NYC: The Shopping

NYC is a shopper's Mecca. We have access to so many great shops and brands here in SF, but I guess the biggest difference is that NY seems to have a (insert name of favorite store here) in every neighborhood instead of one main store in Union Square.

Some of the most notable stores we visited were Tiffany & Co., Kate's Paperie, Dean & Deluca, Prada, Takashimaya, and Anna Sui. I can't even choose a favorite. Two stores that I would suggest visiting for pure aesthetic value are Takashimaya on 5th Avenue and Prada in SoHo. The Prada space is truly an architectural candy store. Make sure you ride in the elevator.

NYC: The Sites and Shows

We did the tourist thing and caught a ferry to Ellis Island. We saw the Statue of Liberty on the way, but didn't stop off. Ellis Island is currently being fought over in court by New York and New Jersey. It is situated in New Jersey but it is mostly land fill from the New York subway. Tyler and I think that NJ wins. If anything, it seems like NY should have to pay NJ to dump their garbage in NJ. Ellis Island was very moving. One of my great grandmothers went through Ellis Island from Croatia. I tried to imagine what she must have been thinking upon her arrival to the United States.

We had one celebrity sighting on our second to last day. We saw Rain Wilson (Dwight on the Office) outside of 30 Rockefeller. We took the NBC studio tour and got to tour the sets of Nightly News, Dateline, and Saturday Night Live. I have to admit I was pretty disappointed and amazed all at once- amazed at the mess of lights in the studios and disappointed that the studios are practically taped together cardboard sets. Evidently upgrading sets is an huge and costly undertaking for the networks since HD will soon be required. We also went to the top of 30 Rock one night to see a breathtaking view of the city. It was freezing cold!

Heidi got us really good seats for Wicked. It was my first time seeing it. It was very entertaining. Galinda made the show for me.

NYC: The Museums

I'm not even sure where to start with New York. The week was packed with fun experiences. I loved it!

We visited three museums - The Met, MOMA, and the Frick Collection. They were all amazing in their own way. Kim and I spent 6 hours at the Met and we didn't really even get to see very much. My favorite exhibit was a special exhibit titled Barcelona and Modernity: Gaudi to Dali. One of my favorite Van Gough paintings, Wheat Field with Cypresses, is also part of the Met collection.

I was very pleasantly surprised at MOMA because I had no idea that The Starry Night resides there. What child doesn't begin to love art when they see this painting? It was amazing to see it in person. I also especially loved the Paul Klee gallery and the Picasso still lives.

The Frick Collection was beautiful not only because of the very amazing art and antiques, but you also get to see it displayed in a beautiful 5th Avenue mansion looking out on the park. I loved the library. The cases, which contained a lovely collection of leather bound books, were only about 4 feet tall and wound all the way around the large room. What a life!

Final Notes on Philadelphia

Philadelphia is one of those places that you don't realize is fabulous until you visit it. I really enjoyed my time there. I got to see all of the historical sights like the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross's House, and Benjamin Franklin's grave to name a few. Rittenhouse Square was lovely. And best of all, I got to spend time with Katie, Carter, and Mike. Happy birthday Carter!

I found Tyler's calling in life. He needs to quit his corporate job so we can move to Philly, buy a condo in Old City and become a tour guide/ park ranger at Independence Hall. I'm sure that's an easy gig to get.

The Return of Rocky

The Philadelphia Museum of Art was probably my favorite sight in Philly. The stone they used is a warm yellow and pink stone rather then the more traditional white marble. It had a very relaxing and softening effect. My favorite piece of art is the huge backdrop painted by Marc Chagall, A Wheat Field on a Summer's Afternoon, which he painted for the third scene of the Russian ballet, Aleko. Recently, the Rocky sculpture was returned to the exterior of the museum after much controversy over allowing a pop piece to be exhibited at the very classical museum. It was definitely the most popular photo-op. The museum also exhibits the Duchamp piece, The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass), which Jeong-Im informed me is his most important work. Katie made me touch the spider. Yuck!

The Birth Place of Anthropologie

Philadelphia is where Urban Outfitters and later Anthropologie were founded. We visited the Anthropologie flagship store in Rittenhouse Square. The store is huge and the building is a gem!

Philly Foodie

I visited Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia with Katie and Carter. It's a huge food market with stalls of fresh produce, large counters of fish and seafood, bakeries, butchers, etc. It's a lot like the Ferry Building in SF, but not pretentious or expensive. (For the record, I love the Ferry Building and visit it often to buy my $15 sliver of Neil's Yard cheese imported from England and $5 organic mini banana cream tart.) I ate my first cheese steak (with the cheese whiz for authenticity) at Rick's and had the most delicious butter almond ice cream at Bassett's. It's rumored that the best soft pretzels are made here, but the stand was closed by the time we got there. Fabulous place!!

I love hanging out with Katie. We always laugh and eat lots of ice cream!

Recipe of the Week

Tonight is our annual church birthday party celebrating the organization of our women's group. I've been asked to take a side dish, so I'm making this wild rice salad. Afterward I'm going to sneak into dinner club late for Sarah's crab-stuffed shrimp with basil cream sauce on a bed of jasmine rice! Tomorrow I'll be back with the details and I'll finsh summing up my vacation.

WILD RICE SALAD
Serves 8 to 10
Recipe From Martha Stewart

This is a good addition to a buffet; the flavor develops as it stands at room temperature.

3 cups wild rice
Salt
4 blood oranges or navel oranges
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 scallions cut into 1/8-inch rounds
1 cup dried cranberries
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves finely chopped (1/2 cup)

1. Cook wild rice in a large pot of salted boiling water until just tender, about 40 minutes. Drain in a colander.

2. Meanwhile, cut away peel and pith from oranges; holding oranges over a bowl to catch the juice, remove segments from white membrane; place segments in the bowl.

3. Combine vinegars, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and pepper in a bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil.

4. In a large serving bowl, combine rice, scallions, dried cranberries, parsley, and orange sections and their juice. Drizzle vinaigrette over the salad, gently toss, season, and serve.

It's all in the details

I bought a box of these matches a while back and I'm almost out. Now I know where to get them for half the price I paid at Paper Source. Thanks Jordan!! See her post here for details.

Recipe of the Week

This one of my favorite simple tea sandwiches. The cream cheese spread can be made several days ahead. My favorite bread for this sandwich is Milton's Multi-Grain Bread which I buy at Trader Joe's.

Herbed Cream Cheese and Cucumber Sandwiches (pictured center)
Makes 20-25 Sandwiches
From Barefoot Contessa Parties

8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
1 clove of garlic, minced
½ teaspoon thyme
1 ½ Tbsp. parsley
3 Tbsp. milk or cream
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. kosher salt
1 loaf 7-grain bread, thinly sliced
1 hothouse cucumber, not peeled

Beat ingredients for spread in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until well mixed. Add additional milk if the spread is too thick.

To make sandwiches, spread each slice of bread with cream cheese spread. Slice the cucumber in thin rounds and arrange on half the bread slices. Top with remaining bread. Press slightly, trim off the crusts, and cut the sandwiches into halves, thirds, or triangles.

*The spread will keep for weeks in the refrigerator. Prepare the sandwiches early in the day and keep them covered with damp paper towels and plastic wrap in the refrigerator.

Petits Fours

I've had my eye on this cute petits fours plaque from William-Sonoma for a while now.

Tea Implements

I still need a couple of items to set up my tea service. I found these pretty silver-plated tea strainers at Dean & Deluca. They are even on sale right now. Now I'm on the look out for a good deal on silver 3-tier service trays and small tea pots for brewing.

NYC Restaurants

New York is definitely one of the culinary capitals or the world. We enjoyed several good meals during the week, but to be honest I don't think New York restaurants have anything on San Francisco other than sheer number of establishments. I guess I just like the fresher tastes of California cuisine. Here's a list of the major places we dined:

Balthazar: (Rated #15 most popular NY restaurant by Zagat voters) This was my favorite dinner (pictured above). I had the goat cheese tart, steak frite, and pineapple upside down cake with coconut ice cream. The atmosphere was really exciting and the food was really delicious. Bay Area equivalent - Bouchon

Cafe Grey: (Rated #39 most popular NY restaurant by Zagat voters) I thought this place was okay, but nothing to write home about. I had the gnocchi soup and steamed spring vegetables with citrus vinaigrette. The menu was pretty pretentious and it was definitely overpriced. The restaurant did have a pretty design and a great view of the park though. Bay Area equivalent - I had a hard time picking an equivalent, but maybe Postrio, although I'd rather eat at Postrio and for about 2/3 the price.

Norma's: (Zagat food rating = 25) This is the best breakfast I've ever had in my entire life! I had the banana macadamia nut flapjacks with whipped brown sugar butter. Bay Area equivalent - Zazie

Gramercy Tavern: (Rated #1 most popular NY restaurant by Zagat voters) I had the lobster salad, flank steak and short rib, and apple tart. I really enjoyed this restaurant. There were beautiful fresh flowers everywhere and the service was really good. The short rib was cooked to perfection. Bay Area equivalent - Boulevard

Other notable New York food moments:

The Doughnut Plant: We walked forever to get to this place and it's definitely not in a neighborhood you want to stand out in as a tourist. We got there just in time to get the last two doughnuts - Meyer lemon and hazelnut cake doughnuts and the last two cinnamon rolls which had unnaturally large plump raisins. They were pretty good! They sell them at the Soho Dean & Deluca too.

Serendiptiy: The first time we tried to go here the wait was 2 hours so we went somewhere else. Later in the week when Katie and I were looking for somewhere that was open late we went back at 11:00 PM and got right in. The food was nothing special and it's way overpriced so I wouldn't go here to eat again, but I would go back for the frozen hot chocolate which is what they are known for anyway. I would probably only be willing to wait for 30-45 minutes maximum.

Sarabeth's: We tried but never made it here for the famous breakfast. We did eat dinner here once. The food was okay, but I would only go back to try breakfast which is what everyone raves about.

The Cafeteria at the Met: Kim and I loved it! I guess we were pretty hungry because we were struggling to balance all the plates of food from the different bars on our two trays. Pretty good for a humble basement cafeteria!

Tea at the St. Regis: See my post here. I loved this experience!!

Dylan's Candy Bar: Heide got the peanut butter hot chocolate. The toppings were delicious, but the hot chocolate itself was too sweet and not chocolaty enough. Definitely a fun retail space though.

Tea Time

"There are few hours in life more agreeable, than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea." -The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

One of the things I enjoyed most about my recent trip to New York was tea at the St. Regis. It was nice to relax for a couple of hours in a beautiful atmosphere after walking around all day. And who doesn't love miniature sandwiches and desserts? We had a really delicious fruit tea.

I think I am going to try to implement tea time into my life. Maybe it would be a good Sunday afternoon refresher for after church.

Souvenirs From Tiffany's

What girl can resist Tiffany's on her first trip to New York? We all got necklaces to commemorate our trip. I got this round Atlas necklace. I love pretty much everything in the Atlas collection.

Travel Mad Libs

These fun mad lib type cards were fun to mail from our trip.

Art Deco

I'm really inspired by the art deco architecture in New York. My favorite building was the Chrysler Building. We had a great view of it from our hotel room. I was so inspired that I couldn't pass up this Anna Sui dress from Anthropologie. It has geometric pinwheel and stylized floral patterns that give it that art deco feel.

Wanderlust: Travel Log in Brief

I'm home! I have a lot to share from my vacation but I'm going to pace myself. I visited Chicago and Madison briefly for a family matter. Then I went to Philadelphia and finally ended my two week vacation in New York.

Chicago
I haven't spent much time in Chicago. I usually see it passing through on my way to Wisconsin where I have a lot of family. I spent a couple of hours on Michigan Avenue this trip while waiting for family to arrive at the airport. A couple of hours has definitely peeked my interest. I'm a city girl through and through and I've never met a city I didn't like. The architecture and landscape of Chicago was very beautiful. Hopefully I get to see a little more of it some day.

Madison
What can I say about Madison? I've travelled there every few years to visit family since I was a little girl. It's definitely one of America's best kept secrets. You can't even fly direct from most cities. It's one of those places that most people will probably never see unless you have a very specific reason to visit, but it's really a beautiful city especially in the summer when everything is very green. Surrounding the city are gently rolling hills of bright green grass and picture perfect red or white barns. Frank Lloyd Wright claims Wisconsin as home and you can visit his estate, Taliesin, which is about an hour from Madison near Spring Green. You can also visit nearby Alex Jordan's House on the Rock.

Philadelphia
I was very pleasantly surprised by Philadelphia. They have been working very hard to renew Old City and the area around Independence Hall. Philadelphia is also the birthplace of the much beloved Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. The Anthropologie flagship store resides in Rittenhouse square in a very beautiful old building. More on Philadelphia later.

New York
This was my first trip to New York and I'm in love! Growing up in a small town in the West, I always dreamed of living in New York because it was the biggest city I knew about. I wasn't disappointed! Much more on New York later, too.

Vacation

I'm off to the East Coast! I'll be back in a couple weeks.

Black Dog Opera

If you are interested in learning about opera but don't want to commit to the $40 plus it costs to get a really good recording, Black Dog Opera is a good way to go. Each opera comes with a book that included the background, full libretto, and the music on two cds. They aren't the best recordings ever made, but they are a good value. If you decide you really like the opera, you can spring for a better more expensive recording.

Perfect for Spring & Summer

I love Laura Mercier's Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer. It moisturizes while controlling oil and it has SPF 20. The coverage is perfect for the warmer months and casual days.

Paper Trail

Knock Knock produces paper products with a sense of humor. I especially love the note pads and stickies.

Spring = Lilacs

My grandmother's backyard is lined with big beautiful lilac bushes. Growing up, I loved spring because of the wonderful scent of the lilac bushes. We used to pick bundles of lilacs to give to grandmother and mom. This Voluspa candle takes me back a few years.

Paper Piles Be Gone: Part Two

Once you find a way to manage your short-term files and things that need attention (see my suggestion here), it's time to move on to long-term items.

Most of the papers I keep long-term fall into two categories:
1) Financial
2) Tear sheets, recipes, ideas and inspiration

This post pertains specifically to the first category - financial. I'll cover category #2 in a future post.

I used to have a filing cabinet with a folder for each different category and bill, which is a logical way to file items. The problem I found with this is that the files eventually get really full to the point where I'd stop filing and start piling until I could get around to cleaning out the whole cabinet. Then I would have to spend a lot of time filing all the things I couldn't file because it was impossible to cram one more piece of paper into the file.

Here's the solution:

1) Acquire a file cabinet, box, etc if you don't already have one. I only use one drawer of my small filing cabinet so I could change to a filing box. Also, I prefer hanging files. You can purchase kits to convert regular file drawers into hanging files, but it's better to just start with a hanging file if you can.

2) Label 12 folders with one month of the year.

3) Once you pay your bill, review your bank statement, etc., put it into the folder for that month. Once the month is over, move it to the back of the 12 months so that the current month is always the front file. I've found that there really isn't any need to file things by payee, bank, etc.

4) At the beginning of the month, go through the papers in the corresponding month's file and shred anything you don't need anymore so you can start adding the new items. This way the file is cleaned out once a year with very little effort. You can usually toss everything, but occasionally you have something that you need to keep indefinitely. I have one file for these items labeled "Long-Term Financial Info"

5) Set up other folders based on your needs. Examples of other files I have:
* Current Taxes: Put tax related receipts and other papers into this file instead of the monthly file so that everything is together in one place at the end of the year.
* Taxes: File for past tax returns

In the next organizing post I will cover how long you need to save specific items.

(All of the above pictured file items are from The Container Store.)

Turn About Town

I'm always on the lookout for comfortable shoes that I can walk around the city in all day but that don't look like walking shoes. When I was looking for ballet flats last fall, I tried on several that were okay comfort-wise but not great. My search was over once I tried these on! They were comfortable from day one. I have them in black patent leather.
This wedge is a close runner-up. I would probably choose flats if I were literally going to walk around all day long, but I've worn these on many walking intensive outings with very good results. (Part of the Button Down Collection)

Dinner Club Photos