I Came, I Saw, I Ate, I Lived-1/8/23
What Inspired Me- 6/5/22
- Had tea at Oscar Wilde Tea Room- perfectly kitsch and marvelous
- Had delightful evening at Barcade, where I got to relive my youth and play Pac Man and Centipede
- Manhattanhenge is where city dwellers gather in the streets to watch the sunset
- I know I totally mocked the combined no hitter- yet there I was cheering on the 10th anniversary of Johan Santana’s no no, as he stood at the mound with the five pitchers from the combined no no….hypocrisy my name is LA
- Gallery 300 begins the Medieval section of the Met- with an abundance of artifacts and art.
- Also caught the new showing of baseball cards from the Burdick collection, which is tucked away in the least accessible area of the Met…
What Inspired Me: 5/8/22
- Did a fun run at the Bronx Zoo- it was fun!! We had a beautiful day and the animals were all ready for their close-ups.
- Food wise- Fun Mexican Iguana! The place turns into a dance club but we were gone way before that !! Enzo’s in the Little Italy in the Bronx- which is a cool little enclave. Elephant and Castle has French Toast Benedict- it’s like my sweet and savory fantasy come to life!!! So good!
- Did a city walk! Obviously haunted house comes first on my list of “OMG- I didn’t know that.” Otherwise you would have had a picture of Emma Lazurus House…
- On recommendation of blogger/poet friend R. Douglas I saw Diva at the film forum. I can’t believe I’d never heard of this movie before!! First off- the ending was great! Secondly the editing, cinematography, directing was on point. The movie was gritty, and different from other French films that I have seen. Well done. The only drawback is that it reminded me how unappealing the 80s power suit was…
- Flowers- courtesy Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- In America An Anthology of Fashion is about to open at the Met. I loved this exhibit!! First off- it wasn’t really about the clothes- it was about the placement which was in the galleries of The American Wing. Just breathtaking. And yes- the clothes were really cool too! If you are in NYC anytime soon I think this is a GO.
- Last concert of the season for us! Just so glad we were back!!
What Inspired Me: 5/1/22
- Food!! We went on a city walk, which means we try different street food type of stuff- McDougal Street (and its neighbors) in the Village is a perfect spot for this. We tried kolache which is an Eastern European- a pastry stuffed with either a sweet or savory middle. We tried a pork one. Crop Circle sells guokoi, a chinese pancake, also filled with things- again we chose pork. We had ice cream at Van Leeuwen- I tried what they refer to as royal wedding cake- which has pieces of lemon cake in it. My husband had a honeycomb shake. Raoul’s in SOHO has one of the best burgers in the city- au poive style and delicious!! My Dad’s birthday is next week, and his favorite restaurant is Peter Luger’s steak house. As we needed to take my parents to their Doctor, and their Doctor is two miles away from the steak house, we went for an early birthday celebration. What’s pictured is the standard homestyle share that my family loves: steak medium rare, creamed spinach and German fried potatoes.
- FLOWERS!
- Met South Asia art
- We did a city walk this weekend (we take a guidebook and look at things like tourists) The blue wall above- For years I thought this was some sort of failed construction project. Just found out that it’s actually an art installation!! Who knew? The Wall by Forrest Myers
- See that building that looks like a church? Well, it used to be a church but now it’s a private residence. Can you imagine living there? Of course, as we were gawking at the building, someone who lives there pulled up and scoffed at us as we were gawking.
What Inspired Me: 4/17/22
- The Orchid Show at NYBG was as spectacular as always.
- Whitney Biennial- as always happens when I go to to the biennial- there are some things that I love, and some things I wonder why they are considered art. There was one piece that I liked very much, but I was not able to capture in on film- All is all, an interesting mix of new American art. The one thing that the biennial does teach me is that art is very much a business- there is very little that is meant to be a backdrop to someone’s décor. These pieces are made to be displayed in gallery settings, unless you happen to have a room where you can set up a projection screen or build a house. Speaking of which- Sutter’s Mill- which sees the artist build and take down a structure is very powerful to see in person. I do wonder if some collector buys the artist when they buy the work. Sort of counterintuitive…
- Apparently the Statue of Liberty at the Highline is supposed to wear masks- I will try to get there for an update…
- Lots of awesome comfort food this week! fried chicken, burger and ramen- these are my go to comfort foods-
- If you like passionate piano- Yuja Wang is for you- She is just so powerful at the keys…
- The night we went to Carnegie Hall was the night of the subway shooting. We took the bus uptown, but on the way home we took the R train, which runs alongside the N train where the attack occurred. It was a little jarring to see the station closed sign on the interior subway map.
- Winslow Homer- Crosscurrents at the Met. Ok- I can see that Homer is a good artist deserving of a retrospective. However, I just can’t get that excited over his work. Well organized exhibit though.
- I can’t tell you how much I love Galleries 217 and 218 at the Met. My pictures do not do justice to the beauty and serenity and loveliness that are these galleries. This has always been one of my favorite spots at the Met.
- As I continue to seeing the Met in numeric gallery order, I find myself in a weird spot. From galleries 209- 232, these exhibits are technically “special” but they have a lot of new rotations, so I have been through these galleries quite often over the past ten months. However, as I now actually remember a lot of the more static pieces, I am going to go a bit more briskly through these galleries until I get to numbers I haven’t seen much of. It sort of goes against my somewhat literal tendencies, but I am trying…
What Inspired Me: 4/3/22
- I know a lot of you come for the food, but alas this chicken cobb without egg was the most dressy food I ate this week…
- Birthday Candles on Broadway- Debra Messing does an admirable job of playing a woman from 17 to, I think, 108. Not really a drama, and some fun comic moments. I did enjoy this cleverly paced journey.
- Broadway Sing Queen was awesome. It’s pretty much Broadway performers singing songs from Queen…Above is Tony nominated Jarrod Spector singing “Under Pressure” and bringing it all! Just a great evening…
- I’m assuming CNN is doing a marketing campaign but it was fun to look at
- Plaza Suite on Broadway with Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick. Ok- where do I start? Love Neil Simon, but I think this late sixties play just misses the 21st century mark. The first act is a bore- Broderick seems stiff and lifeless. The second act is better, where the chemistry between the two shines. The 3rd act is the best, funny, real and tender. Parker does a good job with her sarcastic jabs and is just adorable throughout…
- I love the Brooklyn Botanic on an overcast day…there’s a sense of peace… and all the blooms!!
- i sort of love what the Met calls the Balcony Lounge and encompasses Galleries 204 and 205…it’s just a beautiful space. Galleries 173 and 174 are scheduled to be renovated later in the year. Next week I explore more of Asian Art.
Ok- Tilly asked to see the shoes, specifically the day to day sandals, and my dressy flat sandals, but once I had the storage boxes out I just took pictures of everything…The thing about taking out all the shoes to look at means that you look at the condition. My beloved striped converse probably need to be replaced…they are really worn down, and I’d say there is nothing left to the heel…So I guess I have to go shoe shopping…
What Inspired Me: 3/27/22
- I was in Lancaster PA for a wedding this weekend. We got there early on Friday and got in a little history by visiting Wheatland- the home of President James Buchanan. Was surprised to see that Elton John played Franklin and Marshall College! Can you imagine being a kid at that show?! Those trunks are made by this luggage guy- Louis Vuitton- they belonged to Buchanan’s niece, who incidentally was the first person known as “First Lady”, though the newspapers didn’t use the term till Mary Todd Lincoln… Very interesting and if you appreciate old furniture, as I do, it’s quite well done.
- Best friends daughters wedding=best wedding ever!!!!
- While this is probably not the shawarma place that Iron Man referred
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden is becoming a riot of color!!!
- The Vietnamese food at Madame Vo is awesome!! The dish above is rice cakes with sausage and egg and all sorts of delicious!
- Veselka is a Ukranian restaurant and mainstay in the East Village- we didn’t eat there this week but it’s worth going to for many reasons
- Cherry Blossoms in DC- thanks to my daughter
- Went to a gallery talk on Jacques Louis David- thought I don’t love the work, I did gain a new appreciation of how and why. Wonderful talk by the curator.- I just love the way that galleries 202 and 203 are situated!! Just beautiful!! I’m not really into swords, but the work on some of these cases was exquisite!!
- This is my Oscar pool of who I think should win- I picked my fave from each category, but it is not necessarily who I think will win- Full disclosure that I saw every movie except for Writing with Fire (documentary full length)
What Inspired Me: 3/20/22
- My Tea Society had a matcha tasting Kettl. I admit, I am not a fan of matcha, but this place has a grinder to grind their own. And the most gorgeous ceramic teaware, much of it made on premises. Lovely morning!!
- Can I just tell you how much I love soufflé…banana with chocolate sauce
- I went out to help my parents with cleaning out their filing cabinet…Yeah…good times…but they did take us to dinner at Cafe Luna in Old Bridge- seriously- best pork shop I’ve ever had- and FYI- I split with my Husband, and what you see on my plate is a half portion…
- Was thrilled to hear artist Charles Ray discuss his work and his latest exhibition at the Met. Ray is the gentleman on the farthest right. The exhibit is laid out not quite like the Met sets them out, and I learned that Ray was very integral in the curation of the exhibit.
- That piece of cake? Four people could not finish…
- Saw Styx in concert- Hearing Come Sail Away live was pretty epic…and I can’t get Renegade out of my head
- The Met continues to thwart me by galleries 173 and 174 being closed. However, I gave you the impressive surroundings of galleries 200 and 201. You had to know I would focus in on the teapots… Lightning Testimonies is a video installation piece- while in theory, I understand what the artist was doing, in reality I was underwhelmed.
- I went to my local Barnes and Noble to ask about removing women’s fiction. I was told that they removed almost all subheadings as regarding fiction- the only ones they are choosing to keep are romance and historical, but have considered doing away with those as well. This particular store feels that it’s clientele don’t really like to be pigeon holed…
What Inspired Me: 3/6/22
- My daughter took that photo of the Ukranian Embassy in DC. While we worry about the invasion abroad, also remember that students in DC who are near the Ukranian and Russian embassies were warned to be cautious. And parents of those students get news alerts of secret service arresting people near those embassies.
- I went to a fun exhibit at the Grolier Club on Sherlock Holmes. Though the Grolier is a private club, it is open to the public for this show. Lots of awesome editions of Hound of the Baskervilles, as well as other things. What I found most intriguing is how things were marketed in the US vs England…
- To only show one item from Gallery 171 at the Met is an injustice, as there are over 3000 objects in this study room. It’s well categorized for a room with so much stuff. I picked a bright and shiny object that caught my eye to photograph. Gallery 172 is just that little piece of ceiling that I have never noticed before. Galleries 210-216 are from Companions in Solitude: Reclusion and Communion in Chinese Art (new rotation) closing August 14.
- I was lucky enough to attend the Met’s first live Sunday lecture in two years! The subject was a companion to the Inspiring Walt Disney exhibit at the Met. Just fascinating to hear from some of the people who worked on Beauty and the Beast and where the inspiration came from.
- When I went to the gardens this week…spring was in the air!!!
- On TV I have been watching Mrs. Maisel and Inventing Anna…I’m sort of obsessed with Anna…and I think I need a caftan…
- Musically, I’ve been listening to Tears for Fears “The Tipping Point”, Dashboard Confessional “All the Truth That I Can Tell”, and Eddie Vedder “Earthling
What Inspired Me: 2/13/22
- Morgan Library has a lovely exhibit – Gwendolyn Brooks: A Poet’s Work in Community. Also peeked at selections from The Kasper Collection and recent acquisitions.
- Tenho makes an awesome bowl of tonkatsu ramen!!! Just delcious!
- There will be a blog about the whole making a Martha Stewart recipe- but suffice to say the cake was excellent…
- Loving touring the Met in gallery number order, however, the Met just announced that some of the galleries will be closed for three years, due to renovation (bet you thought your contractor was slow) so I may do those galleries next!! However, I am enjoying Greco Roman! I also saw special exhibit The Good Life: Collecting Late Antique Art at the Met. The exhibit was good, but the room it’s housed in was even better. Gallery 302 very cool!!
- For those of you who watch Gilded Age, I took a shot of the corner of 61st & 5th, where the houses were supposed to have been. Not quite gilded age anymore, but the Pierre is pretty.
Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50 