In New York. by violet

I often find that my Netflix queue is full of documentaries. I often feel the draw of movies that tell true stories and expose me to worlds I never knew existed.  

A few weeks ago, JP found the documentary Bill Cunningham New York about the New York Times photographer who takes photos for the On the Street section.  

Since JP is into photographer and I’m into fashion we decided to make a little date out of it with a stop off at Marination Mobile’s new brick and mortar restaurant.  

I started out the evening with one of their delicious SPAM sliders, I should have know it was going to be a good night.  Seriously.  A SPAM slider.  

But the night was all about the movie.  At the tiny Harvard exit theatre the crowd seemed to be Corning Arts College students, retired couples, fashionista hipster with JP and me. 

The movie was everything a good documentary should be.  It told the story of a man, whom I didn’t know much about walking into, transporting me into a compelling, heart-warming and touching world.  

Bill is utterly charming, often hilarious and draws you into to what he has done for decades.  This is a man who has lived his life with such integrity and passion that you cannot help but be inspired.  

I don’t want to give away too much about the movie because I’m going to tell you to run not walk to the theatre nearest you to see this movie. It will absolutely melt your heart.  

Violet Seychelles boots

Highlights and Lowlights – New York

I’m back. It was a totally amazing trip - full of so many adventures and great stories. Here are some of the highlights and the lowlights. I like to start with the bad news first.

Lowlights:

- Redeye. And no, my fancy new neck pillow did not work.

- Almost dying in a taxi cab accident on the BQE

- Blisters

- The front of the public library being covered the scaffolding

- Getting sick our second-to-last night in town

- Waiting over an hour for Shake Shack – It was good but In-n-Out is still my favorite

- Rain all day on Tuesday – although it did give us a chance to see Iron Man 2

Now for the good stuff:

- Cato and Walter. These two played incredibly awesome hosts and tour guides during our trip. Thanks so much guys for all the insider information and more than generous hospitality.

- Brooklyn. It is, indeed, a hipster Mecca but it’s also home to some really cool neighborhoods, parks, resturants and bars.

- Walking to Brooklyn Bridge

- Soup dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai

- Achieving hipster cred with street vendor Ray Bans

- Chelsea Market picnic at the Highline

- Sharing stories with Norman from B&H Photo

- Dinner at the Spotted Pig

- The MOMA

- Ramen with Jackson at Ippudo

- Grilled Mexican Corn at Café Habana

- Top of the Rock

- Our date night in midtown – oysters at Grand Central, drinks at Bar 44 and a picnic on our hotel room floor with meat, cheese, bread and cheesecake from Junior’s.

Violet in Caged Steve Madden in nude

In preparation. By violet

We leave for New York in a week. Next Thursday night, J.P. and I will be boarding a plane and heading to the Big Apple for a week’s worth of vacation.

We’ve been planning to trip of awhile but really only now are things coming together. And in preparation, I purchased a few items that I knew I would need.

J.P. seemed perplexed that I would buy anything before the trip. Wouldn’t I just want to get everything there?

Well, clearly, I am going to be doing a significant amount of shopping while there but there were a couple of things that I didn’t want arrive in the city without.

One, a good pair of walking sneakers

Since we plan on walking a lot during the trip, I didn’t want to ruin my feat. While I would love to wear a cute pair of flats or wedges, I just don’t think it’s possible. So I searched for a hip pair of sneakers that wouldn’t make me feel like a middle age tourist at Disney World.

These red Sauconys are just the thing. Plenty of padding and trekking and a bold color to make a fashion statement.

Two, a large cross-body purse

I wanted large in order to carry all the stuff you seem to need when you travel - maps, guidebooks, umbrella, scarf, bottle of water, possibly even a pair of flip flops for tired feet. And cross body so my shoulder didn’t give out carrying all those things. And also as a theft deterrent – harder to swipe off your shoulder or lift the wallet out of. I was looking for a color that would go with both black and brown.

This Sak purse fits all my requirements. The blue color will go with just about anything – and will look awesome with my new red sneakers. It’s big enough to get a bunch of stuff in without feeling like I’m running away from home. And the adjustable strap assures that I can go from touring to dinner. 

Now I just have to decide what else is going in my suitcase.  What else should I be sure and pack?  What do you never travel without?

Violet in Frye Campus 14L boots in Saddle Montana

staying awake. by orange

While training for the 1/2 marathons my running buddies and I have been trying various "race nutrition" items.  Basically they provide you a boost - a bit more than your average sip of gatorade.  A couple that have been popular with us are CLIF shot blocks, Luna Moons and Sport Beans.  Sound tasty don't they?

Well nearing the 1/2 marathon we made sure to find the one that worked best with us during the run.  I was most excited about the Sport Beans - as they are sweet jelly beans (made by jelly belly), however with an added kick - including caffeine.  Sadly, my stomach did not agree with them while running.  However, I thought - would these little jelly beans provide the boost that I might need on a night out on the town?

Ask the husband, I can fall asleep just about anywhere at anytime.  I've even gone to the doctor regarding this amazing amount of sleep I crave, but apparently nothing is wrong.  The husband swears it is due to a lack of hydration throughout the day - which I do agree with him, just haven't quite started the hydration plan.  Anyway, you can imagine, while out - even with red bull vodkas galore I'm still getting sleepy when the clock strikes midnight.  So something that can wake me up and and doesn't involve snorting sounds like a dream come true.

Where else to try out the sport beans than in the city that never sleeps - New York City.  With the bars being open until 4am I knew I would need some help.  So...

it worked!  Here I am at the end of the night - still awake and going!  :)