Decorating

Current state of the nest: unfeathered.

Even the dog is confused.

So I wander along Broadway pondering the pillow possibilities

 and the linens (here vintage tablecloths of obvious retro-allure.)

Here moving more delicately upmarket.

Crisp piping says summer in spades.

Exotic Costumes and Some Colors

This rather splendid get up was spotted on 8th Avenue around 15th Street where the wearer vanished down into the subway.

 I never saw his face.

Is he sending very mixed messages?

I admired the amazing attire of this artist at ABC Carpet. She was happy to have her photo taken --but could I buy her a cold drink? I did.

I don't actually live at ABC Carpet -- or only part of the time. My excuse is that it's on the way to the Green Market which, since it sells organic produce etc, counts as morally pure.....

 
This young person, dressed for the season, was as interested as I was.....

 

Would I want to live in a house where patterns abound? No. Are they splendid to look at? Obviously. Anthropologie, West Broadway and Spring Streets.

What a color for a floor! What toasty warm scarves. C.P Shades, Grand Street,Soho.

Metal

The skeleton of an old building by the side of the Hudson.

Ghost writing and verdigris.

There is something delicious about  metal decaying.

Time to clean up the house and make things sparkle so candles can reflect light.

Monochrome sparklies in ABC's window --tasteful, kitsch and charming all in one shot. 

I lust after a glittery little deer.

The Salvation Army are out in force and good for them.

Here Music outside Macy's on 34th Street.

Shadow Shot Sunday/Chelsea

For other Shadow Shot pictures go to Hey Harriet

.

A warm afternoon after lots of rain. Here an old building on 18th Street and 7th Avenue is reflected in a new one.



Lovely colors on shopfronts on 9th Avenue.



The sort of doorway that lures one in - also 9th Avenue.



The flowers hop that had the two interesting cats in the entrance to Chelsea Market is no more. It is being turned into something else, so the windows are blocked out with posters of other parts of the market.
As greedy people, we come here often.
The Italian shop has excellent lime blossom honey.

Indulgence

Thinking about all the delicious fruit yesterday revived sense memories of my recent trip to London.
If you only had to go to one shop - and didn't need to buy anything, I would recommend Liberty's. It's visual heaven, verging on too much.
I worked there one summer many moons ago before they had crystal threads hanging down all over the place.



Since I'm a very greedy person, I decided to have tea. The tea shop red and warm. Such cakes!



And scones with clotted cream and raspberry jam. Hot chocolate too.
I consumed a zillion calories and it was bliss.



For shoe fetishists who are also chocoholics, this is obviously the place to go.
Luckily, I am neither.



Upstairs there were lots of cushions with peacocks on. I would have liked to buy all of them to send to Maryam. Except the price would have matched the current bank bailout.

Zeitgeist (the spirit of the age) or SHOPPING

This is for Mrs.Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday.
This first picture is Macy's on 34th Street.
I went there yesterday to buy a swimsuit on sale.
Not a happy trip though the price was good. Blue and white polka dots.
When it's a lost cause, one might as well have fun.

File under zeitgeist "the spirit of the age" a German word.
The current obsessions seem to be celebrities and shopping - both of which I claim to despise and know about anyway.
Yes, I do buy things and yes, I do know the names of the Brangelina twins. Hmm.......



The second two pictures are of the interior of the Apple store on the corner of 14th Street and 9th Avenue.
Lots of people were lined up to buy iphones.
I'm sure these are a wonderful invention and perhaps, in due course of years, I'll get one.
At the moment I do not have a cell/mobile phone. Hooray!



The Apple building is beautifully renovated and the young staff uniformly energetic and engaging.
My laptop's keyboard's letters - particularly 'i' and 'e' have vanished from overuse.
Temptation abounds.........

Green New York

Of course New York is a lot about buildings - how could it not be?
But if one is determined there are all sorts of places where green creeps in. One place is the Green Market in Union Square.
Needless to say, you have to go there early before it is totally swamped by crunchy-granola - Birkenstock foodies and their dogs and strollers etc etc.
Looking at culinary herbs always makes me ambitious.......basil and rosemary are staples.....



Sweet peas only have a very brief window - but they do smell gorgeous.


I envy people who can plant perennials in the city. Oh for delphiniums. Odd that blue is a color your really have to work to get in a garden.
Yellow and pink arrive almost by themselves.



Walking home down 24th Street, I admire a rather unusual hydrangea. There is a wonderful shade garden there, obviously planted by someone who knew what he/she was doing.



At home the usual urge to make still lives.......though the bananas and lemons didn't come from the green market itself but have been imported from somewhere.