hiatus

I'm taking an official blogging break to pursue other projects. Follow me on Instagram or Twitter for current whereabouts, happenings and explorations.
©photo by me

the city reliquary

The City Reliquary is mere blocks from my apartment which is pretty pathetic considering my first visit was two years after moving in. In any event, it's essentially a collection of New York themed tchotchkes, which couldn't be more up my alley.  So many treasures!

© all photos by me

the armory show

The Armory Show was a few weeks ago and although it was really crowded and overwhelming, there were so many inspiring and intriguing pieces. Here are a few of my favorites.

© all photos by me

philly: the barnes collection

We didn't make reservations early enough last time to visit the Barnes Collection, so I knew that was something I definitely wanted to do this time around. A coworker recommend I watch this documentary about the collection, which left me with really mixed feelings - I absolutely believe that a persons will and wishes should be respected, but I am also really grateful that I was able to view these works of art....however you feel, both the story and the collection* are worth seeing.
*no photos of the collection were allowed, but I found the building really lovely.

© all photos by me

philly: eastern state penitentiary

Touring creepy places is a hobby of mine, so I jumped at the chance to visit Eastern State Penitentiary during our recent trip to Philly. A working prison up until the early 1970's, Eastern State was the first jail to adopt the practice of keeping prisoners in separate confinement (which is now the norm). Educational and interesting, Eastern State is one of my favorite spots in Philly so far.

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the city of brotherly love

We took advantage of the President's Day weekend to visit the city of many past presidents. Mostly eating and drinking, however, we managed to fit in a couple cultural activities as well (more on that later).

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snow day!

We finally got a good dumping of snow so it seemed foolish not to go play before it all turned to slush. Isn't Central Park lovely in the winter?

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dia: beacon

Image from here.
Dia: Beacon has been on my to-visit list since I first visited the Hudson Valley last summer. A former Nabisco box printing facility, Dia was turned into a minimalist art gallery in 2003 - an enormous, cavernous gallery. The only other time I visited Beacon was in the summer, so going there in 25° was quite a difference - sadly, the gardens will have to be explored on my next visit.

Image from here.

Image from here.

Image from here.

carnegie hall

It's been awhile since I've done something really "new york-y" so I was excited to visit Carnegie Hall. While the show was pretty incredible, I also enjoyed the Rose Museum which showcased some incredible gems from the venue's one hundred and twenty year history.

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the event of a thread

As a fan of interactive art pieces, I was intrigued by Ann Hamilton's the event of a thread at the Park Avenue Armory. I didn't necessarily understand the connection with the caged pigeons, but the swings that were engineered to move the giant curtain were quite enjoyable.

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the catskills

Inspired by our new Christmas tradition, Jeff and I spent the holiday visiting a new part of our not so new state. For this trip, we ventured to the town of Phoenicia, just past Woodstock in the Catskills. While it wasn't exactly what I was envisioning, it was still nice to get away from the city. We went for a great hike, ate some surprisingly good pizza, and I beat Jeff twice at checkers (ha!). We also woke up to snow on Christmas morning - my first ever white Christmas!

©all photos by me