Monday, May 5, 2014

City weekend


I went to Purl Soho, I petted the Liberty, I ate New York pizza, I drank delicious, intoxicating things. It was perfect. 

This now-three years running tradition of a May weekend in New York City with my aunt is emerging out of the mists, growing its own inside jokes and little specialties. Special-ities. Getting tippled on wine and talking about books or music or movies is one. Watching the Derby on Saturday, after which we make homemade BLTs (with a $4 tomato purchased from Grand Central Market, where tomatoes are $5.99 a pound) is one. Having friendly little spats over who's treating who for what is one. A frequent refrain is, "Well, okay, I'll let you pay for lunch, but I am buying the four-dollar tomato!"


Friday was for the Botanical Garden, for meandering and soaking up all the flowers.




Saturday was for shopping in Soho. We took the subway down to a very different Spring Street. I discovered that Purl Soho and Anthropologie are right around the corner from each other. I needed to pilgrimage to Purl to pet the Liberty (as I said before) and Anthro is just... well. 


Purl is tiny, but I made my way back to the cutting counter. I found some really pretty sea foam green linen for 40% off, and, after blinking back honest overwhelmed-by-beauty tears, set upon choosing the very nicest, prettiest bolt of Liberty to coordinate with the linen. The man working the cutting counter and I talked about how we store our finest, most special fabrics in a separate pile, apart from the rest of the stash: maybe this is what it means to be a fabric nerd. Exquisite is the word. I have no idea what I'm going to sew with the one yard of Liberty and two yards of linen I bought, but whatever I do with it it'll be a lovely reminder of this day.


By late afternoon, I had a tidy little bag of treasures to tote home. It was just right.


I'm so lucky that I get to do this every year, so lucky that I have my dear aunt who says-- as I drag her all over the city-- that she loves it, that she isn't tired yet, that she's having fun. That she's buying the $4 tomato, and lunch.


She's a good one. Maybe the best one. I'm so glad I have her in my life.

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2 comments:

Becky said...

What a great tradition! Lucky you to have such a fab Aunt!

Anonymous said...

Lovely to read this!

I have an aunt like this too! We've been going on city trips every year for the past 10 years, we have our routines and inside jokes, and it's wonderful! I'll send her this blogpost as a reminder of our next trip in June :-D

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