Music,The Met, and a Food Hall

As a visual artist I have always appreciated music as an avid listener up until about seven years ago...   but now that my two teen boys are into music in a big way as musicians,  I've taken an more involved interest through them.

Whenever I see or hear about events related to music my ears perk up, so when I heard about this show at The Met (NYC) called "Guitar Heroes", an exhibit of stringed instruments, violins, mandolins, and guitars, I knew it was something we could make a day of in the city...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

This exhibit of "Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York" is on now through July 4th, 2011.

This is now on our list of things to do on Spring Break.

Maybe we'll check out The Plaza Food Hall, which I've heard is a tasty and fun experience for the kids too, especially the Dumpling Bar... you can eat-in at any of eight culinary food stations or take-out specialty foods, cookware, flowers and home goods.

See you there!!!

A Retro Flying Experience

Recently my husband and I flew to Ft. Lauderdale on Southwest Airlines from McArthur Airport on Long Island.  We had a very favorable experience all around, from the 'early arrival' home to New York, the 'funny schtick' from the announcing flight attendant, to the cute retro-snacks on the plane.  These days the flying experience is usually filled with dread, hassles, and long delays...  so flying Southwest surpassed our "let's just get through this without too much hassle" expectations!

 Next time we fly will be with the kids this summer to Venice, a much longer flight and an international one, so I'm hoping for something neutral at best...

Thrifty Fashion

I know that each time I post about some fashion item and either I or one of YOU out there goes and buys this, or any new item for that matter, we are making a bigger footprint... using up more of our planets natural resources, limited resources and adding to landfill.  Ok, so I got that off my chest... anyway when I saw that I could donate to a wonderfully creative project called All Thrifty States, "A woman on a mission to document what America throws away", visiting 50 states and their thrift stores, as a way to create awareness of a way to repurpose and recycle... attempting to shrink the collective footprint one thrift store at a time...
Meet Jenna Pfueller and her website...

The site is entertaining with photos of some bizarre things she's found and photographed at thrift stores organized by states, like fornicating taxidermic frogs and an ACDC snowglobe!

photo by Jenna Pfueller

Her goal... to bring attention to our national spending habits... and maybe we would think twice before spending on things we don't really need.  Maybe we would find fashion in the used and vintage and reduce not only our debt but our footprint.... WOW!

Go Girl... check it out and you can donate to her cause on KICKSTARTER.

Genuinely Fresh

Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in Miami's burgeoning Design district is a neighborhood bistro offering contemporary American Cuisine from chef Michael Schwartz, in a friendly indoor/outdoor setting.  The dishes are grouped by size not kind, as in small, medium, large, extra large, so depending on your appetite and how many dishes you would like to taste you can order accordingly.
It was Super Bowl Sunday when we ate dinner at this popular bistro, which is why we were able to get a reservation with only a few days notice, but I would plan ahead otherwise...
We shared these three small and medium dishes and one large dish which is not shown here (blame the wine)...
This crispy pork belly with kimchi (spicy korean cabbage) is a great contrast of flavors.  The best prepared pork belly I ever had was in New Orleans, but this is wildly creative and delicious surprise...

 Crispy Sweet & Spicy Pork Belly

 Chargrilled Octopus

 Wood Oven Roasted Local Eggplant

The creamsicle pot de creme is delicious just by itself, but then add the doughnut and jam and it's close to heaven!...

 Tangerine Creamsicle Pot de Creme

 'The Hand' zoning in on my second doughnut

Blackberry Tarragon Jam

We left Michael's satisfied but not full, which is the best way to eat and I bought a signed copy of his new cookbook which is scheduled for general release on February 15th...

Thanks to my sister for the hot tip on Michael's Genuine.

Winter Escape

Flying Southwest Airlines from Long Island to Ft. Lauderdale is one of those things where you're looking over your shoulder, feeling like you got away with something wonderful and criminal!  It's too easy from the twenty minute drive to the airport, to the funny flight staff, to the half hour early arrival on our return and of course not to mention the beautiful 80 degree weather that met us on arrival and departure...
Some impressions from the weekend...

 Pina in South Beach

 Vacancy

 Children singing for money

 Artists studio

 Beautiful reproductions of vintage hats 

 Outside men's room at Ft. Lauderdale airport

   Retro snack packaging from Southwest Airlines

Tomorrow I tell you about a wonderful restaurant and the chefs cookbook I brought home.

Intensely Romantic

If I was to imagine my fantasy, a most romantic place to spend time with my sweetheart, I couldn't have imagined anything as beautiful as this...

The newly designed Gramercy Park Hotel (NYC) - "An entirely new genre of hotel... Bohemian reinvented for the 21st century with an original combination of styles, with great pieces of furniture and artwork and the extraordinary use of color."

Private key access to Gramercy Park...

Valentine's Day is coming up, but there are anniversaries and birthdays too, any excuse is good enough to just get away without kids and spend some time alone just the two of you... it's important for the relationship and the family to recharge...

 I'm talking to myself as well as you because I don't put enough thought into special time for my husband and I alone... right honey?

We are going away together for the weekend in February and I'm looking forward to it!

Whimsy in the Kitchen

One of my favorite stores to visit with the kids when we're in NYC is Pylones (pronounced pee-lone), a colorful and innovative French import with everyday objects, but with a twist...

Inside the Lexington Avenue store

I bought this grater for my kitchen years ago and still love it...

$31

The latest kitchen gadget is this pizza cutter which comes in 6 different patterns...

$32

There are 5 different stores in NYC from uptown to downtown and if you can't visit you can shop online.

The kids are off for the Christmas vacation starting tomorrow... it'll be fun and relaxing I hope... wish me luck (I may need it)!

A Very Fine Plan

They have a TV show the kids really like!

silly funny... kind of a cult (niche) following 

Sometimes the best layed plans really do work, as in last Saturday... My friend Sue and I took five teen boys (14 - 18) into NYC via train to Penn Station to see the comedy team of Tim and Eric at the Best Buy Theater in Times Square.  This was her treating us for her older sons's birthday.  The younger brother got to invite a friend, that's where we come in to the picture.

It was a perfect afternoon/evening:  We took a 3 o'clock train and arrived at 4pm, then we hoofed it 11 blocks to 44th Street to get on line early for general admission.  We did our mothering thing for awhile until they shooed us away.  We killed about a half hour sizing up the situation and offering a myriad of instructions about staying together etc, etc... It wasn't that hard to leave with the thought of a glass of wine and dinner waiting for the Moms!  They had about an hour to stand on line and and an hour to wait inside and the show didn't start until 7pm, ending at about 9:15pm... So we had a comfortable amount of time to dine and even get some shopping in too.

  We dined at a favorite spot,  I wrote about last year,  Gallo Nero Wine Bar and Restaurant, mostly for the atmosphere, small, intimate (not noisy) and beautiful candle lighting, a great place to relax with an amazing wine selection.  The grilled octopus with olives and capers was fantastic and a first for my friend, the rest of the Italian fare was good but a little salty... but boy did we enjoy ourselves!
After a most enjoyable dinner we sauntered back to Times Square with about an hour left to shop.  Since Hannukah was only a few days away (Dec. 1), I had a few little things left to buy the kids which I found at the Billabong Super Store right near the theater at 44th and Broadway... I bought long socks to go with the latest trend of wearing lacrosse shorts in Winter, and a cool hat too.
Then we went into the bustling Levi's Superstore where I spotted some great stuff for me and today I see on their website that there's 40% off on many items, including this sweater I liked...

Fair Isle Sweater, was $89, now 40% 0ff

... great with these black legging jeans

We were back at the theater just in time as they were letting out, but none of our kids came out!  First we were a little panicked, but then we remembered that they were selling merchandise, like posters and T-shirts, and since they're our kids we knew they would be shopping too.
We had to run to make the 9:51 train and we did with only 4 minutes to spare...
I was tired, but a good tired, after hosting Thanksgiving, a cousin sleepover at our house, running the kids around on Friday, and this satisfying Saturday, I knew I would sleep well and rest on Sunday.

Thanks Sue for a great time had by all!

Text & Burn

Did you know there's a new game in town... not a virtual game, but a live game played with humans, cars and cell phones... texting and driving... it's not new it's just EPIDEMIC!
Sarcasm aside... A few weeks ago I was the victim.  While driving my son to his tennis lesson, we were waiting at a light, when I looked in my rear view mirror and saw he was coming straight at me... the man was texting while driving, not stopping until he made contact with my car... we humans were physically alright, but the car had about $2,000 in damages and we were hassled for a week with a rental car.
Now a few weeks later brings us to yesterday, when I saw 3 (!) people within a 2 mile distance driving erratically only to find they were also texting.  I managed to avoid them this time... is it me or has distracted driving become a force to be reckoned with in 2011?

Here's my plea to the Moms... we spend so much of our time in the car driving our kids to activities which increases our chances of being a victim... speak out NOW!

Thanksgiving tops the list for the most dangerous time of the year for driving... please be careful and have a great Thanksgiving!

California Style

You know how it is when you go on vacation and bring back a piece of clothing that at the time made perfect sense.  Then after the vacation glow wears off you look at your purchase and say what was I thinking... it just doesn't translate to your home environment!
This one does... While running through some great shops in the Haight Ashbury I walked into a beautifully designed RVCA, a LA clothing line where art meets fashion... I bought a t-shirt and sweatshirt for my husband and they have an online store, unfortunately, not as good, but they told us that they will be opening a store in NYC (not sure when)...

The sweatshirt we bought has this geometric design on the front

Balance of Opposites NYC, $27

SF Restaurant Mania

I was a little crazy about where we were going to dine in SF...  with only four nights and memories (11 years worth) of great meals in this foodie, forward thinking town there was a lot of pressure... Our first meal was at La Mar, a Peruvian hotspot that was good ('cebiche') but not great, with the exception of the servers... they were terrific, and not just from our experience but afterward we heard a buzz about them too.

Prospect, Nancy Oakes' new restaurant (1st hit... Boulevard) with chef Ravi Kapur was outstanding in it's contemporary American cuisine including cocktails.  The dining room is warm and relaxed, but a bit nondescript... 

Wagyu Zabuton

Chicken Roulade

Wagyu Zabuton is a Japanese steak with marbling that makes it melt in your mouth!

I don't usually order steak at a restaurant, but this came highly recommended and it was worth every bite.

My husband had the chicken which they transformed into a most delicate and tasty dish beyond our expectations too.

Our last and final dining spot was a hit and a great way to end our stay in SF... it was Campania, Italy (southern part near Naples) by way of San Francisco.  It was casual, warm, boisterous, and chic... serving fabulous pizzas (and much more) paired with unusual wines... oh, and we let our server choose the wine... good decision.

A16

We had a guest dining with us so I was distracted and we ate all the delicious food before I had a chance to get photos... sorry, but this is a must on your visit and you'll be on Chestnut street where there is great shopping so you can kill two... 

Bon Appetit... and Happy Halloween!

I love candy corn and the way it melts in my mouth... what's your favorite candy?

From San Fran

It was great to go back and see old friends and old places in San Francisco.  When we first arrived so did the first winter storm with colder temps and lots of wind and rain...

Last Sunday

So we spent a good part of the afternoon at the Ferry Building Marketplace which is filled with gourmet food shops and restaurants... 

...from coffee to fungi... from cheese to crab we managed to eat our way through...

By Monday morning the weather had cleared and it was sunny in the low 60's, perfect for walking the city and we did... somehow after all these years, I never forgot my way around and the memories of a distant life came rushing back...

Tomorrow I'll tell you about great restaurants we dined in... North Beach, my old school and more...