Sunday at Tiffanys

To Me, Time-Change-Sunday is the beginning of Spring.  Last night, our clocks in North America (save a few odd places - Hello Saskatchewan! I wonder if there are US states that ignore daylight savings time, too and I would also love to know if they participate in DST in Europe or Down Under?) "sprang forward" which means that the days are getting measurably more daylight.  Yippee!  It used to not happen till April, but I am frankly glad to have more light at the end of my days!  Now doesn't the last part of that previous line sound very deep?  It was unintentional, but true!  Let There Be Light!  Except When I Am Trying To Sleep!

Well y'all kept me on the straight and narrow.  There were no orders placed at J Crew yesterday!  I am still searching for the review of the bronze moss linen schoolboy describing it looking like grass stains - Louise - if you find it can you send it to me or if you remember where it was send the link??  And I am so happy that Blue Booby is gardening this weekend - I have decided to garden vicariously through her for the next month and half!  And GetFresh went to see soccer/football yesterday!  Spring is surely on the way!

This afternoon, my son and daughter and I are off see the Wizard - the new Oz movie.  I think the reviews are mixed, and apparently some people are surprised to realize that it is a children's movie, but I am most looking forward to the visual delights, my expectations are low and I expect that I will find something to like, if for no other reason, because of Rachel Weisz, whom I am a great fan of!

Last night we watched "The Master" with Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams.  While I think that they all acted most admirably and all nominations were justified and I think that the visual aspect of the movie was stunning (The Director seeps you in the 1950s - every scene feels like a photograph visually of the time - the lighting is extraordinary), I found the movie quite long and a bit tedious in places.  But I am glad that I saw it and it should be shown in Cinematography and Set Design 101. 



Okay, I know, I always digress!!!

So Last Sunday, we arrived in NYC VERY early, around 8:30 am, due to our early flight from Portland.  We checked into the hotel, left our bags with the concierge (as we could not check in to our suites until 3 pm) and headed out for a big breakfast.  We have gone to the Brooklyn Diner on 43rd street before and while our meal there had not been awesome, we felt pretty comfortable going there for breakfast.  Our timing was perfect, since within half an hour of arriving the place was standing room only.  My blueberry pancakes were amazing, the rest of the party also liked their meals, so all was good.  The highlight for me was being stopped by an old dandy (we are talking well dressed here - beautifully cut trousers, shirt, tie and suspenders), who looked well into his 90s.  I was wearing my H&M faux motorcycle jacket and black and white giraffe print scarf and black pants and he grabbed my arm and said "You have done a wonderful job of putting yourself together this morning."  Everyone at our table laughed, but I was pretty pleased.  If I am to become a sex symbol for nattilly-dressed octogenarians, bring it on!

The party broke up and the shoppers began their quests.  The men went downtown.  I went with the daughter, the friend and the girlfriend.  I would like to describe the following melee as an epic adventure, but I was trailing behind 3 young women who had come to SHOP.  Here are the lessons I learned last Sunday:

1) They call the store Free People, but you can get trapped there while 3 young women touch, and then try on, everything in the store.  I found myself sitting beside somebody's father and we both kept looking at each other pathetically.  "Forget Free People!" I cried, "Free Wendy!".  Alas, it was not to be.  And trust me, it ain't free!

2) The Uniqlo store on 5th Avenue never ends.  And around every corner, there is another puffy jacket, floral tshirt and polka dot skirt.  If you do not have your cell with you, you need to tie strings between you and your shopping partners.  Almost everything is polyester.  Polyester does not bother 20 year old.  They try it all on.  I get lost.  I wonder "What will the headline look like in tomorrow's New York Post: "Lost Woman found in pile of floral puffers crying inconsolabley?"

3) Don't let them try on Bathing Suits.  They will not like themselves afterwards.  They will not like you.  Do not allow yourself to get in this situation ever.  You have been warned.

4) If it has a print, they will love it.  They were all so sad that the skunk skirt was not at the J Crew store we visited yet.  We bought butterflies, and houses and cats and dogs and bugs and bows.  No embellishment was too much.  And they look good in these prints.  I tried on the larger prints at J Crew - the peony tshirt, the tshirt with the circles inside the square - and they were not flattering.  They try them on and look charming!  Small prints or solids, thy name is Wendy.

5) They do not need to go to the bathroom.  You wonder how they do it, but they do not need to do so.  They stop along the way for a jammin' juice and keep on keeping on.  And then I remembered: I am 30 years older than them.  It all made sense...

Finally, we made our way to Tiffanys!

I must confess - I have never been inside Tiffanys in New York, though I have walked by it many times and done a Holly Golightly and looked in the window.  This time, all of the women on the trip had decided in advance that we would get a momento, a more permanent treasure.

We marched past the diamonds.  I wanted to stay with the diamonds, mesmerized as I was by the shiny objects, but even the clerks could tell that I did not belong on the first floor...

Up the elevator to the third floor: Sterling Silver (AKA the floor that can be afforded).  We knew our price points and were not to be deterred.  And then a lovely chic woman whose glasses I admired greatly (since I am in the market for glasses!) served us for the next hour while we tried on all kinds of goodies.  In the end, we were variations on a theme: Tiffany Blue and hearts and all of the items below can be purchased on their website.

I chose the little silver double heart pendant, one silver, one enamel blue, but which can be worn the other way to simply look like two silver hearts.

It is very delicate and seemed quintessentially Tiffanys to me. 

My daughter chose the enamelled blue heart with the key hole in the center..

Her friend Kate chose the heart and key:

And finally, my son's girlfriend chose a bracelet with the Tiffany heart.

We all left carrying our 4 little Tiffany Blue Bags feeling quite content, a new swing in our steps, since we were now proud owners of Tiffany jewelry!  If I could have put it in my purse, I would have taken the Tiffany Blue Leather Slipper Chair that they had tucked into one of the corners of the store as well....

Getting these relatively inexpensive keepsakes will be a wonderful reminder for each of us of a great trip and for the two girls who had never been to NYC before, it was quite a thrill!

Prior to this, I only had one other Tiffany Blue box, a lovely star keychain given to me by good friends for my 50th birthday!  Now I think I am starting a collection! :-)

So tell me: are you the buyer or recipient of Tiffanys? 

What are you up to this fine Sunday??  Did you remember to set your clocks forward?

Thanks for dropping in and Stay Safe Out There!