New Camera Lens

 

When you come across places like this in the city, you have to take minute and appreciate the fact that someone cared enough to create a park instead of a high-rise. This is a picture of a small oasis of birch trees in Long Island City. (My kids gave me a new fish-eye lens for my iPhone!)

More Anthropology Display Art

 

All of these are simple paper mache. LOVE THEM! If they go on sale next month, do you think I will be able to resist?

Cacti in New York

In Rockefeller Center there is an Anthropology Store, and it is absolutely beautiful! It's like a painting everywhere you look. I was there a month ago when they had decorated the place with paper mache cacti. Oh, how I wanted them for my very own!

So, I decided to try to make them. That didn't work out so well.

Last week I went into the Anthropology Store again just to enjoy the decor, and the cacti were gone! I asked an employee about them, and she said, "Oh! They're right over here." I learned that this particular store has its own in-house design team of 12 artists who come to work and make art for displays every day, and they sometimes sell them when they're done.

Here are the ones I brought home. They were filled with sand, so I barely made it without collapsing. (Yes, I took the subway.) I got lots of strange looks and some smiles. . . a rare thing in the subway. If you're wondering, $20 each! They are BIG, the largest one is 3 feet tall.

You're Out of Here!

 

I did a double-take when I passed this pile of clothes, mostly men's suits, on the sidewalk today. At first I thought someone really trusted their dry cleaner, but there was no dry cleaner on the block. This was a pile of stuff dumped there by an unhappy roommate, don't cha think?

1000 Time Out Things to do in New York -- SOHO Nails

 

My kids gave me a book called 1000 Time Out Things to do in New York, and every now and then I'm going to try some things out and let you know how it went. Yesterday I went into SOHO to "Get a cheap Manhattan manicure (item #719)." After emerging from the subway, I walked three blocks to the address, 458 W. Broadway. There was no sign whatsoever pointing to the salon other than the name taped to the address plate. It took me a while to find it in-between all the other shops with storefronts and fancy signage.

 

As I was standing there wondering how I was supposed to get in the locked door, someone came up and was buzzed in, so I followed him. The narrow stairwell lead to the third floor salon. Here is what the front door looked like:

 

But sure enough, there was a lot of nail painting going on. I would have had my fingernails polished there, but I had already had them done by a salon on the street nearby for $12 after I thought I'd never find this place. Soooo, I got a pedicure. Tee hee.

 

By the way, have I written about manicures here? While you're getting your nails done, someone slips up behind you and begins rubbing your shoulders! OMG! It's heavenly. This woman began my massage gratis for 2 minutes, then asked if I wanted to continue for 10-15 minutes. How could I say no? Why would I say no? $15 for 15 minutes. Yep, I'll buy that.

 

 

The Staten Island Ferry

This is the entrance point onto the Staten Island Ferry. It was a Saturday. My husband and I wanted to see Staten Island.

The ferry is huge, as you can see in this picture I took of one passing us headed back to Manhattan.

So there was plenty of space to sit once everyone got on board. Most people went to the upper decks.

This is a good reason to take the free ferry. You can get a good look at the Statue of Liberty, Governor's Island and Manhattan's skyline. Once we got to SI, we started walking. About three miles later, we realized there was not much to see on SI. So we caught a bus back to the dock. There is a nice stadium that holds minor league games right as you exit the ferry. But no games were being played that day.

A Strange Aloneness

Never have I ever been on a subway car this empty. My husband and I were alone on this 7 train one Sunday afternoon. I think we were headed back to Long Island City from Manhattan. You never know where you'll run into pockets of empty space here. It's not all that common, let me tell you.