Wednesday, October 10, 2018

four months in brooklyn


cortados
oversized denim
barber shop windows
late night blasting car music
4th of July and My Fair Lady on Broadway at Lincoln Center with Keith & Steve
Parsons School of Design Summer Intensive – Mixed Media Illustration
Joe Coffee before class
the slow Parsons elevator to the 7th floor
learning to needle felt 
my 6 floor walk-up on Driggs
bedroom view of the Empire State Building and all its pretty colors at night 
the Dominican man greeting me at the Driggs door everyday: "are you OK today?"
the Chinese laundromat man who taught me the proper amount of laundry soap to use (after I spilled half my bottle on him)
Metropolitan Ave.
subway announcements
hellish humidity
the very few mild and dry days
$3 slices of Joe's Pizza
cutie Parsons Professor Colin
spending loads of money at Blick Art Materials and Paper Presentation
Hal's sparkling water
hiking NYC in Nikes
freestanding ATM machines (that actually work)
fresh cut $3 street mango in the little baggies
impossible-to-find fresh cut coconut chunks at Brooklyn Harvest Market
Metro-North Railroad
"Brooklyn" pride attire
Sarabeth's and Cooper Hewitt with Bianca
Cherry Merlin's from Mister Softee
pop-up stores
Berry St.
never feeling lonely
Monk Vintage in Greenpoint with Tricia and my black Halston leather backpack find
visiting Kat & Regan at Nickelodeon in Times Square
the stools at Black Brick Coffee that are the perfect height for my stature
the bold, colorful vintage earrings at the junk shop near the Bedford L stop
people giving each other compliments on the subway
the most stunning, beautiful people on the subway
Buffalo Exchange in Williamsburg and the $25 vintage leather Coach purse
Doc Martens w/ankle socks
the last summer of Henri Bendel
Grand Central Station with Mom & Sam
laughing uncontrollably with Mom & Sam
bodegas aka corner mini marts
the 80s opening titles at Williamsburg Cinemas
watching Incredibles 2 twelve times in the theatre
lightening storms
Roebling St.
stoops
the L train
the impending L train shutdown of 2019 (that never happened)
walking all of Central Park with Yett
the view of the JMZ from my kitchen window
broken foot and Walk NYC Podiatry
reading my daily horoscope at Oslo Coffee Roasters
repeatedly going to every Artists & Fleas location
the Polish community of Greenpoint
never feeling scared
S 2nd FDNY station
laptop jungle at Toby's Estate Coffee Roasters (now Partner's Coffee)
The Rachael Ray Show and all its fashionable glory
the sweetness that was Clinton Kelly 
displaying my denim butt on The Rachael Ray Show
italian dinner with Talika after our TV appearance
abundance of brick buildings 
sweating in the endless humidity
Mini Mall on Bedford Ave. 
Vök performing at The Knitting Factory in Williamsburg
meeting new friends on the streets of Williamsburg
meeting Kathleen on the street in front of Black Brick Coffee
Nitehawk Cinema
the hipster juice bar on Havemeyer posing as a laundromat
the 99 cent store on Havemeyer
people reading and writing on the subway
Showee coming to visit! 
Little Owl & Buvette with Showee
Showee's cool hotel room in Union Square and The Rachael Ray Show waking me up out of bed 
the Williamsburg Bridge
the June bug I found in my shower
Pietro Nolita with Meg
Marcy St. station
my roommate is right: "CA never changes"
laughs and stories in the apt with roomie Tiffanie
the extremely rainy day shopping in Westport CT with Mom
the most amazing Anthropologie "mansion" in Westport CT
mediterranean brunch with Mary Beech in Park Slope
the stuffed gorillas in the vacant lot on Bedford
so. much. trash. on. the. streets
the cockroach I followed in Flatiron 
homemade dinner & movie night with Tricia in Clinton Hill
chicken caesar at Patsy's
McCarren Park
the late night in the RV with Susan and Ted
road trip upstate with Ted Hand to Chapel of Sacred Mirrors
feeling fancy and free at Domino Park
walking the High Line with Lisa Fletcher 
Chelsea Market
potato croquettes at Cafe Colette
finding Tony Danza on Staten Island
Tony Danza: Standards & Stories
the G train
genuine, friendly waiters
the wooden escalators at Macy's Herald Square
Dylan's Candy Bar in the Upper East Side
cocktails at Hotel Delmano (never went but was told to go lol)
soft Italian cookies from Brooklyn Bakery
the free ferry to Staten Island
Shake Shack
the best deviled eggs at Jacob's Pickles with Aubrey
never feeling bored
the Orthodox Jewish community of Williamsburg
Shabbat siren on Fridays evenings
frozen peanut butter hot chocolate and chocolate cake pops at Martha's Country Bakery
Butler baking class with Ceci
visiting Carol & Jerry in Ridgefield CT
the most adorable dogs everywhere
always feeling inspired
Arbor Vitae Vintage and Pablo the store kitty
the last summer of Lord & Taylor
Tony Danza's "the brush": when NYers walk right in front of you and you both sway to the side to avoid hitting each other


Montreal:

11-hour Amtrak through the Adirondacks with Mom en route to Montreal
the creepy hotel room in Montreal we wanted to escape but couldn't 
Saint-Catherine Street - all the shops 
underground mall for the brutal winters 
Mile End neighborhood 
St-Viateur Bagel, love the sesame Montreal bagels! 
Butterblume cafe
Bodybag by Jude and Bernard streets
St. Henri neighborhood, walking campus of McGill University 
the ice cold showers in the Montreal hotel room 
Cocoa70 chocolate restaurant 
crepe with green apples, white cheddar, vanilla ice cream, walnuts, bacon
Westmount park and library 
old swiss Alpenhaus restaurant on Rue Saint-Marc playing Anne Murray, dripping water into buckets 
l'intervalle shoes & handbags 
Romado's rotisserie chicken 
A&Ws everywhere, much better than in the States 
lots of poulet (chicken) and poutine 
Schitt's Creek playing in the Montreal hotel room
visiting Pema in Saint-Sauveur
Cafe Starbucks and the rose lattes 
Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal
lots of metal spiral staircases to homes and businesses 
odd river currents 
depanneurs aka convenience stores of Quebec 
searching for peri-peri Portuguese spice 
sitting on the train tracks being questioned by USA customs authority
the insane motion-sickness-nausea-dry-heaving back in Brooklyn from the 11-hour train ride back to NYC

Update: June 2021 visit - 2 weeks in Brooklyn:

back to Driggs
daily horoscopes and Flat Whites at Oslo Coffee Roasters 
finding out Arbor Vitae Vintage was shut down due to Covid, no more shop kitty in window :( 
rainy day brunch on Cafe Colette patio
wanting to hit on the med student studying outside Partners Coffee
watching Minari at Williamsburg Cinema 
the retro Williamsburg Cinema intro: "please turn off your pager"
the old man gardening in Tribeca park
huge digital Luca ads at Herald Square & Times Square
finding discounted Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade mugs for me & Kris 
the most beautiful and serene day at Madison Square Park 
Strand Books, buying and reading Shirley's hwood memoir in Union Square Park
squirrels and RATS at Union Square Park 
melting cherry merlins 
The Monkey Cup in Harlem with Karen from Parsons 
walking through Columbia University campus in Harlem 
1927 Cafe Bar Popularr in Harlem and meeting a new friend 
navigating the subway like a boss
riding the rails to L Train Vintage 
Bollicini sparkling wine with Tricia in Greenpoint 
Tricia's cute new Greenpoint apt with the suuuuper long hallway foyer
drinking rosé out on Tricia's fire escape and watching River Wild in her apt 
meeting and staying with Charlie & Michelle in Stamford CT
the humidity and magical steak dinner in Charlie & Michelle's backyard
Michelle driving me down Pea Pond Rd to Martha's property
Martha's LOUD animals 
the most delicious hot pastrami sandwich with Michelle in Stamford
Pound Ridge nursery 
Citizens of Chelsea froze & yogurt parfait 
The friendly old lady twins on the street corner in Chelsea 
Peanut Butter Pie @ Billy's Bakery 
little stray bird in Jackson Square Park, helped a cute couple rescue it, high fives all around
admiring Japanese magazines inside Kinokuniya 
perfect night in Bryant Park eating truffle fries, meeting nice Google guy and his wife with rambunctious toddler 
friendly Williamsburg mom with doggie wagon outside Joe's Pizza 
Bubby's frozen lemonade in Tribeca 
meeting Frankie the barkeep at Lucky 13, heavy metal dive bar in Gowanus BK
laying in the grass & humidity at Prospect Park, admiring the nanny share
dad on bike with kid wagon 
the most perfect lunch at Ki Sushi on Flatbush in BK: shrimp tempura sushi & garlic pine nut broccoli 
tee shirt seen in BK: "Hold on, let me overthink this"
buying more ISLYNYC acrylic earrings and finding a vintage Shirley pic at Artists & Fleas 
reading a book on a chaise lounge at Domino Park 
4-person stroller in McCarren Park
suffering the last couple steps at Driggs 
watching A Quiet Place 2 at Nitehawk Cinema
lots of sparkly vintage tops on L Train Vintage adventure
finding the white vintage iridescent shell vase for the condo and carrying it on the plane home 
green and white popovers at Sarabeth's with Marcy 
cake pops at Martha's Country Bakery 
mini rose necklace at Verameat for Showee
the great cockroach escape from Driggs to Viceroy 
next visit: New Canaan / Mamaroneck / Pound Ridge CT / Bronx Zoo / Bar Pitti