Last weekend before the holiday season set in, one of my dearest friends and college roommate, Liz and I met up in the grand, the wonderful and always fabulous New York City. Being able to escape to New York City for a few days to catch up, see some art, and hit the pavement is such a treat for me. And it made it even more fun to have a partner in crime this time. Liz and I walked our feet off, ate yummy food and chatted just about non-stop. So from a delectable dinner at Balthazar Restaurant, a beautiful Henri Matisse paper cutting exhibition at MOMA, coffee stops in the morning, browsing the stacks at The Strand plus more we did as much as we could squeeze into a couple of days.
Click through to see more pictures of our trip.
the beautiful blue entrance to the 
an adorable group of school children looking for shapes and animals in one of the large cut-out installations. 
the colors of the cut-outs were so varied and vibrant.
the sample color palette by Matisse. All of his works were created by simple white paper painted with varied layers of gouache and then cut out into his fluid, abstract and horticultural inspired designs. 
the view out into the courtyard. 
bustling levels of the MOMA. one of my happy places in life. 
"sculpture"
And of course if one is in New York City close enough to the holidays you get to feast your eyes on the Bergdorf Goodman holiday window displays. And what a spectacle they were. The theme this year was "Ode to the Arts" and it was full of fantastical dresses, bright lights and of course gorgeous shoes (one must always look at the shoes).
"music" 
"theater" 
"literature"
"architecture"
I was staying in Chelsea so I made a point to hit up my favourite spots and try a few new ones too. I of course went to the Chelsea Market to peruse the amazing array of shops and food purveyors. I also went to the 303 Gallery and the Matthew Marks Gallery (a couple of my favourties). A must do on my list for Matthew was to stop into the Ace Hotel for a few bags of Stumptown Coffee beans (seeing as sadly our local coffee shop does not carry Stumptown Coffee beans anymore).
and one of the new (amazing) places I tried was the Doughnut Plant.
I loved the quirky decor. How fabulous are these doughnut pillows!?
and when in the Doughnut Plant (because now you have to go) you must, must, must get the Creme Brulee doughnut, so yummy. 
and of course a trip to NYC is not complete without a traditional bagel, my top pick is an everything bagel with veggie cream cheese from Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company. 
such a fun and fabulous weekend. when are we doing it again?!
