NYC Trip Report continued: Of kicks and toys and American girls

Wednesday was the day set aside for SHOPPING! Only NOT for me - it was time for the kidlets!

The one passion the boy shares with his mom is his love of hats and SHOES! (With all these amazing post-Christmas sales I've been tossing the shoeboxes into recycling and keep my new purchases at the office, in case my husband notices. Shhhh, let's keep it a secret!).

I had promised the Boy a new pair of kicks for his size 9 men's feet (not kidding - he's not even 12 yet!) We thought that Macy's would be good place to start, and given that it wasn't too far from Times Square, another shopping mecca, we headed into tourist land first thing after breakfast. I had scoped out the subway route, but with a family of 4 it made sense just to hop into the nearest yellow cab. We lucked out - we got a clean non-stinky hybrid for our ride downtown.

We didn't luck out so much at the department store - although I'm continually amazed at my son's growing preference for neon bright apparel. The wooden escalator was cool though:

We decided to head into the thick of Times Square to continue our search - but we got hungry (and cold) again very quickly. So we stopped in at the Hard Rock for lunch -we don't normally like the chains when vacationing, but the NYC resto was actually quite good. You can't beat a good burger on a freezing day.

With our stomachs full, we continued on our quest for the perfect shoes. Thank goodness for the girlie that Toys R Us, complete with indoor ferris wheel, presented itself right next to the shoe store.

Lady Liberty in Lego glory...



Barbie, Barbie everywhere...



I still find this Toys R Us more impressive than FAO Schwartz. Maybe it had something to do with the hot chocolate:



Little G wanted make some small purchases, but I told her we were saving up for our visit with the American Girls. That promise and the cookie kept her content. In the meantime, the boys found fancy bright blue high tops - a great NYC souvenir for the boy.

The thing I love about Manhattan is that it is so walkable. From Times Square, the American Girl Store was but a few short blocks away. I'd never been exposed to the American Girl experience - and that's exactly what it is. When I first heard of this phenomenon, I found it a little creepy that the doll could be dressed exactly as its girl owner. On top of that, there was enough experience to occupy four floors - complete with restaurant, doll salon, pet shop ... I knew we would drop some coin once we went through the door. And this was heavenly for a 7 year old girl:



It took us a little while to settle on which doll was our mini-G, but we did it. I had to promise that if we were to go to Chicago I would arrange for an American Girl salon visit for mini-G - $12 for braiding is a little steep ( I offered to do it for $5 but it didn't cut it). When we left the building it was already quite dark and we decided to head back to the hotel. We were actually turned down for pickups by a few yellow cabs before we finally lucked out. Didn't think a cabbie would ever refuse a fare but I guess this was NYC. I guess with so many people hailing cabs they have the luxury of being picky.

At home base, the boy decided he wanted to check out the Urban outfitters across the street - cannot believe that he can actually fit some of those fashions. Hilarious that the boy noted that one of the sales guys was wearing majorly low, I'm talking down to his knees, low-riders. The boy noticed the boxers, but did think it was rather silly. We did score on a couple of cute striped T's for him, though.

Picked up some juice, fruit, yogurt and salmon and bagels for next day's breakfast - and headed back to our UWS headquarters.

For dinner we went around the corner Asian - Fusha West. Amazing pan Asian food and despite the look of the lounge once you enter, it was quite family friendly. We had sushi, tempura, soup - all with a little bit of a twist. We girls enjoyed it - see our shiny happy faces.








(Yes, that is a sari that was fashioned for Mini-G by the fabulous Bigger G. She's still an American girl under all that, after all, the US is multi-ethnic, isn't it? I suppose we should look for some mukluks for her, after all she's now in Canada, eh?)

And that was Wednesday. We didn't have too late a night, as Thursday would be our last full day in the city. So much more to do and see.

There's always time for a pint...or three

Here we are in February and I still owe you a couple more posts about NYC.

I got sidetracked by a sojourn in the land of rain, sheep, more rain and green landscapes, where delicious deep, dark brew floweth.

There's nothing like a Guinness poured in the land of Guinness...


Breweries and all things brewing hold a very special place in my heart, for the brewing industry is where I found the man I would eventually marry (awwwww, so saccharine, I know, but really, it is where it all started...).

Seriously, though, if you ever get to Dublin, you must visit the Guinness storehouse. It is quite the experience.

This was my second trip to Dublin since September and this time I caught up with an old friend. Don't know if I've ever mentioned that a high school pal of mine has lived in Bermuda for about 20 years. And despite many conversations during which I discussed that I woulda, shoulda, coulda stayed with him and his family while he was a bonafide Bermudian resident ...do you think that I ever made it there?

Sigh.

But I did hook up with him in cold, wet, rainy Dublin where he relocated about a year ago. Oh well, it's the friendship that counts, right? It still amazes me sometimes these bonds that we have in life, and some relationships that last so long despite where life takes us. I can still see us bopping around to Rick James' Superfreak during our suburban high school dances (which was so heavily sampled in MC Hammer's "Can't Touch this", that I can't even remember which came first sometimes). And here we were, having coffee in Dublin, talking about kids, widowed mothers, company downsizes and job changes. We didn't realize it at the time, but life was really quite simple when we were teenagers. Where were we again?

Oh, yeah, Dublin.

Here are some shots of lovely Dublin doors...




Pretty Dublin garden...


Shopping Grafton street (and yes, I did buy a couple of cute outfits)


Not a lot of time to do much outside of work, but I always make time for shopping!


Hopefully if there is a next time for me to go again, it will be a wee bit warmer.


*****

Update on recent obsessions:

1/ Downton Abbey. Love. Managed to watch all of Season 1 on the flight, 3 episodes there, 4 episodes back. Mary and Matthew ("Rachel and Ross" of Masterpiece theatre); Anna and Bates - the drama, the suspense! Season 2 doesn't start in Canada until April. Gaccckkk! Cannot. Wait.

2/ Fitness. Despite feeling a little silly, my latest gym obsession has gotten me pumped enough to purchase these...


Yes, indeed I went there. And my husband is now afraid, very afraid.

Day 10 at 45

As I sit here watching my 5 year old surf Justin Bieber Youtube videos, I'll share with you some of my observations after 10 days of being a midlifer...

• I can still sport a flush as red as a Danish flag - especially while 190 people are singing "Happy Birthday" to me while waving it...

• I can still contemplate entering what looked like a bong cafe (but no, I didn't - I probably would have just ordered a coffee anyway.)
  

• My ass still inspires wolf-whistles - well, they originate from my husband but hey, I'll take them while I can get them...

• In the spirit of keeping said ass, I was still able to make an 8:30 AM BodyJam class after a longer than 9 hour flight home the afternoon before...

• I'm still young enough to appreciate Eclipse (wooden acting notwithstanding) but old enough to love The Kids are All Right (beautiful Annette and Julianne make it easy, and I'd take Mark Ruffalo over Jake anytime - rawr...)

• I was cynical while witnessing the banal banter between Amanda Seyfried and Christopher Egan in "Letters to Juliet" but tears welled as I saw the genuine love in the gazes between Franco Nero and Vanessa Redgrave. Both still gorgeous and still together after all these years. Pass me a tissue please. (And by the way, what a waste of the talented Gael Garcia Bernal - if he said "amazing" and "incredible" one more time during the movie, I would have tossed my earphones into the barf bag...)

• (and you are correct, you CAN squeeze a lot of movies into an overseas flight. It's the only chance I get to watch movies nowadays)

• I enjoy being a woman but not yet "one of the girls" (ie. I get to join the girls' club once I hit 50, apparently)

• I'm old enough that I actually own outfits that I can recycle as Lady Gaga for an upcoming Halloween party. Dare me to? I've done Depp, Gaga should be a breeze - just don't call me a hoarder, m'kay?

• I still love anthropologie, especially with their 15% off birthday card. Happy birthday to me!

Now if I could only stop waking up at 5:30 AM ... I know, it's a sign. Sigh.

In the land of 4 C's

Citrus, cotton, cattle and - aw shit, I can't remember. I would say canyons, coyotes or cactus, but I think I'd be wrong.

Enjoying Red Rock immensely.

It's 4 AM and I'm drunk blogging.

So there.

Catch ya later.

PS -Eureka - I remembered - COPPER!

Wordless and wishing ...

that we were still there.

Sigh.

A mini film festival up in the air...

Anyone who ever travels for work will tell you it isn't nearly as glamorous as one would imagine.

Well, that's not entirely true, I suppose. Earlier in my career when I travelled to Paris or Manhattan or even Pennsylvania (which isn't exactly glamorous but at least I was close to one of the largest malls in America, and you don't know me by now if you don't realize how much that DOES work for me...) it was quite a fun time. There were no kids, not as many work commitments and a life partner who travelled as much as I did or even more. But once you have a family, with school aged kids at that, and a life partner who travels even more than he did before, well, things change. Big time.

We watched "Up in the Air" over the Christmas holidays, and it confirmed one thing for me - I would NEVER want to travel that much for work. But I have already started to pack extremely lightly, and have a rhythm of how to handle the security check - just like you see George Clooney deal. I've pulled out my SPG rewards card and started counting miles to see when I will be eligible for upgrades- a sad commentary, I know.

There are a couple of things that I do enjoy on the trans-Atlantic flights, though, and they are both free:

1/ Booze;
2/ Ear buds.

Both of which, if not used in moderation, will give you a massive headache.

The ear buds, however, are handy to catch up on all the movies that I never have a chance to watch when at home. So after a couple of 7 hour plus flights this past week, I offer you the following capsule reviews of the films I managed to stay awake for. Just in time for the Oscars, too.

1/ An Education: So this was what all the fuss was about - Carey Mulligan. What a find she is. What a wonderful movie. A high school girl in London in the 60's thinks about going to Oxford, but wants to experience life ... and who walks into her life but a swinging playboy played by Peter Sarsgaard (LOVE him). He seduces not just her, but also her family. This was a great movie with some fantastic performances even outside of Carey - Emma Thompson, Olivia Williams, Alfred Molina.

Very deserving of all the Oscar talk.

2/ Love Happens: I was thinking of renting this when it came out on DVD. It's got Jennifer Aniston in it, playing, well, Jennifer Aniston (although she did surprise me in Marley & Me a while back) and the fabulous Aaron Eckhart playing a widower/ inspirational author and speaker who hasn't yet dealt with his own grief.

I thought Aaron was great here (I've always loved him since I first saw him as the total prick in "In the Company of Men" and he continued to impress- see "Erin Brockovich", "Possession", even "Dark Knight" - you really should see his work in "Conversations with Other Women"... with Helena Bonham Carter - a talking movie, but an excellent one, nonetheless).

The plot of this was fairly contrived, but I like him, I really, really like him.

3/ All About Steve: A guilty pleasure, really, just for me to enjoy my latest celebrity crush, Mr. A-Team himself, Bradley Cooper. I usually like Sandra Bullock, but I found her much too annoying in this role (even though she was supposed to be annoying...). She's set up by her parents on a blind date with Bradley (Steve - a news cameraman) and thinks she's found her true love. He takes off on assignment mid-first date, honestly just relieved to be free of her; but she takes what he says at face value and decides to follow him. If I had hot red boots like hers in this movie, I would consider stalking Bradley all over the country too.

Bradley didn't have to do much here other than look good; I thought Ken Jeong was hilarious even outside his Hangover role, Thomas Haden Church a bit wasted in this role of a one-note annoying reporter.

Bradley was pretty cute. Not enough to save it, though. The movie overall - annoying.

4/ Bright Star: A Jane Campion movie about the love affair between John Keats and teenage and aspiring fashion designer Fanny Brawne. I was curious about this film, given the rave reviews about Abbie Cornish. And the Piano is one of my favourite films ever.

Abbie was quite good, but I just wasn't really feeling that passion between the two characters. The different class thing, the poor poet who develops TB, the fact that they can never really be together... or maybe it was the poetry that wasn't doing it for me... or being in the air for 7 hours. I didn't bawl when he died - and I'll bawl over anything. Maybe it's because I figure Abbie has Ryan Phillipe in real life to console her.

A bit of a disappointment for me, really. But perhaps I'm in the minority here.

5/ Lymelife: This was a surprise for me. I'd never heard of it before, but looking at the stellar cast, including Alec Baldwin, Cynthia Nixon (I keep wanting to call her Miranda), Jill Hennessy, Timothy Hutton (oh man, this guy is so good, why did he never make it to A-list?!), the Culkin brothers Rory and Kieran and the gorgeous Emma Roberts, who is giving her Aunt a run for the acting money - I had to check it out. A dark coming of age comedy about life in the suburbs, produced by Martin Scorsese. You follow the lives of these two intertwined families, disintegrating marriages and the devastation that Lyme disease can leave in its wake.

A smaller film, but I loved it. It reminded me a bit of "American Beauty", "The Ice Storm" ... and the music really added to the whole flavour of the movie.

6/ The Invention of Lying: I like Ricky Gervais in small doses. Like as host of the Golden Globes, where he rocked it. So I had to turn this movie off after the first 10 minutes as I didn't think I'd be able to bear hearing people "telling the truth" as in being brutally, insultingly honest, for two hours. I turned it off to watch Lymelife, but came back to it as I had time left. Another 90 minutes, actually.

So I watched and was actually impressed by all the cameos in the flick. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Louis CK the hilarious comic; Ed Norton; Tina Fey; Rob Lowe; Jason Bateman...kinda cool. But the fact that I missed the last 15 minutes as we landed and didn't feel disappointed, told me one thing.

This wasn't a great movie.

And I was so ready to get home.

****

If you manage to see any of these movies, let me know what you think!

Weekly Winners - Blondes, bikes and boots

Well, I'm back...and it was a great trip. What a lovely city. You can tell even with my less than amateur capabilities with my point and click. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

(TS-when are you coming to Canada?)

(Santa on a shopping break)

Casual, friendly people all dressed in the coolest hats, scarves and boots, glorious boots. Making their fashionable way about town on their ubiquitous bicycles.

Yes, customs officer, I did go for business.

But there's always, always time for shopping, and boots were indeed part of the purchase.

For more photo fun, check the home of Weekly Winners, chez Lotus.

Paris - Fashion Friday Flashback

2003 was winding down and we had decided to get off of the baby train. Our foray into the world of IVF was to begin in March 2004.


Can I tell you what a relief that was? Life at home was less stressful and work was easier to handle. I bet if my boy could remember, he'd probably tell you that I was a bit of a sweeter mommy to him too. At least a little.

When a work trip to Paris came up, to participate in a "pre" product lauch, and share a poster presentation with other global affiliates, I was happy to just say "of course I''ll go". Escape would do me good.

No worries about schedules, which nights I would be away, which drugs to take, oh geez, would it coincide with the HCG shot... and where would the hubs be? Aw, to hell with all that, I'd be in PARIS in February ... whooottt!!! Jambon et fromage avec une biere s'il vous plait ... pain* au chocolat with some heavy duty coffee, walking, shopping, more walking, museums, the architecture... oh yeah, there would be work, but this time I was going to try to really enjoy the city. And drinking, or enjoying, rather, some fine wine. Hmmmm, nice for a change.

It was also nice to be going with my boss. A different boss than before. She knew how to live - work hard, but also experience the city that we were in. We weren't sure whether there would be another trip in the future (company stuff was happening), so we went a couple of days early.

Musee D'Orsay - check
Galerie Lafayette - check (about 3 times)
Printemps - check (about 3 times)
La Coupole - check

I remember also having raclette for the first time ever, in a tiny little restaurant located near Place de l'Opera (at least I think it was, I am so directionally-challenged, and the streets there are anywhere but gridlike).

Shopping, did I say shopping? So what did I purchase on my last trip to Paris? I hadn't shopped in Paris in a long while... so I threw caution to the wind and just bought some frivolous items to perk up ye olde wardrobe. Teeny-tiny numbers perfect for summer 2004. Here's a peek...

Can you feel the wistful undertones in this post? Sigh...

Wonder if I ever got to actually WEAR them in the summer of 2004?

Hmmmmm...

(Well, what would be a miracle is if I could still fit into them... but that's another story.)

(*edited per my friend Badness, wonder where my mind was at LOL!!!... although a "bain" would have done PERFECTLY ... )