Friday, May 18, 2012

a day in NYC

Very early Thursday morning, I began my trip out east for the annual cousins weekend! Since my flight was getting in before my cousin was off of work, I decided to take advantage of the day and go into NYC to wander around and explore. 

Now I have been to New York dozens of times, but a typical trip doesn't involve being downtown because our family lives just outside the city. Regardless, I felt confident that I could figure out how to get myself around (despite my reputation for always being lost!). Lucky for me, I was able to take the train right from JFK down to Penn Station, which put me practically in Times Square-perfect! 
After having a quick bite to eat and orientating myself with the area, I set out to see some sights. I was struck immediately by the different energy that you feel in NYC compared to other cities I have been too. Having spent nearly five years in Chicago, I don't consider myself a stranger to urban life, but Chicago really is so much more midwest and doesn't feel nearly as fast-paced as New York is, which is why so many people love to thrive off the energy that so obviously exists here.

As I entered into the center of Times Square, I stumbled upon a dance company that was having a performance for the day. It was a really interesting type of modern dance, using a sort of Middle Eastern type of music. The director of the company spoke, explaining that their company has a program that collaborates with a local senior citizen center to create performance with the young and the old. After that, they proceeded to put on an amazing show with both sets of dancers...it was so moving to see these elder women dancing and so clearly loving what they were doing. I was so happy that I got to watch them.
After watching them perform for awhile, I decided to listen to my inner fashion-geek and walk over to Parsons The New School for Design aka where all the Project Runway contestants slave away during a majority of their time on the show. From there, I continued through the Garment District and just a few blocks away I found Mood Fabrics! For those of you who watch the show, this is where the designers go to get all their fabric and other supplies for their projects-I knew I had to go in there! Up three floors, elevator doors opened, and there it was, in all it's glory with endless amounts of fabrics, buttons, trimmings, feathers, and sequins! It was really fun to see all the different people in the store, shopping around for different projects-there were definitely some characters there; people watching at its best. Of course, I couldn't resist buying a bit of fabric and I am hoping to make a fun summer skirt with my finds.
After a doing some more walking around and sipping on a tasty iced coffee, I headed back to Penn Station to catch the LIRR out to where my cousin lives. I was so excited to see her and work on some of the favors for the baby shower on Saturday! All in all, a really fun day....more pictures and details to come once I get back! Hope all of you have a fun weekend ahead :)



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