the definition of a handsome couple...

I was lucky enough to have my parents finally come visit me out here this past weekend. It was a trip almost two years coming - and I can't express how excited I was to show them around my New York and see them for the first time since Christmas.

We had a great weekend - a perfect balance of their uptown, upscale Manhattan of past visits, and my downtown day-to-day life. All the things we did piece together like a pretty great guide to wining and dining with a dash of culture and shopping from Soho to the Upper East Side:


{We dined.}

• Gotham Grill: White table clothes, amazing seafood and a very 90s New York vibe, like Gramercy Tavern and totally delicious (the seafood salad is unreal)
• The Modern: minimalist, fancy and contemporary - just like the museum (amazing duck confit)
• db Bistro Moderne: fancy and delicious
  
• The Standard Grill: great spot for an early breakfast al fresco
  
• Public: trendy, brunch-y, delicious lentil salad and great drinks
• La Piscine: on the roof of Hotel Americano; lots of delicious fried seafood with a side of DJ
  
• Brasserie Julienne: cute little french joint on 2nd Ave in the 80s, live jazz with your moules frites
  
• Morandi: loud, busy and seriously great Italian fare on Waverly and 7th Ave
  

{We drank.}

• La Piscine: Before dinner every night we had cocktails on the roof with an amazing view of the city
  
• Kingswood: After dinner at db, I brought my parents to meet up with friends and see one of my favorite West Village bars
  
• Public: a dirty martini for Mom, a bourbon iced tea for me and the Bloody Maria for Dad
  

{We saw.}

• The MoMA:the Cindy Sherman exhibit was cool and creepy, but the permanent exhibits are always refreshing and unmissable
  
• The East River Ferry: A fun and unique way to get between Manhattan and Brooklyn - especially on a warm day; we took it to and from 34th street to the flea market 
• Brooklyn Flea (Williamsburg): people watching, antique-ing and artisianal everything - of course
  
• The Met: My favorite museum in Manhattan, and the Steins Collection and Shiaparelli and Prada exhibit were crowded but truly wonderful (unfortunately the Cloud City exhibit on the roof was closed for weather)

{We shopped.}

• Uniqlo @ 53rd & 5th: picked up 4 shirts for my dad, but the crazy atmosphere and sheer amount of clothes is a little too much
  
• Treasure & Bond: cool, well-curated jewelry, gifts and apparel on lower West Broadway in Soho
  
• MoMA Design Store: so many unique and useful knick-knacks, and perfectly sized art prints for $10

Happy Anniversary Blog!

My blog turned two years old this week.

The above picture is one of my favs; snapped on the Paris trip in March '09 that inspired me to start SUILTSOY.

From the bottom of my Wayfarer & pearl-loving heart:

THANK YOU

To everyone who has read, commented, clicked, linked, tweeted, emailed, whatever! I couldn't have kept this up without you.

I am so grateful!

tgif: i want to get inside this video and stay forever...

EF - Live The Language - Paris from Niklas Johansson, FSF on Vimeo.

I found this video on ModCloth's blog yesterday. It's part of a project called "Live the Language" for EF International Language Centers. The series features no dialogue, but words in the native language of each city in really gorgeous fonts.

As someone who believes that their soul belongs in Paris, watching this video made my chest tighten and my fingers get dangerously close to typing in airfrance.com. If you don't have a gut-turning reaction to sweet, dreamy videos laced with nostalgia for days abroad in the City of Lights... There are videos of Barcelona, London and Beijing as well.

On that note though, forget Paris - we're in New York City and it's incredible. Happy Weekend!

xoxo

{from Inslee's blog} People Watching... (it's me!)

Does she look familiar to you? I hope so. The lovely Inslee, who I'm sure you're now all quite familiar with, whipped this up yesterday, inspired by one very serious pair of shoes and one very spastic Twitter exchange:

@Inslee: for me???? size eight graz-a-mileeee http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/94558

@Shutupilovethat: @Inslee sketch them! sketch ME in them! sketch me in them in paris! sitting on top of the eiffel tower! eating a croissant! No? Too much?

@Inslee: @shutupilovethat pain au chocolat ou regulier?... now i want those shoes AND a croissant

@Shutupilovethat: @Inslee au chocolat ma cherie! #Louboutinsandpastriesfordays

@Inslee: Paris is the best place to wear stud covered Louboutins, no?... http://fb.me/PchS8J81

Et voila! C'est moi! I'm obsessed, to say the least. Her illustration is how I see myself in my mind's eye: In Paris always; perfectly chocolate brown mane, not a hair out of place, all black everything, gracefully thin despite my love for buttery pastries, and expertly miss-matched in my accessory selection. Oh, and the shoes. In my mind I'm eternally in the fanciness of Louboutin with ease of flats.

Read the full post here, please, she has quite the wit, this one.

Oh and I'll be ordering a print of this immediately, ma cherie Inslee!