Social Outings

I can't believe that it's June already. However, I have to document what happened in May before I forget... May was a pretty social month after a long dry spell. One week I had three different evening social outings, which is really unusual for me, because usually I just come home after work, eat dinner and crash. But this particular week, I was out and about and it felt good after a long bout with the flu.

First was a friend's 30th birthday party. Looking really good, my lovely young friend! 

Then came the "Independent Visions" art exhibit with a friend. The exhibit featured four Finnish woman artists.  I really only knew about Helene Schjerfbeck, so it was interesting to see the other works too. Afterwards we had dinner at the Scandinavia house restaurant. I always have the salmon salad there because it's just the best. 

Ellen Thesleff

Olga Sesemann

Sigrid Schauman

Next I had dinner with an old friend. Italian friend, Italian restaurant, in Little Italy.  Ha. I did inject a little Finnish into the evening by first taking he to the Samuji store, which is right around the corner from Little Italy. She said, however, that the shop looked more Japanese than Finnish. And oddly, it did. Or does. 

WICKED

Last Friday night I took my soon to be 9-year old to see the Broadway musical Wicked. The trip to the musical was my birthday present to her, and although I had bought the tickets a month ago, I surprised her on the Friday afternoon by telling her about the tickets to the musical. She got super excited (and I was excited too). I had managed to grab the 2-for-1 NYC Broadway Week tickets, which is a good deal especially since the Wicked tickets are never discounted at the TKTS!

I can honestly say that this was one of the best shows, if not THE BEST, that I've seen on Broadway. Everything was amazing, the sets and staging, the costumes, the music, the singing, the acting, the story, the message, everything. 

We had very good seats with a full view of the stage! 

The pictures don't do any justice to the amazing show. This is the scene where Elphaba (the "wicked" witch) sings the famous song Defying Gravity. One of the most memorable moments of any show I've seen. Jennifer DiNoia played the lead role and boy can she sing! 

My daughter was super happy and excited that she got to see Wicked, and she totally loved the show. I wouldn't recommend the show to a much younger child, but she was in a perfect age now to understand the story and enjoy the music. I was really happy that I was able to give her this experience, rather than some silly stuff for her birthday. 

The New Barneys

I went to check out the new Barney's department store today for some spring fashion inspiration. The new store is actually in the same Chelsea 17th Street and 7th Avenue location where the first Barney's was located some decades ago. The new store is smaller than the Madison Ave flag ship location, but  I like that it's not overwhelmingly big. Obviously Barney's is not my usual shopping destination, because everything there costs a gazillion dollars. The first thing I looked at was a navy blue croc Altuzarra bull rope saddle bag, which was absolutely amazingly gorgeous. But at $20,000 bucks, it was too much cheddar for me. What was fun though, was that the bag was just hanging there close to the entrance. Not tucked away in a glass case, but available for all the world to finger it and try it on, and admire it from up-close. And I did get a bit personal with it, trying it on this way and that.. It was slightly painful to put it back on the rack. But I don't think I could have made it out the door with it, given the amount of salespeople circling me at that point. Not sure if they were afraid that I was really going to make a run for it, or if I was really considering to buy it and they were angling for the commission. Anyway, back on the rack it went. I decided not to take a photo of it because why amplify the regret. But I took other photos and here they are for your pure enjoyment. 

The windows were supposed to be showing short films and pictures of New York City by Bruce Weber, but the display didn't seem to be working properly...

Oui, ces't moi 

Hi again

The store's staircase is beautiful

So many beautiful things..so little money... 

But I nabbed this one! 

Yes I did! And apparently it was the last of its kind available in the Western Hemisphere! And I GOT IT! 

And now I have block heel sandals on my shopping list. 

And lace up flat sandals. Will have to take a look at DSW for Manolo rip-offs. 

Loved this stone. But where was the tassel jewelry? 

See what I mean about the block heel sandals. 

One more just to prove the point. 

There was no "bargain basement" in Barney's, unfortunately..but lots of perfumes that cost more than most people make in a week. 

This was in the window. A funny story: overheard a couple walking behind me. The woman said to the man: "Look at those necklaces." The man said to the woman: "They're for the average woman. And trust me, there's nothing average about you." So sweet :-)

Brought some opening party goodies for the kiddos. These chocolate covered marshmallows were actually super yummy. 

Playing Hooky

I had to take my daughter to the City for a specialist doctor's appointment on Friday morning. Since there was no way she was going to make it back to school that day, we decided to take the opportunity to hang out in the City and check out the sales.

yes, that's the Chrysler building from a different angle

I love the Grand Central Terminal, it's just so Grand :-)

And yes, we did do a bit of shopping... 

Ti di diii, di di diiii. 

I've had this H&M coat for ten years, I swear, and I still love it! The scarf I've knitted myself. The Gucci bag has been more or less attached to my arm since I got it last summer... And the Steve Madden boots are the most comfortable ever. 

City Saturday

We tried a new place for brunch today at the West Village, Maison Kayser, a French bakery on the corner of Bleecker and Christopher Streets. A good addition to the brunch options close to the Finnish school. The food is quite "French" which I and my daughter liked very much. My husband was not that convinced...he only complimented the coffee which was excellent.

Scrambled eggs with avocado toast

Cocotte of spinach and goat cheese in béchamel sauce

Cocotte of smoked salmon, ricotta, capers & béchamel sauce

The best cup of coffee I've had in a long time... 

It was mild enough to wear my long cardigan instead of a coat. 

I had on old ripped boyfriend jeans with a green bejeweled sweater. 

This little girl is getting so spoiled - we can't help it...she's just too cute not to be spoiled! 

Lady M

There are not that many bakeries with so much hype involved as the Lady M in New York City. It's been famous for quite some time now, but I never had a chance to try it until this past weekend.

We want CAKE! 

So many to choose from... 

Which one do I CHOOSE? 

Decisions, decisions, decisions... 

Checkers Cake

Strawberry Shortcake

Green Tea Cake

And the verdict... it was good, but did not live up to the enormous hype. I could go there if I was in the neighborhood, but would not make a trip there specifically if it was out of my way.

West Village

Here are a few more shots of the lovely West Village... The first two taken and filtered by my daughter.

And here is my favorite new shop find, located on the corner of Bleecker and Grove Streets. I totally fell in love with that jacket in the window. The shop also has very cool clothes for the boys (I would totally wear the men's stuff too!)