Love.
Ilse Jacobsen of Denmark rainboots.

photos: www.ilsejacobsen.dk

I love walking in NY for so many reasons. Bottom line, it's just a great walking town. But one of my favorite things about the City is street style.
There is just no end to the personal style to be found on the streets of New York. And it's not just about fashion (in fact, if you ask me, it's seldom about fashion at all - but that's another argument entirely). Here's the perfect example. This girl has it all. She is wearing the simplest outfit - the LBD, the simple black heels, the oversized bag slung behind her, the slightly messy "I just rolled out of bed" ballerina bun, the cigarette and iced tea. But what brings it all together is her attitude - her walk, her carriage, the cock of her wrist and backward tilt of her shoulders. She is graceful. She is confident. She is just a little arrogant. I love it.

I was pushing a stroller and trying to unwrap my camera strap from the handles as I attempted to shoot these pictures, so none are clear. But I couldn't resist.

Yes, we walked 20 blocks through Hell's Kitchen for this.
Q was sleeping furiously by the time we got there.
Mike lives for his semi-annual Gray's outing. Sure, he's been a sous chef and culinary director for some of the finest restaurants in Denver and Vail, but that doesn't in any way diminish his appreciation of a fine hotdog.
The heatwave had reestablished itself on our final morning and NY was back to its traditional haze of humidity.
Do you love that zippers sign? This kind of place is still alive and well in the City.
You've gotta love NY. There is simply no place like it.
Q, freshly awakened and not entirely sure she's happy about it.
I'm sorry, but "hot doggery" is a brilliant phrase.
Q experiencing her first Papaya drink (Gray's claims all manner of restorative and rejuvenatory properties in association with this drink. Who knows? But it sure hits the spot on a sultry day.)

(PS - as my swine-flu delirium continues, I find great happiness in dreaming back through our NY photos. I treasure my time in NY so terribly much more now than I ever did when I lived there. One of those little ironies of life.)

Belatedly posting some words to go with these pictures...we all three came down with swine flu today (did you know they have a 12-minute test to see if you have it?) so I'm not at my most productive ;) Apparently it's spreading pretty quickly here in CO now that schools are in session. Sigh. On the plus side, we now won't have to spend the winter worrying when we'll get it.

In any case, this is Muguet & Q when they first met....both a little wary.
Typically, Q was the first to reach out and make contact. That's her personality. Here, she is trying to hold M's hand. M is thinking, "Hmmmmm....I just don't know you that well!"
This is such a lovely playground, and such a lovely spot in general!


Luckily, Muguet had a ball along with her, and it was that ball that helped their friendship along. Q is always at her best when there's a ballgame afoot.
Me and Anne enjoying the weather.

Muguet getting in on the action.

Q is actually younger than Muguet, but she's kind of freakishly tall. Though obviously she did not get this from me genetically, we do have that in common, Q & I!
Look how perfectly in sync they are by this time! I love it.


This was so cute: Muguet is picking a flower for Q.
A little get-together before parting.

Q gets a hug from Anne. ..

...and the friendship is sealed with a OX between the girls! This was unprompted. How simply adorable are they?

Sneak peek....Blog worlds collide!

I am still wading through thousands (literally) of photos from Q's birthday week in Manhattan and Woodstock, but I couldn't wait any longer to reveal that we were delighted to be able to meet up with Anne and Muguet of Muguet Everyday.

Our stay in the City was shortened by some bad travel delays, so we were unable to spend the time we had hoped for with some other friends in NYC, but A & M were sweet enough to come down to the southwest corner of the park on our last morning (just a few blocks from our hotel), allowing Q & Muguet a good, solid morning of playing and bonding. I have lots of photos and looking forward to posting more...maybe tomorrow!

When we returned from Q's big birthday week in New York, there was yet another birthday package waiting on our doorstep...
...this one from our dear friend Yoli of Musings, who has a delicious sense of style...

...and always manages to pick just the right thing for Q, who looks brilliant in rich colors. Thank you, Yoli, once again your generosity warms our hearts. ox

The American Museum of Natural History.