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Well Toto, we are NOT in Kansas anymore!

I’m just going to put it out there: Moving to a new house, in a new town has kind of sucked. I’m sure in just a matter of months I’ll feel settled and really love this massive change we’ve made. But for now, moving from a rented apartment in the neighborhood in Brooklyn where I spent the last 10+ years to owning a house in a new town in the suburbs has been hard. First, my mom and I spent a solid week unpacking boxes. (My mom equals Rockstar Unpacker by the way. Thanks, Mom!!!) Then I spent another week moving boxes all over the place because the movers left them in the wrong spots even though they were clearly labeled thank you very much. At least it’s been a workout! And the amount of time I now spend in the car? I abhor it. Not even thinking about the emotional aspects of leaving friends, a community, our neighborhood etc. and how much that sucks, moving is not fun!

“But don’t you just love your new house?” you may ask. Umm… almost? (I do love having all this space of course!) I know I will eventually love it but for now, home ownership has felt like I’m Wonder Woman deflecting the next major (or minor) catastrophe that I continually have to fix. What could possibly go wrong in a “well-maintained 100 year-old house” you ask?

On our one-week anniversary in the home, one of the toilets overflowed. That was awesome. At least it was a flushed toilet!

A few days later we discovered a pre-existing mice problem. You don’t put that on the listing when you sell your house, do you? Apparently we have “rodent railways” running through our basement. With my kitchen under attack, I spent a day repackaging our pantry into mason jars and plastic containers. You know I totally loved doing that! It all looks so neat and organized now. Minnie, Mickey and the rest of their crew have since found a new house, by the way.

I encountered furry bugs living in my basement. Yes, bugs with fur!  Grody, gross, gross, gross! I’m used to rats on the NYC subway and palmetto bugs (huge roaches that fly) in Miami but furry bugs?! That’s a new one for me. We have since added “pest-control company” to the to list of monthly bills.

Most recently, the clothes dryer has stopped working. I mean, come on! Where does a suburbanite even do the laundry if not at home?? Obviously the dryer bails on me while I’m in the middle of doing tons of laundry and have a washer full of wet clothes.

But it hasn’t been all toilet water and freaky bugs. There have been some amazing, unique and really fun moments in our “new life” as well.

We get regular visits in our back yard from fawn siblings that I’ve named Flora and Fauna. I know their ticks are dangerous but the deer are so amazing to watch. And these two have no fear of humans. They keep coming closer even if they know I’m sitting out there.

Eliana got to experience her first roller coaster ride.

We’ve been enjoying fun in the sun at a small beach a quick drive away.

And now that we have a guest room, we’ve loved being able to host some family and friends. (More will come this weekend! Yay!)

All kidding and complaining aside, I’ve been working hard to make this new place feel like “home.” Much of that is obviously unpacking and organizing but there’s the emotional piece which kicks in by doing the things we used to do in Brooklyn. A really important factor for me in this move was maintaining the ability to walk to places I actually wanted to go–not just a random strip mall. In the last two weeks we have been taking more and more walks. We go to restaurants, the bank, grocery stores and various shops. I’m so happy we can do that. I have to say that our little town of Larchmont is pretty cute.

In an effort to redefine normal, we’ve also been:

Exploring our new Whole Foods in a nearby town. We have to drive there so that’s annoying but at least it’s close. I was so spoiled by being able to stop by WF Brooklyn on my way home from the playground. {Sad sigh.} During our first visit to the new location, Eliana and I walked around looking for things that were the same as “our” Whole Foods in Brooklyn and noticing what was different about this new one.

Finding new playgrounds to for Eliana to conquer.

Enjoying the local farmers markets. I’ve been super excited to discover that my market in Larchmont is the most extensive and that my favorite farm, Migliorelli Farm, has a booth there. Woohoo!

We’ve had play dates with a couple of our favorite Brooklyn friends. We can’t walk over to their places after school or naptime anymore but now we get to have sleepovers.

I’ve been able to head back into Manhattan for a bit of beautification and time with some of my ladies.

And, of course, we’ve been cooking. I’m really excited that Eliana and I have continued cooking together for We Cook Wednesday. Keep up with our weekly adventures on Facebook!

Beyond putting our stuff everywhere, cooking is really what’s helping me claim this space as my own. Without making a conscious choice to do so, we’ve been making many of our family favorites, staples and comfort foods. Nothing particularly fancy or complicated, but foods that make us feel like we’re at home. For example, scrambled eggs—like I said, nothing fancy, but that was the first meal I made in our new kitchen!). Also, pancakes, french toast, taco salad, vegetable strata, egg in a hole, quinoa with veggies, chilled summer squash soup, fried rice and grilled cheese sandwiches. We’ve also made lots of cereal treats since Eliana and I are working on a new recipe for them. We’ll share it as soon as it is ready. Follow along on Instagram!

Stay tuned because new recipes, tips and ideas are coming soon!

Now I must go. It’s time for me to go battle furry bugs as I try to figure out who I need to call in order to fix my dryer.

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