SoHo + NoHo = Awesome Day
Today was fuuuunnn. Blick was advertising this "Blick Madness" day today, so I met up with Aurora in SoHo to go. I suggested we meet at 12, but after I got there she called and told me she'd thought I said 2. So I decided to walk around and shop while I waited for her, starting with my favorite: the Scholastic store. I can't go in there without buying something (it's a disease) so I bought Ghostopolis! Really good so far and I love the art. I was also sorely tempted by the Hufflepuff scarves, but I resisted. Then I discovered the L'Occitane store down there. I tried out the new Plum Blossom fragrance and the Lemon Verbena fragrance, both of which are really nice. Then I got two face cream samples and a sample of the Plum Blossom perfume! I stopped in at Vosges, too, and tried a sample of their Naga cookie and some of their chocolate covered toffee. Then as I was walking down the street I noticed a gallery, so I stopped in there (it was called the Opera Gallery). There were some pretty interesting pieces-- to give an idea of what kind of art they had, there was a Yoshitomo Nara original, and a Warhol print. My favorite there was a painting called "Weeping Camel" by Camilla D'Errico. After that, I bummed around Crate & Barrel for a while and drooled over their Marimekko collection.
When Aurora got in, we had lunch at Hampton Chutney Co., because I love their lunch special of a GIANT cheese dosa with cilantro chutney and soup (green lentil with a curried tomato broth). When we went up to Blick they had this wheel of free stuff, and you spin it to see what you get. I got a free sketch book and two free sharpies! Then we watched the screen-printing demo and both got some screen-printed t-shirts. I picked up an Arches hot-press watercolor paper block for 30 percent off, as well as a half-priced sable brush and some cupcake window jelly stickers for a dollar. :3 After Blick we headed back over to Vosges for hot chocolate (MMMMMMMMMM SO GOOD) and I tried the "Balsamico" truffle-- dark chocolate, balsamic vinegar, and hazelnuts. SO GOOD. Plus I gorged on free samples again. We stopped into this cool store called Evolution, which had lots of fossils, taxidermied animals, animal and human skeletons (real ones!), and preserved bugs. There was a taxidermied raccoon on the counter holding a big bowl of bones, with a hand-written sign reading, "Raccoon Penis Bones: $8.00." I think I'll be able to live without one.
We ended the night with some mini-cupcakes: red velvet, mint chocolate chip, and s'mores. The s'mores flavor was by far my favorite-- it was a really rich chocolate cupcake with cocoa nibs and what tasted like coffee in it, with a graham cracker stuffed in the middle, then topped with marshmallow and chocolate frosting. AW YEAH.
On the way home I picked up a plantain and some cilantro for lunch tomorrow, then watched the new episode of Modern Family with a steaming hot cup of Hibiscus Rooibos tea. The perfect ending to a great day!
I am in a terrific mood right now. :D
When Aurora got in, we had lunch at Hampton Chutney Co., because I love their lunch special of a GIANT cheese dosa with cilantro chutney and soup (green lentil with a curried tomato broth). When we went up to Blick they had this wheel of free stuff, and you spin it to see what you get. I got a free sketch book and two free sharpies! Then we watched the screen-printing demo and both got some screen-printed t-shirts. I picked up an Arches hot-press watercolor paper block for 30 percent off, as well as a half-priced sable brush and some cupcake window jelly stickers for a dollar. :3 After Blick we headed back over to Vosges for hot chocolate (MMMMMMMMMM SO GOOD) and I tried the "Balsamico" truffle-- dark chocolate, balsamic vinegar, and hazelnuts. SO GOOD. Plus I gorged on free samples again. We stopped into this cool store called Evolution, which had lots of fossils, taxidermied animals, animal and human skeletons (real ones!), and preserved bugs. There was a taxidermied raccoon on the counter holding a big bowl of bones, with a hand-written sign reading, "Raccoon Penis Bones: $8.00." I think I'll be able to live without one.
We ended the night with some mini-cupcakes: red velvet, mint chocolate chip, and s'mores. The s'mores flavor was by far my favorite-- it was a really rich chocolate cupcake with cocoa nibs and what tasted like coffee in it, with a graham cracker stuffed in the middle, then topped with marshmallow and chocolate frosting. AW YEAH.
On the way home I picked up a plantain and some cilantro for lunch tomorrow, then watched the new episode of Modern Family with a steaming hot cup of Hibiscus Rooibos tea. The perfect ending to a great day!
I am in a terrific mood right now. :D