Just as we signed our names to the lease...the sun burst through the clouds.

Yesterday we signed a lease!!!!!!!This wouldn't be apartment hunting in NY if it didn't come along with a slightly nail biting and dramatic vignette...We first discovered this gorgeous soho apartment a few weeks ago, and immediately we fell in love. When Ben contacted the listing agent we were crushed to find out that there was already a strong application in for the place. Peter was so convinced from the very beginning that this apartment was "the one" just from the pictures, location, and description alone. It didn't help that after Ben got a look at the place, he regretted to inform us that it was perfect and the best place that we had seen so far in our hunt that had started back in November.

Burrrrrrn.  

The following day we found out that the pending application was accepted and the apartment was lost, yet Peter refused to give up hope that by a divine miracle we could still have a chance at this lovely soho oasis. Ben, trying to manage our expectations and fragile emotions, assured us that it was gone and there was little to no chance that we would have a shot at it.

At this point we were a little beaten down by NYC, which had put us in a weakened state, yet Peter refused to give up hope, which I really respect. It pays to always stay positive, which he ALWAYS does. I told Peter that we needed to move on, regardless of how difficult it was... but we couldn't... it was too perfect and it was right in front of us, just slipping through our fingers. We were bordering on an unhealthy level of hope. But it was too late for us, as we realized that the intersection of Mott & Prince was exactly where we wanted to live, it just seemed right.

Then...out of the blue I received a phone call from Peter, "You're not going to believe this," he said, "What?...WHAT!...What happened? did it fall through?!?" I exclaimed. Divine intervention. And just like that our frowns turned upside down in a NY minute! "There's a catch," muttered Peter, "It's not available until May 1st." ::silence::House hunting in NY has brought to light new combinations of emotions that we've never felt before, excitement laced with fear and a twinkle of despair, all wrapped in a blanket of shock and happiness. So now all we have to do is find another apartment to live in for 2 months. The key is that we got the place that we love!!! And we couldn't be more thrilled!!! The NY apartment Gods have been good to us and we couldn't be more thankful.

Allow me a moment to brag. (These amenities will not impress or mean anything to those of you living outside of Manhattan) For all you New Yorker's, your mind will be blown when I tell you that this glorious 1850 square foot unit has central ac/heat...yes, you heard me. No window units. Then we have a laundry room in the unit with a huge front load washer and dryer. All of which is just icing on a cake in the form of a massive open kitchen complete with viking stove, grill, and griddle, which appears to have never been used. Exposed brick, original exposed beams, and (10-11) custom built in book shelves with lighting,  3 Juliet balconies that wrap around the entire unit, and 2 idiosyncratic water closets. Let me explain, one bathroom is completely blue, blue toilet, blue sink, blue tile and there's a drain in the middle of the floor... because the entire bathroom is a shower, literally a water closet. The other is completely grey, jacuzzi tub, and shower with built in mirrors and two shower heads. Far out! Did I mention this place is on the corner of Mott & Prince?

Now all we have to do is:

1) Find a second temporary apartment.

2) Sign a lease on this second apartment, complete with broker fees, first and last months rent (... only living there two months) and one months security deposit. 

3) Rent a Uhaul and move all clothing, computers, clarinets, and cats into the truck, then drive 7 hours with two anxiety riddled cats on my lap. 

4) Following weekend return to DC and divide up our furniture into stuff we're going to take to NYC and stuff we're going to leave for Peter's brother, Arthur and his girlfriend Marie. Drive this stuff to our DC storage unit and take some stuff out for NYC and add some stuff for A & M. Pack the stuff we want to take, plus all of our current furniture into a truck (with movers). Drive the moving truck to New Jersey (or someplace like that) and rent another HUGE storage unit, move everything from the truck into the storage unit. 

5) During this same weekend sell/gift our cars.

6) Live in temporary apartment in NY for 6 weeks while starting to look for a place to live in London.

7) 6 weeks later fly to London and stay there for 2 weeks.

8) May 1st, return from London and go directly to the storage unit in New Jersey, then stop at the temporary apartment and pick up clothes, computers, clarinets and cats. Move into dream apartment. What a breeze!

Signing the lease in our new home!! You can still see a bit of fear and weariness in my smile, as if I was waiting for someone to jump out of the closet and say,

"SIKE!!! The apartment is not for rent."

"And tell me what street, compares to Mott Street in July?" 

- Lorenz Hart, Manhattan