Chez Toni

For 4 years, I've called my little studio on 72nd and York home. It's small and it has no natural light (except for at around 1pm for maybe 10 minutes) but it's mine and I love it. When I received my lease renewal form in the mail a few months ago, I burst into tears. Although my management company has been more than fair with my rent, the cost of my cute studio had finally reached that limit where affording my apartment would mean needing to take on a second job. Reluctantly, I put the packet away in my desk. I thought maybe if I don't look at it for a while, I'll magically be able to afford my little slice of the big apple? No such luck. So, I took it back out and faced reality.

I signed my lease renewal form saying I would not be returning to the Oxford Houses when my lease was up in March. It was one of the most difficult decisions I've had to make but it was time.

A little piece of me felt like I was losing my inner Carrie Bradshaw. Where is that girl who would have exclaimed "Savings are for the birds!" and spent every last dime in her bank account on rent just to live in a fabulous neighborhood of Manhattan all on her own? Well, she's still in there. She's just more mature and more conscious of her budget. Plus I didn't have as much closet space to lose.

As I prepared for the big move, I realized I didn't have any pictures of my space.

Here is a mini-tour of my studio.




And here is my kitchen (right after everything was packed away)


And this one was my only-in-New-York view of the brick wall of the maybe too close building next door with no windows on the first 6 floors.

And that was my snug little fabulous home.

With my apartment cleaned out and my light fixture in my hands, I headed across town to my new space on 50th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. I got out of the cab in my new neighborhood, Clinton aka Hell's Kitchen. And I walked into my new building complete with a gym, laundry room, elevator, and a concierge - quite the change from my standard walk-up. I moved in with Alex and his roommate Harold and things are still brand new. My commute is a quick 10 block walk, my neighborhood is always buzzing with people, and I get to see the love of my life every day (that's my favorite part). Once I'm settled in and my stuff is put away, I'll give you a tour of the new pad.

Lima es Linda

After a quick flight to Lima, we were at his family's hotel and having a delicious lunch with Alex's uncles, grandmother, and younger cousin, David. It was wonderful to spend some time getting to know his family - they are all so lovely. Once we settled into our huge suite in the hotel, we set off for a walk around the gorgeous golf course that the hotel overlooks and stopped in a soda shop for ice creams. Then we went for a long walk in the Olive Garden, a beautiful and very romantic park full of large olive trees with a koi pond in the center. After freshening up at the hotel, we headed to the hotel's casino for some black jack - Alex left with empty pockets but I was up $60 by the time we left and with my first shot at black jack, I was feeling pretty lucky!

The next day we took a walk to the Huaca, a pre-Incan ruin right smack in the middle of the city. We walked to the top and took in the beautiful view.

Then we spent the afternoon at his grandmother's huge apartment eating lunch and spending some quality time with his family. The lunch was prepared by the family's long time cook and it was absolutely scrumptious. After lunch, his uncle's driver took us to Mira Flores, a beautiful beach neighborhood in Lima. We walked around the mall which is almost completely outdoors and right on the Pacific. We rested in the "Park of the Lovers" which was full of romantic statues, poppies, and couples in love. We met his uncle for dinner at a Peruvian-Italian fusion restaurant which was out of this world.

The next day, we got a tour of Pachacamac, an incredible set of pyramid temples in the desert.

We hiked the temple complex in the sweltering heat and explored the ruins before checking out the museum which had a display of artifacts found at the site. We ate an authentic Peruvian lunch (that's the big meal instead of dinner) and picked up Alex's little 9 year old cousin to visit the family's pets - 2 dolphins named Wyra and Yacu. This was the highlight of my trip - we helped the dolphin trainer by feeding them, helping to teach them a trick, and petting them. I was in awe and totally in love with these brilliant animals. Prying me away from the dolphins wasn't easy but we needed to freshen up after our active day before we headed to an artsy neighborhood of Lima for dinner in an outdoor cafe.

We spent our next day at the most interesting art market I could have imagined. The mansion, called Dedalo, is full of pieces from local artists, designers, sculptors, and creatives. Each room is assembled with purpose like a gallery. A garden in the middle allows shoppers to relax and have a coffee while the artists mix and mingle with visitors. We ended up buying a few pieces and had a wonderful time. The evening was spent having a decadent 17 course dinner at Astrid y Gaston.

Our last day in Peru was spent at pottery museum, Museo Larco, with pottery dating back to thousands of years BC and continuing up to modern pottery. I loved it there - the gardens were incredible and the pottery was beautiful. We met up with Alex's uncle and cousin to head to a water fountain festival at a local park and a Chinese-Peruvian dinner.

On our flights back, we talked about our wonderful trip and realized how lucky we were to get away for a bit as we stepped back into the chilly NYC weather. We packed up a cab at JFK with our luggage and art and as Alex instructed the driver to make 2 stops, I realized that this would be our last trip where we would be going home to our own separate apartments and that made me smile.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

The new year has been off to a busy start. Since Roundabout is especially busy during the end of the year, it came as no surprise that my work schedule would be a hectic one in December and January. But I did have a lovely December. Some of the highlights of my holiday season: performing a beautiful holiday concert with the Nassau Pops, celebrating the holidays with my family and Alex on Long Island, and spending a low-key New Year's Eve on the Upper West Side with a large group of friends. All of the busy activities going on in my life had me aching for a getaway...which was perfect because months earlier, Alex and I had planned a trip to Peru.

We began our adventure with a long flight from JFK to Lima with a transfer in Panama City. We arrived in Lima exhausted and excited for the rest of our trip. We spent the night at his family's hotel, Los Delfines, and stayed in a junior suite with a cute little dessert tray waiting for us. After a much needed rest, we met Alex's identical twin uncles for a quick breakfast before flying to Cusco for the first leg of our vacation.

After a quick trip up up and away (literally - we were heading to a city with an astoundingly high altitude), we were in the beautiful city of Cusco which sits almost 3 miles above sea level. The adjustment to the altitude was a bit of a challenge but it was so gorgeous there that I almost didn't notice. Our hotel was incredible - it used to be a monastery and the staff was incredibly hospitable. We entered and were given coca tea - a natural remedy altitude sickness (which neither Alex nor I suffered from, thank goodness). The leaves used for making this delicious, earthy tea are highly illegal in the US as they are also used to make cocaine. Nevertheless, the tea did the trick and was delicious.

Our first day in Cusco was spent exploring the city, relaxing, and going to an incredible dinner in the main square.

On our second day, we took a tour of the city and visited a fascinating church where Incans were Christianized when the Spanish invaded the Andes in the 1500's and wiped out the empire. Then we were off to 2 Incan temples, the ruins of Sacsayhuaman, and we even hiked part of the Incan trail!

We took a day trip to Machu Picchu - one of the most breathtaking places I have ever visited. Nestled on the steep top of a mountain in the Andes, Machu Picchu is a preserved ruin of an Incan town. Walking around the site was surreal. We learned about the Incan empire, the Andes, and the spirituality of ancient cultures. Check out our guide peeking out as we walked through the terraces used for farming.

We spent our last night in Cusco at a delicious, mainly organic, restaurant right off the main square called Greens and we ended our meal with a quinoa brulee which was out of this world! After a nice rest, we filled up on a large breakfast of native fruits such as lucuma and grenedia before we flew back to Lima to enjoy the rest of our vacation.

More to come soon!