Partridge in Our Apartment Tree

We walked over to our street corner and purchased this plump tree last night....mmmm smells like Christmas now. I love the scent of pine during this season. All of my little birdies rejoiced when I pulled them from their storage containers. Oh how I love holidays!

The Strand

I know! The Strand has been around for ages, but I really like this book store. Was in there yesterday, and thought I would blog it. The 18 miles of books are lined along walls from floor to ceiling, with 2 levels of an exceptional selection. Since the store carries a majority of used Tomes, the scent of aged paper fills the large shop. I love a book with some history to it! The selection of coffee table books are endless, with an assortment of photography, art history, architecture, interior design, fashion etc. Since the books are used, you can purchase at a fraction of the original cost. So if your looking for signed copies, first editions, or hard to find titles, you just might find what you lookin for at The Strand!

You can view Strand's selection and place orders on the website. http://www.strandbooks.com/

Not for the easily frustrated

The Sculptures by Spanish artist Miguel Ortiz Berrocal are exquisite. I came across one of his pieces at the Antique show a few weeks ago. I just fell in love with it, and wanted it for my collection, but unfortunately it was beyond what I can afford. Miguel's puzzle pieces can be found in art museums, galleries and private collections around the world. These substantial heavy forms consist of many ingeniously interlocking metal elements. The one I had my eye on at the show consisted of about 100 pieces. The 1960's sculpture above titled "Romeo & Juliet" contains about 20 parts. The puzzle is made of gilt bronze, so you can imagine how heavy they are! Assembly requires strength and patience. A great work out for both mind and body.

P.S. Shouldn't this one have been titled "69"? Sorry...I had to mention that!

A night with Alvin

Me. Before the show.

Oprah's arrival.

Oprah. Honorary Chair & Honored Guest of the evening.

"Revelations" Curtain Call

Alvin Ailey Dance Center (my front yard!)

Last nights festivities and performances were spectacular! This was my fourth time seeing the Alvin Ailey Dance Company perform, and they did not fail to impress. The dancers always give 110%. Their passion, skill and athleticism compares to no other. Anyway, I can go on and on about the evening! I did learn that the company is America's cultural ambassador to the world, and they tour more than any other company. Over the course of fifty years, the company has performed more than two hundred ballets by some seventy choreographers for twenty-one million people in forty-eight states and seventy-one countries around the world. Directly across the street from my apartment on 55th St and 9th Ave. is the largest facility dedicated to dance in the United States, which is the Alvin Ailey Center. What are the odds that I would end up living across the street from my all time favorite dance company. Since I was a child I wanted to train with Ailey, I guess now is my chance since it is sitting in my front yard... It's never too late right?!

Art in Motion

I've been a huge fan of Alvin Ailey since my childhood years. At one point I wanted to be a professional dancer, and wanted to dance with the company, but I didn't stick with the training. So when ever I have the pleasure of watching a live dance performance the memories come back to me, and reminds me that dance is truly my first love in the field of art. Tomorrow evening I'm attending the 50th anniversary kick off gala for Alvin Ailey Dance Company. The dancers are performing the piece "Revelations" with live Jazz from the Lincoln Center Orchestra, and Oprah is giving the opening speech. Dance, Jazz, Oprah! Can't get any better than that....

From Chaos to Order!

It feels good to finally get some order back after all the chaos of the past 6 months. I'm the type of person that can not function properly unless my surroundings are organized. I think I forgot to breathe the entire 6 months of the moving process, and I know I have a few extra gray hairs on my head. But all in all the experience was a good one, and Stephen and I are just happy to have a place to call home, and especially a place to entertain. We had our first guests over last night for dinner and movie! Our friend Shane brought this lovely chocolate cake with ginger snap macrons on the sides...I just had to include a photo of it and of Shane...this cake sure made him a happy boy!

When can I call myself a New Yorker?

When I receive my very own New York mailbox? Done.

When I receive my New York Drivers License? Done.

Or when someone asks me directions to a street, neighborhood, restaurant, or any shop on 5th Avenue or Bleeker, and I can answer them without hesitation? This, I believe is when I can call myself a New Yorker. From the panoramic view above, I predict It's going to be a while until I can say "I'm a New Yorker!"

Big Mess

Brandy is really getting tired of moving!

The movers arrived on time yesterday morning, which was a shocker! How often do movers actually show up on time?...this was a first for me. Overall everything went pretty well. However, one of my favorite chairs arrived with a completely broken leg, and one my African stool was split apart. The chair is repairable, but the stool will have to be trashed. Good thing we purchased extra insurance. As you can see from the photos we are up to our hair follicles in boxes. I love this part though! Arranging furniture, art and accessories is very therapeutic for me. Happy Thanks giving everyone!

The waiting game

Love how the guys in the park wait around for someone to play chess with.

Moving In!

Master bedroom

View from my office window. This is so NY. I love it!

Entry

Ok...The plan was to move in this past weekend, but I wanted to give the workers one more day to finish up some detail work and also to clean. I took these shots today and I'm very happy with the way the colors look. Tomorrow is our big move in day! I'll post photos once I get furniture and art work in, but first thing's first, since we've been without a proper kitchen for 8 weeks I'm gettin in there and makin a pumpkin pie!

Ghost's at Penn Station

The Red Door

Hi Everyone! Lately I've been pretty busy since we are moving into our new apartment this weekend. Staying on the contractors is almost a full time job. There was just so much detail work, that if I did not point everything out, it would go unnoticed by the workers. Since I am a little preoccupied I have not been focusing on blogging as much as I would like. I'll be back in action in a couple weeks though. So for the next week you'll see postings of more artistic photos that I've taken around NYC during my former travels. I hope you enjoy them!

Clean and Shiny!

These 1960's end tables are great! Found them in a showroom here in NYC. They were designed by Paul Evans in the 60's. I love the combination of the mirrored brass sides and rosewood top.

Reflections in Madison Square Park

Antique Show Success

This is a very old puppet show of the classic fairy tales.
But the cool thing is all the figures are mechanical, and
were actually moving around when I took this shot.

This speaks for itself. A booth of just all vintage Chanel bags!

I have a thing for skulls. Loved these crystal skull book ends!

Arts and Crafts! Always a classic.

Ok... The Antique show was pretty amazing. The furniture section was my favorite by far! Basically, each booth's quality of merchandise is what I've seen in the showrooms when I shop for my clients, however I have never seen so much quality and great art under one huge roof. The PDC in Weho or any other large design center contains beautiful items as well, but those items are typically new. This was all vintage and antique...Heaven! I snapped some photos, but was so excited and overwhelmed that I put away my camera and focused on shopping. It is really hard to do both at the same time! We did purchase some pieces of art work...A Keith Haring litho, some vintage French show posters of Man Ray, a very old fencing mask, a mirror, and a great oil painting for our new living room. I'll post photos of these things within the next couple of weeks. Oh.. one vendor had 3 amazing Roy Lichtenstein's...but of course they were not within our budget. Always next time though!

In Support of my West Coast Homeland

Last night was truly amazing. New Yorkers took to the streets in thousands. Approximately 20,000 people began the protest against Prop 8 on the steps of the Mormon Church on the Upper west side at Columbus and 65th. We then marched down to the famous Columbus Circle peacefully. Prop 8 has eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry in the state of California. The Mormon Church urged members to donate money for Proposition 8. They sent $15 to $20 million, much of it from outside California to support discrimination and deny civil rights. Wow! You would think their money could have been used to go to something more important than this! Why can't we all just get along?! Anyway, I showed up with Steve to show support for all our friends who just married in California. The signs that everyone made were so creative, and the roar of our chants were really heard throughout Manhattan. It was such a beautiful evening, but also a sad one, since we have to take to the streets to try to gain our rights.