New York Part Two

On our second (and last) full day in NYC, Emily and I took a Circle Line cruise! I had booked the three-hour tour - they have several shorter tours, but I wanted to go all the way around the island. I doubted we'd make it far north on our own, so I could at least see those places from the water. First we swung past Ellis Island (where I know some of my ancestors came through):

And Lady Liberty:

Seeing the Statue of Liberty in person was very moving. Of course I've seen a million pictures of it, but being there was different. I think I took a picture from every angle! It's beautiful.

The guide said this was the "authentic view" because it's how the immigrants saw it. :)

We also went under the East River bridges. The bike tour guide taught us BMW to remember the bridges: Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg. That helped me a lot!

I'm told this is an important hospital. Whatever, it's really the building Jason Bourne jumped out of to freedom. :) (Among other things, NYC taught me that some fiction is more real to me than reality. I should be more troubled by this.)

As we headed north, the river got much narrower and shallower, and we had to slow down a lot. We saw Harlem on the left and the Bronx on the right. There were fewer people and more trees.

At the northernmost point of Manhattan, there was a train bridge too low to pass under, so we were told it would open for us. Em and I went out onto the bow for a closer look. In my South Florida experience, bridges open vertically, so I was a little alarmed as we got closer and closer to the bridge with no drawbridge action. Then I saw it was swinging open like a gate. Pretty cool.

When I first mentioned going to NYC, Sarah e-mailed me to ask if I wanted to meet. Sarah and I were LiveJournal friends for several years and now keep in touch via blogs and Twitter. We decided lunch on Friday would work well, so after Em and I got off the boat, we met her at a little Mexican place in SoHo. It was great to meet in person, catch up, and talk book stuff - she's in publishing and surprised me with an ARC that I'm really excited about. :) Yay for online friends!

I couldn't go to SoHo and not shop, so after lunch Em and I hit a few stores. I understand now why people take special trips to New York just to shop. The sheer volume of merchandise and people overwhelmed me, and I wasn't really in the right headspace for it, so I just made a few bargain purchases at Uniqlo. I'll have to try again another time. It was fun though!

Emily's husband Daniel really wanted us to see Rock of Ages (the play, not the movie), so he got online and bought us tickets the night before! Thanks again Daniel! :) He's seen it three times and even has a designated pre-show restaurant, the Blue Fin in Times Square. So we ate a delicious meal there and went to the show. (I have no pictures of this night because my camera battery died suddenly.)

If you're extremely conservative, Rock of Ages may not be for you... but if you have fond memories of late 80s hair bands and are part of the Wayne's World generation, YOU WILL LOVE IT. Who knew a tale of rock and debauchery on the Sunset Strip could make me feel so great and hopeful about life? I even downloaded the original Broadway soundtrack when I got home.

After the show, we got Pinkberry (for me) and pizza (for Em) and walked around some more. Even around midnight, the streets were still packed with people and most places were still open. I knew New York never sleeps, but it's different to see it for yourself. I felt excited and thankful to be a part of it.

One more trip installment to come!

New Boots and Inspiration

Last weekend, I had an experience that's common for me. Armed with a $10 off certificate, I went to DSW with the goal of buying flat brown boots. They didn't have those Steve Madden boots I posted about a while back, but these classic Civico 10 boots were pretty much perfect... except for the price. I finally decided to go home and order them online to save as much as possible in coupon codes and Ebates. You can probably guess what happened. They didn't have my size online in the brown. They weren't for sale anywhere else. I was consumed with regret. So yesterday, I made another trip to DSW to buy the ones I had tried on. By then, it was less painful to spend the money. :P But the boots are real leather and will last forever, and I got a free quilted bag with purchase, which I can use as a laptop bag (something I've needed for a while). I'm excited to wear these with skinny jeans, dresses, and skirts!

The cats were determined to be part of the photo shoot. (I carried the mirror around the house trying to find a well-lit area....)

As long as I'm talking about shoes, these Steve Madden flip-flops were a total impulse buy a couple of months ago (also at DSW - I'm a very loyal customer), but I've worn them practically nonstop ever since. They're so cute and go with everything!

I'd shop less if I didn't get so many ideas. I have constant flashes of creative inspiration. This also goes for crafts, home decor, cooking, etc., but nowadays it manifests itself most often through fashion. I'll see something in a magazine, on a blog, or on someone I know, and instantly I know exactly what I want and how I want to adapt it. (I could probably cut back on magazines and blogs, but the ideas would still come.) The problem is, then I have to find it, and because I'm me, I want to find it as cheap as possible. It's a long, frustrating process, and usually, the longer I'm deterred, the more obsessed I get. If I had my mother's sewing abilities, I would design and make most of my clothes myself and avoid all the trouble. Sadly, sewing machines and I don't really get along. I think the style single-mindedness is inherited, though.


PS - the blog has a new look! Come check it out if you're viewing this in a reader. It's a free template from How Joyful Design and I'm really pleased with it!

Dropping the shopping bag.

(Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz, one of my early style influences)

I gave up clothes shopping for Lent. Part of me is ashamed to admit this, because it's such a privileged, First World "sacrifice" to make. I struggle with certain aspects of Lent and hadn't observed it in a while. But this year, I wanted to do something that would honor God in some tiny way and also be spiritually beneficial to me. The weekend before Ash Wednesday, I came home from the overstock clothing store with a bag full of amazing deals, and suddenly knew what I needed to do.

For the last several years, I've shopped too much. Not overspent - most of the time I don't even buy anything. Just performed the act of shopping too much, in my opinion. It started as an emotional Band-Aid in the last couple of years of my marriage, and briefly escalated after that was over. In small doses, I think it was and is fine. But I don't need it anymore, and it was time to show it who's boss, to refocus my priorities and react to unpleasant emotions in a more productive way.

I've mostly been excited about this. But, three weeks in, I have to admit... it's getting tough, you guys. :\ I LOVE FASHION. I miss perusing DSW.com and checking The Limited to see whether that dress I loved is on sale yet. But the difficulty is proof that I needed to do this, and that God has something to teach me through it. So I look forward to whatever that is!

Rollback.

(via People of Wal-Mart)
I loathe Wal-Mart. Especially on weekends. But yesterday, I had one of those realizations that Wal-Mart was the only place with everything on my diverse shopping list. So I headed into the belly of the beast on a Sunday afternoon.

I appreciate Wal-Mart's low prices and large, varied selection (which is why I have to go there occasionally to avoid making a hundred stops). I like their Canopy home stuff, too. But the size, atmosphere, and inefficiency of the place exhaust me. Even at the back of the store, about a mile from the registers, you can still hear them beeping. Everything is so spread out that I keep missing items on my list and have to turn around multiple times - and, thanks to frequent remodeling, I never know where anything is. And, most of all, there are the people. SO MANY PEOPLE. Everywhere you want to be, there are at least two other people, totally unaware of their surroundings and/or moving at a snail's pace. There's always a screaming child within earshot. Finally, every checkout line is at least five people deep no matter what time it is. Going late at night makes no difference at all.

For all of these reasons, I'm usually thisclose to a nervous breakdown by the time I leave Wal-Mart. I don't have these problems at Target (although their constant restocking is becoming annoying), or at the Neighborhood Market near my house, which is smaller, more convenient, and much more pleasant than a Super store. But if I need bagged salad, feta cheese, a wall clock, and a can of spray paint, it's still the only option.

The next big thing.

(Jessica Simpson "Oscar" heels. Say what you will, the woman knows shoes.)

You know what would be fantastic? An internet application in which you could make a wish list of all the items you're currently in the market for, and it would alert you whenever those items go on sale anywhere, or when the prices drop into a specified range. You'd never have to look at Sunday ads or waste tons of time comparison shopping again! If I had any software skills, I would have already made this happen myself, so others can feel free to run with the idea and become billionaires. Just let me know when it's finished so I can be an early adopter!

(Speaking of shoes, a box containing these and these arrived on my doorstep from DSW yesterday. Happy September to me!)

Recent goings-on.

Last Saturday I helped host a golf-themed bachelorette party for my good friend Myla. Her bridesmaids came up with the idea and it turned out to be SO much fun. We drove all over town completing various tasks, or "holes" - including drinks (of course), sushi, cupcakes, actual putting on one of those putting mats that spits the ball back at you, karaoke, and more. My only job was to bring food for the portion of the party at Myla's apartment. I made mini-quiches, a veggie and dip tray, and chocolate caramel crack(ers). It was a great night!


On Sunday, Caroline accompanied me on my tax-free shopping spree. Knowing me as she does, she had sent me an early birthday card with a New York & Company giftcard and coupons, so that was the first place we visited. :) I found an adorable dress (with pockets!), two pairs of pants, and the bracelet and earrings on the right. That was the bulk of my purchases. We did drive out to DSW and J.Crew, but I wasn't thrilled with anything at DSW (gasp!), and J.Crew closed right as we pulled up. I thought most places closed no earlier than 6:00 on Sundays, but Saddle Creek jumped the gun, even on tax-free weekend. So no ruffle tank and cute skirt for me. We made a final stop at Target to console ourselves, and I bought these jeweled flip-flops that I've been watching for months.

I also went to a progressive dinner for my new small group at my new church. So it was a very busy weekend, and even now on Wednesday I don't feel totally recovered. But quality time with friends is more important than sleep anyway. :)

A little materialism.

It's Tax Free Weekend in Tennessee! Due to prior commitments, I won't be able to hit the stores until Sunday. I generally try to avoid shopping on Sundays, and I don't really need anything fashion-wise. But as high as our sales tax is, I can never pass this up. Plus there are some great end-of-summer sales right now.

I'm hoping to hit my shoe paradise, DSW ($5 off birthday coupon!!), and J. Crew to see if they have this clearance ensemble:



I love little casual skirts and would like more to wear in lieu of shorts on the weekends. (I'd like to try this sewing pattern, without the pockets, but shirring is too advanced for me. Right now I can't do much more than sew a straight line after my mom loads the machine for me.)

Then I'll go to the mall to check out Express, JCPenney, and the new accessories place, Charming Charlie's. I'm looking forward to it! :) Anyone else have tax-free weekend plans?