Work hard, play hard, enjoy every day. Even my three year old grandson knows my motto!  So here I end a week of working hard, staying at the Courtyard Marriott, ready for some city fun with hubby. First night out we headed to Bemelman’s Bar in The Carlyle Hotel, one of Ginger’s favorite spots. Cozy atmosphere, a piano player, and great people watching…”Oh my God, Peter, Paul Fucking McCartney just walked in.”  Yup! Peter immediately texts his brother, who asks how he looks.  “Like us – old.” Haha…

On the walls of the bar, murals from Ludwig Bemelman’s classic children’s book, Madeline. One of my favorites! Do you remember this story?  ‘Boohoohoo! We want to have our appendix out too!’ 🙂

Felt like I needed my appendix out the next morning….guess I overdid it with martinis in the excitement of the evening. Off to a slow start, but finally got dressed.         Guess where we went????

We went to the Met – the Metropolitan Museum of Art!  C’mon – you thought we went to Madison Ave, didn’t you?  When wonderful husband who supports my multiple shopping expeditions suggests we visit a museum for part of the day, how could I ever say no??? Plus, it will be good for me, enhance my view of the world, make me more ‘cultured’.  Who knows, I may even like it!

Did I like it?  NOT ONE SINGLE BIT.  Yeah, yeah, Peter, it’s really old.  Hundreds of years old, wow.  Oh, wow, that’s an original Rodin…hmmm, looks the same to me as the prints at the Harvard Coop…sure, ok, let’s look in the medieval wing next…(shoot me now)…

Honestly, while I would not want to go back, I really was a good sport.  We had many laughs and a light lunch in the museum cafe.  Next stop: The Edition Hotel in the flatiron district;  this is a great place to stay if you want to be in an upscale Marriott property without staying at a Ritz.  Great service, cool vibe, decent sized rooms.

Time to get ready for the evening…takes no time at all when you start with a black cocktail dress. Add statement shoes and earrings, and that’s all you need…

Well, you need a wrap too!  Love this dramatic fur cape by Michael Kors found years ago at Revolve…Dress by Ulla Johnson, Valentino shoes.

We both contributed to the plans for Friday night…Peter got tickets to The Portuguese Kid, an off Broadway comedy with Jason Alexander, I made  dinner reservations at the 21 Club.  Both were great choices, highly recommend.

After the show we hopped in a cab to our hotel bar which was packed with hip, slim, happy millennials (if not younger).  Not quite fitting in here yet not ready to call it a night, we hit the hotel’s upstairs bar…
…and played a few games of pool!

Peter is quite skilled at it, and a good teacher too – I beat him in one out of three games. 😉

Ok, Saturday arrives, now take a guess at where we went….yup, you guessed right – shopping!  A beautiful day exploring the shops and treasures in SoHo.  Rag and Bone, Theory, Stuart Weitzman, Zimmermans, Bogner, James Perse, Frye, Veronica Beard, Wolford, John Varvatos…so many shops, so little time!  There were a few things that I could not live without…

These white booties!  Initially I tried these on in black patent, but they did not excite me, seemed like something I already had…when I put them on in white, I could not stop smiling and actually started to dance around the dressing rooms.  Now that’s sparking joy!

A quick stop at Laduree for happy hour before heading back to the Edition…so delightfully French and more fun people watching.

Back at the hotel….

Our last evening! Adding a few finishing touches to this fabulous leather jacket by John Varvatos. Peter was not always a fan of wearing scarves, but they are growing on him as he experiments with different scarf weights and various ways to tie them. To me, it makes such a huge difference to having a look of style and sophistication. Why would a grown man prefer to look like a twelve year old?  Ok, off my soapbox…

This night we went for spontaneity. We walked through the flatiron district, in search of live music and thin crust pizza and were not disappointed.  It was quite a bit cooler out than we expected, so glad that I brought along some warmer layers…

Age appropriate my ass. You can wear a short skirt if you are over 50 (or over 60!). It’s all about balance. Here I wore a navy wool miniskirt by Veronica Beard with an ivory short sleeved turtleneck and over the knee suede boots by Stuart Weitzman…the key is not too much skin showing, and nothing skin tight. Wool cape from Bloomies, hat from Rag and Bone.

The restaurants, the bars, the people watching, the shopping, the energy!  It may not be for everyone, but I never tire of Manhattan.  Glad that my work takes me there on a regular basis, and glad that my hubby loves it as much as I do.

How about you?  Are you a fan of NYC?