Happy New Year! Now Go Do Something Big in 2011….

Please indulge me today and allow me a little narcissistic introspection.

It’s that time of the year again, when we’re supposed to take stock of the previous year and set goals for the year to come. Normally I drink some champagne on New Year’s Eve and make a lame vow to finally lose five pounds or cook more homemade meals. 2010-2011 feels different, though.

After deciding that a few toxins needed to be removed this morning, I headed to Omar’s Powerstrike class (Equinox, 76th and Amsterdam) and punched and kicked the demons (and maybe that five pounds??) away. Afterwards, I started resolving.

There’s a website called 43Things, in which you are supposed to list your resolutions and people will support you in reaching your goals. I suspect some people aren’t entirely serious about the site, like the guy who listed “get my wife to cuckold me.” I can really get behind the person who wants to “get rid of the clogged pores on my face,” though. Anyway, I figured that I already have a platform from which to overshare my deepest, darkest wishes, so here are a few for 2011:

Hey, It Snowed In New York City?

Um, really?

I’ve been away for the last ten days. Normally I write a goodbye post, but this time I decided just to vanish without warning. Hopefully no one sold my blog out from under me while I was gone.

Anyway, I went snowboarding in Aspen (snowy), then to Chicago to visit family (cold and snowy), then came back to NYC to find…lots and lots of snow. I’m slightly peeved that I missed the Snowpocalypse here, but I got to enjoy the aftermath at LaGuardia, where I attempted to find a cab at 9pm with five suitcases and two cranky children.

After a solid night’s sleep, I went wandering around the Upper West Side today to explore and made several observations:

Holiday Shopping on the Upper West Side: One Woman’s Experience

MILo and I are both from Chicago, so we usually spend Christmas there.  I do a lot of my shopping online, but I still need to get things locally for the kids, MILo, and other random people. Being exceptionally time-crunched (and lazy), I always hit the UWS first, then branch out to scarier places. Like Fifth Avenue.

So I’ve been venturing out this week and would love to share some experiences with you.

Rag & Bone (182 Columbus, b/w 68th and 69th): If you need something tweedy, cozy, or very cool hit this shop. They carry  clothes for both men and women. David Neville and Marcus Wainwright, the designers of Rag & Bone, won the CFDA award this year for menswear. It’s amazing. And for the girls? Footwear (chunky boots), jackets, and sweaters. Yum.

Patagonia (426 Columbus b/w 80th and 81st):  I have to admit, it hurts my eyes a little bit to look at all the brightly colored nylon and fleece here. But certain people I know like functional clothing, so in I went. I can’t reveal what I got, but I can say this. DO NOT ask them for a gift box. They will look at you like you just chopped down 5 trees. Gift packaging is NOT GREEN. I slunk right out of there, clutching my non-reusable Starbucks cup.

Breakfast Bijoux and Baubles

I’m an absolute sucker for jewelry, particularly the big, glitzy statement-making kind. So is my friend K. She has discovered a jewelry designer, Raquel Castillo, who makes new pieces from vintage jewelry that she finds at flea markets. Think jumbles of rhinestone pins (she loves flowers and birds) on a tangle of chain and pearls. The results are pretty spectacular.

K hosted a breakfast this week in her gorgeous UWS pre-war apartment and had a capsule collection of Raquel’s jewelry available to ogle and yes, purchase. Her prices are really reasonable; almost TOO reasonable–earrings were as low as $25 and I got an enormous, ornate necklace for less than $100. Snap some up on her Etsy shop before she figures out that she can charge twice as much. See more pictures here:

Maxilla & Mandible Gets Festive

Maxilla & Mandible (451 Columbus, b/w 81st & 82nd), is probably the most interesting store on the Upper West Side—well, as interesting as you can be without selling handbags. Its window is particularly charming and festive this season:

Yeah, sure, it doesn’t have the pizazz of Bergdorf’s, but that alligator eating the little skull certainly makes me feel Christmas-y. Cheers to Maxilla & Mandible for having a sense of humor.

Holiday Nail Color Does Not Need To Be Red

Image courtesy of shortnchic.blogspot.com

I’ve been reading the December Bible–aka Vogue–which has proclaimed that the hot nail color for winter and the holidays is a steely silvery grey. Think molten metal.

I love metallics and I hate red nails, so I will happily go along with this trend. Red is festive and traditional, but it is also boring and can skew dowdy.

I don’t really have nail salon loyalty. There are so many in the neighborhood that I will pop into wherever happens to be close to where I am when I decide I need a mani. But I’ve been going to  All Seasons Nails and Spa (2566 Broadway, b/w 96th and 97th) a lot lately. Someone usually gives you a great shoulder rub while you’re getting lacquered.

Anyway, two manis ago I discovered OPI’s “Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous,” pictured above. It’s from the Swiss collection. Obviously. It’s a marvelous dark platinum with perfect sparkle. I will rock this through New Year’s Eve, then wait until Vogue tells me what I should do next.

The “Westside Independent” Is Up For Auction On eBay

The Westside Independent, the Upper West Side news blog on which I am was the style columnist has put itself up for auction….on eBay.  It will be listed until December 16. The current bid? $112.50. So my services as UWS style writer are probably worth about $1.23 of that. That sounds about right.

I hope whoever purchases it keeps the humor, palpable affection for this neighborhood, and cutting edge and controversial coverage, a la the alley pig roast story.

As an aside, I had no idea you could sell websites on eBay. That’s helpful information in case I ever need extra pocket money. I wonder what Upper West Style is worth? I would accept payment in the form of a modest gift certificate to Intermix.

So anyway—new owners of the Westside Independent: call me! I know a lot about jeggings.

It Looks Like The Metro Theater May Finally Have A Tenant

Hello, Upper West Siders! I’m still here. Yay!

Thanks to MILo’s obsessive trolling of UWS real estate sites, I have this tidbit to bring you: The decrepit Metro Theater (2626 Broadway, b/w 99th and 100th) may finally have a tenant. According to the Besen Retail Leasing site, it will now be called the Galleria at Metro Theater. “Booths are available in The Galleria from 60-250 square feet for any use.”

Um. This worries me just a bit. While I’m desperately hoping for a Chelsea Market-esque land of cute boutiques, I’m fearing a dumpy flea market where I will be offered socks and incense.

Watching this one closely, people.

(Also, I’m happy to see that the previously vacant Rootchi store next to the Metro Theater has re-opened after a few months….as the Rootchi store again. I will get to the bottom of this peculiar leasing arrangement.)