Christmas in NYC

My DH, the world's biggest lover of all things Christmas, planned a surprise weekend into the Big Apple for me to see the lights and the windows. From my last posting, you know it was just what the doctor ordered.

For my international friends and those of you who are not familiar with New York City traditions, the big department stores, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman ( to name the heavy hitters) decorate their windows for Christmas every year.

So we took the train early Friday morning and arrived in Grand Central about 10 am. From there, we checked into our hotel and then hit the bricks. We started at the windows of Bergdorf Goodman, which are always quite artsy and high fashion. This year was an Alice in Wonderland Theme.

Here's Alice!

and part of her journey through wonderland. BTW, Bergdorf Goodman loves to put monkeys, squirrels and weird little animals in their Christmas windows. They are really spectacular and the details are just amazing.

From there, we walked down Fifth Avenue enjoying all the sights. To say it was cold is an understatement. But we dressed for the weather. Although some of the gals in NYC would rather freeze to death than commit a fashion faux pas.!! I saw more women without stockings in little short skirts and black flats, no hats, no gloves. They looked fabulous but I'd rather be warm!!

These pictures are from Saks Fifth Avenue. It is the story of Twinkle, a snowflake and her journey. All of the windows had music and animation for the kids and all those young at heart. I like Twinkle's take on life. How about you?

Of course, we stopped at Rockefeller Center to see the big Christmas tree!

While we were there, a young man proposed to his lady on the ice of the skating rink which is down below under the Christmas tree.

Then we hit our favorite Irish pub for lunch. After that, we finished up at Macy's for a look at their windows and then some shopping. By the time we got back to our hotel, we were pretty tired. But after a little nap and we headed out for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant. The next morning we were up bright and early for.....

THE ROCKETTES CHRISTMAS SHOW!~

Neither one of us had ever been to see the show. It was absolutely fabulous. We had seats right up front and were surrounded by lots of families with their little ones which made it even more magical. To see the faces of the little kids just added to our enjoyment of the show.

Here's a picture of the lobby.

And here's our souvenir ornament to add to the tree.

After the show, my DH parked me in the nearest Starbucks and headed out to do a "secret errand". I guess you and I will have to wait til Christmas to see what that was all about.

On our way back to the train, we walked through Bryant Park where they had little booths set up with handmade crafts and local artisans. This is the fountain with icicles hanging off of it.
We had hoped to stay later but with the impending snowstorm barreling up the East Coast,we headed reluctantly home. But it was really great trip! I have the one of the best hubbys in the world.

Reconnecting

Lately, I noticed I've been feeling a little lonely and sad. I chocked it up to the holiday rush which often overwhelms me. I'm not a huge holiday season fan unlike my DH who counts down the days to December 25th. I usually enter December kicking and screaming "no not again, it's too soon!" I have been working long hours and doing all those "important" things like laundry and food shopping and cleaning which means that I've spent little to no time quilting which keeps me sane and blogging, well forget it, my postings are few and far between.

But on Monday I received an email from Patti, a blogger friend. She had saved a comment I had made on her blog months ago and was getting back to me. That email could not have come at a better time. It was truly the bright spot in my day. So when I was on the computer ordering a few Christmas presents Tuesday, I decided to check in on some old friends that I had been neglecting, my blogging buddies. :)

Wow!! When I started reading I realized that I have been away from blogging WAY TOO LONG! So many things had happened that I had missed. Birthdays, anniversaries, lovely vacations, and new babies (grandkids) on the way and sadly there were also illnesses, injuries, lost jobs, and the passing of loved ones. Oh, and there were quilts ! I know when I originally started blogging my focus was the quilting. But I have to say that what has kept me coming back is the fellowship - the sharing, not only of our love of fabric, but the sharing of our every day lives, not just the high points but the lows and the ordinary stuff that make up our days. The things that make us laugh or cry, the things that make us women.

Over the last few days, I have purposely set aside a little time to stop by and visit with some of my favorite bloggers, leaving comments or sending an email. And that lonely feeling, it's pretty much gone.

If I haven't stopped by your place yet, don't worry I will. And thanks for being there.

I made a quilt!!! (in my head)

Hello Quilters! Happy December! . Well, we are entering the busiest month of the year and I'm pretty sure that the little bit of quilting I've been doing will come to a grinding halt now that the holidays are upon us. But today on my way to work, I was sitting in traffic next to a white truck which had a black logo on it which looked like the rays of the sun.


" Hmm, that reminds me of a New York Beauty. I love the New York Beauty. I should really make that Pat Sloan quilt that is in my binder."




(Ladies, you know the binder I'm talking about. The one that has all the quilt patterns you've culled from years of quilting magazines and you have sworn you will make all of them before you leave God's green earth!)




"I could make each quarter section to represent each of the seasons. I have that really great hand dyed fabric for spring, oh and that great snow fabric for winter. Now, what will I use for Fall?. I'd have to enlarge the pattern though to make it wall hanging size. Yeah, that'll work!".




And without touching any fabric or taking a single stitch, I made a quilt! And, you know, it was pretty satisfying! Seww, you see, you do have time to quilt even in December. You just do it in your head!

Oh, and here is a picture of the quilt I was thinking about from McCall's Quilting, October, 2006.

Have a quilty day!