We have finally arrived!
It took 2 very full days of driving, many gas stations trips & hours of CD's, but we made it to New Jersey. It was a very eventful, frustrating & hilarious trip all together, & we've spent every waking moment since we got here unpacking, going to interviews or to orientations.
Full scoop of our long haul up here & our first week as Garden Staters to come shortly. We miss you all & are anxious to hear from you!
We promise to update more this weekend,
Parisa & Jonathan
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Last Day as Texans
The long awaited, much anticipated day is finally here. Today is our last day in Texas, as we're hitting the road at 4 am tomorrow. We're so excited but it is truly bittersweet. We'll miss our absolutely wonderful & supportive families, who have been our anchors throughout the crazy busy year of engagement, wedding planning, & now moving. We'll miss our amazing friends (who really feel like just a part of our family) who we love spending time with, laughing with, & partaking in shenanigans with. We'll miss you all so, so much & we promise to keep in touch. We will keep you updated & we will see you SOON! We're documenting our roadtrip via camcorder, so we'll be sure to post the footage once we get settled in, as well as some pics of the new apartment & gorgeous Madison. And now, a tribute to our hometown:
Top 5 Reasons We'll Miss Dallas
1. Highways that actually make sense (which seems to be lacking in NJ)
2. Accessibility to mall shopping, regardless of what part of the metroplex you're in
3. Texas hospitality... nothing quite like it
4. Hearing other people say "y'all" on a regular basis
5. The familiar feeling of just being home. We both proudly call Dallas home, & this city will be missed.
Thank you all for all your support, reassurance, comfort, laughter, friendship & all your love over the years. Please pray that our marriage continues to grow stronger, that we'll settle in quickly & start building the community we've longed for for a while now, & that our path will be clear. We'll be back before you know it, & can't wait to see you all again very, very soon.
Safe journies,
Parisa & Jonathan - the newest additions to the Garden State
Top 5 Reasons We'll Miss Dallas
1. Highways that actually make sense (which seems to be lacking in NJ)
2. Accessibility to mall shopping, regardless of what part of the metroplex you're in
3. Texas hospitality... nothing quite like it
4. Hearing other people say "y'all" on a regular basis
5. The familiar feeling of just being home. We both proudly call Dallas home, & this city will be missed.
Thank you all for all your support, reassurance, comfort, laughter, friendship & all your love over the years. Please pray that our marriage continues to grow stronger, that we'll settle in quickly & start building the community we've longed for for a while now, & that our path will be clear. We'll be back before you know it, & can't wait to see you all again very, very soon.
Safe journies,
Parisa & Jonathan - the newest additions to the Garden State
Monday, August 17, 2009
We're Movin' On Up, To The East Side...
We're back from our NYC trip!
We had such a great time touring NY & NJ. We kicked off the week by celebrating Parisa's birthday with NYC shopping, dinner, Times Square & a movie. It was a much-needed and relaxing start to our trip. We got to visit with an old friend of Jonathan's & his wife while we were there. They gave us a great tour of Alphabet City & were such wonderful hosts. Our heartfelt thanks to Greg & Hannah for opening their home to us & letting us hang out with them (and for introducing us to the delicious wonders of Vietnamese sandwiches!). The last few days were spent in Jersey, getting more familiar with Madison, the public transit system, & the Drew campus. We even were able to view our apartment, which is PERFECT. It is on the top floor of the apartment building, more spacious than we had anticipated, & overlooks a playground & gorgeous forest. It even has this great seafoam greenish-blue tiling in the bathroom, which adds so much character to it. We couldn't ask for more!
The job search is going well. Parisa has 2 interviews lined up for the week we arrive in New Jersey, so please keep that in your prayers.
This week will be really busy with packing, packing, packing. We're putting as much as we can into boxes & loading up the truck & Uhaul; we embark on our journey bright & early Saturday morning! We are SO excited, & this visit to NYC & Madison really got us anxious & looking forward to this new phase in our lives together.
Top 10 Reasons We're Excited About Living In The Northeast: (in no particular order):
1. NYC culture: we're less than half an hour away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Broadway, all the independent restaurants, bookstores, & markets you could ever ask for, & the diversity is so vast.
2. Climate: the end of triple digit temperatures! We look forward to actual snow, having 4 full seasons, & to 90 degree temperatures being a "scorching" irregularity
3. Public Transit: the availability of subways, trains & buses. We can now spend 30 minutes reading on a train & let someone else worry about the traffic.
4. Parisa becomes a Real Housewife of New Jersey: This one needs no explanation.
5. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: We've secured a hotel in Manhattan for the day before Thanksgiving & look forward to attending the parade this year! It'll be fulfilling one of Parisa's "must do before I die" goals, & we're excited to start new traditions as a family.
6. Hiking/Outdoors: Jonathan has exhausted all Southwestern trails, & we both really look forward to exploring the new & scenic trails the Northeast has to offer. The Catskills & Adirondacks are just a short drive away. We'll also be super close to some great skiing & snowboarding!
7. Living on the set of Gilmore Girls: Seriously. If any of you have seen the show, you know what I'm talking about. Madison has one main street (actually called "Main Street", haha) and they entire city looks like it JUST fell off the set of Gilmore Girls. This township is so beautiful & small town-esque, it is almost surreal.
8. Developing Community: We are really looking forward to growing closer in our marriage, & building a great community of friends. We greatly look forward to building deep & lasting friendships, with families who are in our same life stage & we can share with & relate to. We are looking forward to a fresh start as a family unit in a completely new city, & really getting involved with the school & church.
9. Best of Both Worlds: We are going to live in a quiet, small town, & be a ridiculously short distance to the hustle & bustle of NYC. Aside from that, other states are a short car ride away, which will make for great & affordable weekend getaways.
10. Visitors: We look forward to having our family & friends come visit us! We really want to show you our new city & new place. PLEASE come visit us, as much as you can, for as long as you can! We'd love to have you come stay with us & let us show you all the sights :) This is not an empty offer- we really would love to share this new phase of our lives with you!
We love you all deeply & can't wait until we are finally moved in & settled! We'll be updating the blog towards the end of this week with our Final Dallas Farewell, so be sure to check in.
Until then,
Jonathan & Parisa
We had such a great time touring NY & NJ. We kicked off the week by celebrating Parisa's birthday with NYC shopping, dinner, Times Square & a movie. It was a much-needed and relaxing start to our trip. We got to visit with an old friend of Jonathan's & his wife while we were there. They gave us a great tour of Alphabet City & were such wonderful hosts. Our heartfelt thanks to Greg & Hannah for opening their home to us & letting us hang out with them (and for introducing us to the delicious wonders of Vietnamese sandwiches!). The last few days were spent in Jersey, getting more familiar with Madison, the public transit system, & the Drew campus. We even were able to view our apartment, which is PERFECT. It is on the top floor of the apartment building, more spacious than we had anticipated, & overlooks a playground & gorgeous forest. It even has this great seafoam greenish-blue tiling in the bathroom, which adds so much character to it. We couldn't ask for more!
The job search is going well. Parisa has 2 interviews lined up for the week we arrive in New Jersey, so please keep that in your prayers.
This week will be really busy with packing, packing, packing. We're putting as much as we can into boxes & loading up the truck & Uhaul; we embark on our journey bright & early Saturday morning! We are SO excited, & this visit to NYC & Madison really got us anxious & looking forward to this new phase in our lives together.
Top 10 Reasons We're Excited About Living In The Northeast: (in no particular order):
1. NYC culture: we're less than half an hour away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Broadway, all the independent restaurants, bookstores, & markets you could ever ask for, & the diversity is so vast.
2. Climate: the end of triple digit temperatures! We look forward to actual snow, having 4 full seasons, & to 90 degree temperatures being a "scorching" irregularity
3. Public Transit: the availability of subways, trains & buses. We can now spend 30 minutes reading on a train & let someone else worry about the traffic.
4. Parisa becomes a Real Housewife of New Jersey: This one needs no explanation.
5. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: We've secured a hotel in Manhattan for the day before Thanksgiving & look forward to attending the parade this year! It'll be fulfilling one of Parisa's "must do before I die" goals, & we're excited to start new traditions as a family.
6. Hiking/Outdoors: Jonathan has exhausted all Southwestern trails, & we both really look forward to exploring the new & scenic trails the Northeast has to offer. The Catskills & Adirondacks are just a short drive away. We'll also be super close to some great skiing & snowboarding!
7. Living on the set of Gilmore Girls: Seriously. If any of you have seen the show, you know what I'm talking about. Madison has one main street (actually called "Main Street", haha) and they entire city looks like it JUST fell off the set of Gilmore Girls. This township is so beautiful & small town-esque, it is almost surreal.
8. Developing Community: We are really looking forward to growing closer in our marriage, & building a great community of friends. We greatly look forward to building deep & lasting friendships, with families who are in our same life stage & we can share with & relate to. We are looking forward to a fresh start as a family unit in a completely new city, & really getting involved with the school & church.
9. Best of Both Worlds: We are going to live in a quiet, small town, & be a ridiculously short distance to the hustle & bustle of NYC. Aside from that, other states are a short car ride away, which will make for great & affordable weekend getaways.
10. Visitors: We look forward to having our family & friends come visit us! We really want to show you our new city & new place. PLEASE come visit us, as much as you can, for as long as you can! We'd love to have you come stay with us & let us show you all the sights :) This is not an empty offer- we really would love to share this new phase of our lives with you!
We love you all deeply & can't wait until we are finally moved in & settled! We'll be updating the blog towards the end of this week with our Final Dallas Farewell, so be sure to check in.
Until then,
Jonathan & Parisa
Friday, August 7, 2009
Home Is Where The Heart Is
Breaking News: WE HAVE AN APARTMENT!!!
We are pleased to announce that we are turning in the paperwork Monday & are confirmed as new residents of Madison, New Jersey! We have the perfect little (really, really little) home secured right in the heart of Madison, & Drew U! We're really excited about getting to check this huge "To Do" off our list. Address to come.
One little "living in the Northeast" quirk that we're going to have to get used to: no A/C units in the home. Almost all the homes. Heaters are included. In Texas, these would be un-liveable conditions. Nutso!
We're heading to NYC tomorrow morning for a week- to celebrate Parisa's Birthday (August 9th!) and to get better acquainted with the area, as well as job search. Wish us luck!
We're leaving on a jet plane,
Parisa & Jonathan
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