2 Year Anniversary: Goodbye Chelsea!
... and hello Tribeca! After a blissful 2 years, I'm leaving the area I once thought I would never leave (during my time in NYC).
On August 7th, 2022, I moved into the city after graduating college.
It feels weird thinking about the week I have spent in my new elevator + doorman building after leaving my “cozy place” as friends would politely call it when they stepped into this tiny shoebox of an apartment in Chelsea. What once was a slightly worn, ground-level-ish unit that looks right onto the streets of 16th street with zero soundproof windows grew into a place of growth and so much love in the past two years.
The smell of pizza as you round the southwest corner of 7th and 16th followed by the smell of fresh laundry; knowing exactly when to hold my breath to avoid inhaling the pungent odor of dog piss that always seems to trickle into that one crack on the sidewalk; the scary man sculpture in the window during Halloween that gives me a jump scare no matter how many times I see it; the swarm of flies that act as our doormen that work overtime in the summer; the 30 second walk to Van Leeuwen; the fact that I have only walked on the odd-numbered side of 16th street maybe 5 times in 2 years; the Grey Dog that I always told myself I would WFH one day from…
My roommate and I had our first dinner in the blistering hot summer of August 2022 on the ground in my living room, wiping only the square foot we would sit on. We had only one appliance in the whole place— my cream-colored KitchenAid stand mixer, which we took our first ferry to retrieve via a Facebook marketplace purchase, which I failed to negotiate a lower price on. She’s worth every penny, though. We had no AC yet, we slept hugging our respective fans on our makeshift mattresses.
Three of us made this tiny apartment in Chelsea a home. We hosted Friendsgiving potlucks, New Year’s Eve birthday bashes, a Saint Patrick’s Day-themed party, a cafe pop-up that happened to fall on Easter Sunday, a cookie party the day before Valentine’s Day; this home was small but so mighty, able to hold, at our most, 30 people. We bonded over the cozy jokes, packed like tight sardines passing around the bottle of champagne to chug.
My favorite dating stories to tell came from swiping on Hinge on this very living room couch.
My first baking endeavor (216chelsea mini pound cakes for my OG fans) started in this galley kitchen.
My first cake commissions came to beautiful life here.
My paintings from my freshman year painting course found their place on these walls for the first time ever.
My alarm clock performed 4 am wake-up calls for the first races I have ever run.
Thank you, friends, for making NYC a home for the past 2 years! I don’t know what this next year will bring me (fingers crossed for a few specific things— namely, a boyfriend and a promotion), but if its anything like the priceless memories Chelsea gave me, I know I am in for the sweetest treat.
x