East Coast Vacation Part I: NYC

NYC Nov. 2010

Happy holidays everyone! This blog post finds me nestled into my favorite chair in my apartment that sits next to crates of records, the record player and a sunny view outside my big picture window that perfectly frames snow covered trees and rooftops. Winter has officially arrived here in MN and although it's cold outside, I rather enjoy the change of scenery.

I've been back from the East Coast for almost a week now and it's taken me a bit to edit my photos and get settled back into my apartment. I wanted to get my place as cozy as possible this holiday season, so I spent this past week doing something I've never done in my life: buy a real Christmas tree! Growing up, we always had artificial trees and so this year, I wanted the smell of a fresh pine tree to welcome me home the minute I stepped into my place. With a new tree comes the purchasing of decorations needed to make it glimmer and sparkle, so I did a quick brainstorm for a tree theme and decided naturally on a bohemian one. My tree is now full of little wood ornaments, owls, a pheasant, muted jewel-tone glass ornaments, peacock feathers, red berries and 2 beautiful little peacocks that sit in a glittery nest atop the tree. When darkness falls and I turn it on, my apartment is possibly the coziest it's ever looked. I think this is going to be a lovely holiday indeed.

My Christmas tree top.

Me and Eugene in the East Village.

Now that I've organized my photos, I'm going to break my East Coast trip into 3 parts, as I visited friends in NYC and DC for the first part of my trip and then ended in PA with my family for Thanksgiving week. I was gone for a little over 2 weeks, but spending it in 3 different cities really made it feel as if I was gone awhile longer. I arrived in NYC on a Sunday evening and stayed with my friend Anton, an old friend from Worthington, MN, who lives in Park Slope (Brooklyn). It took me forever to get there by train as I didn't anticipate a schedule disruption due to construction that weekend. When I finally arrived two hours later, it was getting late but we ran out to grab a few drinks and quick bite to eat anyway. The next morning, I took the train to Greenpoint, where my friend Eugene lives. After a year of figuring out our schedules and missing each other on both coasts, I was excited to see him at his new digs. We spent the day in Manhattan and had lunch at one of my favorite noodle houses: Ippudo. We attempted to see the Japan Fashion Now exhibit at FIT, but arrived there only to be told the exhibit was closed on Monday's! We decided we'd go back on Wednesday and then headed over to the East Village and plopped ourselves down at the International Bar and ordered up our favorite drink (Maker's on the rocks) and caught up on life. It was so great to see him, as he was (and is) an incredibly special and good friend that I made in San Francisco and adore very much. I am excited to see his new life in NYC unfold as he's officially made the decision to quit work in SF and start working on his own projects in NYC. I know he'll do great!

The view outside my hotel window on Park Avenue.

I checked into the Kitano hotel later that evening where Annie was once again graciously allowing me to stay with her while she worked. The hotel was right on Park Avenue and E. 38th St. in Midtown, which I found to be quite convenient. Annie arrived slightly in pain, as she had unfortunately pulled a neck muscle on the plane. For the duration of our stay, she was primarily busy with work and so I wasn't able to get as much off-duty hang time with her. Nonetheless, any time spent with Miss Wang is always awesome and I am lucky to have such a wonderful and giving friend. The rest of my time in NYC consisted of a shopping day in SoHo, eating treats from the Momofuku Milk bar, hunting down the best tonkatsu Japanese ramen, visiting the newly renovated Piermont Morgan library, grabbing drinks with my friend T (another old MN friend), gazing at the holiday windows on Fifth Avenue, strolling through Central Park and hitting a goth dance night with Eugene at Home Sweet Home on the LES.

The Japan Fashion Now exhibit entrance at FIT.

Fall colors in full bloom at Central Park.

NYC dusk outside my hotel room.

Yet again, another wonderful trip to NYC spent with good friends, good food and the city itself as the best date a girl could ask for. If you want to see more photos from this trip, visit my new photography site I've recently created HERE. Next up: Washington DC!