New York Journal

Hi there right bankers, how have you been? I made two trips to New York the past month for some business and fun so I’m back with a ton of inspiration to share with you….

On both trips we stayed at the Standard (High Line) and had a great stay both times. Great views, nice design and good service….

There was a lot of other great design inspiration like at the Apartment by the Line, a loft apartment where everything (furniture, clothing, household items, art, etc.) is for sale…

and at my old favorites, ABC…..

and Bergdorf’s…..

and a certain stye icon’s house that was still decked out in the prettiest blue for the holidays (as of my February trip)….

Can you guess? (Her initials are SJP….)

And there was so much art to absorb….. My timing was lucky because on the first trip, I made it to the Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs exhibit right before it closed and on the second trip, I got to see a preview of the new Björk exhibit before it opened to the public.

I’ve mentioned before that Matisse is my favorite artist but I never appreciated his cut-outs as much as his paintings until I saw this exhibit. I’ve also always been intrigued by Björk because she interprets the world through such a unique lens. Seeing her huge body of work over the years was fascinating. I was also pretty excited to see the costume designed by Alexander McQueen (another true original) that she wore in the Who Is It video, which happens to be my favorite. The dress made of bells is a work of art itself.

I also went to the theater a few times and the highlights were Beautiful, The Carol King Musical (Jessie Mueller is phenomenal!) and Constellations with Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson…..

It’s not the best play I’ve ever seen but the performances were great. (I think she’s incredible in the Affair. Do you watch?)

And I went to a screening of The Left Handed Woman, as part of the Wim Wenders Exhibition at MoMA. The 1978 film is set in a Paris suburb and naturally, I couldn’t take my eyes off of the setting, especially the interiors. (I’m a total Wim Wenders groupie so I freaked out a little when the two of them introduced the film.)

For me, aside from traveling, there is nothing more exhilarating than huge doses of the arts. It sparks so many new ideas it almost overwhelms me and I have to take some downtime to process it all. (Do any of you operate this way too?)

As I was running around to all of these events through snow, sleet and rain, I was so thankful I packed my Ilse Jacobsen boots! After these last two trips, I can attest they are totally waterproof and really warm.

Ralph’s Coffee…..

La Colombe…..

and the Living Room at the Standard for the sheer convenience of it being just downstairs. Plus they make a pretty good peanut butter hot chocolate…..

and out of the window, you can watch people twirl around on the cutest ice rink you ever did see…..

Between the Living Room and the Top of the Standard, I could have just hibernated in the hotel….

But there was more to do, see and of course, eat. A couple of recent favorites for quick and casual eats were at Chelsea Market: Num Pang for Cambodian/Asian sandwiches and Mokbar for Korean ramen…..

Lastly, there were business meetings but those make for boring photos so here’s a photo of the dessert at Kajitsu at the end of one of those meetings. Matcha pudding on the left and hoji-cha pudding on the right…..

Delicious Japanese vegetarian food, beautifully presented in a totally zen setting. I’ll definitely be going back!

I’ll stop here but you can expect more from New York throughout the year as I’ll be spending more time there. As you can imagine, I’m happy as a clam about that!

Have a good first week of daylight savings!

(Photos: FROM THE RIGHT BANK)

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