Blue Ribbon

While I was in New York, I went to the MOMA Design Store. Pretty much a given, right? Well, what I didn't realize was that right next door was the store for the Museum of Arts and Design.

They had a wonderful gift shop - small, yes, but everything was carefully selected. Handmade objects by independent artists prevailed - scarves, jewelry, pottery, etc. And I was very excited to find that they stocked ribbon by textile artist Laura Foster Nicholson, whom my mom discovered on a day trip up to the Milwaukee Museum of Art to see the Biedermeier show, which I was very sad to miss.

I mean, this ribbon is seriously gorgeous. I just want to wrap my whole body in this Trees ribbon:


Or how about these chairs?


I love the dandelions, too:


Finally, for all of you knitters:


Best of all, everything is 50% off until Feb. 28th! So get thee to LFN Textiles.

I Heart NY, part deux

More things I love about New York:

My breakfast yesterday, at the most fabulous cafe outside of Vienna. Sorry, Julius Meinl...you'll have to console yourself with second best! The gugelhopf (ginger cake) melted in my mouth, and the hot cocoa...while not Angelina...was very good.


This gorgeous fabric by Dagobert Peche. Find it at the Neue Galerie on one of Josef Hoffman's neoclassical chairs. If you haven't been yet, please go to this tiny gem of a museum - if only for the Klimts and the drool-worthy design shop! It's called Schwalbenschwanz (butterfly). This is the best image I could find of it. You can buy this skirt and other Schwalbenschwanz items at this German design shop.

Takashimaya. I mean, hello? They carry Santa Maria Novella! Yeah, I know, you can get it at Eluxury now but I was still excited. Ultra-refined, ultra-beautiful everything. The tea room's great too. I had a limited number of stores I had time to go to yesterday, but I made sure I got there, because it's definitely an all-time fave. Bendel's was disappointing in comparison. Despite the speedo-clad, blonde-wigged male models gyrating in the window for some MAC Barbie promotion.


My new lace earrings and Muji notebooks from the Moma Design Store. Awful picture, sorry.



Van Dyck's characteristic elegant, tapered hands - you just know those sitters had short, stubby fingers! See them several times over at my favorite American museum, the Frick Collection.


The gorgeous shawl of the Comtesse Daru, by Jacques-Louis David. The ultimate Neoclassical ladies' accessory. Unfortunately the color's a bit off - the green is really much more fresh and vibrant. The comtesse also lives at the Frick.


This symphony in black and white in the window at Calypso last night.

I hate...the horrible taxi drivers who, if you can even find one, ask you where you're going and zoom off if it's not to their liking.