sailing.

I don't know how to sail, but I'd like to. There's something satisfying about learning a wholly new skill and when it comes with its own special set of vocabulary, all the better. There's so much satisfaction in learning when to use new words, trying them out, seeing how they roll off the tongue or get stuck there.

I'd buy a small wooden boat and paint it a cheerful coat of white so that it gleamed. All alone, I wouldn't notice that my hair was getting matted or my cheeks were getting ruddy. There'd be too much else to pay attention to.

I'd fly a patchwork flag from the top of the mast and count up the barnacles on the boat bottom as prizes. If I was feeling generous, I'd bring along a friend, but mostly I'd set out for watery ambles by myself. A boat of one's own, you might call it.

...

On Saturday, James and I rebooked our anniversary sail and sat under a drizzly grey sky while a double rainbow arced its way across the city. It felt good to get rained on. Especially surrounded by all that glimmering gold.

You have read this article new york / sailing with the title new york. You can bookmark this page URL https://newbieny.blogspot.com/2013/11/sailing.html. Thanks!

roosevelt island.

Like anything in dwindling supply, each sunlit hour of an October day is more precious than the one before it.

Relatedly, James and I finally made it to Roosevelt Island a few weeks ago. We stood face to face with the smallpox hospital I've only wondered at from a distance and explored the new FDR memorial. But my very favorite part was a wander through the golden last chapter of the wildflower meadow where curled up cocoons of Queen Anne's Lace and echinacea and black-eyed susans and golden rod have put on their fall colors and the wild aster is still cloaked in purple.

You know it's been too long since you've spent a proper fall day outside when you can't remember the last time you pulled burrs from your hair and coat lining.

Here, encouragement to log as many burr-pulling days as possible. When the germy side of October shows its face—and it will—you can embrace the longer nights with big bowls of chili and flickering candles, and flannel pajamas and use your stored up blue-sky days for dreaming.

You have read this article fall / life / new york / roosevelt island / wildflowers with the title new york. You can bookmark this page URL https://newbieny.blogspot.com/2013/10/roosevelt-island.html. Thanks!

late september, red hook.

A little acknowledgement that New York has been killing it with good weather lately. It's been all sunshine and blue skies and temperatures for pairing sweaters and sandals. Perfect, in other words.

Unless you're in the middle of a park, autumn in New York is a thing you need to go treasure hunting for. Outside of the city, the season puts on a spectacle, but here, you need to spot signs. A touch of golden here, a deeper burgundy there.

Here are photos from yesterday's ramble in Red Hook. My favorite neighborhood to walk to when I'm in the mood for treasure hunting.

You have read this article autumn / brooklyn / fall / new york / red hook with the title new york. You can bookmark this page URL https://newbieny.blogspot.com/2013/09/late-september-red-hook.html. Thanks!

neighbor lights.

Two things lately: weekends away and a lackluster apartment search for a place to stretch our legs, just a little bit. Both have made me feel all kinds of fierce about our tiny abode and our tiny block.

New York City is really just a collection of tiny villages. And as we've started to talk about the possibility of wanting just a touch more space, I realize that I'm about as provincial as they come. I don't really like the idea of looking for an apartment on another street, let alone another neighborhood. Don't get me started on James's repeated mention of an entire island swap.

Last night, twinkling string lights and open windows and blankets to keep off the chill. Who would want to leave fairyland?

You have read this article home / life / new york with the title new york. You can bookmark this page URL https://newbieny.blogspot.com/2013/09/neighbor-lights.html. Thanks!

gramercy, etc.

Pink spring blossoms again? Well. It's gonna be flowers and sunshine from here on out, so get ready. James and I have decided to officially come out from hibernation along with the trees. We're even on a kick of getting together with nearby friends whom we haven't seen since the weather turned nasty...oh, six months ago. If we haven't raised a glass with you yet, it's coming. Consider yourselves warned.

This weekend we made impromptu plans with old & new friends, had brunch with Mildred, ran the usual errands, did the usual housework and generally enjoyed the idea that it wasn't the work week (per se) and there were flowers on the trees.

There's nothing like New York in the springtime, and there's nothing like Gramercy for showing off the best the city has to offer. After brunch near Stuy Town, we tooled around the neighborhood, drank too-strong iced coffee, let our noses get a tiny bit sunburned, and pretended like we had keys to the park that we were just deciding not to use.

Lately I've been utterly preoccupied with the idea of having our own little outdoor spot to dine (more daydreaming here), so we took advantage of our walk to do some gawking and drooling over other people's spaces.

We're just doing our best to soak it all in these days. What about you? What are your weekends looking like lately?

{ps. i'm finally admitting that google reader is going away and giving bloglovin a test run. you can follow my blog with bloglovin, too, if it suits you.}

You have read this article gramercy park / life / new york / spring with the title new york. You can bookmark this page URL https://newbieny.blogspot.com/2013/04/gramercy-etc.html. Thanks!

subway art.

I'm a bonafied subway enthusiast. Forgive my inner-Pollyanna and know that I feel honestly grateful each time that I slip between those stainless steel doors and find myself a seat on my way to anywhere. For me, the MTA's Arts for Transit program is just icing on the cake of subway thrills. For most subway travelers, time spent underground is more nearly associated with sensory stimulation in the form of crowds and mysterious odors and gum stuck in unpleasant spaces than it is fine art. I'm not so naive as to not understand why, but I do think that if you're able to ignore the everyday drudgery of subway travel and take an extra look around, you might be surprised by what you find.

On a trip yesterday to the New York Botanical Garden, I spotted my latest favorite work. Andrea Deszö's Community Garden mosaic is something straight out of Alice in Wonderland. I'm tempted to join a tour and see all the fancified stations for myself, but I admit there's also something lovely about coming upon them au hasard. In the end, it's all just more proof that if you allow yourself a moment of wonder, you'll stumble across something worthy of the exercise.

Favorites:
Carrying On (designed by one of my very favorite professors)
Signs of Life
Memories of 23rd Street
Other things:
Arts for Transit App
Subway Art Tour

You have read this article life / new york / public art / subways with the title new york. You can bookmark this page URL https://newbieny.blogspot.com/2013/01/subway-art.html. Thanks!

make-believe: new york city tourist.

this week james and i have gotten the chance to hang out with some of our very favorite new york tourists. la famille guyot, with whom i lived for almost a year in france when i was 22 came to celebrate our wedding and they've been living it up in the city that never sleeps ever since. yesterday we met them for a raucous game of bowling to escape the rain and this make-believe is a little tribute to them: a pretty umbrella for running between drops, a trusty backpack, a sweatshirt to temper blasts of air conditioning, a metro card for exploring comme il faut, waterproof sandals for quick-drying and washing off sludge, a compass necklace for orienteering, and an admittedly out of date, but terribly good looking guide to the city.

1. shiny umbrella 2. backpack 3. sweatshirt 4. metrocard 5. waterproof sandals 6. compass necklace 7. guide book

You have read this article make-believe / new york / tourists with the title new york. You can bookmark this page URL https://newbieny.blogspot.com/2012/08/make-believe-new-york-city-tourist.html. Thanks!