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creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. art is knowing which ones to keep.
The fun thing about wandering around these fabric stores, is that they were filled floor to ceiling with every kind of fabric you could ever want! (We even saw a section for Alpaca fabric.) We loved looking at the silks and some of the most adorable cotton prints you have ever seen. We also checked out the notion stores full of buttons and trim. I found this incredibly carved button that should be the perfect finish to a jacket I recently made.
After a few hours in the fabric district, we grabbed some great pizza, ate some delicious cupcakes, and then headed over to the Met.
The Met says that it costs $20, but that is actually a recommended donation. Most people don't know that they can actually pay whatever they would like. The first time I did this I was pretty nervous, but they actually will let you in for even $1 (which is what the guy in front of us in line paid). We walked through the Roman and Greek section, then over to Modern Art, where Diedra got approached by this man 40 years older than her who tried to hit on her, then over to the American section. Our favorite part was actually this display of original rooms from hotels and palaces in Paris, Vienna, and other cities in Europe in the 1600s and 1700s. They had dismantled entire rooms (walls, furniture, layout, lighting, etc) and rebuilt then in the museum. It was really interesting to see these complete room, some with the natural lighting, which was quite dark.
After two hours in the Met our feet were pretty tired, so we rested in Central Park and planned our next adventure. We wanted to walk through China Town and look at fake designer purses next, so we hopped on the subway. The idea of designer purses was a lot more fun that actually looking at them, since most were quite ugly. We saw a few that we liked, but not enough to actually buy. After being accosted by enough people trying to sell us stuff, we decided to walk over to Little Italy, and I found a great little pizza place to have dinner. We ordered a margarita pizza with buffalo mozzarella and basil, along with some gnocchi, which was incredible. We ate our delicious meal while our feet rested.
By this time it was practically time to head back to catch the bus, which we were just fine with. We were both really tired and were ready for a 3 hour nap. I got back to the bus 10 minutes before it left and slept the entire way back to Boston. I highly recommend taking the bus to NYC for a day trip. The ride was less than 4 hours and it was nice not to have to drive or pay tolls.
I made probably over 12 different dresses, and I really need to post pictures of them. If only I wasn't a sugar momma and had more free time on my hands.....
I am not exaggerating that this is the best chocolate frosting that I have ever had. Thanks to Jenn Fox for introducing me to this frosting and providing her recipe. She even told me that it has been used to woo men. I'm so not surprised.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 ½ tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 ½ cups or 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup heavy whipping cream, at room temperature
Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder into a large bowl. Add the butter and using an electric mixer on low speed beat until smoothly blended, about 2 minutes. Add the unsweetened melted chocolate, vanilla and heavy cream, mixing to incorporate. On medium speed, beat the frosting for at least 3 minutes, until it looks smooth and creamy and the color lightens. Once the cupcakes are frosted they can be left for up to three days at room temperature or stored in the refrigerator. Makes enough frosting for one box cake or cupcakes.