dreaming of Central Park

For the past two years, I've lived at Fordham's Lincoln Center campus over the summer. In addition to being close to awesome restaurants and shopping, I always loved that it was just a short walk away from Central Park. Unfortunately, graduating seniors can't apply for summer housing again this year, so it looks like I'll be apartment hunting before graduation.

I doubt that I can afford anything too close to the park, but it would be nice to be within walking distance again! I love going in for the afternoon, finding a nice sunny patch of grass and settling down with a book. I'm already thinking about my summer reading list... here's what I'm looking forward to reading this summer!

• What the Dog Saw by Malcom Gladwell
• The Travel Writer's Handbook by Louise Purwin Zobel
• Beowulf on the Beach by Jack Murninghan
• Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Liberty of London for Target

I was really disappointed with the Jean Paul Gaultier for Target collection. The thing about Target collections is that the cheap construction constraints that they have can make some of the pieces look really tacky. Everything in the JPG collection was polyester, making things stiff and shapeless, but Target made up for it with the Liberty of London collection that was released last weekend!
The pop-up shop that they opened in Manhattan sold out and closed two days early. The collection also sold out online immediately, but luckily I was at home in New Hampshire where people don't care as much about Designer for Target. Our stores were completely stocked with everything Liberty.

 I focused mainly on some cute housewares for the apartment that I don't have yet (but I will!). I picked up some adorable pillows for my couch, fabric covered storage boxes, and peacock feather coffee mugs and ceramic bowls for the kitchen!

 As usual, I had to be a little more discerning with the clothes, but I ended up walking out with some really cute pajamas, a blouse, and a printed cotton dress. I'd stay away from the polyester dresses in this collection -- the maxi dress was so cute, but I think the material would make you die of heat wearing it in the summer!

Frugal Living is Hard to Do (But Not Really)

If you've ever been a college student (or maybe even if you haven't) you've probably had that stomach-churning moment when your bank statement dropped below ten dollars. Maybe even below five dollars. Or maybe, if you enjoy living on the financial edge as I do, you've managed to keep a whole $2.41 in your account.

When I moved to New York City almost four years ago, I had visions of eating out at trendy restaurants, shopping for designer clothes, and partaking in the most sophisticated of events that the city had to offer. I just forgot about a few minor details: a) These things cost money. Sometimes a lot of money. b) I don't have a lot of money, and the little amount that I do have should theoretically be going toward my college tuition so that I can, you know, stay in New York? It's a vicious and unfair truth, but I can't avoid it. Luckily, with some careful planning and lots of work (literally, I work a lot), I've been able to get by quite well so far. Hopefully I'll be able to share some of my knowledge about living in the city on the cheap, and maybe pick up some tips from others too!