Hello Sunshine!!

How cute is this happy print by Yoke?! I'm considering purchasing it to hang above Fiona's crib. What a lovely little way to be greeted upon waking. It reminds of the song 'You are my sunshine...My only sunshine...'

Documenting the End? - Neighborhood Walk

Last week was gorgeous weather-wise here in New York City. Fiona and I were out and about prowling the streets of Manhattan Valley quite a bit. As part of 'Documenting the end?' I took some pictures of our neighborhood while we were out and about. The one above is of West End Avenue looking downtown from the low 100s. I love looking down the avenues of Manhattan. It gives you such an overwhelming sense of the scale of the city, both vertically and horizontally.

Classy right? Posing Fiona in front of an NYC garbage can and the Village Voice newspaper box. But I want to remember the little things that we see everyday as well as the big things!

This fabulous townhouse is right nearby our apartment building. I love the bones of this house, and the color adds something extra special to the house and the street.

West End Avenue again, this time at dusk...

Claire Desjardins

I am completely taken by the work of artist Claire Desjardins after noticing a few of her paintings for sale at Anthropologie.com the other day. Her play on colors and shapes is so vibrant and interesting. So inspiring and exciting.

Since, sadly, I can't afford the real thing right now, I want to buy one of her prints via Saatchi Online. That is as soon as I can decide which one I want! Paintings like this inspire me to paint... Maybe I need to dust off my brushes!

The New York City Challenge and Blogging as a Virtual Playground

As part of 'Documenting the End?', I have decided to challenge myself to go on two specific New York City adventures weekly. Ideally I will go to one museum or cultural location, and one design store or related location. One will allow me to be inspired by all the unparalleled art and culture this city has to offer and the other will allow me to catalogue all the amazing design resources here so I can reference them in the future. I can't wait! The first arts and culture post will be about our trip to the Children's Museum of the Arts in Soho.

I will also be practicing my camera skills along the way so hopefully I will begin to improve my photos for this blog. It's been a long time since I paid more attention to the art of photography rather than using it purely as a documentation tool. I took a couple photography classes while in high school using my parents old Nikon film DSL and developed my film in a dark room! How OLD SCHOOL. Since then, I haven't paid all that much attention to the art of photography. But I plan to change that. I've always coveted a Digital DSL and if I continue to post regular blog entries and improve my skills with my current Cannon Digital point and shoot camera and IPhone, I may be able to finally justify spending the money on one. I already have Photoshop and Illustrator so I will be able to tool around with those programs as well.

Blogging is really becoming a great motivator for me to finally explore many of the subjects that I love in more depth and learn new skills. Blogging as a Virtual Playgroud. Yay!

'Wee Arts' at The Children's Museum of the Arts

Fiona and I met another Mom and her 17 month old daughter yesterday at the CMA for their Wee Arts Morning Drop-in session for kids ages 10 months to 5 years. Fiona is 10 months today so I figured why not give it a try since Fiona has been cruising around like a champ and becoming quite the explorer around the house.

I have a couple of friends that work at the CMA and they have been raving about the newly opened location since it debuted last fall and I can see why. With tons of windows and natural light streaming in, the space is open and bright, providing a blank canvas for kids to create and explore. The Wee Arts area is a special area of the museum just for kids 5 and under. There was a clay station, a magnet station, paint stations and a block play area. We could freely move around to the different stations for the first 45 minutes of the session, with CMA employees assisting. Fiona played with clay for the first time, and didn't even try to put it in her mouth! Very impressive. Is the oral exploration phase ending?

After 45 minutes of free play at the different stations, one of the CMA employees played guitar and sang songs, played drums with the kids, and then read them a story. And after class, we were invited to go play in their ball room (Fiona and I just watched everyone play, since she is still wobbly on her feet and there were a lot of kids). For $22 per family, I think you really get your money's worth. And Drop in classes are my favorite type of class these days! No pressure.

Documenting the End?

I have lived in New York for over 7 years now. I have spent much of my adult life here. I met my husband here 7 years ago. I had my daughter here last year. However, my time here may be nearing its end. Our family's future path may take us to a different place. It is uncertain if we will stay here or not. Therefore, I am starting a little project to document, for myself and for my daughter Fiona, New York as it exists to me right now. All the things that speak to me in this city, and in particular, in our neighborhood of Manhattan Valley (the UPPER Upper West Side), both good and bad. The city is such a strong presence when you live here. And I want to remember it well for it has really given me so much. And I have gone through so much here. I look forward to our new adventures as a family but will always remember New York if we leave it.

The picture above is of the Art Deco Master Building at Riverside and 103rd Street taken from within Riverside park at dusk in early February of this year. The building's shape always catches my eye and incites happy memories since some of our good friends live there as well as it was where we rented an apartment for our parents to stay when Fiona was born last year.