Spot the handbag

At first glance it appears that Yayoi Kusama herself is standing in the window of the Louis Vuitton on 5th for some kind of David Blaine style publicity stunt. But this is genuinely an impeccable wax work of the Artist accompanied by the famous dot paintings that wallpaper the entire building creating a one-off landmark on the Avenue. Perhaps the actual accessories as a result of this collaboration do not quite live up to the impact of the magnificent window display but if you love polka dots then this is perfect!  

Can't get enough of...

STARDUST DINER!!!!! I am loving that our local restaurant is gradually becoming this spectacular singing diner where every meal is a new experience. On this occasion we went with our friend Nakis who is also a Kingston student staying in the big apple for just 5 days and where better to show him the heart of Broadway than here?! This time round we had an eclectic mix of songs ranging from Lionel Richie to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers to the Wizard of Oz. Nakis was the lucky boy who was chosen to be sang to by our waitress which made his night.

Forever 21!

Finally, the day we have all been waiting for...Lauren Golding turns 21 and we went all out with the celebrations! We kicked off the day with a surprise champagne breakfast on the roof complete with red velvet cupcakes from Sprinkles, easily a key rival to Magnolia's Bakery. We even baked our own Betty Crocker chocolate fudge brownie which went down a treat. Then, what better day to spend your 21st birthday in New York than rowing on the lake in Central Park. We took a picnic of Strawberries and nibbles to accompany us on the water...heaven! A nap in the park set us up perfectly for an even over in Williamsburg where we had dinner on the roof top of Berry Park bar. 
The following week at work we threw a lil surprise gathering for Lauren for a spot of prosecco  and cake.

Rockaway Beach with Pals

Haven't been able to blog in quite a while as I have had by two best pals here to visit me and we have had a jam packed itinerary! As Polly and Ange are total beach babes we decided to venture out to Rockaway Beach to see what it has to offer. As you can see from the photos it isn't the most beautiful beach with swarms of gigantic seagulls and NYPD patrollers at every turn but the sun was shining and we played hours of bat and ball, probably the only exercise I will get out here!

May each step you take be sweet

In so many words, Dylan's Candy is the place to buy your sugar in NY!

Don't yawn at the yarn

Today I attended the Spinexpo yarn show on W18th with my lovely Banana team. We had to go attend appointments with yarn mills mostly from China to select the best yarns for next season. My terminology has expanded beyond belief and if you need to know about worsted yarns. pilling, touch, gauges, yak, mohair and racoon then I'm your girl! I have learnt a lot about costing and becoming familiar to our customer and her expectations from the company. Also had access to some great new stitches and innovation for the coming seasons. Im looking forward to seeing how we can develop some stitch ideas into designs at Banana...

Roman holiday

If anyones face can be blown to the size of a screen big enough to beam across Bryant Park and still look exquisite it is Audrey Hepburn. Every Monday night during the Summer Bryant Park is host of an outdoor movie screening where thousands fit into the park and bring picnics and drink to enjoy the movie. The park starts to fill up from 5pm which meant us finding seats further back as we headed over after finishing work. As soon as the sun drops, the movie starts, romantic film in a true American setting. Another moment where we felt like we were starring in our own movie!

Halfway weekend... :(

We were very sad this weekend when we realised that it was our half way point in our time out here, we never ever want to leave and desperately want to make the most of the second half of our trip and compete our bucket list. On Friday night (after getting our friday afternoon frozen ice-cream) we headed over to williamsburg for Mexican and drinks. La Esquina was recommended to us by a colleague as we wanted to try out fish tacos at a new venue and we also sampled chilli tequila and pineapple shots which were delicious. We sat next to a scrap heap of televisions in the garden with a blazing fire looping which was very cool but attracted an influx of mosquitos which apparently thought mine and Lauren's legs were very juicy. Next time- wear insect repellent!

I spent Saturday having a cool, relaxing gallery day starting at the Neue Gallery uptown to see works by Klimt and Egon Schiele. This gallery was very quaint and apart from seeing the beautiful golden Adele Bloch-Bauer I was quite keen to move on and get lost at the Met. I spent a lot of time at the Africa exhibit and also really loved all the Degas ballet sculptures for their imperfections and exaggerated poses. At every turn you see another famous piece, many of which I studied during college and never thought I would see in real life- Jackson Pollock, Rothko, Barbara Hepworth, Yves Tanguy, Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Lichenstein...........................................

We also decided it was about time we went to the "movies" and eat popcorn just because....We went to see Savages with Blake Lively, I'm not sure if it is out in the UK yet but just a heads up for reference I would say don't bother! Unless you want to learn how to look glamous and emotionless when kidnapped by the Cartel as Lively does then it might be worth a miss.