Kansai Yamamoto at the Perelman Museum

This jacket was part of an exhibition showing the fashion of the designer Kansai Yamamoto from 1971-1973. But I think it looks just like my winter coat!

Big Buttons

I've always loved a calculator with big buttons.

Designing Modern Exhibition at the Perelman Museum

I also enjoyed this exhibition, Designing Modern.

I would love to own an Olivetti typewriter. This one is the Olivetti Lettera 22. I liked the poster too.

Perelman museum

I really enjoyed all the exhibitions at the Perelman museum at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I love Ansel Adams, so I especially loved that exhibition.

I got a little excited. Can you see why?

My photo I bought at Pippin Home.

Ansel Adams photograph.

Ok, so I didn't really think it was that likely I had bought an Ansel Adams photo at the vintage store, as I thought the man in the shop would have picked up on it. And if I had thought about it, I knew my photo was signed as that was one of the things I liked about it. I do like Ansel's photo more, but mine isn't bad as far as a vintage store find goes.

Update: the blue picture I mentioned in an earlier post was sold by the time I actually went to buy it. I think because it had already been reduced, that I was safe. I've bought two black and white tree photos instead.

Fork restaurant in Philadelphia

I had lunch at Fork in Philadelphia. The food was good, but the portion was enormous. I wish I had eaten in the Fork deli next door, Fork Etc. Its decoration is much more modern, with 1950s style formica covered tables and blackboard paint-covered walls.

Ceiling Tins on Pine Street

I saw these ceiling tins for sale outside a shop on Pine St. I think it was $40 for a large one. I would have liked to buy 6 and make into a coffee table top - except I'm running out of space.

These are the exact same type of tiles they sell in Estilo Home in Wimbledon, made into picture frames which cost over £100 - so that's a pretty big mark-up.

Polish Mountaineer's Belt

I saw this belt in the Polish American Center. I like those places - I did my Masters dissertation on ethnic groups' museums in Chicago, so I have been to quite a few. This is a Polish Mountaineer's belt - but I thought it looked just like something I might wear now!

A day in Philadelphia

I had a very nice day trip to Philadelphia.

This is on Ben Franklin Parkway. This is supposed to be a replica of the Champs Elysees in Paris.

Napoleon's brother's house.

Nice houses on Pine Street - older and more Southern, with shutters.

The City Hall, which is supposed to be an exact replica of the Paris City Hall, except for the tower.

I had a very informative tour of an old Jewish graveyard by a guide called Jordan. Well, what could I do, he didn't have any other customers and was sitting there on his own.

On the Bolt Bus to Philadelphia

Extra leg room.

Plugs for your laptop.

All in all, a very pleasant experience on the Bolt Bus.

When the cat's away...

This is what spare keyholders get up to....

This is my new kitchen in this Real Food video for Times Online with the BBC Chinese chef Ching-He Huang. I love how they've styled it...I'm sure I didn't leave my kettle and cookbooks in the back..

Coldplay on Today Show

Right now I should be at the Coldplay early morning concert at Rockefeller Centre- but I couldn't get out of bed in time. I'll post a You Tube clip later if I can find one. It looks really busy though, I'm sure I wouldn't have got anywhere near it. I think Gwyneth Paltrow is very lucky to be married to Chris Martin.

Christie's Pop Culture Auction

On Wednesday afternoon I went to watch the Pop Culture Auction at Christies. It was pretty relaxed, you could walk in and out whenever you want, so it's worth going even for a short while. It was very entertaining. Someone should hire the auctioneer for tv, he was good-looking and had a bit of banter with the beautiful women on the telephone bids. Most of the bids were telephone bids, but I did feel bad for the man in the room who bid for quite a few things but didn't win. You can actually watch the auctions online too.

At the front of the room were some large clothes, and I couldn't figure out who they belonged to. I was thinking Elvis, but there was a blood-stained shirt. Finally I looked in a catalogue and it was Tony Soprano's shirt from the Sopranos. You can see the results online - looks like that outfit went for nearly $44,000. There were lots of interesting things for sale; old Disney stills, stills from King Kong 1933, lots of rock memorabilia.

Photo is from the Christie's website.

Dinner at August in the West Village

Last night I had one of the best meals of my life at August in the West Village. There's a review and a slideshow here - in the third picture of the slideshow you can see the beautiful plaster effect on the walls which I loved.

I had this:

Spanish Mackerel a la Plancha
Baby artichokes, cucumber, grapes, and toasted almond milk

Panna Cotta with Rhubarb

It was totally delicious. I couldn't fault it in any way (although you might want to make sure and order extra vegetables with this one.)

Pawtisserie

Here's another dog shop - good name, Pawtisserie, but I couldn't work out if the food in the gourmet bakery is for dogs or humans.

Albert Einstein's house

This house in Princeton, New Jersey, is where Albert Einstein lived for the last twenty years of his life.

Day trip to Princeton

Yesterday I went on a day trip to Princeton. They were filming a Transformers movie around the campus.

Bolt Bus

I've just booked myself a trip to Philadelphia and to Washington DC on the Bolt Bus. I can't believe how cheap it is! It can only be that the locals haven't picked up on it yet - most of the New Yorkers I've met seem to take the Chinatown bus. There's WiFi and extra legroom, and $1 tickets which don't even seem that elusive (I saw a couple of $1 tickets in the dates I checked.)

There was a good review of it in the Sunday Times - see the article here.

Breakdancing boys on the subway

Now, here's an ingenious move I haven't seen before...

Obama Mama

More mermaid pictures

Look like Karyn's blog also has a better picture of the Mermaid Parade. Check it out here.

Simply Breakfast

I'm interrupting this NY blog to draw attention to a new blog I've found, Simply Breakfast. Look at those photographs, they are amazing!

Mermaid Parade at Coney Island

This afternoon I went to the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island. I haven't got many photographs, mainly because I got bored after watching about three floats, and went to the New York City Aquarium (not the best I've visited, but I did see some more coral) instead. There were over 500 floats, and after a few hours, people were starting to get a bit agitated as we were essentially trapped in by the mermaid route.

Lots of the visitors dress up too.

Coney Island is actually a really nice, long and sandy beach. Even though it was probably the busiest Saturday of the year, it wasn't too overcrowded (although maybe everyone was watching the parade.) I've heard it's really lovely in the early morning. I would like to walk along this beach in the winter. Maybe in November, when I plan to return to New York as an election tourist.

On the way back, my subway got stuck in a tunnel for 25 minutes. Not my favourite experience, so thanks to Patricia, who talked to me and calmed me down with some self-help speak.

Beth El Messianic Congregation

This morning I went to the Beth El Messianic Jewish synagogue - it was a lovely, uplifting experience with a welcoming community of people. If you want to find out what they believe, look here.

Friday afternoon...

So I'm off to Pippin Vintage to see what new things they have in.

The other Hyde Park?

I just saw this on my street - is it the world's smallest park? I'm glad to see the honorees are still alive though - just moved to Kentucky.

Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef at World Financial Center

I went to see this because of my new (but potentially very short-lived) interest in crochet. There's some information about the exhibition here. So in two days I have seen a crochet and an ice coral. And if anyone is interested, it's also displaying in the Hayward Gallery - find out more here.

Post Office van

I was so excited to see this today as I haven't had my camera with me when I've seen them before. A Post Office van with a counter! I love it. Perhaps this could be a solution to the UK sub-post office closures? I might write to the Post Office and suggest it.

Lunch at the City Bakery

I love to have lunch at the City Bakery. Yesterday's plate included:

Japanese aubergine

Roasted yellow peppers

Sauteed collard greens

Baked Hake with lemon and mustard

Mushrooms and herbs

Rice noodles with beans, mustard greens and curry leaf

Green beans with coconut, curry oil and curry leaf

Red rice with water chestnuts, celery and lemongrass

YUM! Someone should publish a City Bakery Salads book - they already have a cake book I think, but they have such a range of great salads.

Okamoto Ice Studio artists

Apparently a lot of ice sculptors in the world started off as chefs, because they teach some basic ice sculpting in catering college. But most of the guys who work at Okamoto are professional artists with MFAs. Ben Grasso, who is making the coral in the below post, has an exhibition here. This is his picture above - I really like it. Shintaro Okamoto is also an artist - I saw some of his paintings at the studio yesterday and they were great - but I can't find anything online.

Okamoto Ice Studio

I had a great time yesterday at the Okomoto Ice Studio. Have a look at the website to see some great images - it's amazing what they can do.

Ben making an ice coral - to be used on a cooking TV show.

Takeo Okamoto is the very stylish master ice sculptor. He and his son opened the studio, and they've won competitions all over the world.

Me working on my ice mug.

Some very good work on the handle by a co-sculptor.

Picture is to demonstrate how they set up a nice little area for us to drink, just beside the pavement. I especially liked how he put the tree in the corner (look carefully) for a palm tree effect.

Summer exhibition at the New York Academy of Art

When I was in Tribeca, I came across this art school, New York Academy of Art had a summer exhibition. There were a few paintings I liked, one of which was only $400 (the other one I liked was $5,000, so I quickly eliminated it.) It was sold anyway, but it was by an artist called Harry Ito - I can't find anything on him, not even on MySpace - so that's a shame.

Every year I intend to go to the degree shows and never quite make it.

Tribeca and the Duane Park Patisserie

A few days I went to explore Tribeca. It's a strange neighbourhood, because it's right in the middle of a busy downtown area, yet there are the most kid's clothing shops I have seen, and apparently it is a very yummy mummy area. There is a tiny park, Washington Square Park, where they all hang out. I think there are a lot of large lofts, so there's quite a lot of residential space, but I can't imagine having a child round there. Lots of very expensive interiors shops there too - but everything looks the same.

I did find this nice patisserie, Duane Park Patisserie and had a chocolate eclair and an iced coffee. They only have a few tables, old 1950s retro and very nice (the tables, and the chocolate eclair.)

Building in Chelsea

I like this building in Chelsea - it stretches along for a the whole block. Does anyone know what it is/used to be?

Book Arts Mail Art exhibition

This week I went to the Mail Art exhibition at the Center for Book Arts. It reminded me of my 30th birthday postcard exhibition* so I really liked it.

Did you know that Mail Art was a whole art movement between the 1950s and 1990s?

For those of you who would like to get an early start thinking up ideas for my next birthday postcard exhibition (it will definitely surface again) the postcard at the top is by Yoko Ono, and it says "a hole to see the sky through."

*My 30th birthday exhibition was inspired by the annual Royal College of Art Secret Postcard exhibition. A lot of artists submit postcards to the exhibition, including famous artists and RCA students. All the postcards are priced at £35 (I think) but you don't find out who did it until you have bought it and the exhibition has closed - the names are on the back. A friend of a friend actually did buy a Yoko Ono one last year. This is an old article from the Guardian here but they do it every year.

Two other poems I liked - Billy Collins

I hadn't heard of the poet Billy Collins before, but perhaps I should have - he was the American Poet Laureate for two years. Someone read these two poems, which I really liked, especially the History Teacher.

Introduction to Poetry

The History Teacher

Happiness - from the poetry reading

This is one of the poems from the reading this evening. It just made me think of how happy I was cycling along in the rain (without any waterproofs.)

Happiness by A. A. Milne
John had Great Big Waterproof Boots on;
John had a Great Big Waterproof Hat;
John had a Great Big Waterproof Mackintosh --
And that (Said John)
Is That.

Poetry Evening at St John's in the Village

Tonight I did a poetry reading at the annual poetry reading at St John's in the Village. This was another brilliant experience - I loved it. They have been advertising it on posters outside for weeks. You could submit your favourite poem and read it. I was the youngest person there by about 30 years. Almost everyone had submitted several poems, I just had one. We had 76 poems in total, 13 readers, and 12 people in the audience. A lot of the poems were written by the readers themselves - I was thinking I should have taken a poem written by someone I know and read it out to a New York audience - that would have been brilliant! But I still had so much fun.

I read Autobiography by Louis MacNeice. After I submitted it I also remembered another of his poems I like, Snow, but I didn't think it was right for a mid-summer poetry reading.

I am thinking of organising a Poetry Picnic when I get back - if anyone is interested, let me know.

Cycling on the West Side Bicycle Park

Today I had one of my best NY experiences, cycling along the river. I cycled as far as 79th Street, in the rain. I absolutely loved it. I borrowed Katie's bicycle. I wish you could have seen me, freewheeling along with the breeze.

Update on blue picture

Sadly, the blue picture from Pippin Vintage was gone when I went back to get it (after looking at it every day for three days.) Instead I bought two 1960's pictures of trees (my favourite subject, along with flocks of birds and hummingbirds.) I also found out they get new stock every Friday, so I will be back there then.

I also checked out a new location of Housing Works, which I think have the best thrift stores in the city. Look at the amazing things in the window! They auction their window goods online. This window includes Marimekko wall hangings and 5 Knoll chairs. I would definitely bid for these chairs if I lived here (currently $214.)

Soy Luck Club

Today I am having lunch at the Soy Luck Club. It has free Wifi too, so another bonus. The strawberry 'soyafrost' is delicious - it just has a little edge of Strawberry Complan, but if you can get past that it's yummy.

The sandwich is a variation of the sandwich I have wherever I go - this one is chicken, avocado, cucumber. It's on thick artisan-looking walnut bread, and the twist with the Soy Luck Club's sandwich is that is has soy yogurt instead of mayonnaise, and a touch of dill. Very good indeed.

I like soya milk, but recently I have been feeling guilty about drinking it as apparently it has a huge environmental impact and is destroying the rainforests. You can read more here.

Kitchen clock

Which clock do you like best? (for my kitchen) Round clock at the top is silver round the edge, for sale in New York. 46cm diameter.

Second clock is from Habitat, it is black and white plastic. 50cm X 50cm

Please vote in the poll on the right - plus any comments welcomed.

A misty New York evening

Again, not a very good photo, but maybe evokes some idea of a misty New York evening - tonight is the first night I have felt cool in quite a long time.

Dinner at Pipa

I had dinner at Pipa, a tapas restaurant, with Emma and Bev, two ex-EY accountants (well, Bev still there.) It's attached to ABC Garden and Home, so all the chandeliers are for sale. My camera work is not too good, it was really dark with lots of twinkly chandeliers - it was quite atmospheric.

Lunch at West 11th Cafe

I had a very tasty drink - mango mojito - mango, lime, mint and soda water.

The Incredible Hulk

I am in two minds about whether to go and see The Incredible Hulk. On the one hand, it doesn't sound like my type of thing at all. On second thoughts, I really love Edward Norton.* What's a girl to do? Also, I've had my fair share recently of traumatic experiences - I just finished reading A Fine Balance which was brilliant but very upsetting, and also I went to see a film called Savage Grace, which was pretty grim. I'm looking for an uplifting experience - might Hulk be it? Please vote in my poll on the right...

*My admiration for Edward Norton was awakened in The Painted Veil, which I think may be one of my top 5 films. (It has higher ratings on Rotten Tomatoes than The Incredible Hulk.) I really loved Naomi Watts in it as well and the score is so beautiful. And China looks stunning.

Thrift store finds

I'm really pleased with the two milk glass lamps I bought. They are 1940s.

I also bought this silk skirt. Both items purchased on West 17th Street.