{pfw} highlights from the city of lights...

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

mid-week music moment... (modified!)

(Madewell racerback tank top, $22, Stella McCartney wool blazer, 1,175 GBP, Hudson jeans, $190, Hanky panky, $54, We Who See high heels, $88, D G animal print handbag, $347, Rolex watch Hermes bracelet, $485, House of Harlow 1960vintage bracelet, 100 GBP, Vintage bracelet, 240 GBP.)
Ok, so this is a little bit of a variation on my usual MWMM. As it happens, I was simultaneously listening to my fav French artist Yelle and spazzing around on Polyvore yesterday afternoon. I was imagining what it would be like to have my way with that Stella McCartney tuxedo jacket, trying this and that top under it, when I settled on an extra casual red Madewell tank. "Color pop!" I thought to myself. And I kid you not, the song I was listening to right then was Crookers ft. Yelle, "Cooler Couleur."
The tiny gears in my brain started swirling and twirling and then the light bulb moment happened. (In my mind's eye though, there's a chandelier above my head, instead of a crumby bare bulb.) Wouldn't it be fun to create a look inspired by each song for the mid-week music moment? I think it would be grand, and probably a bit challenging in some cases. Let's have this be a trial run, and you can let me know how you feel in the comments.
Before your gears start swirling and twirling in terrible directions - I will not do things like post a menswear look and then make you listen to Beyonce's "If I were A Boy," or some such way-too-literal nonsense. Or how about Vampire Weekend's "Oxford Comma," and then I'd post... can you guess... an oxford cloth shirt! Woof. Like I said, I would never put you through that.