winterstorm juno prep

winterstorm juno has started! we are bracing for 2-3 feet of snow over the next two days, as forecasters are saying this could be the largest storm in nyc's history. and for the first time, kevin is actually IN TOWN for a natural disaster so we can experience it together :)

when we got home, he started with the doomsday prep, which included:

• filling up the tub with water
• taking out our flashlights and headlamps
• charging all our portable electronics
• testing out his hand crank radio <-- LOL

better to be safe than sorry! it's really nice to prep together and the possibility of being snowed in for a couple days together is actually appealing :)

we stocked up on groceries on sunday afternoon so good for a few days there. not to mention we have four bags of quinoa - white, black, red, and semilla. the three pictured below are the ones lawrence and catherine brought for us from peru! so for a quick and healthy dinner, we made a little dent in our quinoa reserves: red quinoa, sauteed curly kale, roasted golden beets, and broiled salmon.

and yes! it's that time of year again - time for ... SUMOS! :) sumos, a cross between the mandarin and navel orange, are one of our favorite fruits. they are sweet, juicy, and oh-so-tangy! in the pic below, they are the ones with the thick scaly peel, with a giant nob on top. they look like ... sumo wrestlers with the little bun :) and they are only in season for a few weeks in the winter, so along with the ruby red grapefruit, cara cara oranges, and bananas, we have a bunch of sumos to brave the next couple of days with.

another chelsea loft gem

it started to drizzle after lawrence and catherine left, and we were both a bit sore from saturday's workout, so kevin and i lounged around the apartment all afternoon on the MLK holiday. i occupied the chaise with my travel & leisure, real simple, and american sniper on kindle, while kevin programmed at the island.

haha. just kidding, kev. he always corrects me when i comment on his "programming". well, to the amateur, when someone opens up the black msdos prompt window and starts typing in commands to navigate a linux or windows machine, it looks, smells, feels, and is programming! haha ... but just kidding :)

at some point, we joined forces and posted a couple things under kevin's account on ebay. after unpacking his boxes of jackets and being forced to admit that he has uhm +15 patagonia/mountainhardware/northface/arcteryx rain/soft/midweight/hard-shell jackets, kevin's successfully posted and sold two pre-owned jackets on ebay! i decided to give it a whirl with my similarly fabulous collection of dresses compulsively acquired mostly through gilt and ruelala from 2009-2012 (some still with tags on!). 

i realized that, however, without the professional photo of the dress on a model, regardless of the lighting, clothing on a hanger is not very appealing to consumers. i wouldn't buy it! oh wells - good thing goodwill is one block away!

for dinner, we met with some friends in the neighborhood for chips & guac, ceviche, and soft tacos at cafe el presidente. although we've only hung out a couple times since meeting through rose & dustin, i think the experiences that we share through our respective loft remodels have forged a bond between us, kris & jessica. for example, we are all in cook-at-home mode after our savings accounts have been pillaged through the confusing, yet extensive manhattan design and construction process. haha.

we dropped by their new pad after dinner and saw the beauty. i think i may have surprised everyone with my smiles and excitement. the place was a wreck. the previous owner had taken liberties that no one should ever have. she had handfuls of cables and commercial-size outlets running throughout the loft, extra cabinets haphazardly installed above original kitchen cabinetry, and a surprise with every closet opened. it was a sheer wreck, but the bones WERE SO GOOD.

even the littlest amount of work would yield vast improvements and increase the market value of this unit. they have hired an architect and both have a background in design/art, i think, so i am excited to see the transformation of their space! really glad to have new friends in the neighborhood :) 

and when the place is done, i might even get to run my fingers across their steinway & sons ivories OMG!!