weekend in new york city

Hey everyone! I was on a blog hiatus because I spent the weekend in New York City with my friend Nicole, and had an amazing time.

 a beautiful yard in Nicole's neighborhood.

Before the Brooklyn sketchbook show.

The show had a really different feel from the Boston one. It was at the 3rd Ward Gallery, which is kind of hidden in an old factory.

I looove the tree wallpaper! Someday I'm painting trees on my walls. I'm not sure in which room I'd like to paint them. Maybe a living room or on the wall behind the bed in the bedroom.

Ferris and Katie on the subway.

At the alligator lounge in Brooklyn after the show! If you buy a beer, they give you a ticket for a free brick oven pizza. You pick them up right at the oven where they're making them a mile a minute.

I liked this man on the subway with the globe between his knees.

Natural History Museum: boy and bears.

swift

a family of Flowers!

school

jelly fish

the whale

seacow

the squid and the whale.

thrushes

watching

one way

like a cathedral

iconic

beautiful faces like dogs.

T. Rex!

Central Park.

Nicole looking lovely! We did the most walking on Saturday and we couldn't have asked for a better day.

Ice cream from the ice cream truck. Mmm.

This was one of the most amazing places we went to - The Russian Souvenir shop. The sweetest man works there. I didn't try to take any pictures inside. His shop is full of things from the 1950s and older, and the items have probably been there since those decades, as well. There was an amazing leather tool bag that must have been 100 years old that had all these pouches inside it that would be perfect for paint brushes and palettes and pens and sketchbooks, but it was very expensive. Anyway, I'll never forget that man, and I did buy a beautiful cobalt lucite necklace there.

two words: beard wig. (and they took it seriously).

I just loved seeing this. it felt like looking in different sections of a dollhouse. I loved the couple in the window, and the terrier outside in his little argyle sweater, and the mural.

Florist and Jeweler combined.

"A Repeat Performance." One of the best antique stores either of us had ever been in.

St. Marks street. Jaymay mentions it in her song "The only one I love." I don't know why, but I always pictured St. Marks being a small island off of New York City. That's probably still how I'll picture it when I listen to the song, although it's neat to know where she's really singing about.

In this neighborhood is Pomme Frites. All they have is french fries, and you can choose from about 25 different things to put on them. I got rosemary garlic mayonnaise. It was sooo good.

Late night fruit tarts at a Whole Foods.

When we were at "repeat performance," I kept picking up pictures of really sweet couples to buy. After picking up about three photos, I realized all the pictures I was holding were of the same couple. As I looked through the photos for sale, I found several more of the same couple with their children and family. I loved them so much - they look so sweet and happy, and really in love, and kind of unique for the time. I bought all their photos; I felt like they should stay together. Mixed in with them is a polaroid Nicole took of me looking at the pictures.

Brunch in Brooklyn.

Scrambled eggs with cream cheese, chives, and smoked salmon. (I eat fish now if I hadn't mentioned it).

Lokal in the Polish neighborhood.

flea markets.

This dress was the big thing I bought in New York City, and I'm in love with it. I've been wanting a kind of elegant sailor-esque dress for a really long time, and this is the perfect one. It has a little white button and matching navy belt at the waist though it's not visible here. It's by the same company that made the dress I wore to my class's senior show. I can't wait to have an occasion to wear it to!

On the bus ride home, I always try to stay awake. Every house I see out the window in every nondescript state is another house I've seen in my life. There's so much in the world I haven't seen, so many streets I haven't been on. Even in Boston I feel excited every time I go down a new street. It's one more street I no longer haven't been down. 

I looooved visiting NYC! And Nicole made it a great time. We did the perfect combination of tourist-y and non-touristy things. I also met the sweetest dog - a rottweiler named Lola. I didn't get any pictures of her though, but I did kneel on a dirty new york sidewalk to rub her belly! It was worth it. 

I hope you all had a great weekend and have a great week. I should be scanning paintings next Monday to show you. :)

Love,

Amanda