WARNING: My kids don’t read my blog, but if yours do (I’m talking to you, sis) then don’t let them read this post. And I’ve had to edit the items below in order to not show gifts that I purchased for the adult members of my family. Sigh. Because they really are so cute.
Shopping in NYC was a lot of fun. We window shopped a lot, because honestly, you could set yourself back quite a bit if you went all out. And also, most of the shops on 5th Avenue in Manhattan are just larger versions of the same stores that we have around here. Why schlep something home from the same Crate and Barrel that we have just down the road from the house?
I did want to check out the Land of Nod pop up shop in Soho – it’s just there for about 7 weeks, through the holidays. I got to check out Hilary Lang’s adorable stuffed animals and dolls, and picked up the two that I wanted for the girls.
At the Guggenheim, I got a book for F and a few postcards to put in random places in my house. There is currently a black and white Picasso exhibition going on right now. Be still my heart. That’s the one problem with visiting NYC – you always find yourself wishing for one more day…
I picked this little 8×10 print of owls and the alphabet because I can’t resist: owls, alphabets and aqua. I got this at Pink Olive in Brooklyn. Gorgeous store.
I found these cute cards with roasting marshmallows on them at Scaredy Kat in Park Slope, Brooklyn. They were screen printed by a local artist, and I thought they would make great end of the year thank you cards for E’s two teachers because they take the class camping so much.
In Area Kids 5th Avenue in Brooklyn, I found this Hatley umbrella that just happens to match the Hatley pajamas that F’s Nana bought for her. F doesn’t have her own umbrella, so this might keep the rainy morning pout sessions down a bit.
I got a little souvenir for myself at Scaredy Kat as well – this plate reminded me of the Peter Sis illustrations in Madlenka, and it’s going to look great on my desk or in my kitchen.
There was an adorable dress out of this material at Pink Olive, but alas, no size four. So I had to go with the skirt, which is also very cute, and it reminds me of the neighborhood where I bought it. It’s a Pink Chicken skirt, so you can probably find it pretty easily online or in specialty stores. We actually ran into a Pink Chicken store later on Madison Avenue, but no dresses there ever. They were so cute I’m sure they sold out quickly.
I got this messenger bag for my niece who loves peace signs. It was from Hiho Batik in Brooklyn, and they make them all in house. You can have batik-ing parties there too, which looked like a lot of fun.
This might have been my favorite shirt – it’s for my nephew, and even though I didn’t photograph the back, it’s super cute too with just the bicycle on it.
I think that covers most of the holiday gifts that I can safely reveal. I also picked up some souvenirs because I can’t come home empty handed, right?
Side note: E left me a note in my suitcase.
Under the first flap it said: Mom, If you are reading this before you land in New York then I would advise you to put this away.
On the inside it read: Mom, I love you and miss you so much. I can’t wait to see…what you bring back home for me. Love you, E
Funny. I loved it.
I got this shirt from the Guggenheim for M – the logo comes from the view of the main gallery space looking up – you can see it in the photograph on the tag.
I got E this Lego set of the Statue of Liberty. She flipped out, and we built it the next night. Those nano blocks are TINY!
I got both of the girls this book: This is New York by M. Sasek. We also have San Francisco that my parents got years ago. It was originally published in the sixties, so there are tons of *’s with updated statistics (like how many elevators there are in Manhattan).
I added to the ornament collection (as is our tradition while travelling), and picked up this ornament from FAO Schwarz.
…and this one from the Guggenheim.
And I got Miss F this Playtown from MoMa – we’ve already set it up, but it collapses down nicely into this box. It’s by the same author / illustrator Laura Ljungkvist who wrote Follow The Line. Her work was a source of inspiration for me on my nephew’s city artwork for his room.
My mother-in-law did some Christmas shopping as well – she let me take one sweater home early because she’s nice like that. We really liked Habit on 5th Avenue in Park Slope – great prices and really cute clothing and purses.
So this should all add up to several weeks worth of “Friday Finds” – I think I’ll be laying low on the shopping for awhile. It was fun hunting out some of the smaller places, and window shopping in the bigger ones. For someone that doesn’t like “shopping”, but loves to wander around in little shops “looking” and “finding” – I know, I know, there’s a fine line between the two, but I’m still maintaining that there is one – it was the perfect trip.
My mom has the original verso of the This Is New York book–a souvenir from when she was little. I think it’s so charming. I love your finds. It is also our tradition to buy Christmas ornaments when traveling. And E’s note made me smile. Adorable.
Thanks for visiting us! It looks like your scored some great gifts and we are thrilled to have been included in your selection. Happy Holidays!