We hope you all had a great Fourth of July! Our plans for the traditional barbecue and fireworks with Cindy's brother changed at the last minute when he had to go on a business trip to Disneyland - it's true, Disneyland.
So, we improvised and love NYC in the summer as it's not so crowded. You can actually get around in a reasonable amount of time and find a parking space! Here are some photos from our hometown sightseeing.
Papaya King Hot Dogs & Juice
Scott grew up with these famous dogs and would sometimes have them for breakfast with his Grandpa!
Green Wall, Pure Yoga
Very cool and totally out of sync with everything else around it.
The Conran Shop
The Anglepoise lamp was in black velvet! Imagine trying to keep it dust-free? At about $6,000, I'm sure we won't have to deal with that problem anytime soon ;)!
Food Emporium BridgeMarket
Rafael Guastavino was the architect for this building, which is nestled below the 59th Street bridge. It is the most elegant "supermarket" we've ever been to with chocolates at $130 pound! But, they also have things for regular folks, including Zico coconut water, yum.
Fountain in BridgeMarket Public Plaza
Designed by Lynden Miller this tiny garden was incredibly tranquil.
Bloomingdale's
It is a shopper's paradise and has the best frozen yogurt.
Macy's Fireworks, Long Island City
Well, the day was perfect until this part, but we can't really complain. We arrived an hour before the fireworks started, unlike many other people who had been camped out all day. It was actually kind of crazy as it started to rain and we heard the people in the high rise buildings start to cheer.
Apparently, the best viewing was not from the usual spots (ours and several hundred other people), but around the corner and down the block. As you can imagine, everyone high tailed it all at once. We eventually moved and this is my best photo. It was either the ufo streetlight or umbrellas. Better luck next year? Not if we're late and in the wrong spot!
Photo Credit : Cindy
Wishing you all a Happy Independence Day! The photo was taken by Cindy's brother in NYC a couple of years ago. Since the forecast calls for rain this year, it might be the closest we get to seeing fireworks. Oh well, there's always Plan B, which includes tackling some of the new things in Erin's Mankind Mag "101 Steps To A Creative July". Like -
- 14. Catch lightening bugs. We saw dozens of them the other night and would love to catch a photo.
- 24. Take pictures of your messes! Now that would be independence. Closets here we come!
- 39. You'll have to check her list yourself for this one ;).
- 51. Learn to count to ten in a new language. We can do Spanish, so on to French - un, deux, trois ...
- 84. Make lists. Ok -
- 102. Finger painting. Cindy has an idea.
- 103. Pin Scott a la Lucha Libre! Scott says no, but he has to go to sleep, eventually.
That's a good start. Have fun and be safe!
Photo Credit : Mr. Kim 604
I fell in love with Motion City Soundtrack after I saw the video for It Had To Be You. The band had a contest for a video pitch for the song and the winner was Lauren Simpson (you can hear about Lauren's concept for the project and see the storyboards that go with it here). Although it is a sad song, the use of the fabric and paper dolls together with stop motion filming is wonderful. My favorite part is when the fabric dolls are rockin' out with the frying pans - looks familiar!
xo, Cindy
Award winner, artist and poet laureate, Julie nominated us for the "just plain fun to read" blog award. Julie is such a warm person and an amazing collage artist - I envy her abilities ten-fold. It's always interesting to read about her reflections on life and how she deals with its twists and turns. Thank you so much Julie for the nod in our direction!
Now, the great thing about receiving this award is that you don't have to do anything other than be yourself. No racking your brain to remember your first words, or where you'll be in ten years. So, in the spirit of pay it forward, and without further a do (drum roll, please), here are my nominees for the "just plain fun to read" award as they are must reads, too:
Bliss
Design For Mankind
Paper Schmaper
Please Sir
Posie Gets Cozy
S*hopTalk
{frolic!}
xo, Cindy
Photo Credit : Out & About In NYC
[Beige sofa replaced by blue]
Earlier this year we purchased a blue sofa to replace the beige one we had for years. The beige linen was actually a slipcover over a brown velour sofa, which had been slipcovered many times. I love the blue and the simple lines of the new sofa, but it wasn't really working with the rest of the room as it's primarily in ivory with hits of color from patchwork of my own creation, vintage quilts and fabrics.
[Ivory slipcover]
So, we indulged my Libran tendencies and had it slipcovered in ivory with white piping. Scott insisted on the contrasting piping, and although it's hard to see in the pics, it looks good. The piping alone looks better as the sofa didn't originally have any, which is probably a good thing.
[Note 7/2: I just remembered that the side chairs we purchased years ago are blue under ivory slipcovers, too. I guess I'll never learn ;)!]
[Ivory slipcover + patchwork]
Now, I'm little bit compulsive when it comes to keeping my stuff clean, although I am not perfect. I made the patchwork cushion covers when we first got the sofa to replace the towels we usually use. They're a little bit bold, but I like the way they look on the ivory. And yes, our slipcover has a slipcover, but only on the seats, swear. It really is pushing the OCD limits, but it's ivory! And, we like to eat ice cream and occasionally drool while napping on the sofa.
[Patchwork pillows + striped backs]
I originally had big plans for these pillows to include quilting on the front and buttons on the back. But, I could never get to it and having even one WIP around is usually fatal. I get bored and never go back to it. I'm just glad I finished these!
xo, Cindy
Photo Credit : Cindy
