Green garland... that's green!

With St. Paddy's Day just around the corner, I wanted to give my house an extra shot of "green". And since I'm on a roll re-using discarded items for decorations (hello business card garland)... I thought I'd try it again this month! So here's a tutorial on my Green (or eco-friendly) Garland!

So, I took the paper towel and toilet paper tubes I'd been saving, and cut them into small rings.

Then I pulled some green and white paint from the shelf an got to work.

A while later (and after inadvertently painting my hand in the process)...

I had a whole pile of green rings ready for a project.

Then I grabbed a long piece of string and threaded the rings into a garland.

The greens and white were subtle, and they added a great tweak of color to my kitchen window.

And because the rolls were different sizes, the rings weren't all the same... so as I threaded them onto the string they twisted and turned into a really interesting (yet slightly cooky) shape! I kind of liked it, and decided it was an unexpected way to hang garland!

So now I have a little touch of green all ready for St. Paddy's Day (which is must easier to photography when there isn't so much back light, I promise)!

Thanks for visiting- I hope you have a great day!!

5th Avenue window shopping

Earlier this week I found myself on 5th Avenue.
I started out in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral and worked my way north.
I walked past the light show at Saks Fifth Avenue...
And the buildings at Rockefeller Center.
As I walked, I enjoyed the decorations outside of Cartier...
Hilfiger/Fendi...
And even Trump Towers.
But the best part of my journey uptown was the chance the check out the windows at Bergdorf.
They were absolutely amazing!
From monkey minions...
To flying horses...
There were so many interesting details to take in!
Take, for instance, this single window:
There was a trussed up turtle...
An illuminated iguana...
A bedazzled bird...
An encrusted crocodile...
And a metallic mantis...
And that's all in addition to the model wearing the "outfit". I'll admit, I have no idea what this window is trying to sell me- yet I still might be willing to buy whatever it is- the window is just that cool!
Talk about cool, right? Thanks for wandering up 5th Avenue with me- I hope you have a great day!

Yes, Virginia: Macy's 2010

As I was saying yesterday, the Macy's store on 34th Street has some of the best window displays in NYC. And while their 34th street windows remain constant, the display on Broadway changes every year.
This year the windows are especially cool: here's a note that was etched on the first window explaining why!
As you just read, this year the windows tell an updated version of the "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Clause" editorial. And this year not only do the windows move...
But there's also an audio story that plays along with each window.
Oh- and each window opens for only a few minutes at a time. The wait for the window to open certainly adds a bit of drama to the story (and I suspect it all helps with crowd control).
The second window of the story was my favorite.... it opened like a pop-up book...
To reveal a beautiful winter tableau... Complete with decorated tree- all crafted from paper! Talk about amazing!!
The next window took place at the NY Public library (you can tell by the tell-tale lion).
Aren't all the small details amazing?
And a few moments later, several books appeared in the window, with changing LCD photos depicting Santa Clause around the world!
(And while those were pretty cool, I was totally taken with that paper lion... I mean, come on!)
I really liked how the artists used video screens to illustrate the story, as this pane did with Virginia's letter about Santa.
Also, I love those paper cobblestones!
And when Santa finally arrives in the final window, it's pretty exciting! (Although I sure wish Sovereign Bank would turn off their sign- it ruins pictures!)
Thanks for joining me on this little tour of Macy's Christmas windows!
Thanks for visiting- I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Miracle on 34th Street... again!

Last evening I found myself down on 34th Street.
And I couldn't help but stop to enjoy the Macy's holiday windows. I posted about this last year, but each Christmas Macy's decorates their windows; and each year the bank of windows along 34th Street depicts the movie Miracle on 34th Street.
I won't bore you another post detailing the progression of these windows (if you're interested, check out my thoughts from last year)... but here are some shots of a few lovely details:
(I love this lady!)
I love the fact that in this city I can take a quick subway ride downtown and arrive at a department store that has such a wonderful tradition!
Thanks for spreading the holiday cheer, Macy's!
Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!