Saturday, September 3, 2011

NYC cont'd...

SATURDAY JULY 9, 2011

Saturday morning we woke up, checked out of the Hilton Fashion District, and met Aunt Martha! She came to pick us up and take us to fun crafty places that she frequents! We started off with Pearl, an art supply that also sells really cool handmade paper. I LOVE some of the stuff I got here, and am so excited to get crafting with it!
Pearl is close to China town so we asked a local what a good place to eat was, and were directed to 'the place with the ducks hanging in the window' a few blocks down. They weren't kidding!
We were the only white people in the place, and were seated at a table for 6. When another couple of white girls came in they were seated with us. Guess they figured we could talk!
Next we were off to MOOD! I was really excited to go since I love Project Runway, and have been learning to sew with my new sewing machine at home. I knew I wanted to find some upholstery fabrics so I could make curtains, pillows or other home decor pieces. Here were a few things I liked....
Got a yard of the fabric above for pillows, and liked the sheer rosettes below...

Almost bought the one above for curtains, and did buy the one below (but in red) for my mom!
Oh so many buttons and zippers! Jenni almost got the fabric below for a shower curtain...

Once we arrived I knew I was going to have a tough time deciding! We joked when we left that I experienced every emotion possible while at Mood, first excitement over the endless possibilites, then I was overwhelmed because of the many choices, then completely frustrated and kinda over it because I couldn't decide...then pure joy over the purchases I made! Oh it was so fun though, I can totally see why it's so hard to shop there in the 30 minutes PR allows on the show!
"Thank you Mood!"
After Mood we walked over to Tinsel Trading Company. Aunt Martha had told me all about this place, and I couldn't wait to get there! The store was full of embellishments, trims, papers, you name it! Some of it was brand new while some of their finds are vintage from many years ago! I ended up buying a collection of glass glitter in pretty colors for my crafting!
Rubber stamps, buttons, letters, embellishments galore!
I was so inspired in this store! Wish I could have a crafting vacation in the city!
After Tinsel Trading we made a stop at NY Cake & Baking Supply- the biggest cake decorating store I've ever been to! I've really got to sign up for a cake decorating class!!!
After a day of creative shopping we headed over to Greenwich Village where Aunt Martha's friend Kim has an apartment. She invited us to stay there one night, and we were so excited to get to hang out in the village and pretend we were locals!
After we got settled in at the apartment we walked to dinner just a few blocks away at The Spotted Pig. We heard that Jennifer Aniston had her birthday dinner here last year, so we knew it had to be good!
We started with drinks, and decided that it would be fun to order appetizers based on the coolest name, no questions asked. We ended up with Roll Mops, Devils on Horseback, and Roasted Bone Marrow. Below are the Devils on Horseback- poached pear, stuffed inside a date, wrapped in bacon, sprinkled with chili powder. Talk about different, and definitely tasty!!!
The Roll Mops were slices of pickled herring all rolled up, and were tasty...forgot a picture!
Roasted Bone Marrow would NOT have been my first choice, but I figured I should take a culinary leap while in the city! It was slimy, fatty, and served on top of toast with parsley.
For dinner I think we all ordered the same thing! The dinner menu that night had a Chargrilled burger with Roquefort and a side of shoestring fries. It was SOOOO GOOD!
No lettuce, no tomato, just good meat and roquefort cheese. Paired with a red wine and we had a delectable meal!!!
After all that eating we were pretty full, and decided to walk through the village and get a feel for the neighborhood.
I can see why so many people (FRIENDS included) would want to live in Greenwich Village. Compared to the rest of the city the Village has a quaint, neighborhoody feel. If only it were cheaper!!!
We walked for two hours, and found ourselves at Union Square where there was a salsa dance lesson going on. We weren't brave enough to join in, but we had fun watching people shake it!
On our way back we stopped for dessert at Magnolia Bakery. We got several kids of cupcakes and drooled over the tasty looking cakes they were making!

After enjoying our cupcakes, we settled in at the apartment and got a good night's sleep! Here are a few pictures from the apartment, we were so thankful to be able to stay in such a cozy and beautiful place for free!Living room with a view of the street! Below shows the tri-level floorplan of this cozy home!
Thanks for hosting us Kim! Sunday's shenanigans coming soon...

1 comment:

the G Rowes said...

Ahhh I want to jump in the picture and go to the Cake store! We ran out of time on our trip. Let's have a caking weekend soon!