Steven Curtis Chapman and Family - "There is Hope in Our Grief"

If you read one thing today, watch this interview that Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, gave to Good Morning America about the tragic death of their 5-year-old daughter, Maria, in May.

Their story is powerful and profound. I couldn't stop crying when I watched it. What an incredible testimony about God's faith during the stormy seasons of life.

Our New Apartment...Hopefully

As we were making our way down from Maine, we made a stopover in Boston - and found our apartment! It's a 1 bedroom in Cambridge (with room for a small office "nook" with some creative decorating from IKEA!), just a few blocks away from Porter Square.

Things I am most excited about about this apartment:
1. Making that first trip to the huge grocery store a few blocks away. I'm going to try to find the most unusual, exotic ingredients that I can never find at our grocery store here.
2. Still having a dishwasher and microwave in the kitchen.
3. The gym right across the street - with a lap pool!

Things Brian is most excited about about this apartment:
1. Being a short bike ride away from the Minuteman Bike Trail.
2. Being a short bike ride away from Harvard.
3. Being a short bike ride away from...everything!


We are waiting for the paperwork to go through and for the landlord's final approval, so please pray that all goes well. Hopefully, everything should be set by the end of this week.

Here's a sneak peek of (what will hopefully be!) our new apartment in about a month:

Outside of the apartment building

Foyer

Living room - with a working fireplace!

What will become my "office" with a little bit of creativity...

Kitchen









Bathroom



Bedroom

Waiting...

Waiting for someone to take over our lease in New York City...Know anyone interested?

Waiting to move to our new apartment on Arlington Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts...Just signed today!

Waiting for school to start for Brian on September 15...and waiting and working about 10 years before he'll be the talented Dr. Blank.

Waiting for room service in our Boston hotel...Our last night on vacation!

Waiting to update the blog...As soon as we get home this weekend, I'll update with pics from our trip to Maine and all that's happening with the move to Boston.

Fix, Craigslist, Fix!

Craigslist has completely taken over the real estate world.

Which is not a bad thing. Necessarily. It does streamline the process a bit.

But it is a bad thing when the "image hosting server" is down. (Translation: Every single picture comes up as a box with a red x in it.)

If A = we are moving to Boston in 5 weeks - and don't have an apartment yet...

And B = I can't find an apartment without seeing the pictures...

Then A + B = Craigslist, Brian and I are moving in with you if you don't get things up and running soon!

A Tale of Two Cities

A tale of two cities in the New York Times recently with two great write ups on New York City and Boston. With about 30 days left in New York, my worlds are colliding.

New York City:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/travel/04weekend.html

Boston:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/07/18/travel/escapes/18boston.html?ref=travel

Vino-dication at Last!

To all of you snobby New York City waiters and waitresses who've told me that Lambrusco "doesn't exist:"

http://newyork.savorycities.com/wine2.php

Finally, someone (besides me and my father) who acknowledges the amazing properties of the bestwineever. Lambrusco.

It's sweet. It's sparkling. And it's red (for those of you who say white wine isn't "real" wine).

So, take THAT, New York!

The Blanks Do Boston

Brian and I just got back from a long weekend in Boston with near record-breaking heat! We all know how much I love the hot weather. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

We spent Saturday and Sunday looking at probably 10-15 apartments in Cambridge and Somerville as we prepare for our move up there this fall.

There were some winners, some losers, and some "why would you even show us this place? You would NEVER live here!" Gross.

Sorry I forgot my camera this time. But you can use your imagination.

We put our hat in the ring for one great apartment - 2 bed, hardwood, TWO porches, backyard, W/D (In the 10 years since I've lived away from home, I've NEVER had a washer/dryer in my apartment!), great tree-lined street close to the T and one stop from Harvard Square.

BUT - we got there after another couple already put in an application, so we're second in line. Pray that the first couple has a prison record or it's back to Boston for another round of apartment hunting for us.

But, all in all, we had a great time, ate some delicious crab at Legal Seafood, and got a glimpse of what our life in Boston might be like. And we liked what we saw!