10 Things - Dispatch #005
*New York City Edition*
Happy Friday! I thought this week I’d do a lil themed “10 Things” and talk all things New York City. And by all things, I mean the things I managed to squeeze into 72 hours and my first time as a ~tourist~ in The Big Apple.
It was a memorable whirlwind weekend and I was lucky to be hosted by my high school bff and pal, Alexia, and get a glimpse into her majestically hip and cool life in Brooklyn.
Let’s get into it.
The Four Horsemen - Delightfully cozy, hip without being too pretentious, a lengthy but approachable wine list, and servers who don’t care if you are a foodie or natural wine girly. Everything we had was delicious, a perfect serving to share, and refreshingly straightforward. Their logo/branding is adorable and I am especially grateful for the festive tote Alexia gifted me at the end of our lunch as a souvenir.
Stella Dallas Living - Everyone who knew I was going to NYC kept asking if I was excited to check out the vintage and thrift shopping scene. Which honestly, meh. Most big big cities cater to people looking for instant gratification, no matter the steep price tag — which has its moments! I’m just more of treasure hunting kind of gal when I can’t break the bank (which is most times!) Every place we roamed in Brooklyn felt stuffy and full of boys who worship Bode, not to mention the fact everyone has seemingly forgotten how to say excuse me (!!!) when approaching the same rack of clothes. I will shout out Stella Dallas Living for their incredible collection of truly unique vintage textiles, home goods, and restored garments. The service was laughable in the most pretentiously-cringy-cool-girl of ways, but the store was flawlessly merchandised and made my eyes glaze over in jealousy — time to dig at estate sales and the depths of eBay!
Moulin Rouge on Broadway - Moulin Rouge was on a regular watch rotation for me and my sister since the day it debuted on DVD. I can sing every word and mouth all the dialogue and probably attempt to dance some of the steps if you get enough booze in me. My expectations for the broadway adaptation was high. Like, really high. Turns out, I’m a Moulin Rouge purist. If it ain’t Ewan and Nicole, I don’t want it. I especially don’t want JoJo as my Satine. Yes, that JoJo. Her voice was solid, and while it was nice to see a fellow shortie have a starring role, she looked perpetually confused/searching for her mark on the stage/mentally running through her next lines. I felt meh about the new songs, though shout out to Postal Service and Regina Spektor for having a moment. The highlight for me was Roxanne, which was also my favorite number in the original. Overall, I’d give it a 7ish/10 — the sets and costumes were jaw droppingly perfect. (Hot tip: don’t buy seats in the back of the theater, you will be next to a group of drunk bachelorettes who try to sing and dance to every song…)
M+J Trimming - Notion heaven has been found! I follow a few creatives on social media who have referenced this place as their favorite for ribbons, buttons, and patches and it has since been bookmarked in a note in my phone as a “must go to” place. It was intimidating and I had to have Alexia ask someone how it worked to actually buy something, but my anxiety made it through and after an hour of hmmming about, I decided on a handful of velvet ribbons that will be perfect for our little vintage Christmas tree this year.
Big Night - The cutest, patootie-ist little boutique selling all sorts of fabulous dinner party delights. I felt bittersweet upon entering because it was the exact dream realized of my shuttered and sad business attempt in 2020, but hats off to Katherine Lewin because her store is perfect. Everything is tastefully curated, feels perfectly picked out, and makes you excited to invite someone over for a night of wine and cheese. Many things are going on my Christmas wish list immediately.
Bemelmans Bar - My only big goal for the weekend was to have a deliciously dirty martini at a swanky New York City establishment. I didn’t have time to do too much research, but have seen plenty of Loewe wearing influencers frequent Bemelmans for a night cap. It’s situated adjacent to the lounge in The Carlyle hotel and feels appropriately sophisticated with a hint of bougie whimsy thanks to the wall murals of Ludwig Bemelmans’ art (he wrote and illustrated the Madeline books.) $200 (!!) on (delicious! crispy cold!) martinis later, Alexia and I found ourselves sandwiched between a New Jersey housewife divorcee and an old-money-luxury-boutique-owning old lady and had some of the strangest conversations I’ve ever had with two strangers. We slinkily slunk out of our bar stools and tip toed back to the subway before things got really weird and wild (as invitations to hotel rooms started to bubble to the surface of conversation 🥴) but it definitely made for a perfectly unforgettable weird vacation bar story.
Edith’s Tahini Frozen Coffee - Did I think I would like Tahini in my coffee? I was open, but I had my hesitations. And now I’m super duper sad I don’t have access to this treat all the time. It was sweet, but not too sweet, rich but not too rich, and frozen but not too icy. Would highly recommend.
The Met - I love a museum and The Met did not disappoint. Alexia and I spent most of our time wandering through exhibits, people watching, and ranking all the best places to hide and sleep in a Basil E. Frankweiler kind of situation. I was thrilled to see Richard Avedon’s MURALS exhibition in the flesh (quite literally.) I wrote a paper about his life and work in a class in high school and how he shaped modern American photography and his work has since remained the bar in which I judge portraiture. These 35 foot wide prints of his work were just !!!!!!
Acre - Another memorable meal was lunch at Acre in Greenpoint. It was a unique, healthy take on the Japanese bento box and the shop itself was calming and cute with plenty of little tchotchkes to tempt you while you wait in line. Everything I had was tasty and the vibes were impeccable. Would highly recommend the egg salad and their roasted tea I snuck a sip of and immediately wished I had ordered.
Catbird - Last, and honestly, quite least, was experiencing the Catbird boutique “irl” after years of shopping them online. I’ve discovered so many incredible jewelers through their curated catalog of designers, including Sofia Zakia and Bittersweets NY (the talents behind our personal wedding rings) — but holy heck! While I surely hold customer service to a high standard after years in retail management, I cannot begin to explain how insanely unapproachable the Catbird experience was. I left with what I wanted purely from a selfish standpoint of instant gratification, but I will likely never shop directly through them again. I get that working retail is the absolute pits, but the rudeness and general eyerollyness from the entire staff was mind boggling. But dang, if my strawberry and spider charms ain’t the cutest lol
And thus concludes my thoughts and feels on a weekend in NYC - thanks for reading!
Next week I’ll be falling deeper into autumnal feels, me thinks. What do you want to see rounded up here on Trash Panic? Reply to this email or leave a comment and let me know what you’re secondhand hunting for on the world wide web.
Until next week,
xo,
G
♥️