Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

 

 (via)

After a failed attempt to see the exhibit several weeks ago.... Lil Diva and I (we invited her best friend to come with us this time) geared up early Wednesday morning to make the trip back into the city.  We quickly made our way from the Port Authority to the uptown bus that would drop us off exactly one block away from the MET.  We made our donation and quickly walked up the grand staircase up to the second floor and were directed to the cue with all the other visitors waiting for their chance to make their way into the exhibit.  All the while we were all bubbling with excitement. 

We were told the wait would be 20 minutes, but it was really one hour.  But I can tell you, Lil Diva, her best friend, and I all said it was definitely worth the wait.  The pieces were breathtaking! The MET did a wonderful job creating the ambiance of beauty meets macabre with the backgrounds, music, and lighting.

 

(via)

McQueen was a man determined to make his mark in the fashion industry.  His bold cuts and angles are not meant to be worn by the timid....they were meant to be worn by women with a definitive confidence. The pieces are meant to be admired and fawned over.  He was obsessed with showing beauty even in what the masses perceived as grotesque.  His mind conceived fashionable masterpieces with items once thought to be impossible to wear.

With less than three weeks left till the exhibit closes, I consider myself one of the lucky ones that was able to revel in the sheer beauty of his most prized pieces up close.  If you happen to be in the NYC are between now and August 7th, do make it a point to visit the MET.  You will be glad you did!

"I want to be the purveyor of a certain silhouette or a way of cutting, so that when I'm dead and gone, people will know that the twenty-first century was started by Alexander McQueen. "

- Alexander McQueen

{Tasty Treats} Bronx Style

 If I've said it once, I'll say it again.....no matter how long I live on the Jersey Shore, how much I love it here, or how deep we plant our roots, I will always and forever be a "New Yorker". 

I love going back "home" to visit, even if it is just for a few hours.  Yesterday I took a spur of the moment trip to spend some time with my mother.  Mom needed my help sorting a personal matter, and I immediately told her I would jump on the morning bus into the city to help her out. 

The matter took all of 30 minutes to resolve, but it left us with 6 hours of Mommy and Me time.  She took me out to lunch to Seafood City in City Island, which is a mecca of delicious seafood restaurants. We used to go there at least 4 times each and every summer growing up.  The seafood was just as good as I remembered it.

Afterward, we went to the Bronx's Little Italy.  If you've seen the movie A Bronx Tale, starring Robert Deniro, you have seen the 60's version of the area.  Mom and I always visited this neighborhood in order to get the best pastries, breads, and cheeses around.  Pizza is amazing too, but since we were already full from lunch, we decided to buy a box of delicious pastries from the ever popular Palombo Pastry Shop.  The freshly baked sweet treats were a welcome surprise to Mr. Man that evening.

 Even though the visit was short, I was able to spend some quality time with my mom and visited areas that bring back wonderful vivid memories of childhood.  It never fails to remind me why I love being a native New Yorker.