I spent the weekend in Brooklyn

The girls and I won't move into our apartment until a few days after Christmas, but we spent the weekend there to get Harper excited about her new room/bed/bedspread and to help me see what's missing from the apartment (all of our things that aren't furniture).

Some observations:

1) I have been living in strange and suspended animation out here in the boons. I went walking with Bea in the carrier a few different times around the neighborhood -- to get coffee or groceries or just look at stuff -- and I would suddenly catch myself acting a total fool. Smiling at, like, rooftops? Or chuckling, shoulders shaking, at something a crazy person selling flasks said. I was almost on a manic high from the combo of real! live! people!/lights/tiny-dogs-in-sweaters/constant coffee access/men in crazy fur hats and couldn't believe I'd waited so long to live in a city again. *hitch kick and a Mary Poppins song*

2) I dragged us to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and decorated windows. At 6:00 PM. On a Saturday night. With two overtired tiny people. It was madness and there were so many Santas ("Um, mom? I just saw four girl Santas? I mean Mrs. Clauses, I guess...") but it still thrilled me that that's a (relatively easy) thing I can just go do.

3) Both girls had their first NY Subway ride. Mixed results. And I remembered, from my many years in Boston, how much I haaaaate being bundled in winter gear and smushed inside a train. The sweat trickling down and the static hair and just so, so hot and no room to take any of it off. PANIC. 

This reminds me that senior year of college at BU, I had a few Psych classes with this one girl. She was Japanese and so pretty and pulled together and chic. She had a certain backpack and certain jeans and these black lace-up shoes from Diesel (do they still even exist?) and I would stare at this outfit and know true happiness would reveal itself to me if I had it. So I went out and bought every single part of it and straight up wore it, too. THAT IS SO WEIRD. And also really unlike me. I still have the backpack and still love it. And okay, true happiness didn't splash upon me, but I did look pretty cool. For 2003 at least.

4) A 5th floor walkup with an elevator is cool/fine/sure/nice view until the elevator breaks. *hospital emoji*