Assemblage

I happened to stumble upon Suzanna Scott's Etsy store, Sushipot, this evening. She's a collage artist in Manhattan, Kansas, whose inspirations come from "all things old, chipped, cracked, worn, dusty, used, found, buried, designed, loved, pieced, intricate, aged and transfigured." I think she's found the recipe for treasure.

My NYC Moleskine

I like to take a Moleskine city book with me everywhere I travel. This is my NYC book, which has made several trips with me to Manhattan.  I love staying at the Bryant Park Hotel (when I can afford it). There's a carousel in the park across the street that is magical. And the outdoor library cafe is heaven on a sunny spring day. A few doors up, there's a fantastic store packed with magazines from around the world. And down the street, there's a FedEX store to ship them home (along with all the laundry.)

I'm always searching for great thrift stores and flea markets. Chelsea has the best. Housing Works is beyond wonderful (and proceeds go to assisting people with AIDS.) I bought a gorgeous pair of Prada platform ankle boots there for a song.

I can never go to NYC without stopping in Barneys (and then walking a couple blocks up the street to Nello cafe). Then I catch a cab to Henri Bendel. I usually buy a Bendel doll to bring home to my daughter.  Pressed into my Moleskine is NYT writer Alex Kuczynski's Critical Shopper column on Henri Bendel's remake.  (I adore everything Alex writes.) She quotes Emile Zola's "Ladies' Paradise," which is like mind candy.  "At the far end of the hall, around one of the small cast-iron columns which supported the glass roof, material was streaming down like a bubbling sheet of water. Women pale with desire were leaning over as if to look at themselves. Faced with this wild cataract, they all remained standing there, filled with the secret fear of being caught in the overflow of all this luxury and with an irresistible desire to throw themselves in and be lost." Ah. Bliss. (By the way, the top photo of the NYC girl with the red bag is from The Sartorialist. I love all her contrasting patterns, plus the faux fur.)

I keep a card for the East Village Korean restaurant, Dok Suni on 1st Ave. in the back pocket of the book. The food is so delicious. And I have sentimental reasons for liking this restaurant: It's where I interviewed the sweet, amazing author Josh Swiller.

I also keep a little essay by David Hellerstein on the elegant way New Yorkers walk:  "New Yorkers walk sleekly, rapidly as surgeons on rounds. They dodge and shift, adjusting shoulders and briefcases to allow one another to pass with a minute precision...Each person is on an urgent mission, each must take the shortest path to their train or office or shrink; they cannot yield, but none collide. It is the essence of New York's grace." 

Indeed.

PS:  Hellerstein's essay is from "City Secrets: New York City."

What's your favorite place in NYC?

Tuesday Collage

Good morning! Here are some more of the beautiful things that caught my eye on We Heart It.  Favorites: the full moon (did you see it last night?!); blue china; Venice; antique books with jeweled bookmarks; a seed pod shaped like a heart; rainy weather.  xoxo

(Photos, credits and more lovely things on my I Heart It page!)