Where did the time go?

Whoa, is it already mid-January? High time I take my Christmas tree post "down" (the actual tree was promptly dissasembled January 1st. Nothing more depressing than a Christmas tree that's overstayed its welcome).

It's been a busy holiday season, and despite the merriment, I'm glad to be on the other side of it. All in all we had fun, especially on our semi-traditional January trip to NYC. Yes, I had just gone in December, but that was for work, and I didn't have my "chou" with me.

So DH and I spent a week braving the cold, cold streets of the big apple, taking in as much as we could. Unfortunately, we had camnesia for most of the trip, but here are some brief highlights:


We spent a full day at the Museum of Modern Art where we saw some incredible exhibits, including this wonderful sculptor, Martin Puryear. Using natural materials such as tree trunks, reeds, string etc. he creates beautifully poetic works. It really pleased my eye.

But the main highlight for me at MoMA was the Lucien Freud exhibition (no pics allowed, boo). It was mainly an etchings installation, but happily, it did feature a great number of his beautiful paintings too. His sense of colour, the way he really "sees" his subject, his manner of applying paint, it all made me swoon.

At the Whitney, we saw an incredibly moving exhibition by Kara Walker. Very difficult to see, but in my view, extremely important and brilliant work.

On a much lighter note, the Whitney has Alexander Calder's Circus, and it's a total delight, especially viewing it alongside a video of the artist in performance.

Art followed us around everywhere, even in our hotel room. We stayed at the Gershwin Hotel, which I recommend. It's clean, quiet, very affordable and in a great location. Original works of art grace the halls, the elevator, and the rooms. Unfortunately we had this guy staring at us all night long.


A bit distressing to have Picasshole giving us the stink-eye (P. was a brilliant artist, but not the nicest guy, hence our little nickname "Picasshole")

If you're wondering how we can afford to travel to NYC on a regular basis, the right-hand side of the picture should give you a clue. We only eat 1 restaurant meal a day. For breakfast, we pick up fresh fruit and yogurt at a grocery store. For lunch, we make peanut butter sandwiches and eat them on the go. For diner we indulge and have fantastic food at great restaurants like this, this and this.

Speaking of food, if you're in NYC and hungry for a real treat, get off the beaten path and make your way to the best doughtnuts in the whole wide world. Be sure to try the Blackout and the Tres Leche.

Mmm.... doughnuts.....

Last, but not least, the obligatory coco shot at Purl. But believe it or not, I didn't buy ANY yarn on this trip. Yes, I know, I know, that's crazy talk. But my stash has hit maximum overload, so I was a good girl and just contented myself with fondling the goods this time.



A great way to ring in 2008. I hope your year brings you great things too.

Next up, a bloggaversary contest. Stay tuned...