Holiday Windows 2017: Saks

Over the past five years, Saks Fifth Avenue's holiday windows have been either hit or miss for me. They have a lot of prime real estate to work with and usually the Fifth Avenue windows are holiday focused, while the 50th and 49th Street windows feature more traditional fashion themes. What Saks does best (and something that no other store in New York seems to care much about) is crowd control. Maybe it's because they're located right across the street from the always-hectic Rockefeller Center, but the sidewalks outside of Saks are a nightmare during the holidays.

Luckily, Saks has railings installed (I think they're only up for the holiday windows), which help to funnel window-watchers into a single-file line. I'm not a huge fan of crowds, so I appreciate their attempt to create order and a sense of fairness. This is the first year that Saks didn't have a bouncer (for lack of a better word) directing the line, but it was still more orderly than the chaos that lingers outside of Bergdorf's.

The line to see the windows at Saks wrapped around the side of the store, but it moved quickly and this year's windows are definitely worth the wait. Saks collaborated with Disney to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Each of the 14 windows depicts a different scene from the iconic movie and feature Snow White herself, all seven dwarfs, the evil queen, the witch, the prince and tons of little woodland creatures including chipmunks, bunnies, birds and deer.

Saks has done fairytale-themed windows in the past, but this year's were definitely a step above previous years' designs in terms of scope, cohesiveness and old fashioned holiday magic. I've said it before, but as much as I dislike children, I often find myself drawn to child-like things, and these windows delighted the 12 year old lurking beneath my 32-year-old resting bitch face.

I'm not a rabid Disney fan, but the Saks windows remind me of vintage window displays and they'd be right at home at Main Street of Yesteryear. The figures animate in charming little ways, and they're so cute that there's no need for digital displays or too much technological whizz-bang (Hi, maybe I'm actually 80 years old). Of course they also reminded me of another animated Snow White display—the one of questionable provenance currently at the Magic Forest—and that only made me love these Saks windows even more.

World's Largest

I've seen a few things claiming to be the "World's Largest _____" in the past few years—pistachio, teapot, cuckoo clock, orange, miniature circus— and the World's Third Largest garden gnome, but on our recent road trip we added several hyperbolic items to that list. I'm wary of anything claiming a "world's -est" title, but even if none of these things are actually record-holders in an official Guinness Book sense, they're still larger than they should be and make for interesting road trip stops. 

The World's Largest Real Tire

This particular largest thing comes with a qualifier (as a lot of them do) that it's the world's largest permanently displayed real tire. The giant tire sits outside of Hester Tire in Blandenboro, North Carolina, and fits the world's largest dump truck, according to its owner, Reynold Hester. It is 14 feet high, 5.5 feet wide and weighs 10,400 pounds. This one seems pretty legit, and in fact the only tire that is actually larger is the Uniroyal Giant Tire, which isn't a real tire at all but a Ferris wheel designed for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair. It's currently displayed off of a highway in Michigan and hopefully it'll be the next big tire that I get to cross off my list. 

The World's Largest Beer Stein

I happened across this while browsing one of South of the Border's several gift shops, and I can't find much information as to its authenticity. I did, however find this company selling what they claim to be the world's largest stein for $6,205—they look very similar, but the one at South of the Border can be yours for the low price of $3,500. I don't care much about beer steins, but I love its wooden display case and the hand-painted script lettering.

The World's Largest Strawberry

This should probably be called the world's largest strawberry-shaped building. The world record for largest real strawberry was broken in 2015 (ew) and the world's largest sculptural strawberry is located, fittingly, in Strawberry Point, Iowa. The Berry Patch in Ellerbe, North Carolina is a small strawberry farm, and the strawberry-shaped ice cream stand is 24-feet-tall and took five months to complete. In 2011, the construction of a new highway forced the owners of the Berry Patch to load the strawberry onto a truck and drive it to its current location. We used their bathroom (which was a single restroom with, confusingly, two toilets) but ultimately found their selection of strawberry-themed items a bit disappointing for a place that has the domain name worldslargeststrawberry.com.

The World's Largest Bureau / Chest of Drawers

High Point, North Carolina, aka the "Home Furnishings Capital of the World," has not one, but two large chests of drawers. I had to make a Sophie's Choice and pick just one, and the one above was closer to our route (mom included for scale). In the 1920s, the original chest of drawers was built by the Chamber of Commerce. In 1996 it was renovated and turned into a 38-foot tall Goddard-Townsend block front chest. Two socks are stuck hanging out of the middle drawer, although they were partially covered when we visited by a sign proclaiming that the chest of drawers is ... for sale! For just $249,000 you can get three lots, including the chest, but the "have demo quote, can handle if needed" makes me nervous for the fate of this roadside gem. 

The World's Largest Operational Frying Pan

Like the big tire, this is the world's largest operational frying pan—there are at least five other frying pans in the US vying for the title of largest, including largest nonstick frying pan. This one, located in Rose Hill, North Carolina (I just realized that all of these, with the exception of the beer stein, are in North Carolina) weighs two tons, has a circumference of 45 feet and a six-foot handle. It holds 200 gallons of cooking oil, sits on 40 gas burners and has a capacity of 365 chickens. It was built in 1963 by the Ramsey Feed Company and is used during the North Carolina poultry jubilee as well as community fundraising events. It's so large that it's actually constructed of several separate wedges, and it's covered when not in use—without the signage (including light pole banners all over town) I might have never guessed that the tarp was concealing a world-record holder. 

Project 365: Days 337-343

337/365: I forgot to take a photo this day, and I'm pretty sure I've been counting the days wrong this whole time, but we'll find out soon enough ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

338/365: David and I walked through Sunset Park to the Renegade Craft Fair / Brooklyn Flea at Industry City.

339/365: My mom and I got diner breakfast, looked at the holiday windows and rode the MTA nostalgia train. We also met the cutest festive Frenchie named Bosco and caught this wolf enjoying the nostalgia train.

340/365: I met my friend Lindsey for dinner at Jacob's Pickles (so good) and we had dessert at Milk bar (extra crunchies FTW).

341/365: A million dollars of money I don't have to anyone who can stop Mozart from wailing at me all night long, every single night. I refuse to get another cat, but that's the only solution anyone seems to have for me—there has to be something else!

342/365: I blew through this Manson book and it was fascinating. I grabbed this Ernest Angley pamphlet to use as a bookmark and I felt extra cult-ish carrying this—along with a Tony Alamo newsletter—around. 

343/365: I got a new record rack, so I rearranged some things and magically found a place for the antique prosthetic leg that David got me for my birthday. I love it so much but I was having a hard time properly displaying it until now. I plopped a fake IKEA plant in the top because I can't keep anything alive in my cave-like apartment.

I'm headed out to California tonight for a week to visit with my friend Jim. We're going to sleep in a Wigwam (my second!), hang out poolside at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs (in the shade, slathered in SPF 100), visit the Cabazon Dinosaurs, explore the Salton Sea and hopefully eat at a different vintage diner every day. This will only be my second time in California, but hopefully I'll get out there more regularly now that I have a few friends to stay with—so many roadside attractions to see and so little time! Believe it or not, I still have a few posts left from my October road trip, so I'm sure you'll be hearing about my California one well into 2018. I have some fun posts scheduled for next week, so I hope you enjoy those and have a great weekend!

Ferncliff Cemetery

Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, NY, has been on my radar since 2014 when I went to Hartsdale's other famous burial space, America's first pet cemetery. I had intended to also walk to Ferncliff that day, but I spent more time at the pet cemetery than I had anticipated, and the route to Ferncliff didn't look too pedestrian-friendly. When my Uncle visited recently, he suggested that we take a day trip to Ferncliff to pay our respects to some of its celebrity residents, and I've never turned down an invitation to explore a cemetery. 

Ferncliff isn't a traditional cemetery in the sense that it doesn't have upright headstones—outdoor graves are marked with flat markers—but the majority of its residents are housed in three large, multi-level mausoleums. The first one, just called Ferncliff Mausoleum (or the Cathedral of Memories), was built in 1927. In 1933 they began to operate a crematory and it's still very much an active cemetery—Ferncliff currently performs approximately 10% of all cremations in New York State. 

Ferncliff is a beautiful, obviously well-maintained burial space, but I couldn't help but notice that a lot of the letters and numbers have fallen off over the years and don't seem to be replaced. It must be a budget choice—to do stick-on letters or have the information carved directly into the marble—but I appreciate whoever took matters into their own hands and augmented Alfred's dates with ballpoint pen. 

We went to Fercliff in search of celebrities—Joan Crawford, in particular—and we stopped at the office for a map to help us. We mostly stayed in the Ferncliff Mausoleum and although the map had exact coordinates for each person, it was almost impossible to find our way around with out some help. We eventually deciphered the system enough to find everyone we were looking for, if sometimes only by accident.

There aren't a lot of contemporary celebrities buried here, but some of the notables include James Baldwin, Aaliyah, Malcom X, Ed Sullivan, and Thelonious Monk. Jim Henson, Nelson Rockefeller, John Lennon and Christopher Reeve were all cremated at Ferncliff, but are interred elsewhere. Unfortunately I came a few months too late to visit Judy Garland—at the request of her three children, Garland's remains were moved to California in June and reinterred in Hollywood Forever Cemetery (perhaps I'll visit her next week!).

Actively searching for a few key people helps direct any cemetery visit, but I also like the unexpected surprises you encounter just by wandering—some of my favorites were the Fish / Salmon pairing, the Baumanns and their kisses and Dr. Luigi Mottola's epitaph, "Let Us Talk."

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Ferncliff Cemetery
280 Secor Road,
Hartsdale, NY 10530
Open daily, 9am-4pm
Take Metro North to Hartsdale and the cemetery is an 8-minute car ride away
(I don't recommend walking from the train station; the route is definitely not pedestrian-friendly).

Holiday Windows 2017: Bloomingdale's

Holiday window display season is upon us, and this is my fifth time seeing the windows from Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Tiffany. There are other window displays, of course, but these are the big ones that I specifically seek out every year. There is usually a clear standout, but this year I thought all four were as good or even better than previous years' displays. I'll start with my "least" favorite and end with the best—which doesn't really mean much because I enjoyed them all—but up first is Bloomingdale's.

My mom and I usually reserve a weekend day during December or late November to go look at the new windows, and we always start with Bloomingdale's. I've been disappointed in their window displays in the past, and they're usually my least favorite of the bunch. They were a little cartoonish in 2013, all over the place stylistically in 2016 and not impressive or memorable enough for me to photograph in 2014 and 2015. But this year's "Greatest Showman" theme, based on the upcoming P.T. Barnum movie musical is leaps and bounds above anything they've shown in the past five years. 

I love anything that has a carnival, sideshow or old-timey Coney Island feel, and the windows feature scenes from the movie embellished with more than 7,600,000 Swarovski crystals. The windows are full of acrobats, ringmasters and performers of all types. There's even a bearded lady, a tattooed couple, a wolf man and a pair of conjoined twins (made out of what are obviously women mannequins turned into men). 

When my mom got to one window in particular, she called me over and said "you're going to like this one!" I had no idea when I decided to be a Grandmother's Predictions fortune-telling machine for Halloween this year that I would see a variation of my costume show up in a holiday window display (it's not the first time there's been overlap). At the risk of sounding full of myself, I do think mine was better (if only because how do you top a classic like Grandma?), but the fortune I received from the Bloomingdale's version was very apropos.

Haines Shoe House

One of the last stops on our recent road trip, was the Haines Shoe House in York, Pennsylvania. The Shoe House is only about 3.5 hours from New York City, but it had never really been on the way to or from anywhere I'd traveled before. Since I was in complete control of our route this time—and because the trip was the destination—I made sure that we wound down the trip on a high note.

The Haines Shoe House is exactly what it sounds like—a shoe-shaped house—built by local shoe salesman Mahlon Haines in 1948. It's modeled after a Haines work boot, which he allegedly handed to his architect with the instructions "build me a house like this." The Shoe House was never a private residence, but functioned as an advertisement for his business, and was once highly visible from the main road and surrounding areas (a precursor to the Longaberger Basket headquarters). The 25-foot, five-story house was rented to couples, some of whom were newlyweds that won the opportunity to stay to for their honeymoon (along with a free pair of shoes!).

The house has two bedrooms, a living room, an eat-in kitchen and room for a maid and a butler. There are shoe details everywhere you look—stained glass shoe windows, a stained glass portrait of Haines, the "Shoe Wizard" himself, shoe-shaped planters and wooden shoe cutouts on the fences.

There are two miniature replicas of the house on the property—a dog house and a mailbox—and the house's official address is 197 Shoe House Road. I was doing a good job of keeping each destination a secret from my mom, who wanted to be surprised, but this one was prematurely revealed when the GPS instructed us to turn onto "Shoe House Road."

The Shoe House was recently purchased by locals Jeff and Melanie Schmuck, and Melanie was our (excellent) tour guide. She said that she grew up nearby, had always loved the Shoe House and was frustrated by the previous owner's inconsistent operating hours. When the house came up for sale, they jumped at the chance to buy it and have been trying to restore the house and its furnishings to its original condition ever since. There's an ice cream parlor in the heel (once a drive-through car port) and a small gift shop with "shoe"venirs (I just made that up, but Melanie, if you're reading this, feel free to use it).

Aside from being a standout addition to my "collection" of roadside novelty architecture, our visit was even more special because of Melanie and her enthusiasm for the Shoe House. She didn't have to explain to us why it was a necessity that her and her husband purchase the Shoe House, but I'm always happy to meet other people that appreciate the strange and find value in maintaining something that makes the world just a tiny bit more whimsical.

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Haines Shoe House
97 Shoe House Road,
York, PA 17406
Hours:
First Day of Spring - Memorial Day: Fri, Sat, Sun 11-5
Memorial Day - Labor Day: Wed - Sun 11-5
Labor Day - Halloween: Fri, Sat, Sun 11-5
Closed Easter Sunday, Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Williamsburg Bridge

On Black Friday, I wanted to check out my favorite record store in Bushwick, Human Head, because they were having a great sale. I arranged to meet David at the Kellogg's Diner in Williamsburg, and decided that it would also be a great day to walk the Williamsburg Bridge. I've only walked it once—on a scorching day back in 2013—and it was always something on my list to do again.

The Williamsburg bridge connects the Lower East Side in Manhattan with Williamsburg in Brooklyn, and spans the East River. The 7,308-foot suspension bridge was the second to be built over the river (after the Brooklyn Bridge and before the Manhattan), and when it opened in 1903 it held the record for the longest suspension bridge on Earth (a record it held until 1924).

In the 80s, the bridge fell into disrepair and by the end of the decade more than 200 of its suspension cables had snapped, and it was closed completely for a few months in 1988 after it was judged to be structurally unsafe. In the '90s and 2000s, it was mostly rebuilt, and now it is the most heavily bicycled span in North America (the separate pedestrian walkway was added in 1999).

Along with the Manhattan Bridge, the Williamsburg is the only other suspension bridge in New York City to carry both car and subway traffic, and several M and J trains went by during my walk. It's a longer walk than the Brooklyn or Manhattan bridges, but the Williamsburg bridge has a feel all its own. The city views aren't as spectacular (there are better views to be had on the bike path) as the other bridges' and it might not be as iconic as the Brooklyn Bridge, but like an often-overlooked middle child, its unique charms are worthy of a second look.

Project 365: Days 323-336

323/365: We went to our regular Friday night bar in Brooklyn and afterwards got bagels for the weekend at Terrace Bagels (their garlic is my favorite). I love their neon sign so much and I can't resist a fancy anthropomorphic food logo.

324/365: We went out to Long Island to visit a friend of David's and I spotted this circus-themed mosaic in the 34th Street subway station that I'd never seen before. 

325/365: My mom and I went to IKEA, which means diner breakfast downtown at the Pearl Street Diner. 

326/365: I ate an IKEA cinnamon roll for dinner (why are they so good and so cheap??) and assembled my new shelf. 

327/365: This idiot.

328/365: Francesca and I went to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon inflation the night before Thanksgiving. 

329/365: My mom cooked Thanksgiving dinner, with a little help from me and David. We ate too much, watched Planes, Trains and Automobiles and I went to bed early.

330/365: I'm not a crazy Black Friday shopper, but my favorite record store in Bushwick was having a sale, so I walked across the Williamsburg Bridge, met David at a diner and afterwards we went record shopping. If you're ever in Bushwick, or in need of records, check out Human Head—they are super nice and have a great selection at reasonable prices. 

331/365: I met my mom for breakfast and I passed this beautiful ombré ivy.

332/365: We didn't do much of anything (it was a wonderful lazy Sunday) but David had some overripe bananas, so we did manage to make banana bread. Well, David technically made it while I just waited to lick the bowl.

333/365: I went after work to check out the holiday window displays at Bergdorf Goodman (stunning, as always) and Tiffany.

334/365: Francesca and I went after work to see Coco, and it was so, so good. Neither of us left the theater with dry eyes, but I'd expect nothing less from Pixar. 

335/365: I have nearly all of my Christmas shopping done already, but I couldn't resist throwing a few gifts my own way and finally bought this pillow that I've been wanting forever.

336/365: My creepy collections stay up year round, but I draped them in a little Christmas cheer.

It's officially December, which means that there are 25 more days until Christmas and only 31 more days left in this crazy, topsy-turvy year. Next Friday I leave for a 6-day trip to California, and my friend Jim and I are going to take a little road trip while I'm there. We have tons of fun things planned, and I'm trying to figure out how to slow down time because I already know it will all go by too fast.

I would like to see more of the holiday window displays this weekend, and I'm hoping to catch the MTA "nostalgia" trains at least once this month (they run every Sunday in December). Obviously fall and Halloween are my very favorites, but winter and Christmas are a close second so I'm going to try to enjoy the holiday magic here in the city as much as I can. Have a great weekend!

Shell Station

My love of novelty architecture knows no bounds, and I knew I had to figure out a way to see the last remaining clamshell-shaped Shell gas station on our recent road trip through North Carolina. The Shell station was so important to me, that it dictated the route for the second half of our trip, and although it was a quick stop it was definitely worth seeing in person. 

Eight clamshell-shaped stations were originally built in the 1930s by Quality Oil, a Winston-Salem based distributor of Shell oil. The stations were made of concrete stucco over a wood and wire frame, similar to the Big Duck. The last remaining station is located in a residential neighborhood in Winston-Salem, and it remained open as a gas station until the '50s. In the '70s and '80s it was repurposed as a lawn mower repair shop and restored in the '90s by Preservation North Carolina. Today it's used as an office and information center by the society, but it was closed when we visited. 

I logically understand why buildings like this often become obsolete, but they're just so charming and whimsical I can't help but wish that novelty architecture would make a comeback. Life can get monotonous and boring—all phone calls and paperwork—but novelty architecture rebels against that reality and presents an alternative. Very few people would say that stopping to fill up their car brings them joy, but it would be hard not to smile when you're pulling up to a giant clamshell. 

Bonus whimsy! After we saw the clamshell, my mom and stopped for lunch at a Dairi-O, located in nearby King, NC. Dairi-O started serving hamburgers and milkshakes out of a stand in King in 1947, and the location currently has a giant milkshake (with two straws!) for its entrance. When we pulled up, there was this perfect, vintage car parked out front and we assumed that it was always there—until two customers finished their meals, got in and drove away right after I took this photo.

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Shell Station
1111 E Sprague Street
Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27107

Dairi-O
365 East Dalton Road
King, North Carolina 27021

Main Street of Yesteryear

I mentioned in the post about Dinosaur Land that we had a few rainy days on our recent road trip. We stayed the third night in Virginia, just west of the Shenandoah National Park. While scrambling to find indoor destinations, I found a museum of parade floats that looked just strange enough to add to our list, and it wasn't too far off our route.

The museum is part of Shenandoah Caverns, and we arrived before the parade float museum was supposed to open, so we had some time to kill in the gift shop. Luckily, in addition to the gift shop, there's an exhibit of antique department store window displays from the 40s and 50s occupying the entire second floor.

The former owner of Shenandoah Caverns, Earl Hargrove, Jr., also owned a decorating corporation that has, beginning with President Truman in 1949, decorated for every Presidential Inaugural since. The parade float museum includes floats from Inaugurals, the Tournament of Roses and other celebrations, but he was also a collector of holiday window displays, which are displayed in an exhibit called Main Street of Yesteryear.

The displays vary widely in style and theme, but they all animate in some way (triggered by sensors on the floor). One of the displays (for Easter, I think) featured a talent show, with an organ-grinding poodle, a raccoon balancing a disco ball on his nose, creepy swinging bunnies and a judge that looks like he would be right at home in Halloweentown. 

My favorite display was Circus on Parade, the oldest in the exhibit. The handcrafted figures have such wonderful detail and are still vibrant and beautiful after all of these years. Holiday window displays are always one of my favorite parts about this time of year in the city, and I'm so glad that someone like Earl Hargrove Jr. was passionate enough to save these works of art. It turns out that the parade float museum was closed for the season (never trust Google hours), but Main Street of Yesteryear (and the squished penny I got in the gift shop) was definitely worth the stop.

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Shenandoah Caverns
261 Caverns Road,
Quicksburg, VA 22847

Main Street of Yesteryear is free, and can be viewed without caverns admission
March 15-June 15: 9 AM-5 PM
June 16-Labor Day: 9 AM-6 PM
Labor Day-Oct 31: 9 AM-5 PM
Nov 1-March 15: 9 AM-4 PM

2017 Gift Guide

This isn't really a "gift guide" kind of blog, but my love of gift guides and online shopping knows no bounds. So, I decided to link to things that I personally own and love—things that have made my life a little easier or things that just make me smile. Happy shopping!

Cat Camera Strap

When I bought my first "nice" camera, I was determined to replace the Canon strap that it came with immediately so I didn't look like a dad on vacation (and those stock straps are not very comfortable). It was hard to choose which one I wanted from Couch—I love the vintage auto vinyl patterns—but I've never regretted going with my instincts and choosing the black and white cat face strap. I've had it for four years now and I still get compliments pretty much every time it's visible—I even once met someone with the same strap (at an anti-Trump rally) and we've since become Instagram friends. Also, I have that exact same shirt and that's my dream dog so the above image is basically me living my best life.

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Bombas No-Shows

I spent years wasting money on pair, after pair of crappy no-show socks only to have them slip down, bunch up and generally ruin my day. I resisted the Bombas trend for a while because spending $14 on a pair of socks seemed ridiculous, and even though it still hurts to spend that much they're definitely worth it. I now have several pairs, and they literally stay up ALL DAY long. USE OFFER CODE HOLIDAY2017 at checkout to get 20% off (this is a huge deal because these almost NEVER go on sale).

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Tower of Tracks Cat Toy

Driven by sleep-deprived desperation, I took to Amazon to find a cat toy that would keep Mozart busy in hopes of curing the boredom that's apparently causing her to wail all night (and day) long. She loves this toy more than she's ever loved anything else in her eight years of life, and although she still bothers me, I feel a tiny bit better about her overall mental well-being. This does make noise (not horrible, just the sound of a ping pong ball rolling around a plastic track) so I hide it from her at night, but I've had it for months now and she's still just as interested.

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Mrs. Meyer's Hand Soap

I paid waaaaay too much on Amazon for Mrs. Meyer's apple cider scent for the fall, convinced that the New York Targets would be out of it, but it's the best-smelling soap I've ever had so it was definitely worth it. A few weeks ago, I found one bottle on clearance at the Harlem location, so I snatched it up to hoard for next year, along with their Peppermint scent for the winter. I never thought I'd get so excited about hand soap, but smells are super important to me and New York is a germ-infested cesspool, so here we are. FREE SHIPPING on any order over $30.

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The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine
A Gentleman in Moscow
We Are Never Meeting in Real Life: Essays
The Road To Jonestown: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple

I've read 46 books so far this year (on track for my goal of 52!) and these were my top favorites.

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Infinity Instruments Wall Clock

When I moved in August, I realized I needed a clock for my bathroom. I like to know what time it is as I'm getting ready in the morning, but I wanted something vintage-looking. I love how this clock looks old, but uses batteries (no cord!) and it definitely looks more expensive than it is.

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Yummy Siamese Plush Sausages

I've always loved the Yummy Breakfast line of plush pillows and keychains, but when I spotted these sausages I knew I had to have them. I put them on my Amazon wishlist for a while, trying not to be impulsive with my money but eventually I just had to buy them. The sausages snap together so you can display them individually or all together, and although they literally serve no purpose other than making me smile (they show them used as a neck pillow lolz), I've never regretted buying them—and I actually think I could use three more.

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Cable Knit Cocoon Cardigan

I am so picky when it comes to my clothing that sometimes dressing myself in something I don't hate feels like an impossible task. I bought this cocoon cardigan in navy at Target and I loved it so much I bought two more—in black and red—and I wear them constantly. They're dressier than my usual hoodies, but just as warm and cozy. At the risk of turning into a cartoon character with a closet full of the same shirt, I might have to buy the one in olive too. ON SALE now for $20.

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Fjallraven Kanken Classic Pack

When my Herschel backpack started falling apart, my friend Jim was nice enough to replace it for my birthday with this Fjallraven pack. These are super popular in New York and I see them everywhere, but now I know why—it's definitely the best backpack I've ever owned. It's surprisingly lightweight, super comfortable, durable and holds way more than it looks like it does. I use this whenever I'm carrying my camera, and it comfortably fits my camera case along with all of my other essentials. I do recommend buying the extra padded straps if you get the classic pack—the black ones were a pain to get and back-ordered for a long time, but they were worth the wait.

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Classic Work Lamp

I wanted a new bedside reading lamp when I moved, and I love the vintage look of this one from IKEA. I had no idea that you could order IKEA merchandise (and their strange lightbulbs) on Amazon, which made this purchase a no-brainer. It's the perfect "institutional green" color, and it's cheaper than a lot of other similar styles I'd found elsewhere.

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Googly Eye Contact Case

I had some time to kill recently and wandered into a shop in Brooklyn. They had tons of fun, non-essential things, but I knew I had to have this googly eye contact case the minute I saw it. When I went to use it that night, I realized that there is no distinction between the left and right eye, which is a little confusing if you have two different prescriptions, but I use it at home so I just make sure not to move it after putting in my lenses. It's silly, but it makes me smile at least two times a day.

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Human Organ Transplant Lunchbag

David got this for me as a Christmas present two years ago, and I've been using it as my camera case ever since. That's not really what it's meant for, but it's sturdy, holds all of my gear and I can't think of a more appropriate case for me.

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Orange Letterboard

These are everywhere these days, but one day the image of an orange letterboard with the word "Boo!" on it popped into my head. I found this one on Amazon and it's exactly the size and color that I wanted (they come in other colors too), and cheaper than some of the others I've seen. These all come with a bag of letters, now I just have to come up with what it's going to say next.

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Peewee Print // Bunyan Print // Halloween Print

There are few things I love more in life than art—my apartment walls are covered nearly floor to ceiling and it's still not enough for me. My lifelong struggle is too much art and not enough wall space, and my collection comes from different artists, Etsy shops and thrift stores. Three of my favorite places to look new art: Little Friends of Printmaking, Ryan Duggan (he's having a Black Friday mystery tube sale) and Madame Talbot (FREE SHIPPING always!).

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Balloon Inflation 2017

I'm not going to the Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, but I did want to go see the balloon inflation again. I went for the first time last year and it was so much better than I had expected. There were a lot of repeats from last year, but it was still fun and although it's a very popular event, we got through the line and saw every balloon in just over an hour.

We got off work early, so we got to the start of the line around 4pm and you can see in my photos as the sky gets progressively darker. The time of the event shifted two hours earlier (beginning at 1pm instead of 3pm), so they were almost all entirely inflated by the time we arrived. The crowd can seem overwhelming when you first enter the line, but once you get to the actual balloons, you have plenty of room to move around. 

There are always a few balloons that make me feel old and out of touch with children's entertainment, but I can mostly identify them even if I'm not very familiar with their shows or movies. New balloons this year include: Super Wings' Jett, Paw Patrol's Chase, The Grinch and Frozen's Olaf. There is also a new Harold balloon, a black-and-white baseball player that was featured in the Miracle on 34th Street. The classics are my favorite—the elves and Macy's stars especially—and I am sad to be missing Tom the Turkey (and his eyelashes!) this year.  

I've heard that the balloon inflation used to be a super chill event—almost a neighborhood secret—and I wonder why that's changed so much over the years (the Internet? Instagram?). It's still a very good alternative to the madness of the parade—no offense to all of the marching bands and clowns, but everyone knows the balloons are the best part. 

🦃Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃

White Plains Baptist Church Cemetery

By the third day of our recent road trip, my mom had correctly guessed a few of our "surprise" stops. Mostly she'd guess "Muffler Man?" or "something big?" which were both very good guesses, if you know what kind of roadside stops I tend to favor. As we were driving through rural, northwest North Carolina my mom correctly guessed that our next stop was a cemetery. I'm the world's worst liar/actress, so I didn't try to pretend she wasn't right, but I did tell her that she would never be able to guess who was buried at our destination.

When we pulled up to the White Plains Baptist Church, in Mount Airy, North Carolina, the surprise was prematurely revealed by a historical marker outside of the church, declaring it to be the burial place of Chang and Eng Bunker. Born in 1811, near Bangkok in the Kingdom of Siam (modern-day Thailand), the brothers were connected at the chest by a small piece of cartilage. Their livers were fused, but their bodies functioned independently from one another. In 1829, they were spotted by a Scottish merchant, who paid their parents in exchange for allowing him to exhibit the twins around the world as a curiosity.

The term "Siamese Twins" has been replaced by the more PC (and scientifically descriptive) "conjoined twins," and if Chang and Eng were born today they would have been easily separated and perhaps gone on to lead very different lives. While touring the country in 1839, Chang and Eng fell in love with North Carolina and purchased a 110-acre farm in Traphill. They owned several slaves, married local sisters and became naturalized American citizens. They had a bed built for the four of them, and Chang fathered 12 children, while Eng fathered 10 or possibly 11.

In 1874, Chang died in his sleep of a cerebral blood clot and despite the fact that Eng was in good health otherwise, he died just three hours later (probably of shock). The twins share a headstone with their wives and it's estimated that there are still approximately 1,500 descendants of the twins living around Mount Airy today. The churchyard is full of Bunkers, including two sons who were Confederate soldiers in the Civil War and a grandson, who fought in World War I.

The church and cemetery are built on a hill with a picturesque view, and it's small but filled with wonderful old, mossy stones and statues. It's a beautiful place to spend eternity, and I hope the twins found the peace in death that seemed to elude them in life.

Canstruction 2017

This is the fourth year that my mom and I have gone to see the Canstruction exhibit in downtown Manhattan (see how this year compares to: 2014 / 2015 / 2016). It’s a quick and technically free—although a food donation is appreciated— thing to do on a chilly weekend afternoon, and by now it's definitely a tradition. We get diner breakfast—the best one within walking distance is the Square Diner—and wander through Brookfield Place, judging all of the sculptures and reminiscing on years past. Every year we agree that the first year was the best, but perhaps what we’re fondly remembering is the novelty or the emptiness of Brookfield Place.

Brookfield Place is essentially a large mall, and the changes over the years have been dramatic. It was nearly empty the first year but is now full of high-end retail, food and offices. This year was the 25th anniversary of Canstruction, NYC, a part of the (now) international non-profit that was founded in 1992.

Competitors come from the design and construction industries, and there are competitions held in 150 cities across the world. The sculptures are created entirely from canned goods, which are then donated to local food banks and relief organizations—more than 50 million pounds of food has been collected since Canstruction began.

My mom and I have realized over the years that a lot of the sculptures are more quickly identifiable when viewed through a camera lens or a phone screen—like a pointillism painting they can be hard to decipher from close-up. I love seeing what teams come up with each year, and some sculptures are topical, some are classics, and some are a bit of a snooze. I always appreciate the way people manage to work food or can puns into their titles, and while some are more successful than others, I’m still waiting for a team to top my all-time favorite, The Sta”tuna” of Liberty (although "Beauty and the Feast" came close this year).

From the top: pretzel, Pixar lamp, Pac CAN, jellyfish, subway train emerging from a tunnel, jack-o-lantern, Pokemon character (I forget which one), Popeye the Sailor CAN, "coexist" rainbow, triangle, Giving Tree, Fearless in the Face of Hunger, Beauty and the Feast, Duck Hunt, On Track to End Hunger, lotus flower, and Pining to End Hunger.

Project 365: Days 316-322

316/365: These two air plants are toast, but I just can't bring myself to throw them out. They also don't look that much different than they did when they're alive and now I don't have to worry about watering them once a week.

317/365: Friday was freezing cold, and by Saturday morning all of the ginkgo trees in the city had dropped all of their leaves at once. Most of them didn't even get a chance to turn yellow because it basically went from 80 degrees to 20 degrees in one day (I'm being dramatic, but this fall weather has been wacky).

318/365: My mom and I ate breakfast at the Square Diner in TriBeCa and walked over to Brookfield Place for the annual Canstruction event. It's become our silly little tradition before Thanksgiving, and I look forward to it every year.

319/365: I had my camera with me during the day, so I walked over to the Conservatory Garden at lunch hoping to catch the Korean chrysanthemums before they were gone. They were a little crispy, but still overwhelmingly beautiful. 

320/365: There is some really inventive subway graffiti, but the ballpoint pen additions to this poster for the movie The Snowman made me laugh.

321/365: After the first episode, Mindhunter really picked up and now I'm obsessed with it (as pretty much everyone I've ever met told me I would be). I especially love this insanely large typography on the titles. 

322/365: Just the first thing I see when I wake up the morning (besides Mozart's screaming face).

Once again I find myself without concrete weekend plans, but I may brave IKEA with my mom (which means diner breakfast, of course) and hang out at my Brooklyn country retreat (aka David's apartment). I just made another batch of apple cramble, but my mom and I still have to solidify our Thanksgiving menu and go shopping (alongside every other resident of New York City, probably).

I've been trying to read every chance I get to finish all of my library books before they're due, and I just finished The Butchering Art in less than a week, and it was excellent. Next up is The Apparitionists and I'm expecting it to be great based on nothing but the cover art alone. I'm looking forward to a short work week and as many Thanksgiving-themed festivities as I can cram into a few days, but until then—have a great weekend!

Divine

The first John Waters movie that I ever saw was 1994's Serial Mom. I was probably much too young to be seeing a John Waters movie, but I loved it. I don't feel as if I can call myself a mega Waters fan, however, because I haven't yet seen all of his movies and there is some seriously stiff competition in that department. I have tried to see most of his work with Divine—Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble—although I inexplicably haven't seen their most commercial collaboration, the original Hairspray. 

Divine, born Harris Glenn Milstead, was a longtime friend of John Waters and part of Waters's Baltimore acting troupe, The Dreamlanders. His offscreen story is fascinating and heartbreaking, and I highly recommend watching the documentary I Am Divine, if you're interested (last time I checked it was on Netflix). Waters and Divine did several movies together and each is iconic in its own way—although it's hard to top the ending of Pink Flamingoes where Divine (SPOILER ALERT FOR A 45-YEAR-OLD MOVIE) eats real dog shit or the scene in Multiple Maniacs where he is raped by the giant lobster, Lobstora (it doesn't make sense out of- or even in context, really). 

The first stop that I planned on our recent mother-daughter road trip, and the only stop that my mom knew about in advance (besides, of course, South of the Border) was Prospect Hill Cemetery, in Towson, Maryland to pay our respects to Divine. Divine died in his sleep of an enlarged heart in 1988, three weeks after the release of Hairspray. He was only 42. John Waters gave a speech at his funeral, and he was buried in a family plot next to his grandmother. 

Prospect Hill is a small cemetery, and although we didn't have an exact location for the grave it wasn't hard to find. We read that it would be covered in trinkets, and after just a few minutes we spotted it amongst several other Milsteads. Divine was estranged from his family for years, before reuniting with them before his death, and his headstone bears both of his names and the heartbreaking epitaph "Our Loving Son." I think the lipstick kisses, messages and offerings—both glamorous and trashy—would have pleased Divine. I brought my own tube of red lipstick to leave behind and I only wish I could take credit for those fabulously painted red nails, forever praying to the church of Divine.

Korean Chrysanthemums

I've seen (and photographed) the incredibly lovely Korean Chrysanthemums at the Conservatory Garden in Central Park for the last few years (2014 // 2016), and this year I just caught them in time. When I went to check on them over lunch, they were beginning to be removed and they were definitely past their peak. The first year I posted about them, I thought they were daisies because I know absolutely nothing about plants. Someone who obviously knows much more about these things than I do was kind enough to correct me, and now I feel superior in my (still woefully limited) plant knowledge every time I spot another Korean Chrysanthemum. 

I've never been really disappointed to find that the flowers I've gone to visit are already half-dead, and I even sometimes prefer the crispy versions to their lively counterparts. Maybe it's all the time I spend reading about death and decay (and pining after senior rescue dogs), but I try my best to appreciate living beings at every stage of their beautiful lives. 

We went to see Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri this weekend—it's great, go see it!—and I fell in love with Frances McDormand's wrinkly, malleable, age-appropriate, fascinating face. It's refreshing to see a woman in Hollywood unapologetically exhibiting beauty and bravery on an unaltered face, and her performance was riveting not in spite of, but because of it. 

I've been struggling with how to wrap my head around this onslaught of sexual assault news, and what it says about a woman's place in our world. I certainly have my share of #metoo stories—mostly small, but they add up—and I'm trying to harness all of this hurt, bewilderment and rage into something useful. I've certainly been complicit in the degradation of others in my past—in the service of powerful men, and of my own volition—but it always felt wrong and I'm sorry. I'm trying to focus on the positive, on the healing power of sharing stories, on the beauty in the decay, and on the fact that women are incredibly powerful when we work with, and not against, each other.

Muffler Man: Homer

The third day of our recent road trip was a long one. It was getting dark and our route was taking us through some pretty scary, winding mountain roads in western Virginia. There were a few more stops on my list, but I especially hate driving in the dark so I had to make a Sophie's Choice and decide which of the three remaining spots was worth a stop. It's probably not surprising that I chose a Muffler Man, and Homer became our last stop of the day—and the last official Muffler Man of the trip.

Homer resides in Bedford, Virginia, outside of the Bedford Mini Golf & Batting Zone. It was closed by the time we arrived—their sign said "open when dry and 50 degrees or by appt"—but luckily Homer is right out front and easily accessible. Bedford Mini Golf held a contest to name their Muffler Man, and Homer—a baseball reference, I assume—was the winner.

Homer was made by a local artist, Mark Cline, and he stands 14-feet tall. He has a baseball in one hand, a golf club in the other and stands on a base surrounded by tiny baseball bats. He's wearing a baseball hat, of course, and a Bedford button-up shirt. His socks and shoes are a little strange—is he supposed to be in a full baseball uniform?—but overall the paint job looks fresh. This was the first sports-themed Muffler Man that I've seen, but I feel like it's the perfect place for one of these manly giants.  

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Bedford Mini Golf & Batting Zone
958 Burks Hill Road
Bedford, VA 24523
Easily accessible even when closed