Shoppin' till we're Droppin'

Day 7

We began the day in Chelsea Market, a shopping center set in an old warehouse. It's home to many cute little bakeries and cafes and the second floor actually holds The Food Network headquarters! It had a neat, rustic vibe and was decorated beautifully for Christmas. 

Of course, we couldn't pass the plethora of bakeries without picking up a treat or two. How CUTE is this cupcake?!? The bakery it came from was the cutest yet...but the lady scolded me when I whipped out my camera to take pictures of the variety of goodies. You just wouldn't believe the detail.  Jeremy swears it was the best blueberry muffin he's ever had and actually one of his favorite snacks in the city! The Sesame Street cupcakes were in the window of another bakery. Aren't they impressive? I think if I lived in NYC I would gain 20 pounds on cupcakes alone! They're just too cute to resist!

The rest of the day was spent shopping in Greenwich Village, SoHo, Washington Square and Union Square. This was one of my favorite days, but I have the fewest photos to show for it! One of those afternoons where you're too busy "experiencing" to mess with documentation, y'know? 

We visited a darling bookstore called Books of Wonder which The Shop Around The Corner from "You've Got Mail" was actually based on. We went to a Trader Joe's grocery store and hob-knobbed with REAL New Yorkers as they shopped for their overpriced groceries. *hehe*  I was excited to find a "scrapbook store" which was teeny tiny and didn't have anything I hadn't seen, but it made me happy to know that at least some New Yorkers can enjoy my favorite hobby. :) 

Another favorite stop was a store called Fish's Eddy.  I've never been so excited about dishes before. *haha* It was the NEATEST place! Thad had such unique things, some of it kitschy, some of it classic. I wanted to pack it all up and bring it home. Alas, we just brought home a few things from their New York City collection. 

Have you ever seen "August Rush?" The park where the little boy plays his guitar (and eventually unknowingly meets his father) is Washington Square. Y'know, with the huge arch and fountain? I was so excited to go see it and we both hoped to see some street performers like in the movie. Well just our luck, the whole park was closed down for construction! Phooey. The area is still beautiful, though, with gorgeous row houses (called the Washington Mews) directly across the street. 

For lunch, we visited Jeremy's idea of Heaven. Peanut Butter & Co. Not only had we read about it in our guidebooks, we saw a special on Food Network about it. They sell a variety of interpretations of the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They have different flavors of peanut butter (like chocolate, honey, white chocolate, etc.) Along with our sandwiches we ordered their cute little sample platter which let you try all of their different flavors. Jeremy was really in hog heaven. I left with a recipe book and a VERY stuffed husband (he had a cookie and about 1/10 of a "Death By Peanut Butter Sundae.") He was ill but he certainly enjoyed himself while it lasted. *haha*

That evening we took the Staten Island Ferry because:

a.) It was free!

b.) We'd heard it would give us a great view of the Statue of Liberty.

Well....yes it was free but the view didn't seem any better to us than it had been from the shore.