Holy Snowflakes!

It's hard to capture with my iPhone, but these are the largest snowflakes I've seen in some time.

Love New York City in a snowstorm -- it's somehow quieter and more peaceful, even though life hustles and bustles along as usual.

We Promise: No Lost Underwear!

First off, let me apologize profusely for my extended blog absence. I have been a very bad blogger. Well, that's not exactly accurate. I have actually been a very good blogger as Miss-turned-Mrs. Star over at Weddingbee. Blogging 3-4 times a week for a site with such a large readership has been an amazing experience, but it's also a lot of pressure and very time-consuming. Hence, my big, gaping absence way over here at my modest little New York blog :)

We're married now, though (hooray!) and the wedding planning void is begging to be filled. I have time to get back to exploring this amazing city that I am so lucky to live in, and to look for funny, interesting, or random things in shop windows or stores that don't sell big, white dresses.

On my way home from an interview on the Upper East Side the other night, I couldn't help but giggle when I saw this cleaner's sign outside:

I've gotta be honest, the chuckle it gave me would be enough to get me in there if I lived in the neighborhood and needed some washing done! I'm all for advertisement that brightens my day.

I promise to stop neglecting my New York City blog from here on out, so stick with me, ladies and gents. I haven't shown you our new digs yet (yes, we are crazy and decided to move a month before the wedding!), and I'm getting up the nerve to blog about why we left our old place.

For now, I'll sign off, as one recent bride who really does love New York:

Peek-a-boo

This just tickled my funny bone today:

I guess that makes me immature ;)

NYC apartments: Jetsons Style

I came across this very interestingly-designed apartment building on my way home from work tonight. As I was walking on 71st street between 2nd and 3rd, I looked up and saw one building that was quite different from all the rest .

It kind've looks like something that belongs in a space city. I wonder how the neighbors felt about this remarkably different building being constructed on their block...

Signs of the Recession Part 1

I've decided to start a little ongoing series entitled, "Signs of the Recession" because I've encountered many images that so perfectly capture the spirit of the times. For now, I'll start with actual signage, but I may branch out later to other images, so stay tuned.

To start with, I've chosen this quite poorly-photographed, but perfectly exemplary image you see here.

This was a sign posted on the outside of a dry cleaning establishment on E 72nd st and it reads, "If you are unemployed and need an outfit cleaned for an interview, we will do it free of charge." 

I thought this was both awfully magnamimous and also such a powerful example of how deeply the troubles of the economy are hurting the city. It really made me stop and think and so I was compelled to share it with all of you. Hopefully, you're all doing okay and are gainfully employed, but for those of you who are on the job interview circuit, this place is on 72nd street between 1st and 2nd.

How Typical!

I had such a typical day in the life of Kate today. So typical, that it struck me as particularly typical. And so, of course, I thought that I would share.

My day began with a morning trip the the UES to play with two little kids for a few hours. Not a bad way to make a few bucks. Then, I hopped on the subway to make an appearance at Ripley-Grier (my second home) for an audition. Afterwards, I made a stop at the Midtown Library to check out some books, which is the easiest way to keep an avid reader entertained for free. Happily for me, my library is on the same block as Jack's 99 cent store, which is just about the only place within my budget these days, and I love shopping there because you never know what amazing deals you can find for a dollar. Some household supplies, some wedding craft stuff, even sometimes some brand-name food...all in all, I managed to spend $13, which is a pretty good haul for a dollar store.

So let's see: nannying, an audition, free entertainment, and a trip to the dollar store. Sounds like a pretty typical day in my life, and probably a pretty typical day in the life of many young actors. And a good one, at that.

UES thrift adventure

Today I spent a good chunk of my morning  scouring the Upper East Side for elements of my wedding centerpieces. It sounds terribly tacky, but you’ll just have to go with me on this one and trust me that it’s not for now, because I’m not giving up what my centerpieces are going to be.

Anyways, after checking out the internet for where the best places to head were, I found many out-of-date locations and a bunch of not-so-helpful reviews of the places. I mean, “it’s dimly lit” is basically a given in any thrift store I can afford to shop in, and “the aisles are close together” doesn’t really tell me if this place is stuffed with just ratty clothes or if it has household wares, which is where my interests were.

So here I have for you by far not a comprehensive list, I’m sure, but a pretty decently-sized one, along with updated addresses and my personal take on each one.

I have only listed the block that each one is on because A. I didn’t pay much attention to the specific numbers and B. I found from looking them up online that the numbers weren’t always particularly helpful when planning my trip, especially when the store was on an avenue.

I started off my trip by taking the 5 up to the 86^th street stop. My first drop-in was:

GOODWILL on 2nd ave btw 88th/89th on the east side (which I found online named something like “Stuyvesant Square Thrift,” which has clearly been bought out.

There were some really cute vintage dresses and skirts here, tucked in with a lot of crap. Of course, you have to be willing to get that trademark “Goodwill Scent” out of anything you buy. They had some cute shoes, too, but very little in the way of any quality home furnishings. It was actually really roomy inside, considering it was a store located in Manhattan, but I left empty-handed.

I walked down 2nd ave to:

COUNCIL THRIFT on 84th st btw 2nd/3rd (much closer to 2nd) on the downtown side

This was the real gem of the day, as far as what I was looking for. There were just a few racks of clothing, but nothing too spectactular. Tucked away in the corner, though, was a large collection of really unique home furnishings. And as I was paying, I noticed a few more items on a shelf behind the register that I wanted. As it turns out, everything on that shelf is always 50% off. Score. I wouldn’t come here looking for clothes or shoes and any large furniture, but for small trinkets and such, this was the place to be.

After that, I walked down to:

OUT OF THE CLOSET on 81st st btw 2nd/3rd (much closer to 2nd) on the uptown side

I didn't even go into this store. It was so upscale that I was too intimidated to go inside. It was like one of those Gucci or other some such nonsense stores on Madison that I would never shop at, even if I had the money. Plus, I could see from the street that there was only clothing. Expensive clothing.

On my way down 3rd ave, I ran into an awesome thrifting block where I went into:

MEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING THRIFT SHOP on 3rd ave btw 82nd/81st (on the west side)

This place didn't even feel like a thrift store, it was so nice. I was kind've annoyed because a cranky older woman made me check my shopping bag at the front. I'm always insulted at the implication that I would steal. And from a thrift store, no less. A charity thrift store. But I did pick up a nice item because they had a decent selection of home goods. They had some cute vintage little girls' clothing, too. The adult clothing was kind've slim pickings, but they did have some cute shoes.

Then I ran just a few doors down to:

ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION THRIFT SHOP on 3rd ave btw 82nd/81st (on the west side, just downtown of MSK)

If I had more money, this would have been my favorite stop of the day. Things weren't particularly cheap here, but almost everything was fun to look at. They had vintage hats and shoes that were to die for and a decent bunch of home goods, to boot. I want to go back to this place with some cash to spend on myself or for a theatre company.

My final stop was just a few blocks further downtown at:

HOUSING WORKS THRIFT STORE on 84th st btw 2nd/3rd (on the downtown side)

I love the cause here: helping people who are living with HIV get back on their feet. The store was really nice, too. It wasn't too crowded with things and it had a very SOHO feel to the place. That said, they didn't have all that much for sale. The stuff I did see was nice and they had a few pairs of killer shoes that weren't my size, but there was hardly anything as far as household goods. There was a decent-looking selection of books in the back, though.

And that concludes my whirlwind UES thrift store adventure. Don't linger in any one place too long, or you won't make it to all six, that's for sure!

To answer your question: no, today was not the day to be thrifting. The weather sucked. And I nearly drowned. But I had fun anyway.

What recession??

Today I had the great misfortune of being forced into entering Bloomingdale's uptown.

Forced, you ask? Yes, forced. 

Dan got a $50 Bloomie's gift card from work this week and we couldn't find anything for our apartment (besides a single candlestick) that was cheap enough to get and Dan didn't fit into any of the men's clothes there. So he decided to let me get a new strapless bra with the money because I've been desperately wanting to throw out my old dingy one and we could at least afford to get a bra with the card.

So I walked into what is one of my versions of hell (designer-clad daddy's girls abounded) and was able to successfully obtain the much-sought after bra.

What really struck me was the shoe department, though. I couldn't help but take a picture as the aisles and aisles of $1000 designer shoes were being gobbled up by swarms of the wealthy and all I could think of was, what recession??