I'm just recovering from my long weekend in New York!! Sharifa and I planned this last minute trip with the main purpose of seeing The Color Purple live on Broadway - it was absolutely AMAZING. But with 3 full days in New York and only 3 hours planned out, we were left with way too much time on our hands. What better way to pass time in New York than shopping!
Day 1 - Saturday we hopped off the plane, dropped our things off at the Hilton on Avenue of the Americas (a very nice hotel with a wonderful staff) and immediately headed to 5th Avenue. Along the way we detoured past the infamous 80+ foot tall Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and the replica of the Swarovski crystal topper...
...giggle uncontrollably as we walked behind this group of girls - the first one had a permanent "pants too little" wedgie, the second with those too tight leggings on (it looked worse when she walked) and the third who was a DO since she did a good job of pulling off a plaid coat with that cute handbag...
...Then we zig-zagged our way through all the shops, spending the most time trying on wide belts in Kenneth Cole (one of my favorite stores) and cute jackets in French Connection. At The New York Look I was convinced to try on a red satin party dress and the sales people got a little carried away bringing more stuff for me to try on.
The red dress was a bit much, the black one (by Cynthia Steffe) was pretty, but not quite what I was looking for... so we moved on. We stopped by Tristan & America and went into a jacket frenzy! Sharifa found a cute velvet blazer in chocolate brown and this was my prized purchase, a soft leather blazer in camel on sale for over half off:
A few hours later we were tired but still determined to find Sharifa a nice scarf and gloves set so we took a taxi to the Macy's at Herald Square where she bought a really cute baby blue set by Calvin Klein on sale for 20% off.
We made it back to the hotel that evening and passed out immediately. Around 10:30 we woke up starving so I pulled out my trusty Pocket PC Phone (which doubles as super-portable laptop) and checked Citysearch for late-night pizza places. We decided to try Pizza Notte since it was only 2 blocks away and they were still doing a 2-for-1 martini special. We shared a margherita pizza with goat cheese and tomatoes and it was THE BOMB! The atmosphere was cool and the music was nice - a great choice overall.
Day 2 - Sunday we took the D Train to 125th in Harlem and ate an early lunch at the Manna's next to the KFC. I got hooked on that place years ago and its the one place I have to visit every time I'm in NYC. After loading up on fried chicken, macaroni and cheese we headed up the street, past the historic Apollo Theatre...
...to the best H&M store in the US (on 125th) and the infamous Carol's Daughter store. I bought the Shea Souffle in Ecstasy and Ocean. It feels and smells so amazing. I have used it everyday since I bought it!
After the musical we took the subway to Justin's and enjoyed the food drinks and late Sunday night gospel music. We turned in early to make sure we were well rested for Monday morning - the real shopping test.
Day 3 - We started out at Macy's again, since we didn't have much time to look around Saturday. This wasn't a great day since they were rearranging everything from the weekend shopping rush. The store was in disarray and it was hard to find anything. No luck for either of us - I was trying to find a pair of slouchy boots and Sharifa was looking for a specific shoe by Charles David (which I don't believe really exists beyond the little piece of paper she carries in her purse).
We gave up on Macy's, took the train toward the Soho an Tribeca areas and decided to walk the streets and just play it by ear - that was the best decision yet. We took Houston street to Broadway and made a left - it was like heaven... just a bit more expensive than I imagined. We walked in and out of all kinds of boutiques - shoes, hats, clothing... At Broome Street we were standing on a sidewalk trying to decide which way to go and I saw a SALE sign across the street in the window of PALMA. I just wanted to get out of the cold, but this small boutique became our hangout for the next hour.
I found a really cute gray dress on sale by BwithG and liked the way it fit. The owner Lenny wanted Sharifa to try on a classy Black Halo dress but she was being lazy so I got stuck with it since I was already in the dressing room. It was love at first sight - I was instantly sold... well, until I saw the price tag. After 2 hours of contemplation and a consult with "the man" I was given the OK. I called the store and adopted my newest prized possession - the Black Halo Jackie O Dress.
You would think after all that shopping I would be tired of it - but I was right back online this week and ran across the item(s) of the day - a cashmere/wool sweater coat and skinny cord pants by Vince. I absolutely love that sweater, which is sold out in the color shown. Haven't graduated to the skinny pants look, but I love it on other people!
Till next time...
