Out & About :: Lovely Day

I love the floor at Lovely Day in Nolita and felt less creepy taking a picture of the floor in the bathroom than I did sitting at my seat at the bar.  I've taken pictures of bathrooms before so this bathroom floor photo is par for the course.  It's seen better days, but I'm totally in love with the pattern.

Out And About

This past month has been busy.  Work and fun have taken me all over the Northeast from New Hampshire to New York.  I found a ton of things I loved while on the road.

Painted signs on buildings....old and new.

Pretty vegan sushi I can actually eat from Beyond Sushi!  I bought it at 10 am and was carrying it around and actually had someone ask where I bought it because it looked so good.  Because I am classy, I ate two pieces and dropped the chopsticks on the ground, so I had to eat it with my fingers.  It was still super delicious- the only thing that would have made it better would have been if it was organic.

Patterns and repetition on buildings.

Bright color in a dingy side street.

Cute old stone buildings.

Water towers - for some reason I love to see them.

Great color combinations.

Have you been anywhere interesting lately?

Hu Kitchen

Warning: This may get long and rambly so feel free to skip to the pictures if you don't feel like reading today.

I don't really talk about it too much here but I'm on an annoyingly restricted diet for the most part and it's rare that I can eat out {this explains my habit of pinning millions of food recipes, many of which I can't or shouldn't eat}. I actually envy those who are gluten or lactose free since the ingredients they can't eat are labeled. One of the things about travel is that it's hard to find a place that I can find food to eat that won't make me feel cruddy the next day.

On my last trip to Manhattan, I took a couple of boring food bars with me {the Pure Organic ones that are really just meh tasting but I will eat in a pinch} but since I was sick I really wanted something healthy. Leaving at 4 am meant that I hadn't planned a bit for food other than the two food bars {I kind of figured I could just drink more coffee if I was hungry, please tell me I'm not the only one who does this}.

I was walking from Haven's Kitchen, where the girl at the counter was so hung over she never gave me the coffee I asked for, when I stumbled upon this hippie restaurant called Hu Kitchen, and figured I'd stop in.  I was ready for lunch, or at least that lost coffee.  I didn't actually get food, but I found what might be the cutest bottle of freshly-squeezed orange juice, coffee, and a nice looking interior mixes birch logs and rustic stumps with stainless steel, marble and modern lighting.  It's part fancy and part hippie. 
 

These side tables were pretty much everywhere, as was the marble.  I like how the bright stainless is paired with the slab of wood.

I also got to try 3 kinds of milk since they were all almost empty and I was too lazy to ask for more.  Luckily I'm not weirded out by non-homogenized things.

D'Espresso - Sideways Coffee

Desperate for both a drink {it was hot and, as far as I could tell, no one on Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side sells coffee} and a place to wash my hands, I stumbled out of the subway station and into this sideways coffee shop near Grand Central.

via New York Times

There are walls of herringbone wood flooring, a floor and walls of 'books', and pendant lights hung from the wall as if it was the ceiling.  Surprisingly they also fit a teensy bathroom with a impossibly small Cosmic sink for impossibly small bathrooms.

This is the same sink from a MOMA exhibit back in 2009, not from D'Espresso.

The sink measures 7 1/2" x 16 inches {20x40 cm}.  It is just large enough for a stream of water and is perfect for bathrooms that take the term 'water closet' literally.

The Weekend

It's finally here!  I'm planning on wandering on over to both the ICFF and the Kip's Bay Showhouse over the weekend, and I guarantee you'll see so many photos from these places that you'll beg me to stop.  I think last year my ICFF photos alone kept me going through August.

I love this building with it's gross mottled red tiles {which I think are kind of great}, the gray brick, and the fairly simple but dramatic lintels {the stones above the windows}.  Last time I was in Little Italy I took some photos of the buildings on a couple corners from all streets and angles so my father could identify which building my great grandmother lived in when he was young.  This is it!  Too bad they weren't the buying type, it has great views of the Manhattan Bridge.

Have a great weekend everyone!

A Hair Dilemma

I'm long overdue for a haircut {by about 7 months} and my hair is starting to look like it.

I used to go to Whittemore House but my stylist left and I now have no place to go - I could try another person there but I've done that before where I got an appointment at the same salon but a new stylist.  Once with a new person I asked for natural looking highlights but wound up with bright yellow streaks and she just kept telling me how good they looked {I have super dark hair so it was pretty tacky} so I told her I had to go and ran out of the chair with my hair wet before she could take scissors out for the cut I had originally wanted.  I had to call the owner and have her fix that.  Another time I asked for long layers and I wound up with a bob that had long layers underneath {sounds like a mullet but it wasn't actually one thankfully}.  I wore my hair in a ponytail for a whole year before I got up the courage to cut my hair again.

The problem is, I find myself wanting to choose a salon based on the interior of the place.  Is that bad?  It worked the last time but I'm afraid to push my luck.  But what if the place looked like Takamichi Hair does?  Modern and clean with mid-century furniture and great art.

via Vogue

 I'm totally in love with the artwork in the above right image.

via Takamichi Hair

And what if they had half price hair cuts with their junior stylists on Sunday?  I'm still not totally sold on it, but I'm seriously debating going here.

Takashimaya

I found this old picture taken in the Flower Shop at the 5th Avenue Takashimaya.  I loved the wrought iron railing with the butterflies but I'm pretty sure it is gone since Forever 21 moved in.

I was sitting on the bench like a sad, drowned rat {we had gotten caught in a downpour with no umbrella} and literally lifted my camera from my lap and took the picture without looking and it was my best photo of the day considering.  My favorite part is how the cove lighting glows such a surreal bright yellow.

Crosby Street Hotel

I've had this hotel photo in a desktop folder for a while since I wasn't sure where I got it.  Then I found out how to find an image's source {I have a tutorial for how to do this scheduled for tomorrow}.

via Firmdale Hotels

The Crosby Street Hotel is related to the Soho Hotel that I posted about back in August.  I really love the black and white color palette of this room and the sort of relaxed glamorous feel it has to it.

I'm not really sold on the dressmaker's mannequin though.  It just looks like one more thing to squeeze around in a very tight room.  If I every stayed here, I'd probably haul it into the closet {assuming there is one} to get it out of the way.

The Nolitan Hotel

I really like this new little {kind of} hotel in Nolita, the part of Manhattan I usually wind up in every trip to Manhattan - sometimes on purpose and sometimes accidentally.  I have seen the Nolitan Hotel described as luxurious and maybe it is in person, from the it photos seems to be more comfy and a bit spartan which is a good combination in a hotel.

The bath tub is in the bedroom but at least there is a curtain surrounding it if you prefer.

{photos: Nolitan Hotel}

What Happens When

Perhaps it's my love of floor plans {to me they are equivalent to shiny objects to a crow} that draws me to this now closed restaurant.  It is a pretty simple concept, basic, monochromatic and all built on the floor plans drawn right on the floors, walls and ceiling.

The ceiling display changed monthly with each new concept and menu.  I believe this is February.

For more information on the concept you can read this article or this one.  

Funny thing is, without even realizing it, I was taking pictures of the building it was in back in May.  My great grandmother and great uncle lived on that block back in the 1940s and '50s and I was taking pictures for my father to look at to see if he could identify the buildings still.  Had I only known, I would have tried to visit the restaurant in person.

{photos: Interior Design}

Kips Bay Showhouse - The Porches

I think one of the best parts of the Kips Bay Showhouse this year is the porches.  In particular, the fourth floor porches, which were designed by Robert Stilin & Gunn Landscape Architecture.  I spent a good amount of time in one of the covered areas {it rained lightly for a second and I made myself at home} and it was one of the nicest parts of my day.  At four floors up and facing a small outdoor garden it seemed quiet and relaxing. 

Just look at the giant comfy bench on the side.

And the view if you look up.

The street-side porch was a bit narrower and didn't have the nice covered areas the larger porch did, but it had plenty of greenery and seating so you can people-watch.

I think if I had a few million dollars burning a hole in my pocket I would seriously consider buying this place for the porches alone.

{photos: jeanine}

Nine West Sophie Theallet Window

I love the quilling I spotted in the window of the Soho Nine West store for their Sophie Theallet collection.

If you enlarge this photo, you can see how they used the paper as "shelf brackets" below.

I have no idea how they attached it to the glass but it looks amazing.  I would love to learn how to do this on my own.

{photos: jeanine}

ICFF & Kips Bay

Yesterday I went down to Manhattan for a visit to the ICFF and Kip's Bay Showroom.

I returned with a ton of pictures and a couple of broken feet.  After March's trip, I swore I wouldn't walk so much this time.  Somehow I still managed to walk over 10 miles on Saturday {not including inside the Javits Center}.  While my feet are recovering, I plan to spend some time sorting through all the photos I took and scheduling a bunch of posts to share the best of what I found. 

{photo: jeanine}

Anthropologie Window Display - All About Sewing

Or mostly about sewing....I recently stopped by the Rockefeller Center Anthropologie to check out the displays.  This season seemed to be all about parts and pieces, table and chair pieces and clothing materials composed most of the displays.

 

Coat hangers make up the bones of this dress and a few others.

To the side of this display is a nail head trim trunk.

  
The requisite piled furniture display was found but this time with tables.

I liked this bed a lot, too bad there was so much glare on this side of the building.

{photos: jeanine}