Weekend In NYC-- A Brief Culture Fix

 My local bank teller was glowing. Why? She was telling her coworkers about her recent visit to NYC. Something about visiting NYC...you come home with that glow of being culturally well-fed with inspiration and excitement!
Last month, I went to my baby girl's special engagement party in NYC. It was the best party I've been to in life! I went with a favorite friend and we had a blast at the party and also exploring mostly the fashion district and the foodie district.
This is a shot of Times Square at night....crowded as ever and as bright as day with all the lights. There were a multitude of tall Statue of Liberties, Minnie Mousetypes, and Hello Kitties there to pay to have your pic taken with. I also heard that the Naked Cowboy now is franchising his role out to another Naked Cowboy in Times Square too.  I guess his biz is doing well during this economy. Am I in the wrong business?!

 We visited opening day of the Gay Fashion exhibit at FIT gallery and also saw the Against the Grain Exhibit at the MADD museum. Unfortunately, taking pix is not allowed at either, so this Fashion District icon will have to symbolize the lovely memories we had at the exhibits.

 Then, of course, was Mood Fabrics. I had many a worker at Mood searching for Swatch (their Mascot celebrity guard pup--see the July blog entry for a visual) when I got to Mood and he was nowhere to be found. I think he had the weekend off and was out resting from his in-shop naps and fabric guard duty.

 We didn't really do more than walk through the MOMA lobby on a Saturday....just to get a shot of Saturday visitors.

There was just too much creativity in the streets to see to spend the entire day in exhibits.

 This shop is a MUST for creatives!!!! Beads World at 1384 Broadway. It is Embellishment Heaven! Here, my awesome travel pal, is giving you a Vanna White welcome.
Wherever I travel I try to visit the area's bead shops, but so far out of all the bead shops I've encountered...this one is the most exciting. So well stocked! They have a web site too, but there are things in the store that just aren't listed online.

 Can you see how someone can spend hours in Beads World???

Like I said, just window shopping in the Fashion District is like going to a gallery. There are shops that specialize in just trim. Even one that specializes in just zippers, but cool ones.

This is another shop I highly recommend visiting when in NYC! If you are a foodie looking for exotic ingredients...this is THE place to find them. Kalustyan's at 123 Lexington between 28th and 29th. I found a very hard-to-find Chinese cooking wine there and was ecstatic! Of course, my food purchases added about 40 pounds to my luggage weight, but it was worth it.

This was my fave window display. Botticelli on the soles of mens' shoes! That brand mark placement is a little risque! This creative shoe embellishment makes me wonder if there are lady shoes with Statue of Davids on the soles to balance out the symbolism.
I heard both Jane LaFazio and Lindsey Lohan were in NYC the same weekend I was. Despite all the exploring we did....we didn't run into either of them.
There is no better city to explore to get that flying culture lift than NYC!
Thank you for the lovely party, baby girl! Thank you for joining me on the journey, awesome travel pal! And for those reading this entry...I hope the pix and shop recommendations inspire your next NYC exploration journey!