Jane's Carousel

When Bammie and Pa were in town, they took Lyla to the new carousel in Dumbo -- Jane's Carousel. Although Bammie and Pa know it better as Idora Carousel, because it is the carousel they rode as children in Idora Park in Youngstown, Ohio. After being sold in 1984, the carousel underwent a 25-year restoration.



According to the plaque in the park, the restoration included:

hand-scraping away 62 years of "Park Paint" with an X-acto knife to reveal the original 1922 carvings, color palette, and designs. The discoveries were carefully recorded with photographs, color matches, and detailed drawings that guided the repainting of the Carousel. The horses were rendered in faithful detail. The highly decorative carved trappings were newly painted and re-leafed. Missing embellishments such as faceted jewels, small beveled mirrors on the bridles, and delicate pinstriping were restored. The Carousel's rounding boards, scenery panels and structural pieces were also repainted, stenciled, and re-leafed. Blackened varnish was removed from original paintings to reveal their true colors. Dozens of old beveled mirrors were reglazed. Mechanical systems were updated with new gears, motor and an electronic controller.

The result is a simply dazzling carousel encased in a glass pavilion that resembles a jewel box.














It sits in between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. There is no bad view from the carousel.





Lyla wasn't as interested in the details of the restoration; she just loved the horsies that went up and down :)










We (meaning me) couldn't resist getting ice cream at Jaques Torres before taking the East River Ferry home -- a five minute ferry ride that brought us back to Wall Street, just a few blocks from home.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

The High Line & Chelsea Market

Bammie and Pa came for a visit a few weeks ago and we took them up to the High Line. We love it up there and were looking for an excuse to go back. We walked and marveled at the art and architecture surrounding us.









Some of the surrounding buildings are all glass. It would be like living in a fishbowl. Curiously, most of the apartments looked empty...


Bammie and Pa could identify practically all of the wildflowers growing around the old train tracks.






A high five and a snack break.



My little New Yorker insisted on pushing her way through the crowds.








Picking flowers she was most definitely not supposed to pick. Sorry, Friends of the Highline!




We made a quick exit just as it started to rain and headed over to Chelsea Market for some yummy treats, like Amy's Bread and Mast Brothers chocolate (check out our good friend Brennan's beautiful documentary about the Mast Brothers).








Bammie wanted to stop at Dickson's because that is where Bobby Flay gets his meat!


We ended the day with a great early birthday dinner for Mark at Delmonico's.

Excuses, Excuses

Lyla is full of excuses lately. Some of my favorites:

When she wants a paci: "I'm so tired"

When she doesn't want to go to bed: "Big girls don't use pacis."

When she wakes up in the middle of the night (pick your favorite):

• "I need to go potty"
• "My crib is wet"
• "I need to put pants on"
• "I already had a good night sleep"
• "Ariel is all done sleeping"
• "The sun is up"
• "I have a great idea -- let's play"
• And when all else fails, "I'm so scared"

SecondMarket Spokestoddler

Next time, we'll have to brush her hair before we hit record.

Checking out 3d TV at Best Buy

Long Overdue Haircut

September Catch Up

September was a pretty lazy month.  No big happenings, which is just what we needed to recover from the summer craziness.  We spent our weekends in the city with no set plans.  Instead, we slept in, ate breakfast late and filled our days spontaneously.

Lyla spent a fair amount of time with her buddy and our neighbor, Greydon.


In fact, when she knew we were meeting Greydon for a rooftop bbq, she made Mark change her out of her comfy leggings and tee into a dress.


We had a great weekend with John and Nikki, who came up to see Ari's improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade.






We got a babysitter for the afternoon so we could go to the show. When it was over, Mark and I meandered our way downtown, just the two of us. I think it was the first afternoon in the city we have spent alone since Lyla was born. We stopped for a drink and not so coincidentally ran into the San Genarro feast where we ate some zeppolis before walking home.



Lyla started ballet. She wears a white bodysuit and white tutu with pink tights and pink shoes. She loves getting dressed for class. You should see all the stares she gets walking through Lower Manhattan in her ballet uniform.  Hopefully I'll get some better pictures at some point.




Potty Training is coming along sloooowly but surely. More on that another time, but for now all I will say is that it has been the least enjoyable part of motherhood to date.


We took Lyla to see the Lion King. The movie was great, but Mark and I weren't thrilled about splitting our popcorn three ways :)




We went a little crazy for Missoni for Target.


Finally, I "thumped" my mom in Words With Friends. A very big deal.