Lone Ranger

When I was getting ready to come out to Phoenix, I was a little concerned because I knew no one here! NOT A SOUL!!!! I was expressing this concern to my long time pilates instructor in NYC during one of our workouts......I said "Dan, what am I going to do, I have no friends or resources out there, how will I find the right chiropractor or pilates instructor or massage therapist to deal with the science project that is my body, or dance classes, or place to do my hair(sounds silly but these things are important to us girls), who will I go hiking with or have girl talk over Margaritas with......if I spend too much time alone I get a little weird! He said in the calmest tone "Marisa, it will find you, it always does".

AND it did!!! Within 2 days of my arrival, I had a wonderfully competent and very thorough chiropractor in the brother of a friend from NYC, a great pilates studio runned by a professional dancer who recommended an awesome instructor who likes to be productive but laugh as much as I do while working out. The best massage therapist I've every had who has been doing massage as part of his martial arts training since he was 6 years old. Serious stretching and massage all in one! 3 great groceries stores all within 2 about a mile of my apt. Healthfood, convenient food, regular food.

For those of you who don't already know this about me, I have a little obsession with grocery shopping. It's like therapy, walking up and down the isles, perusing new items, dreaming up recipes I could conjure up with an item from each isle. I like to go late at night or early in the morning when the isles are mine alone and sometime I get my groove on in the cereal isle or the frozen food section(granola and ice cream just make me want to dance)! It's like my own mini wonderland! I digress....

Finding dance classes at Ballet Arizona was like finding a home away from home. Everyone there was so nice and welcoming, no divas in site! And I met 3 girls on my first day of orientation were new to Phoenix, were easy and fun to chat with and we looked like we could all be sisters-weird but awesome!

So all that to say....my life in Arizona has been pretty amazing except for fact that I've sparked a fun interest with a great guy back home. Fun new friends, great resources and an apartment to myself.....Dan was right, if you stay open to the possibilities "it" will find YOU!!!

My Little Sanctuary

Adjusting to life in the desert was not as easy as I'd expected. I thought, "I love the heat it will be way better than those stinky sweaty 90 degree summer scorchers in NYC". Well.... no matter how you slice it, 120 degrees is 120 degrees, whether it's "dry heat" or not, it's just unbearable. Rolling down your car window on the highway is a little like having a blow dryer on high pointed right at your face. I'm pretty confident that the devil has a summer home in Phoenix :) The second day I was here I got into the driver's seat of my car only to realize that my black leather seats had turned into what felt like a frying pan. In my desperate plight not to burn my bottom any more than I already had I scurried to find a seat cover. The only things big enough that could create an adequate shield was my road atlas.....minor problem when you don't know where your going!!! It was an urban adventure to say the least!

I tend to think that I'm a tough girl, at least tougher than I look but this city had it's way with me. For the entire first week, I was layed out, other than forcing myself to go to work, I hardly got off the couch or left my apt. Even my car staged a protest, the battery died after 3 days of this hot mess! In that forced time at home I began nesting, which I enjoyed thoroughly.

OK....before I go any further...if you live in NYC and tend to covet the domestic amenities that rarely come with a NYC apt. or you get jealous and stage an "I hate NYC" day when you think about your college friends living out in middle America with a white picket fence.....then you may want to stop reading!! YOU'VE OFFICIALLY BEEN WARNED!!!

Anyway, in my sickly state I began to make my temporary living space a "home". Rarely have I had a significant amount of space to myself, I grew up in a modest house with 5 other family members and have lived with multiple roommates since. To have 800 square feet all to myself, is like a little slice of heaven! Then to add a big kitchen with a dishwasher, walk-in closet, a patio, washer/dryer(in my apt....I mean seriously?), more storage space than I know what to do with, 2 pools, a hot tub, 24 hour fitness center and a covered parking spot(my very own parking spot!!!!)......the good Lord just backed up the blessing truck!!!!

It has been so wonderful to wake up in the morning, cook a nice breakfast, sit on the patio with my journal and a book while the dishwasher is running and a load of clothes is in the wash with another in the dryer. Sometimes I get all the appliances going at once just because I can :) The washer doesn't even leave any marks on my clothes and the dryer never goes unbalanced like one washer/dryer unit shared by my entire building in my NYC apt. :)

No comparison to a tiny crew cabin I thought I'd be living in on the cruiseship for 6 months.

So here are the photos of my home away from home that I've been promising my Mom, Aunt Gail and Alison I would post for the past 3 months.

Welcome to my little slice of heaven at the Bellavista!

My apt. is the one on the 2nd Floor

The pathway to the pool and outdoor grills

Pool #1

Pool #2(the grown-up pool)

Covered Parking-my very own space, no circling the block for a spot!!!

The Kitchen-check out the counter space Mom-hallelujah...AMEN!!!

Livingroom/Office(Thanks Mom for the pretty homemade blanket that just so happened to match the furniture perfectly!)

My Dance Dance Room!!! I've only hit my head on the chandelier once or twice :)
Patio (with my apt. mascot AKA the foam roller)

My "make pretty" bathroom towels (thanks Aunt Gail, it used to be more of display with the big towel but Mike took if down to dry off when he came to visit-silly boys) Oh....by the way, I have a wonderful new boyfriend named Michael...more on that in a later post!
The other side of the bathroom
Washer and Dryer-YAY!!!

Where I lay my head

MY WALK-IN CLOSET!!!!!