The city that never sleeps

I could not resist giving you a glimpse of our recent NYC get-away. Babysitters are hard to come by, so when my mom agreed to watch the kids for 3 days, we jumped at the opportunity to plan a little excursion. New York was a logical choice for us, I never get enough of this city. There is always more to see, more to do.

This time around, we walked the high line, explored the West Village, got our first taste of Brooklyn, and enjoyed our first Broadway show. It was a relaxing, yet exhausting getaway.

New York never disappoints. 
It also does not need words.
So enjoy the photos.

Knitter's Frolic

I recently had the best weekend getaway! 

Picture this: road trip with a girlfriend, uninterrupted knitting time, pedicures, wine and fantastic talks with like-minded people, a wool-festival aptly named “Knitter’s Frolic” and workshops filled with an amazing wealth of information, all new and exciting.

This adventure has been in the works for a while. Robyn, aka knitpurlmama and I had originally planned to go to Rhinebeck, a couple of years ago, but that never turned into reality. Still, we kept the dream alive and finally decided on Toronto’s Knitter’s Frolic. We met up with another wonderfully crafty friend, Jen of Spinnerknits.

I was so busy having fun that I did not even pull out my camera. I do have a few Instagram shots to share though.

Besides the overwhelming amount of yarn, I immensely enjoyed the 2 workshops I took. The first one was with Sivia Harding, who makes these incredible knits adorned with beads. I learned a tremendous amount from her and I cannot wait to experiment more.

The second workshop was with Kate Atherley whose enthusiasm for brioche stitch is contagious! Oh, the possibilities!! So many new things! So little time!!

I came home with what I consider a modest yarn haul, and I am currently obsessively researching and planning stages of upcoming projects.

Now that I’ve gotten a taste of yarn shows/festivals, I would love to check out more! 

Sivia Harding and I

Kate Atherley and I 

A New York State of Mind

I was fortunate last week to be able to escape to New York city for a couple of days. My husband and I, alone for 48 hours. No 5 year old demanding attention, no meals to worry about, no cleaning to do or anything else. It is such a luxury to be able to escape like that, I know, and I am not here to brag, but simply share some highlights of my little getaway.

I’ve been to New York a few times, so I have seen most of its major hotspots. This time we simply wanted to walk around and discover, absorb the atmosphere, explore a couple of neighborhoods in depth. When we were there in September I never made it to the Flatiron Building, and I have always wanted to see it, so this was our first stop. It really is an amazing architectural highlight. I could not stop taking photos.

Lunch was also a great experience at a place called Eataly. It was built to recreate the look and feel of an Italian marketplace, and it certainly delivers on that promise. You can easily get lost sampling and looking at the wonderful variety of products that they offer. There is absolutely everything from coffee (oh the smells!), gelato, cheese, cold-cuts, fresh pasta and all kinds of bread, a meat and fish counter and let’s not forget the myriad of olive oil and wines. I had the most delicious scallop dish, and I plan on going back to try lots more dishes.

The afternoon we spent walking through Greenwich Village and Soho, and I fell in love with the little details of these two neighborhoods. As you can see I could not stop photographing the architecture.

I did manage a stop at my favorite yarn shop, Purl Soho, where I grabbed a tote bag before my husband dragged me out. Right around the corner from the yarn store there is a place called The cupping room cafe, where I sampled the most amazing lemonade!This was followed by more walking and photographing.

My second day in New York I spent walking some more, taking some time to relax in Central Park, making some good progress on Game of Thrones (anyone else addicted?) and slowly taking in Madison Avenue.

It was a very relaxed time, if you can call walking for 12 hours relaxing, but I loved it,and I cannot wait to go back. 

A break, a getaway, a little me time, that's what everyone deserves every once in a while.