Bryant Park is Movin' On Up!

Has anyone seen the new Southwest porch in Bryant Park?

It's gorgeous! It's got porch swings, rocking chairs, cushioned benches, white lights overhead and outlets!

I've been watching them do construction for weeks and it was totally worth it. This is my new fave Bryant Park hangout.

It's perfect for a lazy afternoon blogging (yay!) or for an evening glass of wine with your honey (imbibed from an unmarked water bottle, of course).

Props to Bryant Park and Southwest for making this happen. Just one more reason why Bryant Park is the best park!

Dirty Baby

Today I saw a saw a young woman let the baby she was taking care of (it didn't seem like her daughter) sit on the floor of the subway car and roll around. Umm...gross, anyone?

I get all paranoid when I touch the pole in the subway, nevermind wanting my child to roll around on the floor!

What happened to NYC?

Did I move to Seattle without knowing it? Where is sunny June??

Fresh versus...stale?

Yesterday, while riding on the Q train downtown to Canal, there was a stereotypical empty vomit-covered seat in the corner. No one was sitting there until we stopped at 14th Street and a young couple walked on and made a beeline for the seat. The woman sitting across from it politely volunteered, "Oh, I wouldn't sit there. Look..." and pointed out the dirty trail of what could be anything covering the seat and surrounding floor. The young woman about to sit down then asked, "Is it fresh?"

None of us knew how to answer this question.

But more importantly, does it matter? It's still vomit. Only in New York.

An Authentic NYC Experience

I walk by this billboard in Times Square quite frequently, and it never fails to surprise me that a ubiquitous chain restaurant (which was founded in Atlanta, in case you were wondering) could in any way be a true representation of the "New York Experience".

I just. Don't. Get it.

Reason #38,601 why I love New York

Because even though there are 8 million people living here, I still manage to run into at least one friend on the subway every week :)

No, I won't come visit you in the purple part of Queens!

I discovered this really cool "heat" map for the subway system today. You enter in your address in New York, and it tells you by color how long it will take you to get anywhere else in the city. Very neat!

http://www.triptropnyc.com/?f=37th+st,+new+york,+ny&t=&z=13&lat=40.74257499754292&lng=-73.90485763549804

Reason #45,892 why I love New York:

Even the subway rats are ambitious :)

Wedding Reception Location!

Well, first off I should probably apologize to all of you for being so absent lately. Wedding planning has been eating up any and all of my spare time!

I have a few seconds (very few!), so I thought I'd share with you where the reception will be held:

We just put down the deposit and signed the contract on the Midtown Loft and Terrace yesterday! This gorgeous loft is located on 5th avenue and was originally waaay out of our budget, but after the fall of the economy and with some artful wheeling and dealing, we've been able to afford it!

Now everytime I walk down 5th avenue around there I get chills. I can't wait for October.

Signs of the Recession Part 3

I give to you: one photograph taken right near Grand Central of a line that extended out the door and nearly to the next corner for free KFC grilled chicken. 

For starters, a normal KFC meal is only about $5. I'm not saying that's nothing, but still (in my humble and empty-pocketed opinion) not enough to wait in a 45-minute line for. Not to mention, they were offering their gnarly-looking grilled chicken. This from a place called Kentucky FRIED Chicken.

I think this shows just how bad the economy is affecting people.