On safari at Bergdorf Goodman

When it comes to Christmas windows, Bergdorf Goodman shines. I thought it couldn't get better than last year's display. But it did. Introducing Carnival of the Animals:

The pattern on this dress is made up of thousands of seed beads. Incredible:

According to the BG blog, this one's called the Brass Menagerie. It features a flock of metal birds and a shimmering border made out of fishing lures. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good photograph that included the border, but you can see it here, along with many of this year's windows.

If you've ever wonder what a tea party in the North Pole might be like:

The aquarium window was mesmerizing. Look at it long enough and the crowds and traffic on 5th Avenue seem to disappear as you're transported to an underwater wonderland teeming with jewel-encrusted stingrays, lobsters and sharks:

The animals in the black-and-white window are made out of paper:

Bright lights in Dyker Heights

Home sweet home

There's quite a bit of space behind the couch.

A close-up of some of the beautiful carvings on the fireplace mantel in the living room.

The view from the living room looking into the kitchen. The door with the stained glass window leads to the bathroom. To the left of that is the bedroom.

The boudoir.

Yay! A clawfoot tub!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

The Christmas tree in all its glory.

Street Art

Finally spotted one of Roa's pieces on the way to Smorgasburg on Saturday:

These are pretty sweet, too:

Coney Island

Just came across these neat old pix of Coney Island in the 1960s and 1970s. Glad to see that some things never change:

Fourth of July weekend on the boardwalk. The Coney Island Dancers(warning, this link has disco music) were just getting warmed up, so much so that the man in the sweaty business pants ripped off his shirt and poured bottled water over his head just like Flashdance, only sweatier.

He's a maniac on the boardwalk!
Stars and stripes forever:

Freaks and geeks:

A Coney Island classic:

Soaring high above the other rides is the Scream Zone Sling Shot ride. You couldn't pay me a million dollars to try it. Well, maybe you could...

What the?! Furries? In this heat!!!

King of the Coney Island Dancers. On Fourth of July...

...and a few weeks later:

Hot wheelz:

Old-school signage:

Taken from the pier. The beach crowds were off the hook. Nothing but sun worshippers and umbrellas for miles and miles:

What a catch!:

Lifeguards in action. Luckily this was a false alarm. Signs all over the pier say No Diving and No Swimming. The lifeguards (the guys to the right in orange) make anyone who ignores the signs (the guy on the left) swim back to shore and get out of the water.

The swim of shame.

She's Got the Power: A Girl Group Extravaganza

Rock-n-roll's original bad girl Ronnie Specter rocked the house Saturday night with The Ronettes' classics "Walking in the Rain," "Be My Baby," and "The Best Part of Breaking Up"--and Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black."

That's Ronnie in red. Yep, that's Paul Shaffer on keyboards and Steven Van Sandt (wearing his trademark headscarf of course) far left on acoustic guitar.

She wasn’t the only girl-group diva bringing the crowd to their feet at Lincoln Center's She's Got the Power: A Girl Group Extravaganza. Lesley Gore, LaLa Brooks and their backup singers knocked it out of the ballpark with their performances of "Going to the Chapel," "And Then He Kissed Me," and many more chart-toppers from the 1960s.

 LaLa Brooks of The Crystals

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of Lesley Gore. Guess I was just too mesmerized by her performance of "You Don't Own Me" to get out my camera. Go here to see what I'm talking about!

Another High Line pretty

I'm not sure what this lovely flower growing along the old train track is since it's not included in the High Line Plant Guide Spring/Summer 2010 pamphlet. Maybe some sort of black-eyed susan? If anyone out there knows, leave a comment and let me know!

The High Line on a summer afternoon

It felt like the crowds at Grand Central Station and Penn Station had been beamed over to the High Line when Seth and I met good friends from Portland (Hi Lara and Scott!)there a few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon. It was hot-as-you-know-what and hard to see anything except people, people and more people. So I didn't get any pictures that day. These photos were taken in early summer on a weekday afternoon when my good friend from Seattle (Hi Tina!) was in town.

In full bloom, these urban grasslands and woodlands put on quite a show, splashing the New York skyline with brilliant pops of color:

Here's a peek at the section that just opened in early June:

It's distinctly different from the rest of the High Line, and I love it. Some of the highlights include this old mural painted on the side of the building, People's Pops for coconut popsicles, the 23rd Street Lawn (an expansive stretch of grass for naps and picnics), and...

...an elevated section with gardens growing under the pathway. Here's a bird's eye view of a small section of garden on the lower tier:

The new section is pretty close to where I work, so it's been nice to be able to stroll the High Line on my lunch hour. (It seems to be much less crowded on weekdays and in the winter.) 

The other day I mentioned to Seth that the ornamental grass and giant puffball-shaped flowers that make up the High Line landscape reminded me of a favorite gardening book by Piet Oudolf. Turns out, he's the High Line's planting designer. Guess I need to brush up on my High Line history. At any rate, check out his Web site to see before-and-after photos. Here's the 34th Avenue stretch. It hasn't been renovated yet and it's not open to the public:

 
And finally, a close-up of the showy foxtail lily. If I ever have my own home, it's going to be one of the first things I plant in the yard! (Wonder how much Oudolf charges to design a private garden. This would be nice.)

Chasing rainbows...

...in southern Illinois...

Look closely. It's a double rainbow!

...and in St. Louis.

The arch. Spring trip to home sweet home, April, 2010.