Heather’s husband has this nifty thing he does.  he researches bars, beers and routes for specific and rare draft beers.  he then makes what he calls a “treasure map” and its a very organized printed out google map, of where to go.   sometimes it’s a bar we have been to, but sometimes Nathan leads us in a new and interesting direction.  after a few beers at home, we headed to Bier Kraft, Bar Great Harry, and some other place in Cobble Hill.  the map had a few other places pointed out, but we were tired, hungry and already a bit intoxicated so we just came back and grubbed instead.

one of my dearest friends is Liz.  we met online back when internet friends were still taboo (1999, AOL, my friends).  our friendship is strong as stone and we live halfway across the country from each other, liz in missouri and me here in new york.  liz comes to visit me two times a year and we have somuchfun!  this summer she will be stationed in new hope, pa.  working for world service corps and lending her brilliance and huge heart to a local church summer camp.  it’s almost hard for me to know she is so close but we aren’t hanging out together.. so when i heard the camp was making an impromptu trip to the statue of liberty you better bet I rushed to get there asap.  i legit dropped all plans and got right on a train.  we ran basically in slow-mo to each other and hopped on a ferry to see lady lib.  i met her camp friends and we all headed to ellis island.  liz pulled some strings and instead of touring all the well, touristy spots of nyc she was able to come back to brooklyn and see my apartment and also have dinner with us! i am so glad this little visit was made possible.  she tried to pull a few more strings and see if she could stay the night.  just picture us, feeling like we are little girls again asking our moms if we can sleep over because we were having so much fun and didn’t want it to stop!  it wasn’t possible for her to stay since she was obligated to the camp.. but we were so happy the visit happened at all. i love me some Liz time.

even though i have the slowest internet connection known to man, i must speak about this hanson concert real quick. we just got back from the most insane group of people ever. as soon as we exited the subway onto fulton street it was insanity, people everywhere, bolting in one direction. i must say now, hanson was playing with drake. i had no clue who drake was.. i guess i have been living underneath a rock because he is america’s #1 rapper? he sings the “you da you da best, you da best i eva had” song…whatever. i still really don’t care but i legit thought this drake was an emo band. heather thought it was a little boy, similar to justin bieber and although joe knew who drake was, he was also expecting a different drake. we find Heather, walk to the pier. it’s insane and “Ninjasonik” is going nuts playing beats that make you feel like your head is going to explode. we quickly bolt, knowing that hanson will be on second. slip into a nearby bar, order three beers and some appetizers to split. after eating, we head back into the insanity. it got worse. not only could you not *see* the stage, from anywhere, but there were also manic people EVERYWHERE trying to get to god knows where, because there was no where to go. at one point we were just standing there, not talking to each other, and I was covered in dirty dredlocks, swaying back and forth over my bare skin. i wanted to die. people everywhere, pushing, being ignorant and just rude. I saw several little hanson fans find themselves out of the crowd, hysterically crying and looking like they just got out of a hardcore battle. about an hour later we heard a cop come through blowing a whistle and screaming “it’s canceled!” obviously, we bolted (yes, there was a lot of bolting going on. it’s the only word to describe the method of moving.) apparently after we had already left hell broke loose and people were throwing chairs, bottles, pulling out guns and getting stabbed. luckily we were able to savage the night and headed to the meat packing district for drinks at The Brass Monkey.  between the run yesterday, the the walking today. my legs, they be’a’wobbly.  time to watch some How I Met Your Mother and eat the brownies i am SO glad i made earlier today.

joe and i just took a run in prospect park. he has done this many times since we have moved here and i just laugh at his silly face coming to and fro, dripping in sweat. well, my pants don’t fit. i feel lazy. i want to feel better about myself. so, we went for a run together today. the distance around the park is 3.2 miles. I DID IT! be proud, my babies. because ashley running, is a rare thing. i had joe leave me to do his own thing ten minutes into it, because i could tell he wanted to take off like the wind. but i kept my pride, and finished. i can’t lie, i almost drank out of a dirty puddle, killed a girl with rollerblades and went medieval on some biker’s hiney to get some wheels under my haggard ass. but, i did it. i must ask this, does the couple who exercise together, stay together? should we get matching outfits? and synchronize our playlists? i need to look into this. back at the muff right now, getting internet at home on wednesday! also, never order a smoothie at connecticut muffin. it’s nasty.

the internet didn’t end up getting set up on friday. it was quite the disappointment, and the technician who came here was totally lame and could have done it, but seemed to have better things to do. he told joe that he was on probation for three months with the company and couldn’t afford to mess this job up. he also said that he needed a ladder (we have one) and that if he took the time to set up our services that he wouldn’t have time to make his next two appointments. yep. so he rescheduled us very quickly for a wednesday appointment. wednesday! it was friday! and we scheduled this installation on MONDAY! joe had a few heated phone calls with time warner and nothing really came of it, so I guess we will meet with leon again on wednesday. i’m psyched. NOT. i’m still leeching off this random connection which basically moves in a glacial pace.

we had a very fun weekend, my friend vanessa came from home to celebrate her birthday and some of joe’s friends came over too. first, we went to The Double Windsor which is around the corner. it was good…they have a pretty decent beer selection, but it’s more of a place I would enjoy to check out sans large group of people. joe and i both had the avery ipa which was decent, but not one of my favorite ipa’s…I just wasn’t a fan of the aftertaste. bummer. then we headed to Union Hall. it has a cool atmosphere and also hosts a lot of shows and has a bocce ball court! (is that what it would be called? no clue.) anyway, the calender looks good and the place was fun. afterwards we went home and hung here.. beasted on food, etc. we all slowly woke up and headed to terrace bagels (umm. YUM) and connecticut muffin for some java. there was a pride festival in the park so joe, ben, dave and i checked that out and sat in the park for a bit. afterwards, we stopped at the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck and had the HANDS DOWN most delish ice cream cone of my life. i combined the “Salty Pimp” and “Coco Cone.” SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!! we went home, put in a movie and both fell asleep at 7:30 p.m. woke up around 11:30 to get under the covers and put on jammies and slept soundly until 8 a.m. oh wait, are we senior citizens? but damn, it felt good to sleep. i was hoping to catch a museum today but it seems they all close at 5:30 and we would never make it to leisurely stroll through. we are going to the upper east side to watch the lakers/celtics game in a bit. i really want a burger and after reading the Double Windsor yelp page, i think i want one from there. ah! what to do??

a few selected photos from this weekend –

even though this day has come and gone, i still get anxiety looking at pictures from the big move. since our lease began june 1st and we obviously couldn’t get into the apartment sooner, we decided to spend the entire first day cleaning the apartment top to bottom. my mom was generous enough to come and help us clean and hot damn!, did our three man cleaning crew rock it! we were at it for about 8 hours straight and every (literally) nook and cranny of the apartment was bleached, murphied, scrubbed, wiped, polished, what have you.

we came back the following day with a packed to the brim uhaul and some of joe’s strongest friends to move everything else up those three, narrow, windy staircases. unfortunately some things didn’t make it (couch and hutch). it was really upsetting, the couch was actually stuck in the stairwell for a good thirty minutes until the boys had to basically tear it apart to dislodge it. joe’s granny gave us the piece and we felt so terrible that it was now a totally wrecked sidewalk decoration. the hutch belonged to my great grandmother and she had it since she was married. it’s a piece of furniture i got for my first apartment…my mom asked if I’d like to have it and I was flabbergasted. not only did my nana grow up fetching her dishes from this hutch, but so did my mom. then, it was my turn. i had the hutch in my apartments for a while but it sadly made its way into my dad’s basement because I was moving around too much. brooklyn seemed like the perfect re-debut! but when it didn’t make it around the final turn in the staircase, i stopped the guys immediately. i didn’t want it pushed at all. i am sad it’s not here in our apartment but I am very happy that it made it back down the stairs unharmed (lets all give the couch sad glances).

after everything made it safely into the apartment, we ordered two big pizzas and popped open a few cans of budweiser.  once everyone had left, it was just Joe and I, and all of our stuff.  in all of the potato chip boxes we collected from working at a restaurant, in black garage bags, stacked and squished. it was actually a nightmare. all i cared about was setting up the bed and falling asleep. which I did. i also managed to set up the dvd player and tv so we could watch friends. which by the way is not only one of my favorite shows ever but oh so new york, haha. before laying down for crash time, joe brought in a funnies section wrapped present for me. it was a book i had been eyeing up for a long time, Great White: The Majesty of Sharks. he said it was a coffee table book to add to my collection, for our coffee table. that book is amazing, the pictures are unreal and I have a complete fearful fascination with great whites. they just amaze me.

as i prep my kitchen for painting and put on my playlist to get pumped up, i hear the little chime of adium connecting me to aim! feeling shocked, i ran over to the computer and sure enough we have picked up a floating free connection! it’s drifting in and out, but i am pretty happy right now. these are the two walls that are about to get a makeover… and then some progress pictures.

well, it’s purple. i like it. it sort of reminds me of a princess’ bedroom and not a kitchen, but it’s all good. we like purple, a lot. after painting we took stinky for a long walk through the park where he attempted to bite off about six different dogs heads and eat four different small children. it was fun. joe also scored a nice food network cutting board and two lamps from storage! now, time for beers and maybe a board game. joe doesn’t know about the board game yet. oh yeah, we def just put the vinyl of prince’s “purple rain” on in celebration of the kitchen.

Well. We are here. Brooklyn, New York. I know this blog isn’t exactly what I had hoped it would turn out to be, but I am going to try to keep going with it (err, start it?). We went through hell in order to get our perfect apartment (lots of tears, belly aches, ripped up security checks and toll charges for the Verrazano Bridge). But we’re here, in a sun-drenched third floor walk up directly across from Prospect Park. It has beautiful original detailing throughout and is coming together bit by bit.  Tomorrow Time Warner will come between 8 and 11 a.m and I will finally have internet access in my own living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and hallway.  I miss geeking out online but I must admit the absence of those five little bars in my airport have allowed me to get actual things accomplished. Yet still – I have been documenting through pictures and words and every single little detail will come soon- via this blog.

Yesterday was our one week anniversary of moving in.  Two nights ago I spent an hour and a half on the phone with my best friend while I drank cans of Budweiser and painted the bathroom “Tiffany’s blue”. Today I will begin the kitchen; it’s currently yellow but I am going to accent the walls with a “majestic purple”.  Joe is working at the Food Network organizing things in their basement.  I am used to seeing his face every second of the day, and I miss him already.  I know I will see him in a few hours, but I am still lonely.  His sister visited yesterday with her adorable daughter and gifted us $25 to Bed Bath and Beyond. We decided to get shower curtains. We have a claw foot tub so we need two! I researched store locations and there is one in Chelsea near his work…which means that my first subway ride into Manhattan will be a solo one. Better that way, right? My father and step-mom also visited yesterday and we had a fun time with them.  
We lazied around the apartment and waited for the rain to stop, and when it didn’t, we ventured out for dinner with four umbrellas.  We ended up at Cafe Steinhof for some perfect rainy day beers and Austrian grub.  I opted for the wienerschnitzel and a weiss beer.  Joe got the jaegerschnitzel, while my dad and Linda both got the sauerbraten.  

Shortly after returning to our apartment my dad had to leave to head back to the beach house, which meant I could finally lay down. As I was laying on the couch, I could hear the Norah Jones concert going on across the street. After complaining to Joe about the rain preventing us from going, we decided to just go.  Umbrellas were back up, hoods were on and we followed the music into the park to find the stage.  There were a lot of people there and we were able to catch about five songs.  Joe said, “So, this is the time we decided to go see Norah Jones in the pouring rain.” Indeed, it was. We came home, took hot showers and cuddled up with books. I fell asleep at 11 p.m. reading Bukowski. Joe said he has never seen me go to bed so early in all the time he has known me; I was quite wiped. I also got up at 8 a.m. this morning and cuddled with Stinky in bed watching An Education… totally different from the book but still very good. Tomorrow, Vanessa is coming up and we are going out for her birthday. I really love it here, it’s beginning to feel like home.

(moved from tumblr)

here are some bathroom photos 🙂