The Great New York Pumpkin Spice Quest... and giveaway winner
There's a slight deviation from sewing with this post - but only 'slight' - stick with it and some sewing does crop up!
Now...
I am not a jetsetter.. Once many years ago I travelled to far off lands, but now my radius is; home - school - nursery - office - home - weekend walk - park - office - school - home. Or something. And no distance is more than oooh... five miles.
So when I hatched a plan to visit my brother in New York City this was The Most Exciting thing to happen since my babes arrived onto the planet. 
And when Mr As-it-Seams barely batted an eyelid when I asked if he would look after the children for six days, I was, and am, infinitely grateful. He is the most capable, hands-on dad that we could wish for!
And...
What better way to seek out a pumpkin spice latte than travel to New York for Hallowe'en!
Pumpkin Spice Latte was the mysterious acorn brought to As-it-Seams as one of Secret Squirrel's sewing theme acorns for October...(see here). A PSL (as I shall now call it) had caused me sleepless nights. Now, at last I would get to drink one!
Airborne! I loved the excitement of seeing the green cliffs of the Irish coast glinting in the sun on the edge of the wide ocean. And then the endless snow and wilderness of Canada, before landing in an autumn sunset at JFK.
Then I was negotiating the New York subway alone, on my way to my brother's apartment, and embarking on my NYC adventure!
Oh where to start....
Well, I love eating, I love art, I love people watching - I was in the RIGHT city! And I was lucky enough to have a City Pass from nycgo.com which gave me free entry to star attractions like the Rockefeller 'Top of the Rock', MoMa, The Metropolitan Museum and more.
I zipped into MoMA and was moved to tears by Van Gogh's Starry Night, and wowed by Monet's water lillies. I explored modern art in the many galleries of Chelsea, saw Vermeer at The Frick and an Egyptian temple at The Met...phew that's enough of looking at stuff...
I ate Mexican burritos, Caribbean curries, bagels, omelettes, Italian bruschetta, Japanese noodles, and in China town enjoyed a $4 lunch of delicacies-with-no-name.
But by day four of my trip I had not yet had a P.S.L...
Then my brother and his girlfriend took me on a sparkling ferry to Smorgasburg, a Brooklyn Food Market. Decisions! Vietnamese noodles? Thai curry? tempeh? jerk chicken? Can you tell I look happy?
I chose a Mexican burrito, followed by a pumpkin spice cheese cake! Delicious... That elusive PSL is getting closer...
Now from food to sewing....(almost)
My brother took me to the garment distract but managed to save me from disappearing into haberdashery heaven! Every kind of ribbon, braid, fringing and trim you could wish for. I resisted. Mainly because coffee was calling.
But my resistance was weaker at a Brooklyn vintage clothing market. I fell in love with this 60s dress.
It's one of those garments which hovers on the fragile line between lovely and ugly, but I think it kind-of-works. And from a sewing point of view, it inspired me.
I like the 3/4 circular skirt, the open-weave wool fabric, the paired buttons, the straight line of the neck on the white panel and more...
It's giving me all kinds of ideas to sew for Missy. Does it inspire you too? If so get in touch! I have an interesting idea...
And then it was all over - time to head back to JFK. I took off into the night, dreaming of seeing my babies soon....but not quite as soon as I planned...
In the middle of the night, the captain announced we were turning back, the plane's pressure wasn't functioning properly.
A midnight wait in JFK followed.
But there was a silver lining!
All was quiet in JFK, except for one ubiquitous fastfood outlet. Where I had, yes, you guessed it... a Pumpkin Spice Latte! Sweet, warm, rich and yes really the perfect drink for a midnight airport!...
Giveaway update
That lovely Kokka red riding hood fabric is on its way to Nathalie at Nat and The Gang. Thanks to all who entered!
All pictures (except red dress) by my dear brother, thank you Mike!
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2 comments
Haha! Great story - glad you finally got a taste! And I think that vintage dress totally works - and is definitely inspirational. I can't wait to see where it leads you!
ReplyDeleteHi Victoria, nice to be able to put a face to a name :) Sounds like you have had a lovely trip :) The red dress looks great on you. What is this idea that you have? Funny how you had to fly back to finally try PSL :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for taking the time to comment. I love hearing from you, and try to reply as often as I can, either here or by email. All views, tips, gratefully received...
Victoria