Manganaro

On Monday Doug headed off by himself to find some good food. He always researches restaurants before we go anywhere and has it all planned ahead of time. He was determined to find this Italian deli that was featured on one of Anthony Bourdains shows. Tony Bourdain insisted that Manganaros was the real thing - authentic, home cooked Italian food, a forgotten treasure in Hell's Kitchen. I have to say I love the store front and the chalk board out front (Doug managed to get these pictures before the owner ran outside an shouted at him for taking photos!) . . . . .

Above - a couple more store front pictures - I can't get enough of vintage store fronts in NY. Here's a link to previous posts on New York store fronts(these are some of my fave posts)

Inspiration

I'm not a good photographer, I leave that up to Doug, but I really like this picture I took on Sunday night at Pastis in the Meatpacking District. This is one of my fave restaurants. Apart from the absolutely excellent french menu and wine list the decor is stunning. Every surface has amazing texture and patina - the mirrors, the glass, the tin ceilings, the worn wood and the absolutely brilliant mosaic floors. It was quite dark when I took this picture with my iPhone - I think it's quite good - even if it is blurry!

Inspiration

I took pictures of these chairs at French Roast on West 11th. I love this style of chair - so reminiscent of the cafe chairs that you see on the sidewalks in Paris. And the woven seats are such great colours. I thought you might love them too. I like this cafe we have had many breakfasts here - it's on a good people watching corner.

Found

Here are a few more pictures from the street market in Greenwich Village. I love how narrow the streets are. A perfect setting for a Saturday market.

Back home

Hello everyone! I've missed you. What a whirlwind of a week we had in New York at the Stationery Show. Got back late last night (so this is just a quicky post!) It was so exciting to meet so many of my online and industry friends - I was amazed how many people I knew. And all the fabulous cards and paper products - I could go on and on(and I might in the next few days!) New York was, well, New York! I have to say that this was the most frenetic I've ever seen the city - more people than I ever remember seeing before. It's always such a culture shock to wake up in Manhattan on the first day of a New York trip - but I find my groove pretty quickly. We started our first morning with breakfast in Greenwich Village and then found ourselves surrounded by market stalls as far as the eye could see. Most of the narrow streets of the village were closed to traffic and vendors displayed their art, crafts and antiques. One of the best street markets I've ever been to. There was music and food, the sun was shining and the people watching was great. We had fun and Doug took lots of pictures . . . .

Managed to pick up one of these cute street fair posters for the studio!

Just loved this tiny window display(above) in an apartment window - and this cute little vintage enamel dish which I got for just $4.

We seem to have an awful lot of pictures of me Tweeting on street corners ;-)

This quilt is made of a patchwork of vintage bark cloth. The vendor said that it used to be a sales man's sample but I'm not so sure of that - it was very impressive!

I'll have lots more pictures and details for you in the next couple of days(just need to catch up on my sleep!)