Day 20

All day studio work, and then studio hunting! Found a few potential apartments, yay! And then I worked in a little shop in Alphabet city, called Pick Me Up cafe (great!), where I picked up a photographer from Interview Magazine- ok he was gay, but great guy to know... [watch this space]. This followed into all you can eat sushi and karaoke at a place called Heather's. I HATE TEQUILA.
(However love this hat shop I found in Bleecker street!! Which is the beginning of my next blog- a blog about secondhand shops in Manhattan & Brooklyn, they're incredible!)

Day 19

Worked in Brooklyn today, at this little place called Outpost. It's basically my office when not in the office, as everyone come here with there laptops and work non-stop.
AND they have the best rainbow cake!

Day 18 ZZZZZZZZZ!

So naturally after a long weekend and for an even longer week to follow, Sunday will be spent sleeping and (much) later reading in Central Park. I really love how couples laze the summer days away in a canoe...

Day 17

I finished up a bit of work after which I decided it's time for new pumps. However, do not by any means do your shopping on a Saturday. It will end up in a fist fight. Rather watch Ghana kick some US ass in the soccer world cup! So after the game I met up with Nico and a few of his friends at a Mexican bar (can't remember the name) for a few drinks, which lead us to his roof top for more. (The picture is from his rooftop, and the picture does not do it justice.) Here we played a few rounds of Balderdash (eeee! fun) until the sun set and then we went to a friend's house party in the East Village. Yay!

Day 16

When Helette and I finally managed to wake up, I 'worked' my way through a bunch of emails, and Helette checked in at FIT. Then we decided to work in a movie to get over last night an it worked, putting us on a new roll for Piano's- another great famous-making bar in the lower East side. Here we met up with Helette's friend Kate and hopped to another place, where our bar man happened to be Lady Gaga's ex-boyfriend. (I had to sorry).

During the day, the framed picture wall led me into this shop. I think it's beautiful. And the train later that day, I played a bit Sartorialist and grabbed a snap shop of this man who looked oh so stylish.

Day 15

(After work today, I fell in love. With sunglasses. It was love at first sight passing the shop where they looked all sexy in the window. And for the first time I felt as thought I had no chance. However, I couldn't resist and introduced myself: "Hi, I am Nadine and I'm here to try on the sunglasses in the window, but, and hear me right, under no circumstances am I allowed to buy them." The sunglasses did not say anything, however was spoken for and replied " Holy fuck, these sunglasses are $15." Needles to say, this baby spoke my language. We're currently still much in love.)


Then I went to the New Museum on Bowery street with Helette (it's free on a Thursday after 7PM) and saw an exhibition titled A Day Like Any Other, by a Brazilian artist called Rivane Neuenschwander. She plays with a lot of themes like time, life and love. The hanging buckets are filled with water and drips a few drops every now and then- this represents the idea of time in early day life where it took roughly 4 hours for a bucket to run out water. The colorful ribbons, in the other picture all have a wish printed on them. You're encouraged to pick one and tie it around your wrist and it falls off, legend has it that your wish will come true. There's also a man who, through numerous questions about your first love, sit and draws him or her for you- he seems to be right every time.
Little Italy was the location of choice for dinner and wine to relax. Yolandi met up with us later and lead us to a few cool & highly recommended bars.

Day 14 One word: Goldfrapp!

Goldfrapp was fabulous. Besides her great singing, her outfits are fantastical. Very, very impressive!

And this was only the beginning. Afterward Helette and I moved over to the lower East side, (obviously as you can tell by now my favorite place in the world), for some music at the Cake Shop- cake shop by day, rock-band live-performance room by night. All the bands that play here are bands well on their way to stardom and generally very good.

At 3AM, the night as we knew it was over when two guys introduced us to an even later-night club (the name of which I obviously can't remember, oops!) where we danced and many undisclosed other things the night away. Oh, what a night.

Day 13

The mission today was to explore Chelsey Village and more particularly its art galleries (Matthew Marks, Paula Cooper, Barbara Gladstone and the likes)- can't say I was impressed. I wrote this absolute despair off on my novice-status in the art's history and its genres. However, there were a few things that tipped the excitement barometer. At Gagosian gallery (supporting artists such as Damian Hurst and Anselm Kiefer) Roy Lichtenstein has a two-week exhibit (ends 30 June) of his 70s era Still Lifes, where I found Still Life with Lobster hilariously thrilling. Close by was an exhibition titled Cowboys and Indians by Yoram Wolberger, an artist who often studies and challenges obvious everyday objects to point out its cultural and unconscious meanings. With this mini exhibition (mini exhibition with grand objects), Wolberger made giant size sculptures (double my size) of these little toys, with their original flaws and all. Grabbed the kid right out of me! Two other paintings stood out, but I never wrote down the name, would have to go back.

After too much of Chelsey's arty business, I made it my business to find this special bookshop (Gotham Books) in Manhattan, which turned out to have gone out of business. So, two hours later, I walked out of old faithful Barnes & Nobles, to find 5th Avenue pouring with rain and black umbrellas with legs running scurrying up and down. Fantastic, the thousand umbrellas in New York vibe, so first things first, I bought my very own umbrella, hurried down to Starbucks next to the Empire State building and fell head over heals for Martin Amis' London Fields. I'm on page 107 now.

Day 12

Nice window! And the park still the most refreshing early morning activity ever...


Breakfast, lovely place

Work, work, work together with the city really catching up to me now. The energy is great, which makes it really difficult for me to sleep, because there's so much happening outside at all hours of the day and night. Plus, the intense heat. Got up early for a run (seeing that sleeping wasn't going to happen) then had breakfast in the East village, and then never ending work.

Day 9-11

Saw this along the way, liefde vir my Michael!




Ok, so day 9 to 11 is all muffled into one giant day. I won't say the cleanest day but totally the funnest! Friday I met with one of my editors at the Four Seasons Hotel. Cab from Natural History Museum to Four Seasons, $6.00. Peanuts from the waiting bar, $2.00. A glass of dry white wine, $18. Realizing that the wine I'm drinking at R180 a glass is from South Africa, priceless. So that's how they roll at the Four Seasons, felt like Carrey Bradshaw minus Mr Big and Manolos. From there I met with Tom in Bryant Park, which was fantastic! Everyone comes here after work and have picniks in the park and on each of the park ends are little wine and beer tents sporting hot men and handbags. Then off to Williamsburg, where I went to see Suckers and Class Actress with Josh. Man was this amazing. Party moved to Classon street, and then on to breakfast. Then, jaj! I met up with Helette, my new sister here in M town, and had a little breakfast in Noho. This moved on to lots of wine in Bleecker Street where they also drowned us with frozen margaritas! Can't beat frozen margaritas on a sunny New York day. This moved to meeting Yolandi and Nico and there nice friends at this Russian bar called Anytime where vodka was definitely the flavor of the moment! Then wine on Yolandi and Nico's rooftop, beautiful! Breakfast at 3PM followed with the though of an extended shower... Now, band in park time in Brooklyn. Stay logged on folks...

Day 8 Bits of work, bits of play, lots of American Apparel!

1. Today we had a commercial in the park and then I went location scouting, so I got to go to all different kinds of places all over Manhattan.
2. In Washington Square Park, there's these chess and checkers tables, where old oupatjies come play against other oompies and man are they fast! I think my dad should move here when he's 100 and hang with these guys, they're all very wise and interesting.
3.Then I stumbled upon the best American Apparel store. I can only say that Michael will be very happy...
4. However best was the Lakers/ Celtics game at Pash's place, an artist friend of Tom (with the craziest installations in his loft) so much fun, I'm totally turning into a huge basketball fan, at last I found my game- go Kobe Bryant!
(I also found my new Woolies, the Food Emporium on 1st Avenue- spent about an hour here! And yes, it's a shop not a market!)

Day 7

Packing in a bit of soccer at work...



So, it seems that whenever I set out to go somewhere I get so distracted with everything else on the way that I never actually make it to my final destination. My plan was to take over the Marc Jacobs store in the Meatpacking district, however ended up going on a graffiti mission.

Day 6 Work...

Even their logo is fun
Havana Cafe

DVF's place...


Ok, so again, work, work, work, work, however = 100% love!
[Afterward Josh and I went to the most unbelievable screening in Brooklyn, at the Light Industry, where they're obsessed about playing with different models of time-based media (screening film and electronic art). Movies with Roots in Hell, which is the title of our screening, curated by Jack Stevenson and from his rare collection of 16mm reels, was collections of shorts and snippets of movies with drugs from the 20s - 30s and 60s-70s, and interesting the audience's reaction to it. It was one of the best screenings I've ever been to, as it was so well edited and screened against a wall. This place is fantastic and they have all sorts of informative gigs going on there. Then we went to this Cuban restaurant/ garden, for dinner and FFFFROZEN margaritas!
On my way home, I had a quick glance of the Great Dame of Fashion's (Diane von Furstenberg) little hangout... I will be returning...]

Day 5 E(n)dit day

Ok, so day 5 was an all work day.. Most excitement? Wine and Guinness with Tom at the White Horse after (apparently the same place Dylan Thomas drank himself to death... Hope this is not a theme). I did manage to catch a few 'artists' doing silly things if that counts? (art top right, is real. bottom right, by Max Lang) oh, and I saw the second screening of my friend Benny's movie, Daddy Longlegs which premiered at Sundance, at the IFC center- so much for my moviethon)

Day 4 Goveners Island

My little bicycle taking a break behind the tree!

But is it art?


A tunnel made from wood and fruit containers


Manhattan from the ferry

After having breakfast with Tom, we went to Governors Island, which is next to Liberty and Staten Island, to shoot a little short on Harmattan theater (a Indian type of dance ritual). This island was off-limits to the public until recent years and are now opened up to artists to experiment with whatever they want here. So as you can imagine the 'art' that is showcased here will most certainly range from anything between fine and hippie. Bands also take over this island, and so I decided to hire a bicycle after and cycle round the island to take in the work of the 'spiritual', the 'earth children', the good, the bad, and the whatever you want to call it...

Day 3 continue... Music & Movies

This afternoon I met up with a friend in Brooklyn to see a little band touring the States right now called The Wild. They were pretty wild- set in a little beer garden and lots of young groupies. After this we went to BAMFestival, which is a Brooklyn film festival curated by the Brooklyn Academy of Music. What an experience, watched a film called Valhalla Rising. It centers around Norse vikings set in 1000AD with a crazy soundtrack. However weird it sounds, it was great though, the director Nicolas Winding Refn was there for Q&A and definitely someone on my list to follow from now on.

Day 3 Union Square Organic market

I got up early this morning to sub my way to the famous organic market, downtown in Union Square. But like I mentioned on Facebook, this is not a people-only treat, I got some hair tips from a certain gre ledie..
The flowers were girly heaven! and I selected a bunch of wild roses. Needless to say, I went home with the best goody bag for breakfast with my friends.