Happy birthday, Brooklyn Bridge

Happy 130th birthday to the Brooklyn Bridge! What a spectacular site.

I have the fondest memory of riding in a cab across the bridge to my first NYC apartment in Lower Manhattan eleven years ago. The apartment was on the 25th floor and had a living room made of windows with a stunning view of the bridge. A bit of true real estate luck. That was such an exciting time in my life when I was embarking on great adventure.

I also have a less fond memory of walking home to my apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn from my friend Sarah's apartment in the East Village during the 2003 Blackout. It was ridiculously hot and I had the most uncomfortable shoes on. Not to mention that we had a romping good time the night before from which I was still feeling the effects. Fortunately, the power came back on by nightfall and we could all blast our A/Cs for relief.

Love that city!

photo from here

p.s. I used to be obsessed with the show Felicity and was sure that's what life in NYC would be like. Thankfully, it wasn't.

Mad Men

Have you seen this?  Banana Republic and Mad Men teaming up.  I LOVE it!!  BR clothes, Mad Men costuming genius.  What a expert marketing stunt.  I would like to wear this dress with these earrings and this ring; make myself a sidecar; and kick my feet up to watch the first episode of Mad Men on the 25th.  Any takers?

Also, which MadMan are you?

Also, also, Bob would look so good in this.  But, he'd never wear it.

Fashion Week

I'm loving the looks from Altuzarra from Fashion Week in New York.  Splashes of bright color?  Fun styles in classic white?  Yes, please.



Memories Wrap Up

Today is my last day in my 20's so it's time to wrap up my top 30 memories...

#3: As silly as it sounds, having my first fight with Bob over the placement of a television in our family room.  We weren't even living together at the time and it was the silliest fight ever, but it was a moment when I fell more in love with Bob - especially when we could laugh about it later.

#2: (This is for you Jo) Crashing a Glamour magazine party in NYC several years back.  I had heard about the party from a coworker and convinced my friend Joanna to check it out with me.  Turned out you had to be on a list to get in.  Jo used her wit, charm and powers of persuasion (read: bitchiness:) to get us in.  We proceeded to take full advantage of the open bar, break a vase and end up face down in the street outside.  That's enough detail for this blog.

#1: Seeing my mom’s yellow roses bloom in November after she passed away.  It was the most amazing thing to see her favorite flowers bloom so long after the season.  They were beautiful and it reassured me that she would always be with me.

Memory #10: "You're Not Living Here"

One of my favorite memories is when my parents moved me out to NYC after I graduated college.  They were so supportive of me even though I was moving to Brooklyn into an apartment that I'd signed a lease for via fax after never having seen it.  Oh, and the fact that I didn't have a job to support myself.  Mom and Craig took me on a trip to IKEA to get some furnishings and then hauled me and all of my stuff across the country in our van to Brooklyn.  When we pulled off of the BQE and headed off the exit toward my new diggs, we passed building after building covered in graffiti, overturned trash cans and an overall seedy looking area.  When we pulled up to my apartment I went to open the van door to check things out and I heard a click.  The van door was locked and I was stuck inside.  Looking forward I see dread on my mother's face as she said calmly, "you're not living here."  To be honest, I was nearly scared to death myself, but knew showing fear was out of the question at this point.  We had arrived and there was no turning back.  It took some coaxing, and a week of hanging around, to convince my parents that I would be fine.  It was pretty funny, but it came as no surprise to either one of us that I was going to be just fine.

Check out this graffiti bike tour.

photo

Memory #11: Summer in NYC

The summer of 2002 I decided to get out of town for a bit.  I signed up for a two week long class at NYU that got me housing for the summer (an amazing apartment overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge) which led to me to meeting one of my dear friends, Heather.  I remember crossing the Brooklyn Bridge on my way into Manhattan feeling like the whole world was my oyster and I was embarking on a life changing experience. Turns out it was.  Heather and I became dear friends who romped around the city daily (and nightly), I scored a nanny job with a very well to do couple on the Upper West Side, I met people who would eventually lead to me to interview with some amazing fashion magazines and I simply had an amazing time.  The feelings of freedom, possibility and friendship were overwhelming.  A lot of which would lead me back to NYC the following year.  It was a fabulous time.

Memory #25: Michele & Libby Take Toronto

I have lots of favorite memories with my friend Michele, but my most favorite has to be the "Michele and Libby take Niagara Falls & Toronto" trip.  When I was still living in NYC, Michele and I were always dreaming up awesome trips that we should take.  One afternoon while I was working away in my tiny cube in Midtown Manhattan, to my surprise and delight Michele called me out of the blue with a proposal.  "Libby, I'm buying a ticket to NYC for this weekend.  Where are we going?" is what she said.  My ears perked up and my mind got to work.  After some stealthy Google searching we had booked a hotel at Niagara Falls and in Toronto and had a $10/day rental car to get us there.
Michele arrived a couple of days later and we headed to LaGuardia to pick up our car and be on our way.  The sense of liberation with a last minute trip is invigorating and thrilling and we were both so excited.  Neither of us had been to either place and had no idea what to expect.  Highlights of our trip included our little lovers hotel :) near the falls, leaning over the edge as far as we could without falling, stopping at the border crossing into Canada and nervously telling the border guard that we were bringing cameras, ipods, fruit and snacks into the country (she was intimidating), eating like queens in Toronto, shopping and stumbling through the evening nightlife.  We drove through a horrendous thunderstorm on the winding roads of upstate New York and were relieved that we had somehow survived the ordeal.
It was a great trip with a great friend and fine example of the exciting spontaneity of youth.  Great memory!

Buddakan NYC

This scallop was heavenly.

I love food.  And, while Bob and I were in New York City last month we were treated to a fabulous meal at Buddakan NYC where our friend Adam is a chef.  We felt - and ate - like rock stars.  After ordering a couple of small dishes, our server spent the rest of the evening delivering multiple courses, "compliments of the kitchen," including a dessert spread to die for.  What a treat that was!

Moo Shu Pork

 Duck Salad

 Bread pudding with cinnamon ice cream

 Donuts with delicious dipping sauces

Peanut butter wrapped in chocolate and more chocolate with peanut butter ice cream - oh my! 

Homemade Twinkie & Strawberry Sorbet

We didn't remember to start taking pictures until the second course so we missed some goodies.  Man, were we happy campers! :)

Fun With The Girlies

I think I've said it before, but I really am a lucky gal when it comes to friends.  I have a group of childhood girlfriends that can't be beat.  We've been friends for so long.  We've celebrated each other through some incredible milestones and we've supported each other through some pretty difficult trials.  Most recently we celebrated our friend Sarah's wedding in New York City.  Oh, what fun we had!

Husband and I had some fun in the photo booth, too. :)

photos by julia newman

Bergdorf Windows

Husband and I just returned from a wonderful trip to New York City for my friend Sarah's wedding.  It was a fabulous affair and we had a delightful time exploring the city.  (Major kudos to Bob for sticking out the weekend with me and my 7 best gal pals!)  All fashion lovers know that no trip to NYC is complete without a stroll down 5th Avenue past the windows of Bergdorf Goodman.  Alexander McQueen and others provided amazing works of art (see the red stunner above) and the BG stylistas wowed with their creative window displays.  For your viewing pleasure...

These looked like real feathers.

This reminded me of a Barbie outfit I used to have.

Love the armor.

Sigh...