MJ Trim ... Hyman & Hendler

I love to shop for ribbons in NYC. It's so much fun. My two favorite places to visit are MJ Trim and Hyman & Hendler & Sons. MJ Trim has really fun novelty ribbons in stripes, plaids and patterns. They also carry a beautiful selection of floral jacquards like the green pictured above. Hyman & Hendler sells some of the finest and most beautiful ribbons in the world. It is a favorite ribbon shop of Martha Stewart. Both of these lovely shops have a limited quantity of their wares available online.

Norma's

One thing that is really fun about NYC is that you can have an elegant breakfast at 2:30 in the afternoon. This is a photo of Norma's in Le Parker Meridien Hotel. Yum! I had the mandarin orange french toast with candied macadamia nuts which was just heavenly. If you go to NYC, this is a really fun stop.

Pearl River...

If you happen to be dreaming of a Flourishing Happiness parasol, Pearl River is a fun place to visit, but you can also purchase quite a few of their products online here. It was really fun to see the store location and to visit China Town, which is only a few blocks away.

Beard Papa's Cream Puffs....

I don't even like cream puffs, but these are delish! And, they are available in San Francisco as well. This is a photo of The Upper West Side location from gothamist.com.

Another fabulous Jenni recommendation!

Takashimaya...

This is such a beautiful place that it seemed like everyone spoke in a whisper while we were there until something kind of funny happened. We were on the 6th floor in the amazing floral department and we were looking at some of the most beautiful flowers. Not a hanging leaf did they show, every flower was a perfect example. As we turned from the perfect and amazingly large white orchids to look at these fluffy and beautifully round somethings that resembled.. what??? Tumble weed! No, said a lady from Kansas, it can't be! So, we asked the clerk. Tumble weed indeed it was! Lesson: Don't judge things when they have been rolling around in the dirt, they are quite lovely in water and a crystal vase!

The Riot Relief Fund... A Great Cause!

The Riot Relief Fund annual luncheon is the main reason that I traveled to NYC. My friend Peter is President of the Trustees of the Riot Relief Fund. This organization was founded after the New York City draft riots of 1863 in an effort to help the families of fallen police officers who died in the line of duty. The fund has been praised by The New York Times and many others for its efficiency and lack of red tape... it's ability to move very quickly to help the families of officers and now fire fighters as well.

Learn about the Riot Relief Fund here.

Donations are never solicited, but they are very welcome.

Xanadu Broadway Revival...

This musical is a spoof on the original film with John Travolta and Olivia Newton John and it is so much fun! I loved it!

You have ta baLEVE we are MaGIC.. nothing can stand in our way.... very fun!

Correction: Thank you annonymous. Michael Beck played Sonny Malone in the film Xanadu which has some other interesting fact to it. Olivia Newton John fractured her coccyx while filming the Suddenly dance sequence.

The film has been nominated for lots of Razzie awards, and although I agree that it's terrible, the writing is terrible, some of the costumes are terrible, but it's terrible in a really fun way. I like it. :)

The Buttercup Bake Shop Cook Book...

This is the lovliest little bakery. I just adored it. I just returned last night from NYC and this is one of the places that Jenni recommended (she planned my trip). I had the most marvelous time, and eating a German Chocolate Cupcake here was one of the many fun highlights of my very quick trip to New York. See The Buttercup Bake Shop site here. Jenni also recommended that we visit The Fairway Market, which was amazing. Inside there is a tiny, but delightful bakery where you can buy many lovely things, but I purchased a pecan pie square that has to be one of the most delicious treats I've ever tasted. We also visited Zabar's on The Upper West Side famous for their black and white cookies.. and much, much more.