Animal Skulls, Texas, and Family (plus a secret garden)

A special thank you to the service people and families that give selflessly to our country on this Memorial Day and to those that made the ultimate sacrifice. To find out more about women in the military, click here.

Surprisingly, the objects in the title were all found in a recent outing to Chelsea (with a stop in the Lower East Side) for an "art crawl" of openings. While not every exhibit was worth a recommendation, we found some great work along the way.

Pictures are included below for you to draw your own conclusions about the pieces. I will not attempt to critique - only provide what I enjoyed about the shows.

Timetraces by Esteban Pastorino at Praxis International Art was a big hit with our group. As we walked the gallery, I noticed a distinct donut shop on an image and recognized it as a place I visited in BUDA, TX! My sister and her family currently live in this small town just outside of Austin, TX. I was quite surprised to see it on display in Chelsea.

Timetraces exhibit at Praxis International Art

Timetraces image of Buda, TX!

Shelley next to the marathon piece at Timetraces. Go Shelley!

We found these interesting pieces at BDG by 
Quentin Garel "GUEULE DE BOIS."

For mom... 

Finally, we found a hilarious and poignant collection by Jerry Meyer. It reminded me so much of my father that I couldn't stop laughing... also wine.

Baby brother, Anxious mother, Bitter pill, Not invited

Later that weekend, Slim and I were undertaking the arduous task of (MORE) furniture shopping, and stumbled across a delightful community garden celebrating their 40th anniversary! It is such a lovely space, and worth a stop by (and a donation) to keep it growing.

Small footpaths led guests to intimate seating secluded from the busy streets nearby.

I appreciate the graffiti behind the trees to keep the city feel.

For an extensive list of Chelsea galleries, click here.

QUEENS! I don't mean the band or any royalty...

After quite the hiatus, I felt compelled to update this blog with new findings in our current neighborhood, QUEENS! More specifically Astoria, Queens, New York (yes it is necessary to use all location descriptions).

Non-standard addresses is one of the many reasons Queens has a hard time fitting into the NYC borough scape but reserves it's hyperlocal feel. I recommend Queens-specific maps to traverse the largest borough or a local that can explain the difference between 31st Road, 31st Street, and 31st Avenue. We have farms (labeled as museums - much to the dismay of this country girl's heart), 100+ years old German-style beer halls, and the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world.

Slim and I moved to Astoria in 2010, and we have fallen deeper in love with our neighborhood every year since. So much so, that when we recently relocated apartments we only moved one and a half blocks from our original place!

We are in the process of purchasing furniture for our new apartment, and the search led us to a broader area than we typically frequent in Astoria with new favorites.

The first stop was a meal on Ditmars Blvd. - one must have a nice base before any large purchases, of course. After checking a few Yelp reviews, we headed over to Fatty's Cafe and had a great brunch, which included an entree and drink (mimosa, bloody Mary or limeade) for $15 per person. Overall, the meal was good, but the return trip is based on one entree option alone - MOFONGO!

I have been a bit obsessed with finding a legitimate version of this Puerto Rican staple since our trip there last year. The most alluring reason to eat mofongo is if you have a big night planned that you know will include more than a few adult beverages. And it's delicious.

This sweet little man joined us for the meal:

Fatty's Cafe Decor

After brunch, we strolled to Nook n' crannie that had a lovely collection of antiques and mid-century pieces. We found some interesting items but nothing that fit our current needs.

We hit several other shops that we hoped would have something of interest but no luck. On to next weekend - the search continues!

Overall not a great day for shopping, but we had good luck with food and drinks, since we found a little bar to sneak into during the downpour yesterday, Dominies. They serve Astoria's newest brewery, SingleCut Beersmiths, on tap, which my beer-making boyfriend appreciates.

I have a feeling a post with more details on that is in the near future. To finish, a little treasure I found on 31st Street near Ditmars... 

More about the dedication here

Adventures in Wonderland

After a safe return from my hometown(s) in Texas, I found a new spirit of journey for my adopted city. Slim and I have taken to a new adventure every weekend and found sensational surprises along the way.

We returned to McCarren Park for a delicious picnic with friends. We laid in the sun and felt the warmth of spring creeping into the city. We shared stories, champagne, scrumptious snacks and a delivery of free Red Bulls sent us right over the edge.

Last Saturday we found a plethora of complimentary events around the city and made an adventure of our own.

We began at the MTA Transit Museum located in the Grand Central Terminal to view a free display of "WHERE NEW YORK BEGAN: ARCHEOLOGY AT THE SOUTH FERRY TERMINAL." The 'museum' part of the exhibit was smaller the the 'gift shop' portion, but it was a good way to spend part of our afternoon.

We walked from the Grand Central Terminal to the Main Branch of the New York Public Library to view a free exhibit of Voltaire's Candide. The exhibit is kept in a temperature- controlled room just off to the left of the main entrance. Through the lightly colored wooden door, was a room the size of our slight space on the Upper East Side with added vaulted ceilings. The exhibit brings together the history of the piece to the modern interpretations in an abrupt but informative way.

After our premeditated historical excursions through Mid-Town, it was time for an undesigned trip into history. Various subway lines throughout the five boroughs have been closed or sealed off when new tracks made their way into the city. Most portals are no longer accessible to passengers.

I heard mention of a City Hall terminal no longer in use on our 6 train at the last stop on the south side of Manhattan. Tales were such of grand ceilings, chandeliers and pianos (?) in the turn-around for the southbound trains driving to the northbound tracks.

The catch: Once the last stop is made at the Brooklyn Bridge, the conductor announces the last stop for the train and asks everyone to please leave the train. The announcement was made and it was decision time. Do we chance it? Yes.

We were on the car with two older ladies that sat down once the train let off all other passengers. We assumed they were in on the adventure. The train doors shut, and we thought we were clear. Then another announcement from the conductor for everyone to clear the train. The doors opened and Slim was ready to bail. The old ladies ditched us.

We were sitting very still and our eyes opened wide trying not to make a sound so the conductor wouldn't notice us. The doors closed, and we began our slow creep into the darkness. Success!

Once we started, we were on the lookout for the marvels that lay ahead. The opulence of the past. We spotted the "City Hall' stop underground and clapped and cheered for our victory. It was dark, so we did not see much in the way of shiny chandeliers or intricate murals. We felt victorious, none the less.

The train stopped.

Slim and I began to get nervous. Our eyes widened and we sat in silence. I had not thought this plan all the way through. What if they parked the train in a holding station for the rest of the day. There was nothing outside our windows but black walls.

Crisis plan in the making: We would run through the cars until we got to the conductor's booth and call for help. If no one answered, we would climb into the tracks until we got back to the last stop and crawl out. We still weren't moving.

Then the train started towards the uptown track. We were so relieved! What an adventure! I highly recommend this to anyone, anytime. While we didn't see all the magnificence of the forgotten stop, we were excited to know we were in a place others haven't seen in a long time. A hidden gem.

(I tried to upload photos but no luck. I am not happy with blogspot uploading photos option, btw.)

Texas Bound!

I leave for Texas this Wednesday! It's my first return trip home since I moved to New York (seven months, if you're wondering), and I'll hit all the old haunts while I'm there.

The return trip home starts in San Antonio, then on to Italy, Denton, Waco and Austin. I leave out of San Antonio on March 20 to return to New York. I plan on hitting the Nx35 Flaming Lips show and stop by a few SXSW venues while in Austin.

I need a recharge of Texas in my heart!

I also finished my first week back at the Clinton Foundation, and it is absolutely the perfect place for me. The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund is doing a lot of great work, and I can see the direct impact it's having on people's lives. Please remember the earthquake victims and try to help as much as you can.

Snow Day

The moon is currently waxing gibbous. I'm not sure what that scientifically means, but I believe the current definition is "a lot of snow." The snow began last night as a mix of heavy slush, which turned the streets into puddles of brown slop. Now the sidewalks, roads and trees are brilliantly white.

Slim was called out of work for the weather, so we've stayed warm indoors. We are watching the snow and sharing a bottle of French red wine. Yum!

I'm having trouble uploading photos, but I'll update as soon as possible.