1. almost everyone here drives a bmw or mercedes. the exception is at church where there is the usual rash of mini-vans and suvs. luxury baby, luxury. (speaking of luxury, just keep that word in mind...alan and i have a few observations on the subject for a future post.)
2. self-serve? are you joking? -- some of you may be aware that in new jersey it is against the law for you to pump your own gas. yes, there is an attendant who pumps it for you. and i haven't been able to find a self-service car wash in my drivings around, but it is my quest. i refuse to pay 20 bucks for a "luxurious" full-service car wash. besides, i would rather vacuum up my own life cereal, goldfish, ritz-cracker, cheerio, rasin, chicken nugget crumb combo thank-you very much. how embarassing for someone else to witness the state of my back-seat, monkey habitat though it may be. those are my monkeys darnit! and no one else should be subjected to their messes. speaking of messes, i'm quite sure that at least 5 or 6 of my neighbors have housekeepers. how would it be?
3. the perfect summer accesory for hip princetonians? the umbrella. seriously, just carry one everywhere. but not into the princeton university art museum. backpacks, strollers, and naughty children and toddlers are fine, but you MUST leave the umbrella outside on the coat rack. why? i haven't the slightest idea, but i tell you the guard looked quite alarmed when i strolled in with *GASP* an umbrella in the side-pocket of my backpack. (cool museum, by the way -- we saw works by reubens, modigliani, klee, candinski, monet, van gogh, burne-jones, andy warhol, and someone whom alan claims is one of grandma swenson's favorites, but we can't spell his name...starts with a "b". grandma?
4. as in 4th of july! the only fireworks nearby i can find a listing for is as follows: "4th of July Fireworks: Friday, July 30th, 9:00 pm; Princeton University fields next to football stadium. HUH? okay....i honestly cannot find any listing of anything else even remotely 4th of july related. but we ARE going to a waffle breakfast at a ward member's house in hamilton that morning. after that, i guess it's just a regular day. that pretty much sucks. *sigh* but seriously, fireworks on the 30th for the 4th?
5. i've been checking into summer recreation programs for alexander -- soccer, swimming, etc. as it turns out, most of these types of things are through the YMCA, which charges a membership fee of $100 a month! yikes! no YMCA for this famiy. the other programs i can find are all more like a summer camp type program, so you basically pay an arm and a leg to get rid of your kids for 5 or 6 hours a day. hmmm...might not be so bad some days. but seriously, i guess the pool here sounds like great recreation if it ever stops raining. :)
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
10th Anniversary ~ Big Apple
We begin our journey at the Princeton train station...Alan is dreaming about all the adventures we will have together in the city...:) From Princeton Station, we took Dinky to Princeton Junction where we boarded the Northeast Corridor line which took us right into NYC Penn Station in a little over an hour.
Central Park was one of our first stops. I like to spend some time there every time i'm in New York because you can wander forever and keep seeing new things and places. I just liked this image, the ornate carving and the mossy wall. Central Park has such a wonderful history and is so much a part of New York City. But, as I have no control over the order in which these photos post, lets jump to the Statue of Liberty! (We'll come back to Central Park later, promise)
Here she is! Isn't she magnificent? I was honestly a bit overcome at the first sight of her from the ferry...she is amazing and beautiful. My only regret is that the museum in the base was CLOSED that day, so we weren't able to go inside...
Another view -- the two of us this time...
The famous LOVE sculptue by Robert Indiana stands on 56th & 6th Ave...coincidentally just a few steps away from the very posh restaurant we dined in...TOWN. A bit pricey, but a lovely atmosphere and delicious food! It's nice to splurge occasionally, and this will hold us over for a long time!
Isn't this photo awesome? The sun, the kiss, the statue? And you know what else? It was totally, 100% staged...uh, I mean CANDID! We had to take it ourselves, you know, by doing the hold the camera out thingy? It took several tries to get both us and the statue in the shot. But we didn't mind having to do it over and over again... ;)
Alan on Bethesda Terrace in Central Park...
And here is the Angel of the Waters Fountain. Sculptor: Emma Stebbins (1815-1882)Date: 1868; Placed in Park: 1873. Yes it's a touristy spot, but it's also beautiful.
And me on the terrace. Note the similarity to the one of Alan above...the master plan is to photoshop them together so we can have a picture of the two of us. It was here that we had our first crazy guy sighting of the day, I believe. And what trip to New York would be complete without a crazy guy sighting? This one happens to have his own website...
John Lennon memorial, located in Strawberry Fields. Imagine all the people....visiting the Pecks! You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one, I hope some day you'll join us, and we will be as one....oh no, I hope John Lennon isn't rolling over in his grave. But seriously, look at all the cool stuff you're missing out on. As if the Harry Potter cupbord isn't enough! xoxox
until next week. Remember to comment and to click for larger images. We also welcome emails, packages, letters, and phone calls. :)
Monday, June 12, 2006
Townhouse Living -- Joys of Renting
pics of our place posted for your pleasure. groovy alliteration, no? without further ado and in no particular order, i give you our home! (and it really is beginning to feel like home because every day it looks more and more like home. big props to my mom for helping me get it 85% done!) OH, CLICK ON ANY PICTURE FOR A LARGER IMAGE.
here is the office, which just happens to also be in our living room. it's gignormous. having the office in the living room really takes me back to our first apartment. funny, i though i was past this phase in my life! nice features of the room: gorgeous ceiling fan/light fixture. one of the only overhead fixtures in the entire house. take note of the lamp too, more about it in a minute. also you can just make out the arm of the sofa on the bottom left, and next to it the filing cabinet. serving as a lovely end table. so college-chic! maybe i can paint it white and put some cute drawer pulls on it....anyway, the dining room is immediately to the right. i think the idea was to put the dining room here, under the lovely light, but we needed to be able to connect our phone/tv/internet to the cable, which is located here. i have no idea why.
here is the dining room, you'll learn more about it below, but the key things for me to point out is the pile of stuff on the floor that needs to be hung on the wall, and the only remaining box, which also contains stuff that needs to be hung on the wall. :) it's hard figuring out where to put stuff. also, notice the dark sage green paint, which sucks all light from the room. this is one of 3 painting projects i need to complete. oh, and see that lamp? we have 5 of them! there is no overhead lighting, and you can buy this lamp at ikea for $7.99, it's remarkably bright, and so, why not? to the immediate right of this room is the living room. anyone with kids will appreciate the white carpet under the dining table. when we can, we are going to get a rug bound at home depot to put in this area.
i wanted to save the best for last, but honestly, i have no control over where the pictures post on this thing. it seems to have a mind of it's own today. this is the downstairs powder bath. i'm printing up a sign today for the door: ATTENTION, WE DID NOT HAVE ANY HAND IN PAINTING OR "DECORATING" THIS ROOM. IT WAS LIKE THIS WHEN WE MOVED IN, HONEST. that should cover it until we figure out how to paint over it. it didn't come out that great in the photo, but it is BRIGHT yellow with metallic copper "poops" on the wall. at least that's what they seem to be. we can't be sure of the original intention. take note of the gorgeous wallpaper border -- just when you thought it couldn't get any better! we use the room primarily to store our vast sunscreen and bug-repellant collection, as you can clearly see.
here is our kitchen, the jewel of our home -- NOT! the fist thing you might notice is the lovely shade of smurf blue that graces the walls. i am in the process of choosing a color to repaint asap. the next thing you might notice is the stove. that is not a microwave above it. it is another oven and the space between the bottom of it and the stovetop is less than 12", which makes using the back burners interesting. we are also in the process of gettting approval from the landlord to put in a new stove/microwave. and hopefully, a garbage disposal. yes, that's right -- it's like living in the 1950's or something. :) the third thing you might notice is the stunning cabinetry. yes, that is 100% genuine formica trimmed with oak. gorgeous. the island is my own addition, i ordered it the 2nd day i arrived, and it has been a lifesaver, giving me a work space and somewhere to feed the messy monkeys, one of whom you can see above. we call her hadley and she is thriving in captivity. she's seen here doing what she does best -- eating breakfast. the other day she ate 4 pancakes. 4 BIG pancakes. i was stuffed after 2. finally, you will notice the "pantry" which will hopefully get doors installed on it this week. thank goodness for ikea, because there was not room for food AND dishes/pots/etc in this kitchen.
here is a view looking from our living room into our dining area. i am in the process of altering a slipcover to fit a ragged loveseat that was originally going to occupy our bedroom. this will go facing the fireplace to create (hopefully) a cozy sitting area. of note in this photo are several things: 1. the families are forever sign and beehive-shaped fhe chart still un-hung 2. various scattered tools and toolboxes on the hearth (homey, eh?) i keep telling myself there's no use putting them away until i hang the aforementioned stuff 3. the window to the left of the fireplace is actually a door that goes out to a tiny patio area 4. if you go towards that door and then turn left, you will end up in our beautiful and luxurious kitchen (sarcasm? me?)
here is the famous cupboard under the stairs. we thought it only fitting to hang harry potter near it -- one of the few paintings we've hung so far, as you will see in other pictures. we've also decided to advertise a harry potter visitor's package to further entice house guests to come stay at chez peck. for a nominal fee, you will be able to reside for the duration of your trip IN the cupboard under the stairs. and to add to the hp experience, we will even let you ride hogwarts express (aka the dinky ) into hogwarts castle(aka princeton) where you can tour the grounds, take in the castle-like architechture, and even stop in at honeydukes candy shop (aka ricky's candy, cones, and chaos). i'm sure by the time someone takes us up on it we will have come up with lots of other harry potter experiences for you to enjoy. oh, and i think i mentioned that these are the steepest stairs in new jersey, possibly in the world. so it's like a full-scale gym workout every day.
the living room/office (you'll see. :) ). the best thing to point out here is the patch of red painted on the leg of the coffee table. i was going to paint it red once upon a time, but didn't like the color...it was too pink. so yeah, lovely, isn't it? i really should fix that sometime. the doors you see go to the front of the house (on the right) and to the garage (left). still need to pull everything out of the garage and organize it so that i can fit the car in. even then, a fit is questionable. it is a one car in the sense that i may have to back in to be able to open the back doors and get the children out. :) also of note in this and all other pictures is the WHITE carpet. it equals vacuuming fun every day.
here is the office, which just happens to also be in our living room. it's gignormous. having the office in the living room really takes me back to our first apartment. funny, i though i was past this phase in my life! nice features of the room: gorgeous ceiling fan/light fixture. one of the only overhead fixtures in the entire house. take note of the lamp too, more about it in a minute. also you can just make out the arm of the sofa on the bottom left, and next to it the filing cabinet. serving as a lovely end table. so college-chic! maybe i can paint it white and put some cute drawer pulls on it....anyway, the dining room is immediately to the right. i think the idea was to put the dining room here, under the lovely light, but we needed to be able to connect our phone/tv/internet to the cable, which is located here. i have no idea why.
here is the dining room, you'll learn more about it below, but the key things for me to point out is the pile of stuff on the floor that needs to be hung on the wall, and the only remaining box, which also contains stuff that needs to be hung on the wall. :) it's hard figuring out where to put stuff. also, notice the dark sage green paint, which sucks all light from the room. this is one of 3 painting projects i need to complete. oh, and see that lamp? we have 5 of them! there is no overhead lighting, and you can buy this lamp at ikea for $7.99, it's remarkably bright, and so, why not? to the immediate right of this room is the living room. anyone with kids will appreciate the white carpet under the dining table. when we can, we are going to get a rug bound at home depot to put in this area.
i wanted to save the best for last, but honestly, i have no control over where the pictures post on this thing. it seems to have a mind of it's own today. this is the downstairs powder bath. i'm printing up a sign today for the door: ATTENTION, WE DID NOT HAVE ANY HAND IN PAINTING OR "DECORATING" THIS ROOM. IT WAS LIKE THIS WHEN WE MOVED IN, HONEST. that should cover it until we figure out how to paint over it. it didn't come out that great in the photo, but it is BRIGHT yellow with metallic copper "poops" on the wall. at least that's what they seem to be. we can't be sure of the original intention. take note of the gorgeous wallpaper border -- just when you thought it couldn't get any better! we use the room primarily to store our vast sunscreen and bug-repellant collection, as you can clearly see.
here is our kitchen, the jewel of our home -- NOT! the fist thing you might notice is the lovely shade of smurf blue that graces the walls. i am in the process of choosing a color to repaint asap. the next thing you might notice is the stove. that is not a microwave above it. it is another oven and the space between the bottom of it and the stovetop is less than 12", which makes using the back burners interesting. we are also in the process of gettting approval from the landlord to put in a new stove/microwave. and hopefully, a garbage disposal. yes, that's right -- it's like living in the 1950's or something. :) the third thing you might notice is the stunning cabinetry. yes, that is 100% genuine formica trimmed with oak. gorgeous. the island is my own addition, i ordered it the 2nd day i arrived, and it has been a lifesaver, giving me a work space and somewhere to feed the messy monkeys, one of whom you can see above. we call her hadley and she is thriving in captivity. she's seen here doing what she does best -- eating breakfast. the other day she ate 4 pancakes. 4 BIG pancakes. i was stuffed after 2. finally, you will notice the "pantry" which will hopefully get doors installed on it this week. thank goodness for ikea, because there was not room for food AND dishes/pots/etc in this kitchen.
here is a view looking from our living room into our dining area. i am in the process of altering a slipcover to fit a ragged loveseat that was originally going to occupy our bedroom. this will go facing the fireplace to create (hopefully) a cozy sitting area. of note in this photo are several things: 1. the families are forever sign and beehive-shaped fhe chart still un-hung 2. various scattered tools and toolboxes on the hearth (homey, eh?) i keep telling myself there's no use putting them away until i hang the aforementioned stuff 3. the window to the left of the fireplace is actually a door that goes out to a tiny patio area 4. if you go towards that door and then turn left, you will end up in our beautiful and luxurious kitchen (sarcasm? me?)
here is the famous cupboard under the stairs. we thought it only fitting to hang harry potter near it -- one of the few paintings we've hung so far, as you will see in other pictures. we've also decided to advertise a harry potter visitor's package to further entice house guests to come stay at chez peck. for a nominal fee, you will be able to reside for the duration of your trip IN the cupboard under the stairs. and to add to the hp experience, we will even let you ride hogwarts express (aka the dinky ) into hogwarts castle(aka princeton) where you can tour the grounds, take in the castle-like architechture, and even stop in at honeydukes candy shop (aka ricky's candy, cones, and chaos). i'm sure by the time someone takes us up on it we will have come up with lots of other harry potter experiences for you to enjoy. oh, and i think i mentioned that these are the steepest stairs in new jersey, possibly in the world. so it's like a full-scale gym workout every day.
the living room/office (you'll see. :) ). the best thing to point out here is the patch of red painted on the leg of the coffee table. i was going to paint it red once upon a time, but didn't like the color...it was too pink. so yeah, lovely, isn't it? i really should fix that sometime. the doors you see go to the front of the house (on the right) and to the garage (left). still need to pull everything out of the garage and organize it so that i can fit the car in. even then, a fit is questionable. it is a one car in the sense that i may have to back in to be able to open the back doors and get the children out. :) also of note in this and all other pictures is the WHITE carpet. it equals vacuuming fun every day.
this is nemo, (of course, what other name would a kid choose for a goldfish?) the contraband goldfish. after promising alexander a fish to replace the desert tortoises that couldn't move with us, and after buying said fish, we leared that NO PETS are allowed. keep in mind that these are mostly PRIVATELY OWNED (town)homes. and yet, in your own home that you paid way too much for, you are not allowed pets. alexander was sad because he wanted to show all his new friends the fish, but we have to keep it on the low-down. we think of him less as a pet and more as a decorative element.
pics of the upstairs to come later, but the best feature, which my mom can attest to will not show up on film. you have to experience it for yourself...the upstairs floors slant and bump and tilt like a miniature roller coaster. we just have faith that the upstairs will not fall down. :)
xoxox. love and miss you all. please leave comments! or email me! and check back, i may REPLY to your comments. wouldn't that be exciting~!
Friday, June 02, 2006
NEW JERSEY DIARIES
so...it's been a while and stuff has changed. for example, i'm writing to you from new freaking jersey! or princeton, to be more precise and doesn't it sound better anyway? a little more upper-crust anyway. i will be updating weekly and posting photos as soon as i get the camera dock hooked back up and the rest of the desktop cleared off -- honestly, it's like typing from a rubbish heap. for those of you dying for some fabulous content, here it is, in list form (and in no particular order):
1. we had a groundhog sighting (also many various squirrels, rabbits and birds)
2. we have learned a little more about what the word "muggy" really means
2 1/2. we staved off the aforementioned mugginess by opting for italian ices for dinner
3. we have accomplished a feat of engineering genius by organizing our food storage in a small harry-potteresque "cupbord under the stairs"
4. i've lifted and toned my tookis with countless trips up and and down what may be one of america's steepest stairways (most of the time carrying heavy boxes or heavy children)
5. i made a startling if amusing discovery that you cannot find corn tortillas anywhere in the local so-called "gourmet" grocery store, though i refuse to accept that they do not exsit in new jersey. also, i'm sorry but you can only buy a 5-pound bag of flour. clearly, not much baking going on here.
xoxox
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