Welcome to The Lily

I think we are at that point in our move that the relocation package fails to mention.  That part where you just kinda start to get loopy.  It's like you know it's just a matter of weeks before a crew is going to come in, pack up your earthly possessions and either ship it or store it.  But you are still trying to run a functional household with hand towels and salt shakers, stickers and legos, garbage cans and coffee pots, stuff that needs to be packed, but can't yet be parted with. In my futile efforts to start setting stuff aside, I just found myself wandering the upstairs hallway with a martini shaker in one hand and an umbrella in the other.  That's when I decided to put the barware and rain gear down and take a breather at my lap top and tell you about my other home.  The one Asia.  The one we don't live in yet.  The one called The Lily.

The real estate agent in Hong Kong lined up over 20 apartments for our viewing pleasure while we were there.  We went in with this strategy that we would compare the first to the second and X-out to one we liked less, and then the winner of that round would go up against the third place, and so on and so on and so on.  Good in theory, but unfortunately house hunting is not so black and white.  Some apartments were, shall we say, less than impressive.  But the amenities were awesome!  The first place we looked at, the same complex where the Milkshake Murder took place (google it), didn't exactly float my boat, but then it had a shuttle bus, a grocery store, indoor pool, outdoor pool, nice playroom....so it really messes up your mind.  You start to wish these apartments could be like Mr. Potatohead, where you can mix and match the pieces, customize it, make it your own.  And it's easy to get stars in the eyes when you see an apartment building with its very own spa on-site and video rental store.  But luckily, we were always able to step back, wipe the magic from our eyes, and re-focus on what we thought was important in an apartment.  So, after an day or being in and out of the realtor's van, up and down various elevators, in and out of vacant apartments, we set foot in The Lily.

The Lily is modern and funky and cool in a way I am not.  If it were to be my forever home, I could never!  But for 3 years, kind of fun.  The moment we walked over the thresh hold, I looked at Gene and whispered, "this is it!".  And this is why.  Check out the view!

It's not exactly a horrible thing to wake up to every morning, right?  Along with this incredible view, the apartment at the Lily has good sized bedrooms for the kids with decent closets and a lovely master suite for us.  I would like our bedroom to be a tad bit larger, but decided this cool free-standing bathtub was a fair trade.

And then there is my very favorite room in a home, the kitchen.  If you know me well you know I love, love, love to tool around the kitchen.  I love recipes. I love cooking.  I love baking.  Thanks to two grandmas who showed me the way, I just love being in the kitchen. Was I ever going to find a totally lumped out, gourmet kitchen in an apartment in Hong Kong?  No.  But all things considered, this one is pretty close.

The stove is electric, which I'm not a fan of, and the oven tiny, tiny, tiny by U.S. standards.  But trust me, we looked at a lot of apartments, thus a lot of kitchens, and this was by far and wide the BEST that we saw.  You can't see it in the pic, but there's actually a wine fridge in there.  Does that just scream Tomczak Friday Fun or what!

Another nice feature in this apartment is the study, which has a pocket door so it can be left open or closed off when necessary.  This is a real find for us.  Why, do you ask?  It all goes back to the 12 hour time difference.  You see, when Gene has a conference call with the U.S. at 8:00am EST, it will be 8:00pm in Hong Kong.  It's almost a relief that he can do it from home, just pulling that door shut for a little privacy.  I'm not oblivious to the fact that this job will take a lot, and I mean a lot, of Gene's time and attention.  But even if he's a busy bee, if he can buzz from our home, that's so much better.  Sometimes just being in the same space is enough.

I mentioned that some of the amenities at the apartment complexes were unbelievably fantastic. They are good at The Lily, but admittedly not the best of the best. After all, we saw placed with golf simulators, spas, racquetball courts, restaurants!  But during our stay we will be enjoying an exercise room

The kids can goof around in the outdoor play area

Or on rainy days, the indoor play room

And all year long, we can all enjoy this indoor heated pool.

It is very possible that I will be suffering from withdrawal at not having our grill for burgers and steaks and salmon and grilled veggies.  But if the cravings get too intense, we can rent out this BBQ area and grill to our hearts content.

The Lily also offers a daily shuttle bus that will run us into town and school buses for the kids will come right to the lobby door.  A really nice grocery store called Jason's is just down the road, but because sidewalks are not continuous and the cab drivers are craaaazzzyyyy! I probably will not be able to walk back and forth to the market. 

So that's it!  And though it still seems weird, foreign, unnatural not to have a sprawling carpet of green grass, flowers popping up in the spring, a garage to house our vehicles, and a mailbox at the curb, once all four Tomczaks get established under The Lily's roof, it will be home.