florida finds

beautiful miami beach

miami day three

amtrak day one

baltimore


virginia


dining car

long time

b and I just got back from ten-day trip to florida. after such a busy year, we thought it would be a good idea to get away for a bit. plus with b's LA by hawaii heritage, the cold NYC winters get to him. we took the amtrak down on the 25th, booking a sleeper car. we stayed two nights in south beach miami, then took off by rental car across the top of the everglades, the route known as alligator alley. making it to the gulf coast, we drove north and stayed overnight in sarasota. since the weather had turned cloudy and a bit chilly, we decided to spend most of the trip antiquing. I had heard about florida's great thrift and antique stores, did a little research, and found that the gulf coast is filled with them. we had plans to meet our friends tova and stan who live in tampa, and make it up for stan's birthday party that friday. we really loved the sarasota area- home to the ringling brothers and their namesake art school. antiques shops in that area were our favorite, there's great food, great people, and the coolest little village of the arts in bradenton.

after spending time with our friends and kicking around the tampa bay area, we headed back to the atlantic coast by way of some of the rural counties, stopping at many small towns along the way. then a few days making our way back to miami, through cocoa, west palm and delray beaches. on our last day we rushed down to the keys, as the sun had come back out and we had had our fill of antiques. we only made it to key largo, the first key, but plan on going back as soon as we can!

I had only been to florida twice, both times as a kid. We really were able to do a lot of exploring and fell in love with not only the climate, fresh air and crystal clear water, but the friendliness of the people and their offbeat sense of humor. Something about the combination of retirees and southerners makes for a mellow mix. the small towns are where it's at in florida- so many of them are revitalizing their downtowns. one of the nicest was delray- also great were cocoa village, kissimmee, and the larger town of st. petersburg. I have to say that south beach wasn't quite as hip as I had been led to believe by its current reputation. Seems like they've gone a bit too far in attracting wealth, and everything there is pretty upscale. It's hard to find much sense of local business or homespun identity. We found just one Cuban restaurant, and ate there the first night. (but the really good Cuban food is to be found across the causeway, in the main part of the city.) Of course the art deco district is beautiful, and people have done a great job of revamping the hotels. the amtrak was awesome and if you ever have the time to do it, I highly recommend it.

so that's my brief take on florida. love it and can't wait to go back.

horse brasses

ah, mystery solved thanks to miss tiff. she recently did a post on my big, brass bling necklaces, indicating that the pieces are indeed saddle ornaments. (which was my first hunch) the official name for the pendant is a horse brass. here is an illustration of a fully-ornamented horse, and below are some shots tiffany took wearing the necklaces. they are for sale in her web shop, and I have a few pieces available on the site.

lazy days

so the coat came today. I was really excited at first, but upon closer examination I realized it had some flaws. b asked me if I was being *mollieish* as my mood fell. yeah, maybe a bit, but that didn't stop me from calling Alpha and letting them know that the quality of the women's coat isn't quite what the men's is. You see those cord button hole loops? mine arrived all frayed. the same cord is used as a drawstring on the hood and waist- also frayed. so I'm sending it back in exchange for a better one. (I hope) it's not shiny silver either. the woman at Alpha said it was the reflection made by the camera flash (they must get this question all the time) that made the jacket appear shiny. I don't believe her. b's is shiny olive green. mine is a matte silver.

the door buzzer rang at 10am, b and I both fast asleep. b bolted up in bed, looking all confused. the door, I said. will you get the door? it's probably my coat. ups. glancing up at the clock, I quickly realized it was felecia here for work, not ups. I got felecia started with her projects, then jumped in the shower. we had gone to bed early too. (for us anyway) could be my body detoxing from four days without coffee. for me *new years resolutions* are more of a subtle thing- maybe a resolve to look at things differently. or maybe this year is just different. I seem to be settling into better habits almost without effort. last year was a year to go all astray.

this week seemed to fly by. I missed paper recycling again last night. going for long walks seems to take more out of us when the weather is this cold. having regular appointments in the city is a nice excuse to get some lunch (kunjip!) visit the surly old jewelry supply store, spend some time in the main branch of the new york public library and take alternate routes heading downtown through murray hill and gramercy. b is endlessly amused by gramercy park, the one park in manhhatan we can't walk through. 30 blocks up the west side, 6 crosstown blocks east, and 37 blocks back downtown, we found ourselves at veselka in the east village. again, amazed I've never been to this place for the amount of time i've lived in this city. veselka's sidewalk seats are always packed in nice weather, sort of scaring me away. but man, I'm so glad we finally ate there. second avenue is lined with Ukrainian cultural institutions such as the Ukrainian American Youth Association, Uk. Nat'l Women's Association, Uk. Amer. Publishing House, Uk. Amer. Soccer Assocation, on and on. and yeah, there are several restaurants too, Veselka being the awesomest diner/ neighborhood hangout/ grab a quick bite kind of place. we shared some potato pancakes and chocolate peanut butter pie. possibly the best I've ever had in both categories.

tomorrow....friday. laundry...

my new jacket?

just ordered this beauty from alpha industries. not sure if it will fit or the color will work, but I'm going to give it a try. this type of parka had been on my mind, as b and I both needed new winter coats this year. we found one for him, but the women's version seems impossible to find in stores. boo! why do men get all the good stuff? so I made my online order this morning. wish me luck.

julie floersch

In the weeks before the holidays b and I made the rounds of the many indie craft and design shows that were going on in brooklyn and manhattan. It was a great way to see some of the fresh stuff that's coming out from small-scale artists and designers. We collected post cards (and in this case I purchased an item) and it led me to place an order with julie floresch for the everbrite store.

Julie's background is in fashion design, studying at F.I.T. and working in pattern making for J. Crew, Ralph Lauren and Banana Republic. She left the fashion world in 2005 to become an artist and designer in her own right, using the medium of quilted denim to create such things as curtains, pillows, necklaces and earrings.

Using discarded materials, primarily found denim for its haphazard and painterly qualities, I incorporate various structure-forming techniques into complex geometric repetitions, giving them a slightly raised, subtle third dimension. These intricate patterns are then assiduously interwoven, juxtaposing hand crafted traditional Americana and pop culture imagery to reshape the concept of quilt making as a purely 2-dimensional art form.

The curtains shown above were designed for Madewell’s Denim After Dark event in Soho and are currently installed in their East Hampton store.

minca, chelsea market, high line

today was tutu's last day of her visit, and we lucked out on the weather. cold but not unbearable. so after we got some work done, the three of us headed to manhattan in the late afternoon. first stop was minca ramen in the east village. b is a big fan of ramen being from south bay l.a. and he introduced me to it when we met. yum- big, steaming bowls of broth with noodles, various mushroom and sea vegetable products, half a 1000-year old egg, a couple of slices of roast pork, and chopped scallions. my standard order is the minca sio- velvety miso/chicken/pork broth with garlic, with the bean thread noodles. their kimchee is amazing as well as their daikon salad. b loves their gyoza and cold tofu appetizers.

from minca we walked north to 14th street and caught the L train west to 8th ave. in march I'll be a 6-year resident of nyc, yet it was my first visit to the chelsea market. that's how many things there are to do in this city at all times. it's housed in a former nabisco factory and the market has revived some of its food industry past, in that there are several working bakeries in the facility. our first stop was chelsea market baskets which sells not only customized gift food baskets but all the elements to make your own or buy the items a la carte. next for me was bowery kitchen supply, where I was drawn to their window lined with utilitarian glassware like a moth to a flame. inside, the store is filled with the kind of basic, no-frills cookware I love. I walked out with a beauteous new peugot pepper mill. (something I had put off buying for while but I'm sure will be worth the cost) next we meandered through several more shops before convening for snack time. I picked up a smooth cappuccino at 9th street espresso (one of the best in the city I've had) from the super cool people working the counter, and cookies from sarabeth's kitchen. b and tutu shared some l'arte del gelato. next into t salon for some loose asam, then finally a visit to posman books before leaving.

From the Chelsea Market website: To walk through the Chelsea Market is to stroll through a sort of postindustrial theme park, carefully festooned with the detritus of a lost industrial culture...The old factory floors weave and bob, and the central hall is a jumble of disused ducts, an artificial waterfall, the original train shed, old signboards and other elements.Right now the market is decorated with an eco-trash holiday decor including wreaths and a christmas tree made of bent and broken cd's. (that are really beautiful in the way they catch the reflect the light)

chelsea market is housed in one of the buildings the high line passes through. if you haven't been there yet go! go! go! a former elevated railroad trestle turned park, the first phase opened last summer, after ten years in the making. it has become one of my favorite places in the city- the photos above were taken in september on my cell phone camera. it was cool being there tonight, having the park all to ourselves and seeing all the plants dried and surrounded by patches of snow. it made me notice other things I hadn't seen before.