This is us yesterday morning in the two seconds before the kids left for school and the movers entered our place to break everything down. Not the best picture of everybody, but we took it in one take, with a self timer and then Mike and the kids were out the door. The kids and the movers literally passed each other in two separate elevators.
I’m tearing up at that last photo. I’ve followed since ‘pink in nyc’ days and watching these girls grow up with mine has been so fun. Can’t wait to see the new place!
You write so eloquently about this major life milestone! My husband and I and two daughters (ages 6 and 8) just moved two weeks ago today, to a (MUCH!!) bigger apartment in our same neighborhood in Brooklyn. We'd been in our previous apartment, which was a one bedroom that we converted to two, for 11 years! The girls are SO HAPPY to have their own rooms now. I am happy too, but it is heartbreaking to have left our home where we did so much growing up ourselves and where we brought our babies home. I went back to the old apartment (only a few blocks away) to clean out some last things on Monday and cried . . . I also have to walk by the old building every morning because it's next door to the girls' school and it is brutal! I love following your family and am excited for your next chapter (and ours!).
I am confident that you will make your new apartment as homey as your old apartment. You’ll fill it with lots of love and you will have many many more beautiful memories there too. ❤️❤️❤️❤️Mom and Sam
As I’m reading through the comments, I’m realizing I was very very different about my move. We bought our house after we got engaged and moved almost 8 years later when our daughter was 6 and our son was 2. I was happy to leave that house! It was our “starter house” and we needed more room and a decent yard, etc. But I also wasn’t thrilled with our neighborhood. We moved 15 minutes away, if that, but it was a different world. No one parking cars on their lawn (true story). No drunks throwing their keys in our backyard then looking for them the next day, because we were a couple houses down from a bar (true story). I do get nostalgic for that time in our house and we will frequently drive by it on the way home from a restaurant in the area. And every time we do, I think, “Wow, dodged such a bullet!”
We’ve been in our current house for 16 years now. My son turns 18 at the end of this month and graduates the day before my 51st birthday. We most likely won’t sell the until my husband retires, despite all the calls about cash offers for our house (or if we know anyone looking to sell).
LOVE! I love everything about this post. Every time you write something about, for example, finding the Chinese fortune cookie fortunes slips or anything else you've saved, I totally get it. I am so glad you were able to get the pictures you wanted/needed. Documenting can be such a peaceful process. CONGRATULATIONS on your new home, and cheers to new memories yet to be created.
Though the timeline on your new place is unknown, and you may not be there for 20 years.. I just can't help but think of this new space for you all with excitement. Selfishly, I look forward to hearing your stories and the life that lies ahead; new mini series ft. windowsill hangouts, where will Frankie's favorite spot be, the girls having first dates to bring home (will they spend time in Option A or B?!), dates to school dances, more slumber parties and you never know.. Mazzy may develop an entirely new persona as she reads your captions.
You have a lot ahead & to be proud of(ahem, disguised fridge- sorry Harlow)!
I moved a lot as a kid and now have been in my own house for 15 years. I so love the idea of my daughter spending her whole life in this house but I have found myself thinking it's not my forever home. It's the home that has been everything we have needed until now but that change is good! New memories will be made in your new apartment!
That last picture…..it’s like the end scene of Friends. Also - apparently I’m married to you and my husband to Mike. It’s actually a great combination once you reach a certain age and realize it’s the only way to get shit done - to marry your opposite.
Yes, we actually realized this when we planned our wedding. We cared about completely different things, but that meant that together, everything was taken care of!
I understand this. When I was leaving for the hospital before having my daughter, I insisted on photographing every room in our house because I knew it would never be the same and I had to capture our pre-parent life. Best of luck in finding your home in your new apartment.
OMG, that last shot. I literally gasped. Mommyshorts, I have followed you since Mazzy was crawling around in her sushi costume. I think I'm grieving your place too! It's the end of an era, but alas, we have to keep moving forward. I too had to leave my 1st home after 12 years. Took me a bit to heal from that. It's overwhelming sadness and excitement and exhaustion all rolled up in one. It will take a bit but you'll adjust to your new home and will love the extra space. Good luck and welcome to your new home. To new memories 🥂
I'm not a blogger or an instagrammer, but I am always the person taking photos and documenting everything. I create a monthly photo album on Google that I send to family/friends to keep them updated on our lives and our adventures. It's kinda cool because I can open up my photos app my phone and see the highlights of every month of our lives going back to the month that R was born over 12 years ago. And it's kinda cool that I can be like "Remember that time X happened?" and I can literally go and pull up a photo.
Congratulations on your move! We moved in 2015, right before R started Kindergarten. It was just 15/20 minutes away, and we had only lived there 8 years but it was emotional to say goodbye to a home and make a new space your own. I absolutely LOVE our new home and I hope to never leave it until we're in an old folks home, but who knows what life has in store for us!
I go back and forth on the "document this for future self" vs. "forget about pics and live in the moment". I tend to save things, including pictures, more than my partner. He's much more about clearing things out. I don't like clutter either, but it is hard to let go of some baby outfits, and when I forget to take a picture of something I kick myself later. Kudos to you for handling the good-bye to a place that has long been your home exactly how you need to. The interesting thing about renting out a home I lived in is that it gave me a chance to see it with other people living in it, and for me that was a less drastic separation from the space than never seeing it again. Enjoy your new beautiful place!
There is a heart wrenching movie with Charlotte Rampling called 45 Years about a couple about to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. In it, she talks about how they always lived for the moment and made fun of the people taking pictures, but now that they are older, they wished they knew that the pictures were actually the thing. Basically that the memories didn't exist if they didn't have the photos. I always remember that! If you think back to your own childhood, many of your memories are actually the ones that have been reinforced by a particular photo so you never forgot it.
Oh Ilana I’m crying! That photo of Harlow in the empty apartment 💔😭
I get so upset with myself if I don’t properly document my befores when I’m painting a room or rearranging furniture. It feels like I’ve lost what was before, something that was great and a place we lived. So I can imagine LEAVING being even harder without photos. I treasure our realtor photos from our last house.
Yes, our realtor photos are awesome, but they are not how I would photograph the apartment for myself. I found myself wishing that I would have taken my own photos when we had it all clean and perfect!
What a huge life moment! Also, I felt everything you said about being the one documenting memories/taking the photos/saving things - I’m going to share that section with my husband because he does not get the whole photos are memories thing in my head.
I’m tearing up at that last photo. I’ve followed since ‘pink in nyc’ days and watching these girls grow up with mine has been so fun. Can’t wait to see the new place!
Trust me. I've cried at least ten times since yesterday!
You write so eloquently about this major life milestone! My husband and I and two daughters (ages 6 and 8) just moved two weeks ago today, to a (MUCH!!) bigger apartment in our same neighborhood in Brooklyn. We'd been in our previous apartment, which was a one bedroom that we converted to two, for 11 years! The girls are SO HAPPY to have their own rooms now. I am happy too, but it is heartbreaking to have left our home where we did so much growing up ourselves and where we brought our babies home. I went back to the old apartment (only a few blocks away) to clean out some last things on Monday and cried . . . I also have to walk by the old building every morning because it's next door to the girls' school and it is brutal! I love following your family and am excited for your next chapter (and ours!).
I am confident that you will make your new apartment as homey as your old apartment. You’ll fill it with lots of love and you will have many many more beautiful memories there too. ❤️❤️❤️❤️Mom and Sam
As I’m reading through the comments, I’m realizing I was very very different about my move. We bought our house after we got engaged and moved almost 8 years later when our daughter was 6 and our son was 2. I was happy to leave that house! It was our “starter house” and we needed more room and a decent yard, etc. But I also wasn’t thrilled with our neighborhood. We moved 15 minutes away, if that, but it was a different world. No one parking cars on their lawn (true story). No drunks throwing their keys in our backyard then looking for them the next day, because we were a couple houses down from a bar (true story). I do get nostalgic for that time in our house and we will frequently drive by it on the way home from a restaurant in the area. And every time we do, I think, “Wow, dodged such a bullet!”
We’ve been in our current house for 16 years now. My son turns 18 at the end of this month and graduates the day before my 51st birthday. We most likely won’t sell the until my husband retires, despite all the calls about cash offers for our house (or if we know anyone looking to sell).
LOVE! I love everything about this post. Every time you write something about, for example, finding the Chinese fortune cookie fortunes slips or anything else you've saved, I totally get it. I am so glad you were able to get the pictures you wanted/needed. Documenting can be such a peaceful process. CONGRATULATIONS on your new home, and cheers to new memories yet to be created.
Though the timeline on your new place is unknown, and you may not be there for 20 years.. I just can't help but think of this new space for you all with excitement. Selfishly, I look forward to hearing your stories and the life that lies ahead; new mini series ft. windowsill hangouts, where will Frankie's favorite spot be, the girls having first dates to bring home (will they spend time in Option A or B?!), dates to school dances, more slumber parties and you never know.. Mazzy may develop an entirely new persona as she reads your captions.
You have a lot ahead & to be proud of(ahem, disguised fridge- sorry Harlow)!
: )
I moved a lot as a kid and now have been in my own house for 15 years. I so love the idea of my daughter spending her whole life in this house but I have found myself thinking it's not my forever home. It's the home that has been everything we have needed until now but that change is good! New memories will be made in your new apartment!
That last picture…..it’s like the end scene of Friends. Also - apparently I’m married to you and my husband to Mike. It’s actually a great combination once you reach a certain age and realize it’s the only way to get shit done - to marry your opposite.
Yes, we actually realized this when we planned our wedding. We cared about completely different things, but that meant that together, everything was taken care of!
OMG the empty apartment photo!! I teared up instantly!!! It's the end of an era!
But also the start of a new one. <3
I understand this. When I was leaving for the hospital before having my daughter, I insisted on photographing every room in our house because I knew it would never be the same and I had to capture our pre-parent life. Best of luck in finding your home in your new apartment.
OMG, that last shot. I literally gasped. Mommyshorts, I have followed you since Mazzy was crawling around in her sushi costume. I think I'm grieving your place too! It's the end of an era, but alas, we have to keep moving forward. I too had to leave my 1st home after 12 years. Took me a bit to heal from that. It's overwhelming sadness and excitement and exhaustion all rolled up in one. It will take a bit but you'll adjust to your new home and will love the extra space. Good luck and welcome to your new home. To new memories 🥂
I'm not a blogger or an instagrammer, but I am always the person taking photos and documenting everything. I create a monthly photo album on Google that I send to family/friends to keep them updated on our lives and our adventures. It's kinda cool because I can open up my photos app my phone and see the highlights of every month of our lives going back to the month that R was born over 12 years ago. And it's kinda cool that I can be like "Remember that time X happened?" and I can literally go and pull up a photo.
Congratulations on your move! We moved in 2015, right before R started Kindergarten. It was just 15/20 minutes away, and we had only lived there 8 years but it was emotional to say goodbye to a home and make a new space your own. I absolutely LOVE our new home and I hope to never leave it until we're in an old folks home, but who knows what life has in store for us!
<3
I go back and forth on the "document this for future self" vs. "forget about pics and live in the moment". I tend to save things, including pictures, more than my partner. He's much more about clearing things out. I don't like clutter either, but it is hard to let go of some baby outfits, and when I forget to take a picture of something I kick myself later. Kudos to you for handling the good-bye to a place that has long been your home exactly how you need to. The interesting thing about renting out a home I lived in is that it gave me a chance to see it with other people living in it, and for me that was a less drastic separation from the space than never seeing it again. Enjoy your new beautiful place!
There is a heart wrenching movie with Charlotte Rampling called 45 Years about a couple about to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. In it, she talks about how they always lived for the moment and made fun of the people taking pictures, but now that they are older, they wished they knew that the pictures were actually the thing. Basically that the memories didn't exist if they didn't have the photos. I always remember that! If you think back to your own childhood, many of your memories are actually the ones that have been reinforced by a particular photo so you never forgot it.
Oh Ilana I’m crying! That photo of Harlow in the empty apartment 💔😭
I get so upset with myself if I don’t properly document my befores when I’m painting a room or rearranging furniture. It feels like I’ve lost what was before, something that was great and a place we lived. So I can imagine LEAVING being even harder without photos. I treasure our realtor photos from our last house.
This was a beautiful send off
Yes, our realtor photos are awesome, but they are not how I would photograph the apartment for myself. I found myself wishing that I would have taken my own photos when we had it all clean and perfect!
What a huge life moment! Also, I felt everything you said about being the one documenting memories/taking the photos/saving things - I’m going to share that section with my husband because he does not get the whole photos are memories thing in my head.
Harlow at the end. 😭😭😭 Wishing you all the best in your new space! ❤