I Heart NY More Than Ever

I had a great trip to New York, full of great friends, good food, and miles of walking in my favorite neighborhoods.  Lots of people asked me what I was going to do while I was there, and at first I was surprised by the question.  It wasn't a trip that was so much about New York City, as it was a trip about connecting my present life to my past.  (Oh, and I ate at a LOT of hot spot restaurants thanks to my foodie friends and family.  Mario Batali's Del Posto, Jean George's ABC Kitchen, L'Artusi, Paradou, Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Truck, Torrisi Italian Specialties, and Hecho en Dumbo, all of which I would highly recommend, and almost none of which I actually paid for.  I know: I am a lucky, lucky girl.)  I also got to see some art of the variety that you stumble upon: Sol Lewitt in City Hall Park.  And walk phase 2 of the High Line.  (I got to walk it before anything was built, the day I told my parents I was pregnant with Eleri.)  I stayed with my Maid of Honor and her family, visited with my aunt and uncle and cousins, reconnected with my amazing mom's group, and saw a number of friends, old and new.  I regret that I couldn't see everyone I have known and loved there.

Here's what I really came away with:  I love New York even more from a distance.  I love having lived there for so much of my youth, and getting to just visit now.  I love this wonderful status of New York insider without the hard work of staying there.  (Cheating, I know.)  While I may not know all the latest and greatest, I will also never, never, be a tourist in New York.

Kind of makes me want this print (did you wonder if I was getting to any designy stuff?  I wouldn't let you down.)

[Milton Glaser, available here]

Which is like the ultimate anti-souvenir, because it is for the people of the City.  Yes, it refers to 9/11, and yes, I lived there then.  And that, too, makes me a part of the fabric and history of this place.

I also love these Tom Slaughter prints, New York Valentine 1 and 2, which a friend of mine just bought, one for each of her (New Yorker) children.

Available here.

Or his wallpaper, which is hanging happily in the new bathroom at my old workplace, Creative Time.

All of which makes me wonder: do you have a place in your life that deserves a valentine?  What would it look like? (Or smell like?  Or sound like?)

When my husband and I visited Paris together, well before we were married, we went to the grocery store and brought back souvenirs of fleur de sel, onion confit, fruit preserves, and wine.  That felt like a valentine to me, as the best valentines are love stories  that you can experience for a while, with all of your senses.