Thanks to Wee Birdy, I found out some time ago that Target would be collaborating with one of my favorite shops, Liberty of London. To say that I was thrilled was an understatement. I love Liberty!! That was the one of the stores on my must-visit list when I had visited England in November. As I gushed a teeny bit about their famed prints, it really was a shame that their fabrics were so pricey.

But now that they are pairing with Target, I can get my hands on something from them that's a bit more affordable. The products won't hit the shelves until this coming Sunday but there is a sneak peek starting today at a temporary pop-up shop in Manhattan. And what luck! It's one subway stop (or about a 10-minute walk) away from my office, across the street from Bryant Park.

So, I scheduled myself to be occupied for a really early lunch today and hopped on the train. My co-worker Avi tagged along and we were surprised by the long line that went around the block to get into the store... and this was around 11:40am! Fortunately, the line moved quickly and we were lucky to be in the cut-off area; the queue had annoyed one of the businesses in the same building and they were forced to move the back of the line to a new location, which meant some people lost their waiting spots.

After having to wait to get in, I was determined to walk out with something:

Or rather, several somethings. Items were flying off the shelves and the employees were unable to replenish the inventory fast enough. In the end, I walked away with scarves, umbrella (yay, a long brollie!) and a bag. Avi also got the same items (less the umbrella) and she picked up some clothes for her kids and husband. There were lots of cute tops and dresses, but that would require standing in line to wait for a dressing room and I wasn't about to do that. I may have to consider a re-visit if I really want the clothes.

There was an absolutely adorable two-tiered cake stand (perfect for scones and pastries) but those also flew off the shelves and sadly, weren't restocked by the time we made our way to the registers. I may really have to see if I can snag one at the regular Target this Sunday. In the meantime, I can continue to shop at the pop-up for the next few days, if I don't mind the wait again; the temporary shop will be open through Saturday.

These items will be available across the Pond at Liberty as well, starting this Friday. At least I don't have to take a trip abroad to get my fix for once!

On Friday night, I met up with Pinny and Michael to have dinner at The Meatball Shop. It had recently opened and once I mentioned it, she was all for going. And really, one cannot go to such a restaurant without bringing a guy along.

It was very crowded and noisy when we arrived. The wait was around 30 minutes for a table but fortunately, there were exactly three seats at the bar so we decided to sit there. I didn't mind it actually; it was further away from the door and seemed less cramped than at the tables behind us.

The menu offered six types of meatballs and one could order them in many different ways: pasta under or on the side, other side dishes, as sliders... and there were several types of sauces to pick and choose from as well. All menus are laminated and each item has a checkbox next to it; a marker is given along with the menu and one just checks off how they want their meatballs. Not a bad system.

I ended up with the classic beef meatballs with spicy meat sauce, and spaghetti beneath all that meat. Pinny had risotto with hers and the two of us ended up splitting the simple salad (arugula and apple). Michael had his meatballs with steamed spinach on the side. All meatballs come with a small slice of focaccia as well. I didn't realize that they would top the meatballs with a sprinkling of cheese but thankfully, it was tasteless and I could eat everything without having to smell the cheese. The portions were nicely sized and I managed to eat pretty much all of it.

We ended up ordering dessert as well. Two ice cream sandwiches between the three of us; these were also build-your-own desserts. Both the cookies and ice cream were homemade. We chose vanilla ice cream for the filling while I went with chocolate chip and gingersnap cookies, and Pinny chose gingersnap and the brownie cookie. It turned out the gingersnap was very flavorful and almost overpowered the entire sandwich. It's best to split it in half, as one would with an Oreo cookie.

If one wants to sample the different types of meatballs, the sliders are probably the best option. We may have to do that if we go back.

The Meatball Shop
84 Stanton Street
(between Allen and Orchard Streets)
New York, NY 10002

All in the golden afternoon
Full leisurely we glide;
For both our oars, with little skill,
By little hands are plied
While little hands make vain pretence
Our wanderings to guide

Ah, cruel Three! In such an hour
Beneath such dreamy weather,
To beg a tale of breath too weak
To stir the tiniest feather!
Yet what can one poor voice avail
Against three tongues together?

Imperious Prima flashes forth
Her edict to 'begin it'-
In gentler tone Secunda hopes
'There will be nonsense in it!' -
While Tertia interrupts the tale
Not more than once a minute.

Anon, to sudden silence won,
In fancy they pursue
The dream-child moving through a land
Of wonders wild and new,
In friendly chat with bird or beast -
And half believe it true.

And ever, as the story drained
The wells of fancy dry,
And faintly strove that weary one
To put the subject by,
'The rest next time -It is next time!'
The happy voices cry.

Thus grew the tale of Wonderland
Thus slowly, one by one,
Its quaint events were hammered out -
and now the tale is done,
And home we steer, a merry crew,
Beneath the setting sun.

Alice! a childish story take,
And with a gentle hand
Lay it where Childhood's dreams are twined
In Memory's mystic band,
Like pilgrim's wither'd wreath of flowers
Plucked in far-off land

— Lewis Carroll

There's been much ado about Alice lately, from the new Disney film that opens today to the many references of it in pop culture (e.g. "Lost"). And one of my favorite fanfiction authors is quoting from the books in her current work as well.

I really need to read the books; they are on my reading list. I think I'll just wait until the nice hardcover version is released in the States next week.

In the past few days, Mother Nature saw fit to bless our fair city and the surrounding areas with lots and lots of snow. It actually began on Thursday, with mostly a rain and snow mixture. That morning, as I prepared to go to work, I watched as the rain turned into snow within about a half-hour. It continued in a similar manner all day, I found myself trekking home during the evening rush hour through slush.

The snow really began to fall overnight and well into Friday. There were already nine inches on the ground when I stepped outside (and yes, I made it into the office and early even!). It snowed off and on, and the sun did poke through the clouds twice. When I did make my way home last night, I was fairly surprised to find most of the buildings along several blocks of my street had already shoveled paths through the snow and made walking home easy. (And yet, some of these same people do not normally shovel when there's less snow on the ground!)

So this afternoon, I headed uptown to Central Park to see the wintry landscape. It's something I've been wanting to do lately, but I've been rather lazy about it. But I'm glad I made the effort to do so today:

I entered the park at the southeastern end and somehow made my way north towards the Mall. I say "somehow" since one cannot easily cross paths in the park when there are walls of snow mounds blocking any of the usual crossovers and the normally flat expanses of lawn. The Mall itself was closed but the roads on either side were open for pedestrians.

Alas, poor William. Perhaps thou thinkest thus:

O that I were a mockery king of snow,
Standing before the sun of Bolingbroke,
To melt myself away in water drops!

— William Shakespeare, "King Richard II", Act 4 scene 1

I must say, however, that there were many snowmen and snow ladies standing in the park. This particular pair caught the eye of many a passerby:

Bethesda Terrace was, as usual, fairly crowded with people taking photographs. I even spotted a painter with easel atop the Terrace.

I don't suppose this marks the entrance to the Lantern Waste?

From Bethesda Fountain, I took the western path out and ended up wandering in the Ramble. In the summer, it's one of my favorite areas in the park since it's well away from traffic and one could lose oneself amongst the trees and rocks. Alas that it's winter, and none of the wild footpaths were shoveled or salted which made walking around in there very dangerous. At some points, one had to hold onto the railing or fences in order to climb up or down the winding, rocky paths.

While the lamp-posts are not Victorian enough to fit into C.S. Lewis' world, I could easily see this Arch as part of the movie set to "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe":

Enough heading north. I exited the Ramble and made my westward along the northern edges of the Lake.

And continuing along that path, I came across this fun scene:

And for the briefest of moments, I wished I was a child again.

Thanks to a recent article in TimeOut NY, Jee and I met up for afternoon tea today at the Crosby Street Hotel. The Hotel opened last autumn and not too long after that, I had checked to see if they were offering tea service; it wasn't available at the time but they are offering it now. The mention and the lovely picture in TimeOut sealed the deal for me.

The hotel's website states that they offer afternoon tea all day but TimeOut listed it at starting 2pm, so to be safe, that was the time we chose to meet up. I had arrived first for a change and was very surprised to find the Crosby Bar very full. My assumption was that being a bar/restaurant inside a hotel meant it would be a more peaceful environment but I was quite wrong; I suppose it's because the hotel is located right in the middle of SoHo. Fortunately, the wait wasn't terribly long, but I think reservations would have been wise if I had known how busy it would be.

The decor was pretty cool. On the wall behind our table were four photos of the Queen but decorated in such a way that really popped: while her photo was flat, the flowers on her hat, the jewelry and other decorations of her jacket were decorated in 3D. Big colorful lamps hung further into the restaurant, by the booths and the bar. Old-fashioned telephones were sitting on their own podiums and hung on the wall to create works of art. Oh, and the seating was excellent: big comfy chairs all around. It was nice that the tables were spaced out enough that it didn't feel cramped.

So it was tea for two today. I had somewhat high hopes for this being a good tea since the company that manages the hotel runs several boutique hotels in London; this is their first hotel Stateside.

I chose the Lady Grey and Jee ordered the Karigane Green tea. The savories and sweets included:

Four types of sandwiches: smoked salmon and dill; cucumber and balsamic vinegar; egg mayonnaise and mustard cress, and roast beef and horseradish. The Smoked Salmon was the best but neither of us really cared for the cucumber one; it was too vinegary for my tastes and I would have preferred a more traditional version.

There were two scones for each of us, one with raisins and one without; they were excellent. I loved how it was plated onto the bottom tier: a napkin expertly folded into two pouches to contain them. These were accompanied by clotted cream, strawberry jam and orange marmalade. Jee loved the marmalade and I agree it was very tasty; light and sweet, and with lots of peel. The latter looked to be made in-house (if it wasn't, I'd like to know where I can get some of that — my Fortnum marmalades can only last so long).

Sweets were a reasonable three pieces each. After stuffing ourselves with the sandwiches and scones, the fewer the desserts, the less wasteful it'd be. Today's set included a blackberry fruit tart with crème fraiche, a slice of carrot cake, and a cupcake that I think was vanilla with a hint of a cinnamon. After learning from my previous tea experiences, I chose to eat half of each dessert so at least I could sample all of them before my stomach would protest to any more food. Blackberries were tasty, but I'm not much of a fan of crème fraiche; the carrot cake was deliciously moist; and while the cupcake was moist as well, it reminded me a bit of a muffin (I wonder if that was due to the cinnamon).

There were a few other tables that also ordered afternoon tea, and it was interesting to note that the glass tiered trays came tinged in a wide variety of colors. Ours was more of a teal or green, but at the large birthday table nearby I saw blue, pink and purple. And speaking of the birthday party— let me say how unusual I found it to be watching young men eating finger sandwiches and sipping tea.

When the waiter brought the check over, I asked about the tea service times and apparently they do pretty much serve it all day. You can have it as early as 11am and it is possible to have it very late in the day (he gave 5pm and 7pm as examples) if they still have the food on hand.

Two other things I must mention:

The French couple that sat next to us ordered brunch (she had the french toast, and I think he had a salad) and it looked very, very good. I think we'll have to make another visit to sample their breakfasts.

It was very much an "Alice in Wonderland" type of adventure just to find the ladies' room. You enter through a door, wander down a hall then some stairs and more hall before reaching the restrooms. Even with the very helpful signs, I still ended up a bit lost on my way out. But the restroom and even the maze to reach it were nicely decorated. I loved the floral fabric wallpaper in the stairwell and corridors, and the ladies room was very luxe with marble, fancy soap and lotions, and hand towel hanging on a silver ring.

The Crosby Bar at the Crosby Street Hotel
79 Crosby Street
(between Prince and Spring Streets)
New York, NY 10012