I recently was invited to New York City for the weekend, and wanting to keep my mind occupied (more on that in a minute), I couldn’t have picked a a more picture-perfect weekend to go!

freedom tower

A view of the Freedom Tower in the distance. (Picture taken from the top of the Empire State Building.)

x

I took advantage of three beautiful days in the city, starting every day with a run through Central Park…

skyline run

xx

…where I came across a most ambitious (and strong) dog walker. (That’s 10 dogs she is walking together.)

dog walker

x

I also visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, spending a somber three hours there. There are no words for this…north tower pool

 

x

quilt1

 

x

quilt2

 

x

ladder 3

 

x

On a more cheerful note, I also went to Mood Fabrics of “Project Runway” fame, and I was so overwhelmed by the stacks and stacks of bolts towering over me, I didn’t buy a single thing. I also went to the Museum of Sex because 1) such a museum actually exists, and 2) you never know of you will learn something. 😉

Mood

x

And on a G-rated note, I saw my best friend’s little sister perform as Mary Poppins in “Mary Poppins, the Musical.” If you are in the tri-state area in the next couple of months, I highly recommend bringing your family to see this production!

x

9_med

Lauren Blackman as Mary Poppins, playing at the Westchester Theatre in Elmsford, NY.

 

x

I also spotted someone in Times Square who has gained so much notoriety for playing his guitar in nothing but tighty whities,  he recently gained national endorsements from Fruit of the Loom. Yes, I’m talking about the Naked Cowboy. Below we are scheming a pose for a picture.

 

staging

And here’s my 2014 Christmas card!

x

Naked Cowboy

That’s a joke by the way! (And if you are wondering if I had any Purell in my purse, I am always packing.)

All in all, a great trip! One of the reasons I was trying to keep my mind occupied for the past few days is I had just made an offer on a property in Northern California, my homeland.  Knowing that it could take several days to hear anything back, I was very glad for the Big Apple distraction.

Just a couple days ago I found out my offer was accepted, and I am now back in California for two days to begin the due diligence process. This property isn’t just a place where I can live, but where I can work, too. (Hey, I can’t play and travel forever!)

The zip code? 94558.

Napa Valley.

I hope this works out,