Literally everywhere I look, there are New Yorkers (mostly still dressed in black) and tourists (all dressed in colours) flooding the streets. Yes, people are out and about and the city is buzzing with good vibes.

Living in New York city also means, that having your own outdoor space is considered a luxury - which we don't have...

New York - the city of big dreams and hopes.

Where Alicia sings "where dreams are made of... there's nothing you can't do..."
and Frank sang "if I can make it there, I can make it anywhere...".
I have to say, it's true what they sing but it's not an easy thing to do - starting a new life with two kids in an expensive and fast paced city like New York. But without realizing it, we crossed the one year mark and I couldn't help but wonder what I have learned from New York...

I guess that is the beauty of New York. 

Just when I least expected it, I just stood there - trying to block out the noise of ever present sirens and honking cars. I ignored the dirt on the streets and my fellow New Yorkers cursing too loud. Even the current political situation disappeared from my mind for a moment... 

New York was showing me a glimpse of the kinder sides of the people who make this city special, spreading their positive energy around. Even if they don't even know this themselves...

Happy new year everyone! The first week of this new year has flown by and the first snow of 2017 has landed here in New York. I'm happy to hear from some of you that you enjoyed getting the newsletters - thanks for your feedback!

In case you are not on the newsletter list (which you should be if you want to join any give-aways, like the one today) you have missed this short clip made by the multi-talented designer and illustrator Samantha Dion Baker.

Two thousand and sixteen - a year we will always remember...Half of this year we were living in hotels and AirBnB's out of our back packs, ending our world trip of eight months.... The other half of 2016 we lived without our belongings... 

The winter holidays are almost here - whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or you are not celebrating at all - this time of the year means busy days for many people...

Going down the stairs to enter the subway, I could hear him before I could see him….

With his booming voice he was trying to surpass the noise of passengers walking by. Soulful sentences were filing the station and people stood still...

We just arrived in Brooklyn 6 weeks before when I bumped into a familiar face on the street.

"Hey, aren't you Erin? I read your blog!"  

Erin Boyle is one the Brooklyn bloggers who's daily musings and tips I read while I still lived in Dubai. Erin asked me some pretty good questions - read my take on moving multiple times with kids, storing our towels in wine crates and our new live in Brooklyn.

The apartment we rent here in Brooklyn is in a brownstone building & almost a 100 years old. We are on the top floor {which is a good exercise when you carry groceries}.