House Pics

While I don't have all of the house pics yet, I decided to post some. Not everything is quite situated and there is nothing on the walls, yet. Enjoy our kitchen, living room, and bathroom!

Kitchen table, looking out the front window

Little nook, directly behind the table

Main kitchen counter, and Hula! Table and nook to the right.

Living Room

Living Room, looking out into the back yard area

More living room

Bathroom

Bathroom

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Port Jefferson

Now that you know that we don't live in NYC, we can tell you more about where we actually do live. We are currently calling Port Jefferson our home. It's a small, coastal village on the North Shore of Long Island. Our town is darling, and a bit like Friday Harbor in the San Juans: it's small but busy, it's on the water, and it has a ferry (to Connecticut, of all places). In the summer, it's busy with tourists; in the winter, it's quiet and peaceful. We have a charming harbor hotel called "Danfords", which reminds us of the one in Roche Harbor. When we moved here, people were surprised that we hadn't heard of Port Jefferson. On 9/11, the Port Jefferson ferry was the only way off of the island for awhile, and gained national attention.

Port Jefferson Harbor and Village

Unlike Friday Harbor, our town has chains, like Gap and Starbucks. Port Jefferson is very community oriented and has fun things like an ice skating rink, yoga classes, and free parking for village residents.

Boats in the harbor during the summer. We are looking forward to the village beaches this summer!

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This Whole Long Island Thing

When people hear that we moved to NY, they think that we live in the actual New York City. We tell them that no, we live on Long Island. And, most people assume that we still live in NYC- it kind of makes since, since Long Island is home to Queens and Brooklyn. Again, we tell them, no, we live in a small town in Suffolk county.

OK, maybe our town isn't so small: how small can it really be if our county has 1.4 million people in it? Most of these people have either been born and raised here, or they move out from NYC. We are definitely outsiders here, but we're awesome, so it's ok :) Suffolk county is more residential than Bellevue. The Island's biggest employer is Stony Brook University, so there is little industry, and many people just commute into NYC for work. Our town, Port Jefferson, is about 60 miles away from NYC, and with the traffic, about 1.5 hours by car. Port Jefferson also has a train station for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). Depending on the time, train, and line, we can be in the city in about an hour by rail. And, we love the train- such an ingenious idea to actually have a reliable and efficient mass transportation system (Seattle- are you taking notes??). You just sit, read, reflect, and be silent for awhile. I honestly find it relaxing and don't mind it one bit :)

So, we are by no means city dwellers. We pretend occasionally, but fully embrace our distance from the craziness that is Manhattan.

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Let It Snow!

We finally have had our first snow experience on Long Island!! Amy actually saw two plow trucks on her way home from Junior League tonight and had a little, tiny skid, too! There's only about an inch where we are, but Hula had a blast playing in it :)

Getting ready to play in the snow.

She was so intrigued by it!

She kept pouncing and digging and biting at it.

Hula LOVED the snowballs Matt made for her. She chased them wherever they went!

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Moving to Long Island: Take Two

Good-bye rats, mold, and mildew- we are moving!! I (Amy) just left our lease signing of a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom ranch in Port Jefferson. We were one of four applicants for the home, and we are so thankful to our wonderful realtor, Stephanie, for working so hard on such short notice to secure the home for us.

Port Jeff is a darling, little coastal village and we are lucky enough to have "village privileges" like free in-town parking, beach access, country club membership (for a small fee), etc. Our move-in date is Sunday and the movers are all ready booked. We are excitedly packing up our cottage I can't wait to see all of things that have been in storage for months; it'll be like an early Christmas for me :)

I will post pics once we are all moved-in (boxes put away, pictures on the walls, etc). Time to keep packing!

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