Fashion's Night Out

Friday, September 10, 2010 at 6pm began New York City's second annual Fashion's Night Out - and what a night! Two other friends and I started our evening in SoHo (technically JUST outside the bounds of the historic district of SoHo) at Cafe Noir on Thompson and Grand - one of my favorite little bars (and usually pretty international in clientele - always fun).

We then went wandering the cobblestone streets of SoHo proper, which were TEEMING with others who wanted to see and be seen. I did my best to appear as bright-lights-big-city as possible (I got my hair highlighted and done that day!), but I was no match for the uber hip and young. Hahahahaha.

*Sigh.*

It's ok - here you can see I'm smiling ear-to-ear nonetheless, posing in front of the Chanel store on Spring and Mercer Streets.

And here's my good friend Inessa: she's a lot better at dressing up and looking the part of a fashionista (could be because she's six feet tall, Russian and stunning - grrrrr):

Our other friend requested to be cropped out of the photo, so she will remain anonymous. :)

We made our way over to Wooster and Prince to visit with another friend who was hawking her awesome wares on the street (Pillows for the People). She was too pooped to party, though, so the rest of us popped into the Issey Miyake store for some free bubbly and a peek at their...er..."crinkly" line. We found it to be a bit too...crinkly. But the bubbly was nice.

By then, we had done about as much wandering and seeing and being seen as we needed to, so we headed back to the East Village (the BEST place in New York City to be!) for a bite to eat and a bit to drink before calling it a night.

All in all, a pretty decent evening, and I'd say a must-do again next year!

...New York City, Let Me Count the Ways

So for what seems like the millionth (consecutive) time this summer, I walked out of my apartment into miserable heat and humidity - non-stop 90 degree temps...for WEEKS on end...blah.

(That last sentence should have ended with several exclamation points, but the weather sapped me of the energy needed to make that punctuation effort.)

This is the worst summer I've experienced in terms of temperature, because there has been almost no reprieve. And so this morning, once again, I was beading sweat after walking just half a block to the bus stop. Which means, once again, I started my work day off looking like a drowned rat - and feeling very, very, very irritable.

But!

This is actually not a post about my sweat and misery (how boring! - not to mention a bit disgusting...) but about my need to "turn that frown upside down" (omg, can't believe I just used that phrase) so to speak - instead of bitching about NYC and this summer heat, how about I make a list of the top ten things I love about New York?!

Yeah, every once in a while I can surprise... :)

So here we go (and this is on the fly).

1. No American city has more vegan restaurants (this is true) - and no neighborhood in the city has more than the East Village (as far as I can tell).

2. And that's why I love Alphabet City (my 'hood!).

3. I've met some really cool people here - that I couldn't have met anywhere else (you know who you are...).

4. Out of town friends will visit you.

5. It's easy to get to your out of town friends (especially if they live in Europe).

6. The nonprofit sector is second to none - especially if your politics are progressive.

7. My legs are often my mode of transportation.

8. If you need something, you can find it.

9. If you need something at 4:30am - you can find it.

10. Nothing beats having drinks outdoors on balmy summer evenings.

And with that...I think it's time to grab a drink! :)