windows

First of all let me say that all I could think while I looked at the bergdorf windows was, "GAGA OOH LA LA"


I don't know if it's just that i'm conditioned to see crazy outfits and think gaga or if there actually is a relationship but it's all I could think.

Anyways, the point is, Laura is in town for business/her birthday and today she had the whole day to herself.  I met up with her for a really nice breakfast, followed by a walk through Central Park on our way to see the windows.

I'm really really glad that we could do this, seeing the windows is one of my favorite favorite things to do in NY.  One of my favorite things in the world is when somebody with an incredible creative vision is given the opportunity to make that vision come to life.  It's why I will defend The Lion King on broadway to the death, because I just think it's incredible to see what Julie Taymor was able to do when given a blank check.

And that's what the windows remind me of.  I can't imagine what it would be like to be given this little nook on 5th ave and told that you can do whatever you want with it.  And to be given the most amazing couture gowns to work with too?  Outrageous.

I know the pictures are kinda hard to see, I was limited to snapping shots in between obnoxious people standing in my way.

There was a whole map theme at Bergdorf's, this handsome guy was made completely from shredded maps!

Though we actually did walk all over looking at windows I only really took pictures of Bergdorf's, mostly because they are always my favorite.  A lot of the other stores on 5th do themed windows that are hit or miss, but Bergdorf's always just does fantastical magical over the top windows that are impossible to not impress.

I would love to meet one of the designers and get to pick their brain about every step of the process.  I'd love to see their original vision compared to the final result.  I'd love to ask them about how much liberty they were given and how much they were expected to color in the lines.  I wonder if they're given free reign to pick the AMAZING dresses that they use or if they are given the dresses and told to build the window around it.

So many questions!!!

I think this window was my favorite:

Because it's amazing, and also because it immediately made me think of this which I would LOVE to see.  It also gave me a christina aguilera vibe, circa her back to basics album.

I did take a picture of this window at Barney's because it filled Laura with the rage of a thousand suns:

Barney's did a whole food theme to their windows this year and featured these gross caricatures of food network personalities.  Laura found issue with the fact that Sandra Lee was featured so prominently, even after I explained that she's the new first lady of New York.  She felt that it wasn't justification enough.

"She is not a food celebrity, she opens cans of soup"

I don't care what Laura says, I still love Sandra Lee.  Anybody who plans a child's birthday party around drinking is A-OK in my book.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to get back to packing.

more museums, more learning

Meghan's apparent insatiable appetite for knowledge led us on another adventure yesterday to the Frick on 5th Ave.  I've been before when I was in college and Meg had never been so it was really fun for both of us.  I love the Frick for the same reasons that I love the Ringling Museum in Sarasota.  The Frick is basically just some guys mansion on 5th avenue that became a museum after he died.  I love walking around it and looking at the art, but then also imagining what it would be like to live in a building like that.  I mean it really is breathtaking. 

I love the views of the city from the versaille-eque drawing rooms, and the giant courtyard in the center would be where I would spend all my time if it were my home.  We were in the library and somebody asked about the books, the woman in the room informed us that all of the books were rare 1st editions and most were priceless antiques.  Sick!

Because of daylight savings time our sunshine hours were dwindling by the time we finished at the Frick so we headed across the street to enjoy the park for a bit before it became dusk.  Here's where we found ourselves:

Complete with adorable children playing with a sailboat:

When the sun finally descended below the buildings it became too cold to continue our adventures in the park.  We made our way up to 90th and 3rd for delicious ramen at Naruto Ramen.  They have a special on Mondays for $6.50 Ramen, and it's delicious.  The restaurant is quite small so I'm assuming it probably gets slammed on Mondays, but it's well worth it. 

My only complaint about yesterday is that it was followed by today.  Today that featured an unexpected hail storm while I was walkig to work.  Fun!

beautiful gug

I was walking home from work last night and came upon this peeking out from around the corner.  I couldn't even begin to imagine what it was when I first saw it from farther away.  I thought it was like a movie theater or something, i couldn't figure out how the 5th Ave neighborhood association would allow such an eyesore to be built.

But once I got closer I figure out that it was the guggenheim.  They had some kind of projector set up across the street and they were dispaying the colors on to the exterior of the building.  Once I got closer it was more obvious, there was even a copywright logo at the bottom in the corner, but from far away it was really fantastic.  It totally looked like the building was covered in colored lights.

One of those i love new york moments.

perfect nyc day

meghan and i had a magical labor day in nyc. We met on the corner of 5th and Central Park South, where the people watching was phenomenal, and made our way to sheep's meadow. We played scrabble here and eavesdropped on confrontations with the police and weird people that didn't seem to be enjoying each other's company.

We kind of restlessly wandered around until we found our

selves at the gug

normally, I'm not such a fan of the Guggenheim, I kind of think it's overpriced and too highbrow for me. I usually just find myself hemming and hawing over a video of a ballerina trying to figure out how it reflects the impacts of globalization on race relations in modern Turkey, or whatever the exhibit is supposed to be about. But when I'm with meghan it's none of my concern because she just flashes her badge, gives a coy smile, and we are whisked past the lines and guards without ever having to pull out our wallets.

Which was nice because damn if I could figure out how any

of the things were "haunted" as the installation promised. I guess I just feel like that's a pretty broad category, you can rationalize anything as being "haunted". Trust me, I'm master at bullshitting and justification. I once got an A on a paper about "A Farewell to Arms" based entirely on the paragraph that I read on the back of the book moments before class.

Thankfully I didn't have to write any reports on our trip t

o the gug, but I did get some nice pictures of the interior before the guards scolded me

.

It was a really nice day, of course one of those, "i won't have days like this in L.A." but I tried to just appreciate it for what it was.

my walk home from work

I was walking home from work and thinking how fortunate I am to have my commute include a trip through one of the most famous parks in the world. I often find myself on 5th avenue watching those weird double decker busses go by or seeing a tour group and I remember the first time that I ever came to new york city. I'm sure we were doing the requisite trip to FAO Schwartz and Tiffany and what not, but I distinctly remember walking along this stretch of 5th avenue by central park. I don't know why it made such an impression on me but I've always loved this part of new york ever since. I think central park is pretty phenomenal, and I like 5th because it makes me feel like i'm straddling the line between the fantasy land of central park and the reality of new york city.

I also love this walk because (for those of us who are tall enough) you will occasionally catch glimpses of the park over the stone wall and it always looks so picturesque. Growing up in the suburbs has made me really love the planned naturalness, you know, like a bunch strategically placed trees of different variety. I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff.