The Subtle Way to Decorate for the Holidays

It's like a really forgetful giant has strewn his Christmas decorations all over the city.

And you thought your neighbors were showy.  Pfft.

Happy New Year!  Time to get used to writing "2011"!


Midtown.  On iPhone.

Photography credit to Sarni.

That's A Pretty "Good" Sign

I'm pretty sure they're trying to use the asterisks as emphasis and not quotation marks, but I really think that putting any punctuation around the word "fresh" was not the best idea.

New York City.  On iPhone.

That's Old News

So I'm thinking the newstands in Brooklyn need to update their celebrity magazines.  And did anyone else notice that the men on the covers look kind of...washed out?

Brooklyn.  On Canon Rebel SLR.

Okay, seriously, what is this?

Dovetailing from my post yesterday, I recently spotted this eyebrow-raising garment at a store.  Looks like long underwear, right?  The weird thing is, it was NOWHERE near either the underwear section or the sleepwear section.  It was in the jewelry section.

A new fashion trend?  Onesies!!  You heard it here first!

Flatiron District.  On Canon Powershot.

Everyone's Starting to Bundle Up

I randomly walked by one of the subjects from one of my earliest photo posts on this blog, but this time, he was bundled up in a hoodie.  Hmm.  This doesn't bode well for the weather forecast this winter.  Also, what's up with the franchise disloyalty?

Herald Square.  On Canon Powershot.

Modern Holidays

Have a MOMA Christmas . . .

. . . and a very geometric Hannukah.

Happy holidays!  (I wanted to include individual greetings for all the holidays, but I didn't take enough photos.  My bad.)


Soho (MOMA store).  On Canon Powershot.

Do You See What I See?

A last-minute glimpse of all-that-is-holiday in New York City.  Holiday spirit is reaching a fevered pitch!

Keeping our eyes peeled for the big guy in red.


Union Square.  On Canon Powershot.

I Hereby Command You...

I know New Yorkers can be a bit bossy sometimes, but guys.  Really?


Photography credit to Sarni.

Herald Square.  On iPhone.

Season's Pests

Somebody call pest control.  Little blue creatures have infiltrated New York.  (Seriously, they are everywhere.)  Hello, wildlife services?  Smurf smurf smurf smurf smurf?


Photography credit to Sarni.

Herald Square.  On iPhone.

Going to the Market

One of my favorite things about New York during the holidays is that adorable little gift shops sprout up all over the city.  As an aside, it really makes me marvel at how many small businesses there are in the world.  But I digress.  I love walking amongst the stalls, browsing (and entirely too often, buying).  The products get so creative!  Sarni and I often are sucked into the "Hot Cider and Cookies" stall (which, in typical New York-fashion, was right next to the "Waffles and Pulled Pork" stall.  Nothing says "holiday cheer" like pulled pork).

Union Square.  On Canon Powershot.

Peanut Butter and Tory

I have recently come to the decision that I must try all of the "famous" foods in New York.  There was a recent article in the NY Times about the spate of eateries cropping up across the city.  Each eatery claims to be the "best" of a fill-in-the-blank narrow food niche - mac n' cheese / hot dogs / chicken / meatballs / oysters.  Peanut Butter.

Accordingly, Cuddles, G and I met for lunch at Peanut Butter & Co., a casual eatery in the West Village where you can get all kinds of specialty peanut butter sandwiches.  Now, when he heard about it, my brother said that the place was probably started by some dude who got mocked for not knowing how to cook and eating peanut butter sandwiches all day and eventually the guy was like "oh yeah? I bet i can open a restaurant with this!"  Which, to be fair, could totally be true.  That being said, it was a pretty amusing place to eat.  The walls were covered with kitschy peanut butter ads (like the lunchbox above), and the music ranged from oldies-but-goodies to somewhat deranged-sounding children proclaiming their love for one another.  Hmm...that sounded creepier than it actually was.  I think it was supposed to be heartwarming.

As for the sandwiches, they were pretty good, although very heavy.  The three of us shared the Elvis (smooth peanut butter, bananas, honey and bacon - apparently what Elvis really ate), the Maple Bacon (maple-flavored peanut butter and bacon - our favorite), and the Fluffernutter (marshmallow spread and crunchy peanut butter).  Thanks to Cuddles and G for their patience while I obnoxiously took a photo.  To wash it down, Cuddles and G got tea and coffee, whereas I opted for the exceedingly grown-up glass of milk you can see in the background.  I'm pretty sure it's incorrect to eat peanut butter without milk.

After our peanut buttery lunch, the three of us paid a visit to the Tory Burch sample sale, where we learned that Cuddles can pretty much name the label and style of any girl's purse on sight.  Pretty neat cocktail party trick, if you ask me.  We also participated in some more draconian sample sale decorum, which included taking a number, waiting for an hour and then being whisked into the shoe section where your personal shoe assistant tells you that you have ten minutes to shop.   Who said sample sales won't pamper you?  GO GO GO!!


West Village and Fashion District.  On Canon Powershot.

Chicken of the Sea

I had a huge craving for sushi recently, so Sarni and I decided to try out Ichiumi (a sushi buffet located in Korea-town, confusingly).  Mmm.  Not sure how bowled over I was with the quality of the sushi, but the quantity and diversity of choices was definitely impressive.

There were also whole crabs.  I didn't have any, but Sarni attempted one.  I won't mention that when he tried to crack open the claw, pieces of shell flew in every direction.

I tried raw oysters for the first time and loved them!  They tasted like the ocean.  Unfortunately, after I ate them, I read the incredibly appetizing sign the restaurant had posted up about the mud worms that I likely ingested.  (Apparently there's a high likelihood of eating mud worms any time you eat raw oysters.  Which I did not realize.)  Anyway.  Yum.  That didn't make me feel queasy at all.

Korea-town.  On Canon Powershot.

Wired Up and Ready to Go.

While doing some holiday power-shopping, Sarni and I stumbled upon a temporary store set up by Wired (which I'm told is a . . . technology magazine or something?).  Anyway, it was pretty cool.  (Sarni called it "the best museum ever" - apologies to the Met and MOMA, both of which I have dragged him to.)  On the top floor, it looked like a group of friends watching football someone's living room.  If someone's living room came with rows of flatscreens, unlimited snacks, and complimentary drinks and beer.

On the main floor, there were all kinds of random futuristic and useless-but-interesting interactive technology.  Like this screen.  It was filled with the silhouettes of flying butterflies, but when you got close enough to cast your shadow on the screen, the butterflies started to eat your shadow.  Fascinating with just a touch of creepy.

Some shadows become butterfly food.

On the bottom floor, they had fun gadgets for you to look at and play with.  Here, you have the perfect solution for anyone who's reactionary on the surface but technologically advanced at heart.  It's a typewriter that has digital memory and a USB port.  You can pretend to be old school, with all the convenience of modern technology.  Brilliant.

Also on the bottom floor was an old-fashioned foosball table.  With no technological embellishments at all.  I'm not really sure why it was there, but Sarni and I engaged in some good old-fashioned foosball competition, complete with smacktalking (me) and accusations of cheating (okay, also me).  The final score was . . . well, the final score is not what's important.  What's important is that we all had fun, eh?  Eh?


Noho.  On Canon Powershot.

Mad Women

Whenever I can tear her away from her hectic work, G.I. Jane and I try to meet for power lunches.  Our recent obsession has been lunches at random diners (NYC is filled with them).  Personally, I think it's the cold weather - what's better than hot soup and grilled cheese sandwiches when it's freezing out?

Our most recent lunch concluded with coffee at Johnny Rocket's, a fifties-style diner that reminded me of Mad Men.  Nothing like five-cent jukeboxes and striped bendy-straws to inspire the ad execs from the days of yore.  You heard me, Don Draper.


Midtown.  On Canon Powershot.

War and Designer Pieces

Cuddles invited me to go with her to the Diane von Furstenberg sample sale.  Though not my first sample sale, I was excited because it was my first DVF sample sale.  "How fun!" I thought naively.  I was not prepared for the following scene of chaos:

But imagine a ton of people crushing around you.

For those of you non-New Yorkers, you should know that sample sales are an important part of the consumer culture in the city (at least to women).  If you ask someone to describe a sample sale, they'll probably tell you about the long lines, draconian rules and the communal changing rooms.  That doesn't really describe it.  A sample sale is like war, if wars were conducted by models and fashionistas and the spoils of war were designer duds that have been violently picked over.

I quickly became claustrophobic and discouraged, so while Cuddles was battling her way through the communal dressing room ("I will fiiiind yooooouuu!"), I amused myself by taking random photos of the clothes.

Luckily, at least Cuddles emerged victorious.  Check out the peacock cardigan she scored.  Very haute couture, Colonel Cuddles!


Flatiron District.  On Canon Powershot.

British Beer and Burgers for Brunch...in a Bucket...at Brinkley's

I feel like brunch is much loved in many places, but it's especially important to New Yorkers.  This city takes brunch seriously, even before it was profiled in Sex and the City.  Really, who needs Carrie to give them an excuse to wake up late and eat a grease-filled meal, washed down with alcohol?

Sarni and I recently met up with Cuddles and CJ, and Jolie and PM (Phil Mickelson) for brunch at Brinkley's, a gastropub which was the inspiration for the monstrosity of an alliteration above.  Sarni has a psychological allergy to eggs, but he's a good sport and learned to survive my brunch addiction by cornering the market on brunch burgers.  Here's his burger (in a bucket) and his beer.  Bodacious.

Soho.  On Canon Powershot.

Your Personal New York Weather Report, Part II

Guess what, kids.  It's cold out.  I mean, not Canadian-cold, but cold enough to break out the puffy jackets and fuzzy boots.  See, e.g., above.  They're running rampant through the city.

Also, those are my Black Friday jeggings!  Initially I thought they were more jeg than egg.  I'm not really sure what that means.  Anyway, now I love them.  They are the perfect amount of jeg.


New York City.  On Canon Powershot.

Happy Feet, Put to Work

In a desperate bid to try to finish some knitting projects before Christmas (um...Merry Christmas, Sarni's mom and sis!  Sorry in advance if I don't get the gifts finished in time...), Cuddles and I visited the yarn shop (Lion's Brand) near Union Square.  Man, that place is always packed.

Luckily, we were distracted from the crowds by the cast of Happy Feet, who have congregated to knit a few sweaters.  Look how they cooperate.

Cuddles especially liked the baby penguin.  Notice that he seems to be storing a bunch of mini yarn balls on his tail.


Union Square.  On Canon Powershot.

Put It On Ice

En route to the shops for some last-minute Christmas shopping, Cuddles and I cut through Bryant Park just in time to watch the end of a random ice skating rehearsal.

I love when they set up The Pond in Bryant Park, even though I am the most appalling skater you could imagine.  You know the scene in King Kong where he flops across the ice?  He could give me lessons.


Bryant Park.  On Canon Powershot.

Miracle on 34th Street

NYC's favorite little cinematic gem is a lot better in films than in person (Sarni claims that just walking into Macy's drains him of all will to live), but it's hard to deny that Macy's loves to do up the holidays.  I never catch the parades because I've become allergic to large crowds, but we stopped by to snap some cheery photos of Macy's, all dressed up for the holidays.  (You can see the lights reflected in the bus that inadvertently got in my way.)

I'd like to see that bus get in my way now!!

Every year, Macy's fills up its front windows with a creative new display, usually geared towards children.  This year's story was "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."  (I should point out I had to tell the story to Sarni, poor culturally-confused Englishman that he is).  After graciously barging several young children out of the way, Sarni and I managed to get a semi-clear shot of one of the windows.

Frenetic, yes.  But heartwarming (in a kitschy sort of way)?  Always.

Herald Square.  On Canon Powershot.

One of These is Not Like the Other

In honor of the holiday season, I forced Sarni to come browsing among the holiday shops set up in Vanderbilt Hall (Grand Central Station).  I love the quirky little knick-knacks sold there every November and December.  Here, we have a real dog pondering two fake dogs at a doggy-devotion stand.  He seems bewildered and excited, all at the same time.

For all of you subway buffs, there's an entire stand dedicated to New York subway paraphernalia.  Get your orders in now, folks.

Grand Central Station.  On Canon Powershot.

The Toucans Have Infiltrated New York

To our surprise, Sarni and I came across this, um...global aquarium...out on the street in NYC.  Costa Rica in a box!  And now I have a connection between our trip to Costa Rica and New York City!  Yeah!

Also, Sarni would like to point out that toucans do not belong on the floor (see corner of the aquarium).

Flatiron District.  On Canon Powershot.

Nothing Says the Holidays Like An Overpriced Coffee in a Pretty Cup

For me, the holiday season officially begins when Starbucks breaks out their syrupy holiday drinks in jolly red cups.  Seriously.  I'm not kidding.  Just seeing those little cups makes me happy, and sipping a Gingerbread Latte (skim, no whip, um, just in case) is like a preview to being at home with family and friends for the holidays.  And they've introduced even more flavors, which is awesome, but they all have high calorie counts, which is less awesome.  But that's another great aspect of the holiday season - the excuse to fatten up faster than a bear preparing for hibernation.  Next on the list - holiday chocolates.

New York City (on almost every corner).  On Canon Powershot.