Just Kids

Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorp at the Chelsea Hotel

  I recently finished reading the biography Just Kids bye Patti Smith and was completely blown away. Just Kids is a memoir of the friendship and inseparable bond between Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorp, taking place primarily in New York during the late 60's and 70's. Patti writes with the same clarity and strength with which she writes her music, taking you through her humble beginnings with Robert and their steady rise to success.

Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorp, Coney Island

Reading this book has made me think of what it was like to live in New York during a different time. New York in the 70's was a very different place then it is today. Times Square was a place for prostitutes and drugs, the Chelsea Hotel was a haven for artists and musicians, and the Factory was home to Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick , and Jim Morrison.  It was all about music, art and inspiration. It was a time full of grit and glamour.

Bryan Adams at the Chelsea Hotel

I have become enamoured with the 70's in NY, and it has made me wonder where I would have fit into this bohemian world. As much as I love the idea of being part of this free spirited culture, I wonder if I would have felt like an outsider, although I don't know if that is my personality, or the effect that today's environment has had on me. Fashion and music in the 70's were a movement, today they are reality t.v. empires, it was a complete revolution that no longer exists in our organized online world.

Max's Kansas City

For now, I just want to be inspired by all of these amazing people, and imagine what it would have been like to have a shot of tequila at Max's with Patti Smith.

Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin, Jimmi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrision and now Amy Weinhouse, all young artists who have lost their lives at 27, a heartbreaking club of incredible talent and troubled lives. May they forever be remembered

Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick

The beautiful Edie Sedgwick

 The CBGB, the birth place of punk rock and a New York Institution. 

Chic C'est le Vie!

Simone d'Allencourt for Arachnee 

        I recently discovered the photographer Georges Dambier upon receiving an invitation to attend the gallery opening at the Bonnie Benrubi Gallery here in New York City. I only needed to look at one photo to know that I completely loved his style and his work. The 1950's and 60's are my favorite decades, I love how women put themselves together so flawlessly. It was an era filled with a certain kind of glamour and style that has long been lost along the way.

Marie Helene Arnaud, for Elle 

Georges Dambier was born in Paris in 1925, and it was here that he made his mark in the photography world. In the 1950's, he joined the team at Elle Magazine where he worked with the most beautiful women in the world: Suzie Parker, Dorian Leigh and and Bridgette Bardot. In every photo, he manages to capture the complete sensuality and charm of being a woman.  

Suzy Parker, Paris for Elle, in Givenchy. 

 Now this is GLAMOUR! 

Suzy Parker with Hydrangeas, for Elle. 

I love that she is in her own world, lost in thought on this charming Parisian street 

The Bikini Girl on the Boardwalk 

The original girl with a yellow umbrella

Karen with Matadors, for Palma de Majorique

I love the colors and the angle that this photograph captures, its so intense and striking 

Suzy Parker with Tulips, for Elle 

This is my favorite photograph, I have found it so inspiring. I love the pop of red in the flowers and in her hat, she is so effortlessly chic, so perfectly put together, I dream of being this girl! 

Jaques Fath in his Atelier

La Librairie, Jaques Fath 

My Manhattan

      There are many things that I love about New York, and I seem to find more by the day. Every day that I wake up and see the Empire State Building as I walk to work, I feel a jolt of electricity shoot through my body, I never cease to be amazed or inspired by this city. While there is much for me to love, I wanted to share the parts that bring me the most joy, the parts that make New York my kind of town.

1. Long Island City

     This is the neighborhood I call home. A short train ride to the other side of the East River and you feel like you are in another world. I left kicking and screaming, bribed into moving here by my persuasive boyfriend, and now, over a year later, I would not trade it for anywhere else. Voted one of the top 10 places to live in the tri-borough area, LIC is an up and coming neighborhood with beautiful riverside parks and incredible restaurants.  There are few things that bring me more joy then lounging in a hammock with a glass of wine enjoying a priceless view of the city I love.

2. Times Square and the Great White Way

     The lights, the crowds, the glitter and the gruff, when I find myself in the middle of Times Square on a beautiful night, its magical. There was a time that I dreamed of being more then just in the audience on Broadway, and I don't know that that dream will ever go away. It is a melting pot of different cultures and amazing diversity, people come from all over the world to see these famous lights of New York. From Broadway babies to the Naked Cowboy, the few blocks that make up Times Square are where dreams are born and history is made.

3.  Bodrum

   An intimate restaurant on the Upper West Side, Bodrum is a neighborhood gem and my second home. Run by a good friend, it is a restaurant where you can always be guaranteed an excellent meal, wonderful company and a refreshing glass of wine. Named after a hot spot on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, it serves all my favorite Turkish cuisine. Its a good thing I like Turkish food so much since it looks like I will be spending a lot of time in Turkey....

4. The Meatpacking District

   While most of my friends prefer to be in the East Village or Brooklyn, a little (ok, BIG) part of me has a fondness for a little neighborhood known as the Meatpacking District. From W. 14th St to Horatio St, it is such a great mixture of art and style, the best restaurants and high-heeled nightlife, I cant help but love the glamour of these few blocks.

                          

  

So proud of NY for marriage equality!

The Gansevoort Hotel is probably my favorite place in all of New York. My friends might say I am a little addicted, I say I just like a good cocktail and a beautiful view

the beautiful rooftop pool

An inspirational art installation on 13th St.

You cant come to this neighborhood without enjoying some of the best shopping in New York

One of the best parts of Meatpacking is a park known as the Highline. A few years ago, these old train tracks were converted into almost 20 blocks of park. Today, it is filled with wild flowers, lounge chairs and art installations. No where else can you enjoy a gelato high above the streets among beautiful scenery and some of New York's best architecture. 

There is so much to love in this amazing city, maybe that's why Travel and Leisure magazine just voted New York the best city in America. I cant wait to see what is going to be happening next! 

Home Is Where The Heart Is

      So while this blog is about my love for Manhattan, there is another place in New York that has a special place in my heart. I only get to head home a few times a year, usually for major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I always try to make it for the Fourth of July. It is when my little town of Cazenovia is at its most beautiful, everything is in bloom, you can enjoy boating on the lake and spending time with friends.

      

  
  Coming home for a few days is like a breath of fresh air, it is a little oasis from the hustle and bustle of every day life in New York City. My only wish is that my visits wouldn't go so fast, and I could spend more time with the family I love and the friends I don't get to see nearly enough.

My dad's masterpiece gardens

      

      My masterpiece bouquet 

Mama and Papa Kells, pre-BBQ

Mr Fevzi

        

The Cazenovia girls I wish were NY ladies so I could see them every day