Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

I am a total plant lady 🌿 , so my visit to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden totally made my heart swoon. The gardens opened over 100 years ago and my two favorite features are some of oldest parts: the Japanese gardens (opened in 1915) and the Conservatory (constructed in 1917). If you could use a little more greenery in your life right now please enjoy an overload of it below!

Japanese Hill & Pond

Aquatic House

Tropical pavilion

Desert pavilion

Greened out yet!?! I hope you loved it, I personally was inspired by the aquatic house to add a couple of orchid plants to the apartment and am on the lookout for some new cacti varieties!

Kings County Distillery

When I am not traveling I love to spend my weekends exploring new places around me in NYC. Recently the city had Open House New York (OHNY), and annual event where institutions and businesses open up their doors for exclusive for discounted tours that highlights design and planning around the boroughs (so cool right!?). My partner and I decided to cross over to Brooklyn to tour Kings County Distillery.

Kings County Distillery is the oldest distillery operating in the the 5 boroughs, but that isn’t saying much because it opened in 2010! It was the first post-prohibition era distillery to open up and has become a whiskey lover's favorite. I personally am not a whiskey kind of girl (I much prefer a spicy gin or full bodied glass of wine) but I had gifted my partner a small bottle of the bourbon a year or so ago based on the beautiful look of the bottle. He was immediately smitten.

The distillery is located in Brooklyn’s historic navy yard in the relatively small former paymaster’s building. Because of their artisan small batch roots this is not a problem for the whiskey and moonshine makers. What they lack in volume is more than made up for in quality. Over the course of the tour we learned that the founder, originally from Kentucky, began making moonshine with a roommate after college, and later decided to move their small illegal operation to the navy yard once demand exploded and the FBI caught wind.

We toured the basements where the mash is fermented in open air vats and then made a spirit by the stills. And then went upstairs to where the bourbon is barrel aged in a delicious smelling room. We ended our tour with a tasting of the classic moonshine, seasonal spiced moonshine, classic bourbon, and chocolate whiskey.

In all it was a lovely to see how a product I respect so much is made, and meet some of the people part of that process. It really sparked my desire to learn more about other local products!

10 Autumnal Activities in NYC

Tomorrow is the first day of November and I am in a bit of a pre-winter panic! I feel like autumn passed in a blink and I don't feel like I have done enough during my favorite season. So I compiled a list ten things to do in the New York City area that celebrate the crisp weather of the season, as I make my way down the list I thought you may be inspired by it too.

Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden

Central Park

Number one for any season is Central Park. Central Park is one of the city's most treasured public assets and accessible to everyone in the five boroughs. Sign-up for the park's seasonal guide for info on events happening in it many corners. I personally just like to wander and admire the foliage this time of year.

Dia: Beacon

I visited Dia: Beacon at the end of the summer and have to say I became smitten. While I was there the trees were still green, but on the short metro ride up from the city I saw some leaves had begun to turn. I am sure the museum is decked out in autumnal colors too by now!

Dia: Beacon Lower Level

Storm King Art Center

Still lingering on my bucket list is the Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, New York. This premier sculpture park is located not far from Dia: Beacon on the opposite side of the Hudson River surrounded by the natural beauty of upstate New York.

Grace Farms 

Grace Farms is a cultural space in New Canaan, Connecticut that I completely fell for last Autumn. Just an hour metro ride outside of the city (plus a short uber ride) and you are in one of the most serene and exquisitely designed spaces in the NY metro area. 

The Court at Grace Farms

Queens County Farm Museum

Queens County Farm Museum hosts an incredible "maize maze" each year and haunted house through Halloween weekend. This site is NYC's last remaining unaltered farm housing livestock, produce and more. It is open year round with free general admission so even after the Fall festivities end doors will still be open.

Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

The Brooklyn Botanic Gardens is a hidden gem for Manhattanites. I recently went on my inaugural visit and know it will be a frequent on the list. There is a wide range of gardens that are open year round but I highly suggest visiting the native flora garden for some serious autumn vibes.

Brooklyn Botanic Gardens Sculpture

The Cloisters Museum

The Cloisters Museum located at the northern tip of Manhattan is nestled in Fort Tryon park overlooking the Hudson River. Head up there to step back into medieval times and enjoy the gardens before it gets too cold.

Open House New York  

Although Open House New York (OHNY), an urban planning and design event that opens some of the city's greatest designs and infrastructure up to the public passed earlier in October, the list of open houses is still inspiration enough for some last minute fall fun. Look out for a post later this week on what I did for OHNY (hint in the picture below!) and be sure to mark you calendars for next October if you did't take part this year!

Governors Island

This summer I had my first visit to Governors Island and I have been looking for another weekend to go back. The island is a beautiful conservation area packed with history, activities and amazing views of Manhattan.

The High Line

Last but certainly not least the High Line. NYC's elevated park may not have tons of mature trees like Central Park but you can still feel the transition of the seasons and enjoy the revolving art exhibits while you're at it! 

The High Line at sunset

A Day at Dia: Beacon

Dia: Beacon has been on the list of places to visit for many months. This weekend my boo and I finally made it, and let me just say it was inspiring and a little magical.

Robert Irwin's landscaping, vestibule and forecourt

We took Metro North from NYC up to Beacon, NY to the former Nabisco box-printing factory turned museum. Master planner and featured artist Robert Irwin intended the experience of Dia: Beacon to begin at Grand Central and continue on the train as the city dissolves away to suburbs. The museum is located just off the banks of the Hudson River and is only a 10-minute, sign-guided walk from the train station.

John Chamberlain

Michael Heizer's North, East, South, West

I quickly fell for the massive windows that perfectly daylit the brick walls, concrete floors and art (of course). Irwin's partly frosted windows allowed for only peaks of his beautifully landscaped grounds.

The babe's favorite exhibit was Richard Serra's and although I was only mildly impressed at first the more I looked and and explored his work the more I appreciated it's thoughtfulness.

Lawrence Weiner, 5 Figures of Structure

Robert Smithson, Map of Broken Glass (Atlantis)

I think exhibits I enjoyed most were Michael Heizer's permanent exhibit North, East, South, West which is very reminiscent of the World Trade Center Memorial reflection pools, and Dan Flavin's neon sculpture installations.

We spent five hours wandering, lunching, enjoying the 1pm tour  (hich is available on weekends and I highly recommend), and lounging in the grass. It was such a lovely day in a beautiful place filled with interesting ideas.

Governors Island in Pictures

Last Tuesday I spent a beautiful NYC Summer day on Governors Island with couple hundred colleagues. While there is so much I could say about this work event, or mandatory fun days in general, I would rather share a few of my most favorite pictures of the day. 

Jersey City peaking out from behind Castle Williams

The island has a long history of serving as a military base, strategically located just off the tip of Manhattan, during the colonial period and American Revolution. During the Civil War it housed prisoners of war in two primary fortifications, Castle WIlliams (above) and Fort Jay (below). Now it primarily serves as a public historical and recreation space.

The pretty flower boxes of Fort Jay

Colonels Row

Governor's House

View of Manhattan from the Hills

Nolan Park and Officer's Quarters

Missing from this post (and my visit) are the hammocks and adult slides, two very alluring attractions that ensure another visit soon!

The New York Public Library

This weekend I desperately needed some museum inspiration but was having such a hard time deciding on one to visit (I know tough life, right?)... The Met? The Whitney? MoMA? The New Museum? So many places were crossed off of the list because either I had been recently or the current exhibitions weren't quite doing it for me. I had near scrapped my museum plan when I saw an obscure photo of marble walls on instagram geotagged at the New York Public Library. Although not a museum exactly, it had all of the museum like qualities I was looking for and believe it or not despite being a native new yorker I had never been inside the flagship site at Bryant Park! 

Often I have had a coffee or lunch just outside the building at the dark green cafe tables found throughout Bryant Park, but on this visit I noticed the pristine landscaping and appreciated the beauty of the public space. 

The entrance to the library was simply magnificent. The intricate details carved into marble and grandiose columns somehow welcomed me and prepared me for an experience greater than my expectations. The museum offers a 30 minute video discussing its history and collections which I highly recommend sitting through. It was there that I learned more about the site's construction (1902-1911) which was atop the former site of the Croton water reservoir among many other things.

The library had an interesting start. It was 25th Governor of New York, Samuel J. Tilden (for which Fort Tilden in the Rockaways is named for), who left much of his fortune after his death to create "a free library and reading room in the city of New York." It was his gift and an agreement with the Astor and Lenox libraries of the time that created NYPL. I realized what a huge gesture this truly was at the time and still today to offer everyone a place to learn and develop. And for this to be such a magnificent space it truly speaks to the mission of the library.

Now that I have discovered the main library I plan to go and take advantage of the space and collections in addition to my local branch. On this trip the Rose Reading room, an even more grandiose space the size of a football field, was closed for renovation but will be opening again early next year. I am looking forward to discovering that as soon as it does!

Click here learn more about the libraries history. Also fun fact, did you know that the Bryant Park Lawn sits a top underground stacks for the library!? In the 1980s when the Park was in disrepair the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation renovated the park to include this subterrane for the library!

The River Building at Grace Farms

Last Fall a few of my city-folk friends and I went up to New Canaan, Connecticut for the unveiling of one of my partner's projects, Grace Farms. The River building, designed by renowned Tokyo-based architecture firm SANAA, is an fluid indoor-outdoor building that hugs the natural landscape that complements this church/community center created for the public. My friends and I fell for the tranquility and beauty of the site and each of the five unique spaces.

The Court

Our first stop was the court, a massive gym that is partially below grade.

The Commons

The Commons is a cafeteria and social space with cafe where we had a simple and tasty lunch.

The Library

The Library was a cozy area with a small but well curated selection of literature that is both available for reading there or for purchase.

The Pavilion

The Pavilion was probably my favorite space. Nestled between the Court and the Commons it is a welcome center where we learned about the mission of Grace Farms and participated in a tea ceremony.

The Sanctuary

Finally the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is located at the top of the hill over looking most of the grounds. It is here where Sunday services and other larger events are held.

I am looking forward to returning this Spring to see how this beautiful place looks in another season and escape the hustle of the city for some hours.