New York City

Living in Arkansas is great but every now and then I need an escape. It seems to be happening more and more often the longer I live in America but that's another story entirely. My sisters and I have dreamed of taking a sister trip to New York City our whole lives and when we planned it for Martha's 25th birthday, somehow an entire year slipped by before we actually got around to planning it. So here's to 26, Martha! Plus it was her spring break and when you're studying things like gastroesophegeal reflux disorder and every type of anemia known to humankind, you need a good break. So off to NYC we went (sans Julie, which is also another story entirely). A couple of cups of Starbucks, one emergency landing, and a long layover later (due to the aforementioned landing), we arrived at our hipster hostel in Brooklyn which turned out to be a really good spot for us.Two invaluable tips for traveling well but on the cheap: Lonely Planet and Rick Steves (although he only does Europe). And we really loved Brooklyn. So many places that were "us" like here, here, and here.

We immediately set off for Manhattan and free Friday nights at the Museum of Modern Art. Where we saw one of the weirdest art exhibitions I have ever seen in my life. Martha found it fascinating and I found it...lacking. Yes, the idea was intriguing but the execution was less than noteworthy. Watching two people stare at each other was more distracting than it sounds and while I kept waiting for one to laugh or blink or sneeze, Martha was philosophizing about the concept of really being present with others and how just being is often more real than talking about something trivial just for the sake of talking. Like I said, I was just waiting for someone to laugh.

For us the number one exciting thing about NYC is something probably very few people even think about doing there but then again, that's just us. Fabric shopping. It's difficult to create clothing for yourself when you have only a tacky textile selection from the local chain fabric shop to work from. But in New York it was like a breath of fresh air...more variety and selection than we could ever imagine. It was a dream.

I'm still kicking myself for not grabbing more of those batiste cotton prints while I was there. Even silk prints...ahhhhh!!!!! We also attended a book discussion with Tim Gunn which was highly entertaining. All we can ever say about him is that he is just seems so nice and he really is!

Martha has a fascination with the Flatiron building that I don't really understand. So I made her pose for a touristy photo and this is probably really only funny to me but here it is. If you only knew how cheesy we are!

A stroll through Central Park before church on Sunday morning. Can I tell you how much I love diversity in the church? I do. A lot.

And a stroll through Washington Square Park. Folksingers and beatniks.

And a stop in Strawberry Fields to visit the John Lennon memorial. Do you see a recurring 1960s theme?

And Rockefeller Plaza. Which isn't really 1960s related at all but it does contain the most beautiful Anthropologie we've ever seen.

And really the best part of Staten Island was the coffee because it looked like this outside. Bummer.

And last but definitely not least, I give you my best Audrey. It was raining and not at all as Breakfast at Tiffany's as I had hoped but I gave it my best shot. Good thing I just found a pattern for a copy of that wonderful black dress she wore!

So that was my first (Martha's second) trip to New York. I leave you with Union Square which turned out to be one of our favorite open spaces/parks in New York. A great farmer's market and people giving out free hugs. Our kind of place. :)