Spring Beginnings

Colors in bloom at the Saturday Farmer's Market.

What a week I had. On Monday I got a call from an ad agency I had been in touch with. They asked if I could start work in a freelance capacity on Tuesday. I'd love to, I said. I was laid off in the magazine publishing business in October but on Tuesday morning, I went back to work. This agency is located downtown in the financial district on the top floor of a new building. Extremely chic offices. Floor to ceiling glass and 360 degree views: uptown, the East River, the harbor, the Hudson River. Jaw-dropping actually. Very interesting work, good people around me, and when I look up, I see the Empire State Building uptown. Thrilled to be there. Loving it.

On Saturday morning TD and I went over to the Farmer's Market at Union Square where the spring flowers are in full bloom (above). Unfortunately Union Square is under construction like every other corner of Manhattan and so the extremely popular and populous Farmer's Market is squished into a small and dangerous space which kind of defeats the purpose of going there to buy healthy food. "Only in New York, kids, only in New York." Hopefully the situation will be rectified soon.

On the way over to the market, TD said our friend Josh who lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, had invited us to come out to visit him and go to the opening day of the Fort Greene Flea, the great new flea market there. And so after going to the gym we did just that.

The Fort Greene Flea was started last year and includes hand-chosen vendors selling antiques, clothes, food, furniture. Great looking crowd, a lot of cool boys and cool girls in tee shirts and jeans but with precise haircuts and good glasses so you know there is some style going on. I met a fellow blogging friend, Matt Fox, from Fine and Dandy Shop. I recognized him from his Facebook pictures! The flea market was swell -- I highly recommend it.


Afterwards we went to find Josh. He was having a stoop sale in front of his building. The spring green buds on the trees were just waiting to burst.


Josh is a film maker, and when we moved off of Jane Street three years ago which was a traumatic experience he followed us with his camera. He's now made a short film which we are going to see soon. Maybe I can put a clip up on the blog.

We walked down some beautiful streets in Fort Greene


lined with great old houses. And you know they all have gardens behind them...


We took the Q train home over the Manhattan Bridge. I love an above-ground subway ride that involves views of the river below


and sun shining through the car.


At the Fort Greene Flea I got this little glass vase with metal legs. I like things "with legs" -- furniture, plant stands, magazine racks. It lends an airy, graceful feeling when things are lifted up.


Then we ordered some Mexican food.