Holidays In NYC - 2018

Hello Readers!  It's been a bit since I've been here.  I have so much tell you, but since today is the last day of 2018,  I thought I'd close the year out by showing you some of the holiday decorations here in New York City.

As always, the windows at Bergdorf's are amazing.  If you've seen the documentary "Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf's" on Netflix, you'll know that the store starts planning for the window decorations in the summer.  If I could have my fantasy job, it would be working with the team that does the holiday decor/styling.  They are true artisans.

As you can see, the theme this year was sweets.  Cookies, candy, cake, lollipops, it was all represented in the windows.  Along with the gorgeous clothes, of course.

Can you believe this is not a real bakery?  The craftsmanship here is absolutely stunning.

Though it is hard to choose, I think the gingerbread window is my favorite.

Strolling down Fifth, I passed Cartier and Saks.  Every year, Saks has a beautiful light show and I was lucky enough to get a few pics of that.

St Patrick's Cathedral

Then it's on to Rockefeller Center to see the tree and the ice skaters.

So there you have it - some snaps of the holidays here in New York.  I'm so glad to be back here and I have a bunch of posts ready to go for 2019.  Have a Happy New Year's Eve/Day and I'll see you soon!

New York City Holiday Windows 2017

Hi Everyone.  I hope all of you are enjoying the holiday season.  A few nights ago, on the spur of the moment, I decided to check out the holiday windows on Fifth Avenue.  It is usually jam packed and difficult to get photos, but I really lucked out and it was relatively quiet, or as quiet as things can be on Fifth and Fifty-Seventh streets.  I started at Cartier and worked my way up to Bergdorf's.

If you look at my Instagram Stories, there is a video of the leopard riding down the hill.  I always love the windows at Cartier and this year was no exception.

Across the street is Ferragamo, all wrapped up in a bow.

Continuing up the block, I got a great surprise in the windows of Dolce & Gabbana.  They had window displays that looked like massive Dutch still life paintings!  As you know, the Dutch still lifes are my favorite, so I really enjoyed looking at these windows.

Next up, Tiffany's.  I wasn't in love with the windows, but the outside of the building is beautifully decorated.

And across from Tiffany's, the piece de resistance, Bergdorf Goodman.  Bergdorf's always has the most amazing and creative windows.  Titled "To New York With Love" the exhibits are dedicated to the cultural institutions of New York.

First up, The New York Botanical Garden.

Next, The American Museum of Natural History.

The New York Historical Society

Museum of the Moving Image

The New York Philharmonic.

The people who do these windows are true artisans.  Planning for the windows goes on all year.  If you would like to see more about how the windows are done and see more of Bergdorf's, I watched a great movie on Netflix last year called "Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's".

I have to say, the windows in the city this year are my favorite.  If you are local or visiting, please make time to go and see them.  If that is not possible, I hope you enjoyed seeing a bit of the holiday decor here.

Wishing all of you a great holiday!

Inspired By Italy: My Painting Adventure In Assisi

Hello Everybody!!  I'm so glad to be back.  I hope all of you are enjoying the summer.  I just returned from a visit to Assisi, Italy.  I was there on a painting trip with my teacher, Gregg Kreutz, and some other students.  To say I had a great time would be a major understatement.  We painted every day with the exception of the day we arrived.

Assisi is one of the hill towns of central Italy and is best known as the birth place of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals, the environment and Italy.

Upon arriving I went exploring around town.  This is down the hill from the hotel where I stayed.  Assisi is one of Italy's hill towns.  Going down is fine, but sometimes you need a cab for the way back up!

As I continued walking under the arch, I came upon this scene.  There was a little observation area that looked out over these beautiful fields.  It seemed that no matter where I looked there was something beautiful.

The next morning it was painting time.  Our hotel has a terrace that is as big as my apartment so we set up out there for the first painting day.

This is the view I was looking at when I began painting.  I had never painted roof tops before, but it went surprisingly well.

Here is my start.  I blocked in everything and then began painting the sky.  In a landscape painting, the sky is the background, so I always start with that first.

I then moved on to the houses.  The roof tops had the most light on them, so that took awhile to complete, but it just meant putting multiple coats of paint on the canvas until the painting looked the way I wanted it to.

This is the finished painting.  I was happy to complete a painting on the first day, especially one with so much perspective.

To cap off the evening, the hotel set up a huge screen to show the World Cup finale.  A few of us watched it along with the hotel employees.

So that caps off my first two days in bella Italia.  It was the trip of a lifetime and I'm so glad I was able to paint there and explore the lovely town of Assisi.  I have many more pictures to show you, so I will have a few more posts with paintings and pictures of the city.

Have a great day!

New York City Holiday Windows and Downton Abbey!

It's that time of the year again.  Every December the stores here in New York City decorate for the holidays and it is always beautiful.  I can't wait to see what they come up with every year.  I was a bit late getting them photographed this year, mainly due to our never ending snow/ice/27 degree weather.  It is finally warming up a bit so here we go.

This giant wreath is on the gate leading into the outdoor space of the Frick Museum.  If you look at the top of the bow you can still see some snow.

The front window of the Laduree shop.  I saw some tourists posing outside the window with their bags.  
The shop seems to be a stop for everyone visiting the city.

Next up, Cartier.  Beautiful as always and of course I had to post the panther in their window since I have one of my own.  Well, she thinks she is one anyway!

More shops on Madison Avenue.  Madison was beautifully decorated and not inundated with people.  It was perfect for window shopping as opposed to Fifth which has become impossible the last few years.

Heading east I came upon this adorable little cafe.  I wanted to sit down for a cup of tea, but in our freezing weather everyone else had the same idea, so I settled for taking some photos.

These winter cabbages were still in their planters and covered with snow.  So pretty.

Such a pretty wreath.  The brownstones on the Upper East Side always look lovely this time of year.

Park Avenue in the snow.

This is not technically a Christmas display, but I was dying over the way this window was set up.  Since I would need a brownstone to display these, I'll just gaze from afar.

Don't forget the fur babies in the family!  This store always has the cutest window displays.  I don't know the name of it, but it is a few doors north of the 63rd and Lex subway stop.

So that takes care of the Upper East Side.  Now we're going over to Lincoln Center.  I was over there Friday night and was lucky enough to see some beautiful decorating.

I have to tell you why I was in Lincoln Center on a freezing cold Friday night.  Thanks to the magic of twitter I won a pass to see the season premiere of Downton Abbey!!  Are you guys fans?  I'm obsessed.  
Not only do I love the story line, but I am crazy about the fashions and the set design.  We had a great time and I got a fun shot of Broadway from inside the television studio.

You can see the trees all lit up.  Everything was so pretty you could almost forget it was 25 degrees!

The Christmas tree in the median by Lincoln Center.

I had such a good time seeing all the holiday decorating.  Hope you enjoyed it as well!