Whoever pitched this idea to the American Museum of Natural History needs a raise. Especially since I can’t remember the last time that this museum had a new exhibit that I was actually excited about. Don’t get me wrong, I love that giant whale and the almost-pitch-black room with the stuffed birds (please god don’t ever update that wing), but it’s pretty rare that the Natural History museum has an exhibit that people really anticipate.
The exhibition is included with a general admission ticket, so you really have no reason not to check it out. Here were my favourite pieces.
Biz Markie Nameplate necklace, 1986
In love with the font.
Flavor Flav Clock pendant, 1988
Okay, that clock is literal history.
Ghostface Killah Eagle arm band, 1990s
Absolutely love how over the top it is.
T-Pain Big Ass Chain necklace, 2000s
Honestly, genius. So funny and probably the best of the collection.
Cardi B Nipple covers, 2022
Perfect.
Tyler, The Creator Bellhop necklace, 2021
Jesus, that’s beautiful. Maybe I’m not wearing enough gold. Really reassessing my look after coming here.
I have waited for this day my whole New York life.
Postcard of City Hall Station in 1913
I finally got to go on a tour of the old, abandoned City Hall Station beneath NYC. Everyone has heard about it. The only glimpse you can get of it is when you stay on the downtown 6 train and look out the window as it loops around to become an uptown train.
City Hall Station, April 2023
The station opened in 1904 and it’s located right underneath City Hall Park and from certain areas in the park (that are now blocked off to the public), you can look down and see through the tops of the skylights in the station.
City Hall Station, April 2023
It closed in 1945 due to the increased subway ridership that led to longer trains, and thus longer platforms. The City Hall station (built on a tight curve) would have been difficult to lengthen, and it was also fairly close to the far busier Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station so the closure made sense at the time.
SIDE NOTE: I feel like I’m slowly realizing this in real time, but like… am I… into… history? When the hell did that happen?
City Hall Station, April 2023
The station was designed by Rafael Guastavino and is so unexpectedly refined for a subway station with its Romanesque Revival architectural style. (Yes I looked up what the name of the style is.)
City Hall Station, April 2023
Tours are arranged through the New York Transit Museum (you have to become a member for access to ticket sales), but it’s very much worth the price. Tickets go on sale usually twice a year for different blocks of time and absolutely always sell out.
It really did feel like walking into a time machine that shows you what old New York City would’ve felt like. Just an incredible experience.
I know that I only bought my New York Transit Museum membership solely for this tour, but of all the clubs to become a member to - this one really feels like a good fit for me. So excited to hear about what other tours will be offered throughout the year.
Oh my god, this month is the ten year anniversary of this blog.
How.
If you don’t know me very well, let’s just say that I don’t have a great reputation for following through with things, so this seems a little crazy.
Okay, I wrote that last sentence and now I’m thinking about it and lately I do try really hard to follow through with things. What the hell was I talking about? Years ago, I used to be terrible at it and my head still gets stuck in that mindset sometimes. I think it’s really easy to think you haven’t changed since we’re hardest on ourselves, but maybe it’s smart to take a moment to actually see how far you’ve come. Clearly I can follow through with things because it’s ten years later and I still love writing in this space. I’m rambling when I’m really just trying to say thank you for even wanting to read this. Any of this. I do it because I love it, so anyone who even kind of cares about it makes me so happy.
Nathan and I saw Death of a Salesman on Broadway and yes it’s good, but it would’ve been smarter of me to look up the plot beforehand. Sometimes you need to prep yourself for a horribly depressing, but beautifully written piece of work.
Death of a Salesman, January 2023
Before the most depressing play of all time
I also saw Moulin Rouge with my dear friend Diana and it was a beautiful spectacle. We had such a fun time, but maybe because we had an edible and we’d have fun anywhere together? The musical itself was like diabolical karaoke. The sets and performers were unbelievably good, though.
You should always dress for the musical/play you’re about to see
I’d never made penne alla vodka at home before, so I made the Half Baked Harvest spicy one and it was terrible. Crushed red pepper flakes should be banned as an ingredient, it always tries to bring life to a dish that is seasoned poorly.
There’s never a bad time to head to a pool, so Diana and I went to the one at the TWA Hotel that’s open all winter long.
The pool at the TWA Hotel at JFK, NYC
My friend Paul introduced me to apple nachos and after I made fun of him for a few minutes I ate them and now I make them multiple times a week. (Sliced apples, almond or peanut butter, grainless or normal granola pieces and chocolate chips.)
I made lasagna soup and it was exactly what’s needed on a cold night. Leftovers were a nightmare because Nathan was out of town so it was just me eating beef soup for four days straight, but nonetheless! Great recipe for a family.
God, I love Mercer Street in Soho. I didn’t even know they had a Zimmerman store. I bought one of their swimsuits years ago and it’s still my favourite to this day. Look at these beautiful pieces.
Zimmermann, Soho
Zimmermann, Soho
Zimmermann, Soho
Zimmermann, Soho
And are you kidding me with these coats from ZCRAVE (also on Mercer)?? I want a closet full of these beauties. One for every mood.
ZCRAVE, Soho
ZCRAVE, Soho
I went to a sale at Showplace Backstage where they sell used/vintage pieces from film & television.
Got drinks at the lounge inside the Mandarin Oriental and it was nice, obviously overpriced but still nice.
Had dinner at Carne Mare, which has such a beautiful space, it’s perfect for a special occasion. The caviar mozzarella sticks were slightly overrated but everything else was good and the service was stellar. Can't wait to go again.
Mozzarella sticks with caviar at Carne Mare, NYC
The Body Shop came out with a new winter scent (Wild Pine) and I’m head over heels in love. I’ve always wanted to smell like a big, beautiful Christmas tree year-round and now I can. (This sounds sarcastic, but I’m deathly serious.)
Tried the pistachio cream cold brew at Starbucks and yep, I forgot again how sick that cream makes me. Can they please stop introducing new cream flavours?? I think it’s abundantly clear that I will not learn, so they just need to stop.
I know absolutely nothing about wine (other than South African reds taste like trash) but oh my god, the wine brand Josh? Truly putrid.
I think I’ve finally learned that hair serums do absolutely nothing for my hair. I’ve been going through all of my hair products that I never use and it’s really wild what we’re told we need for our hair. Getting rid of it all. I can’t wait to have a clearer dresser top.
I like to sit and peruse the new cookbooks at Barnes & Noble every so often and the Don Angie one seems kind of great (the spicy crab panzanella and the spiced lamb ragu with marsala and fennel, specifically). The new Via Carota one however was a real letdown. I hated that it was organized seasonally for some reason.
So I got a frother recently and wow was it not worth it. Returned it immediately. I think I was expecting espresso-machine-level frothing, so I kind of set myself up for disappointment.
I got a new Kipozi straightener after using my niece Layla’s over the holidays and oh my god it’s insanely good. I’m gonna do a short video about it because I still can’t believe how long the curls last.
Went to Little Ruby’s Cafe in Soho and it was a perfect lunch spot. Also rediscovered Blue Ribbon after completely forgetting about its existence and it remains a great late night place.
Little Ruby’s Cafe, Soho
I know it’s pretty dated, but I always love Bistro Les Amis. I hope it never shuts down.
I finally went to Bistro Eloise for the first time in Queens and it’s wild that such a great restaurant is in a little plaza mall. Maybe not wild actually, but unexpected. Had the best onion soup in all of NYC (that broth was unreal). Escargots was fantastic, the specials were wonderful and the service was perfect, too. Go, go, go.
Had one of the worst banking experiences of life with TD Canada recently, so I’m gonna transfer everything completely to another bank. Don’t fuck with me, CORPORATIONS.
I made this short rib bolognese and it was heavenly. I will now always make short rib at home. It’s overpriced when you order it out and the fat is always kept on it when it’s served, so it’s absolutely not worth it. When I made the recipe, I did everything instructed but at the end when the meat is cooked, I separated all of the fatty bits to throw away and it elevated the sauce times a million.
Short rib bolognese
Some things I watched:
The Banshees of Inisherin - so incredibly good and unexpected. Cannot sing enough praises about it. To anyone who thought it was boring: grow up.
The White Lotus (both seasons) - obviously season two is juicier, but both were good. Love Steve Zahn. Is the show as great as everyone laments? Maybe? It’s hard to say because yes it’s good, but aren’t we all so sad and broken right now that anything even mildly good is considered revolutionary? Personally I liked it mainly because I like to watch people on vacation.
Jennifer’s Body - holy god did it suck. Why the hell was this on my must watch list for over a decade? SUCKFEST.
Some things that I’m looking forward to this month: I’d love to go ice skating at least once more this season, I know it’s lofty but I’d also love to go skiing and I really want to make a tres leche cake after recently discovering that it’s my favourite cake in the world.
If you have any interest in reading what went on in December, come on over here.
Some days you wake up and think, “Christ… another day?” and it is on these days that you should get up and do something you’ve always wanted to do. ENTER THE TRANSIT MUSEUM!
It’s absolutely wild that this was the first time I’ve ever been here, it is now definitely in my top three favourite museums of New York. It should really just be called the train museum though because that’s what it is. “Transit” might be the most boring word in the history of language. Also, how cool is it to have the museum itself be inside the abandoned Court Street station?
Can you even imagine riding around in that bus (above)? So f-ing elegant.
Photos of the now abandoned City Hall Station
Those photos (above) are of the now closed City Hall Station that I vow to visit one day. They do tours of the station every few years and I can only imagine how beautiful it would be to see in person. (Yes, I know that you can get glimpses of it if you stay on the downtown 6 train as it loops back around to become an uptown, but it’s not the same. I want to be out on that platform and ROAM damnit.)
On the ground floor of the museum, there are tons of photos and advertisements from old transit ads as well as old ticket booths and replica buses.
And the downstairs area is where it gets really fun.
Trains from different eras line both sides of the platforms and you can walk in and out of them.
If I can be honest here, it feels insane to be able to walk through history. You feel every era of each train. The coldness of the ones from the 70s, the decadence of the ones from the 20s, it’s unreal. The second best part of this place? The subway ads.
There aren’t enough ads these days that scare children into caring about safety.
I can’t recommend this museum enough. With kids, without kids, go high, go after the farmer’s market nearby. Just go. Such a good time.
One of my favourite things to do each year is to visit The Costume Institute inside The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Next to the rooftop exhibit, it’s my second favourite thing to do there. Here’s a description of the exhibit that’s been on display since September.
“Approximately 100 men’s and women’s ensembles by a diverse range of designers from the 1940s to the present are featured. Enclosed in scrimmed cases that represent three-dimensional “patches” of a quilt, they are organized into 12 sections that explore defining emotional qualities: Nostalgia, Belonging, Delight, Joy, Wonder, Affinity, Confidence, Strength, Desire, Assurance, Comfort, and Consciousness.”
— The Met
I think I stood here staring at it for five minutes
It’s a two part exhibit and the second part will be opening on May 7, 2022 and I absolutely cannot wait for it. Here were my favourites from part one.
Michael Kors, Autumn/Winter 2021-2022
“For his autumn/winter 2021–22 collection, Michael Kors celebrated the fortieth anniversary of his womenswear line with a presentation that included reinterpretations of designs from his past collections. This gold-sequined dress, paired here with a cashmere coat that has a coordinating sequin-embroidered lining, is a reprisal of a design he debuted in 2000 and a nod to one of Norman Norell’s favored combinations. The ensemble exemplifies Kors’s facility for executing opulent garments in a relaxed manner intended to offer the wearer a sense of confidence and ease.”
— The Met
Tom Ford, Spring/Summer 2018
“Tom Ford is well known for the overt sex appeal of his designs, which reveal and accentuate the body with fluid fabrics and body-conscious silhouettes. Ford’s spring/summer 2018 collection borrowed from the sharp lines of his men’s suits. This evening dress is constructed of tightly ruched black net wrapped over the broad, padded shoulders and around the upper arms, mimicking the square shape of a man’s jacket. From the waist to the hem, the net is loosely draped in sheer folds, revealing the hips and legs beneath. ”
— The Met
Donna Karan New York, 1985
“In Donna Karan’s first collection for her own label, she introduced a concept that became known as “Seven Easy Pieces.” This series of coordinated separates—bodysuits, trousers, skirts, and jackets—could be variously combined for different occasions and formed the foundation of a modular wardrobe. These fashions offered the wearer an alternative language of professional dress that was both commanding and feminine, while providing a sense of assurance due to their comfort, ease of coordination, and compatibility with work and personal life. ”
— The Met
Lavie by Claude Kameni, 2021
“In her designs, Claude Kameni uses fabrics often referred to as African wax prints. These vividly colored and densely patterned textiles, which have an enduring history of popular use in West and Central Africa, were originally inspired by batik, or wax-resist, cloth from Indonesia. The dynamism of Kameni’s work is indebted to the synergy she creates between these vibrant patterns, her strong silhouettes, and the body of the wearer. In this dress, the pattern is arranged to complement the curves of the figure and accentuate the flowing tiers of the skirt.”
— The Met
Bstroy, 2018
“The double-hooded sweatshirt displayed here features two neck holes with only one set of sleeves. Part of Bstroy’s “Sweet Screams” collection, it was presented on the runway on two models as if they were craving companionship. Intended for an individual wearer, the garment’s second hood effectively lays limp on the shoulder, suggesting a dystopian future of loneliness and isolation.”
— The Met
Fabrice, 1980s
“A piece of embroidery executed in his native Haiti and shared with him by his sister Brigitte inspired the first of Fabrice Simon’s beaded designs. Beaded garments based on embroidery patterns he drafted himself would become his signature. As in this dress, they often retain the lively and spontaneous quality of a drawing. Previous experience as a textile designer likely honed his ability to create patterns that harmonize with the body in the finished garment.”
— The Met
Rodarte, Autumn/Winter 2019−2020
“Musicals of Hollywood’s Golden Age provided inspiration for Rodarte’s autumn/winter 2019–20 collection, which featured designs that offer a fantastical counterpoint to the costumes brought to life on screen by women such as Ginger Rogers. In this dress, the designers created a sense of animation through their careful handling of the fabric. Dense, cascading ruffles enveloping the skirt spring gently in tandem with the wearer’s movement, giving way to open, petal-like layers at the shoulders that generate more buoyancy. ”
— The Met
Vaquera, Spring/Summer 2021
“Titled “Nothing Is Forever,” Vaquera’s spring/summer 2021 collection explored the potential of an “anything goes” approach to dressing in a post-pandemic world. The design trio—known for its campy sensibility and fashion-outsider status—played with the idea of innerwear as everyday outerwear, incorporating lingerie and bedroom details throughout the collection. This oversized boa boasts an exuberant jumble of jersey, tulle, and lace, as if the wearer wrapped themselves in lingerie-strewn bedding and unabashedly walked out the door.”
— The Met
You can see glimpses of the past exhibits if you’re at all interested…
And if you don’t find yourself in NYC and still want to take a look at some of the exhibit, then take a look at this video below or you can see all of the pieces on display over here.
The exhibition takes place inside the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
The exhibition takes place inside the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
As far as I know, the NYPL has never had an exhibit like this one before. It showcases literary pieces from their world-renowned research collections - from a draft of the Declaration of Independence to the original Winnie-the-Pooh and Friends and more. Here are the coolest things that I saw.
This is Charles Dickens’s desk, writing slope, lamp, desk calendar, and chair (below). Fun Fact: “In the fall of 1940, the mayor of New York City, Fiorello La Guardia, was invited (or took it upon himself; we don’t know which) to sit in Dickens’s chair and see how it would have felt to have been the great author. Whereupon he broke right through the caning in the seat, and nobody has ever been allowed to sit in Dickens’s chair since that date.”
Charles Dickens’s desk, writing slope, lamp, desk calendar, and chair, Treasures Exhibition, NYPL, 2021
This is the 1623 first folio of William Shakespeare’s works. It’s just insanity to be able to this see this person.
The first folio of William Shakespeare, Treasures Exhibition, NYPL, 2021
This is Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Kanga, and Eeyore. Pooh was purchased at Harrods department store in London and given by A. A. Milne to his son Christopher Robin on his first birthday, August 21, 1921. The rest of the toys were received as gifts by Christopher Robin between 1920 and 1928.
Winnie the Pooh and his friends, Treasures Exhibition, NYPL, 2021
This is Arthur Rackham’s design for the cover of the original Cinderella in pen and ink with watercolor from 1919.
Arthur Rackham’s design for the original cover of Cinderella, Treasures Exhibition, NYPL, 2021
And this is Charles Dickens’s paper knife from 1862. It is made of ivory, a cat’s paw and metal. Evidently he was a dog lover, but his daughter Mamie persuaded him to let her keep a cat, Williamina, who later gave birth to a litter of kittens; all but one - Bob - were given away. Mamie related that “the master’s cat,” so called by the household servants for his devotion to Dickens, would “follow him about the garden like a dog, and sit with him while he wrote,” and even snuff out candles with his paw in a bid for attention. After Bob died, his paw was fashioned into this paper knife. It is likely that the paper knife was not actively used, and that it was regarded as a decorative tribute to a beloved pet.
Charles Dickens’s cat paw paper knife, Treasures Exhibition, NYPL, 2021
You should definitely take some time before or after your visit to walk around the library itself because it’s breathtaking. It’s been around for over a hundred years and it’s a miracle that it’s still so well preserved. It’ll always blow my mind that it’s free to see.
The details, my god
Whatever you do, look up when you’re inside the NYPL
There are other incredible things to be seen (Virginia Woolf’s walking stick - the one that was found near the water where she killed herself, the Bill of Rights, Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence, etc.) so you really should go take a look for yourself.
Are you looking for things to do to celebrate the season in New York City? Look no further, baby. These are a few of my favourite things to do in December in NYC.
3. Eat at The Plaza Food Hall (specifically for their Lady M outpost). Kids might enjoy the Rawther Fancy Teas with Santa, an hour-long tea party in the Eloise Shop (dates/details through the link).
