Happy Halloween!

This was sort of a mistake photo but I thought it would make a good post for Halloween. It's kind of spooky I guess. I hope you have a spooky Halloween and have more treats than tricks!

Another Baker

Continuing on the theme of bakers at work from last week...this time it's not at the Chelsea Market but at the Buttercup Cafe on West 72nd Street. They have lots of yummy treats there and some cute Halloween themed sweets. I guess this birthday cake was for a someone who loves the color purple. This guy was completely unfazed by all the people watching him work!

Guggenheim unwrapped

I was walking by the Guggenheim museum the other day and see that they have finally finished the renovation of the outside of the building. It has been covered in scaffolding for the longest time and it was nice to see it looking like new again. It is such an interesting structure.

...and an extra photo for today....Some of us had the great pleasure of meeting Eric Tenin from the Paris Daily Photo blog last night. Eric started the very first city daily photo blog (or at least one of the very first) and he's got quite a big following of fans. He organized a very nice meet up in New York for the bloggers and people who follow his blog. I hope he doesn't mind my posting his photo!

Still Green

I can't believe I took this picture just last week. I'm looking at all of the fall foliage in people's blog photos and everything is still so green here. Colder temperatures are coming, so maybe there will be some nice colorful leaves in the park soon. Until then, we can still appreciate the blooming flowers!

Cat Hill

When I go running in Central Park I often go past this statue of a panther crouching atop a large rock. He's overlooking one of the steeper hills in the park, so runners know this spot well and call it Cat Hill. I tried to find some information about the reason it's there and the sculptor, but I couldn't come up with anything. I guess it will be a mystery!

Chanel Mobile Art Pavillion

I was walking in the park at lunch today and happened upon the Chanel Mobile Art Pavilion. This is a traveling exhibition that's already been to Hong Kong and Tokyo and now it's in New York . The structure was designed by the architect Zaha Hadid. Inside is an exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Chanel quilted handbag. Apparently there are 18 "handbag-inspired" installations by various artists inside. I think tickets are free but are hard to get. They had a very long standby line today so I only saw the outside! (I think after New York it’s going on to London , Moscow and Paris .)

Bakers at Work

This is the last of the photos from my stroll through the Chelsea Market. Some of the bakeries there have open windows and you can see the bakers at work. It seems like it must be such a nice job. The baking bread smells so good too!

Creative Cupcakes

Since I mentioned the bakeries at the Chelsea Market yesterday, I thought I'd show some of the goods for sale. These looked delicious, though at $4.50 a cupcake, seemed rather expensive. I guess you just get one for a treat every now and then! (Wish it were a better photo, but you get the idea.) I think the Cookie Monster is my favorite!

Chelsea Market

Here's a nice place to go if you are craving something sweet. The Chelsea Market at Ninth Avenue and 15th Street is home to many good bakeries and some nice food shops. I always enjoy a stroll through this place. I think it used to be some sort of factory, turned into an indoor market. One of the nice things about New York! (Notice their ghostly Halloween decoration under the clock?)

Homer Simpson

I'm not exactly sure what Homer Simpson was advertising here. I saw this outside a shop in Chinatown (but I think it may have been a Japanese restaurant.) Anyway, I'm sure it was delicious. I hope you all have a great week ahead.

Approaching Fall

The leaves are just starting to change here and it's been so warm lately that people are still able to enjoy picnicing in the park. Some colder weather is coming this weekend. I'm so glad!! It will finally feel like fall. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Sampling Station

Do they really sample the water? Isn't it funny how you can walk down a street hundreds of times and never notice little things like this water sampling station. I wonder how often they sample the water. Anyway, I'm going to check it out the next time I go down this street, maybe they'll be there doing the sampling!

Green Chimneys Float

This is another shot from yesterday's Columbus Day parade. These dogs were atop a float for an organization called Green Chimneys, which, according to their website, is a worldwide leader in animal-assisted therapy and activities for children with emotional, behavioral and learning challenges. I never heard of the group before but they had a nice float. Apparently the dogs are part of something called "Celebrity Dogs Unleashed" and were created by various celebrities for an auction to raise funds for the group. I couldn't get close enough to see who created these!

Columbus Day

This was one of the littlest participants in yesterday's Columbus Day parade up Fifth Avenue, marching with his parents I suppose. I guess he was wearing his Christopher Columbus outfit. It was a festive parade with lots of bands, floats and flags. I love a parade!

Museum of Arts and Design

I visited a new museum in Manhattan this past weekend. The Museum of Arts and Design, located in Columbus Circle, focuses on innovation in craft, art, and design. They had some really interesting exhibits, like sculptures made out of plastic spoons and one made out of phone books! I was hoping to take a good photo of Central Park from the museum, but the windows all have material on them to keep out the light. (I know this photo isn't very good, I snapped it on the run!) Have a great week ahead!

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

One of the best things we did out west was visit the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, which was amazing!! This particular night they blew up the balloons and lit them up at dusk. It was gorgeous and these pictures really don't do it justice. I think I took 200 photos of just the balloons. If you are ever in the area during the fiesta I'd highly recommend you go!

Cowboys

Since I'm out of New York photos, it's New Mexico photos for the rest of the week! Here are some more western shots. No, I didn't pick up a cowboy outfit. Though they did have some great boots!

Santa Fe Farmer's Market

These are just a few of the sights from the Santa Fe Farmer's Market. The market was a wonderful place to browse at all of the vegetables, breads, flowers, jams and chutneys....

...and of course the hot peppers!

There were lots of people at the market roasting peppers and there were many hot pepper products for sale. Most of them were much too hot for me. I'm a wimp when it comes to spicy foods!

Bandelier National Monument

I had the great pleasure of attending a wedding in Santa Fe, New Mexico last week, and since I have lots of photos of places I saw in that area, I thought I'd show a few this week. This is a photo of Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos, New Mexico. You can see the remains of a pueblo dwelling in the front of the photo. It was an amazing place to visit and I recommend it if you are in that part of the country. More photos to come!

Jimbo's

I love these old-style neon signs. Saw this one in front of a classic diner up in Inwood. It made me want to eat a hamburger! (I'm scheduling this post ahead of time as I'm away till tomorrow. I'll look forward to seeing your photos then!)

Wacky Windows

Isn't it funny how reflections can distort the appearance of things. These windows are all perfectly straight. (I'm scheduling this post as I'm away till Tuesday, but I'll look forward to seeing your pictures next week. Have a good weekend!)

Colorful window

This is another shot from my walk past the Museum of Modern Art this past weekend. I'm not sure what it's all about, but it caught my eye. I should have posted it yesterday when everyone was doing the theme day with photos of lines!

(I'm scheduling posts the rest of this week and Monday, as I'll be away, but I'll look forward to seeing your pictures next week. Have a good one!)

Graffiti artists

I happened upon these guys while they were painting the other day. They were doing a very colorful vibrant graffiti on a building on the west side. I thought they were doing very nice work.

And here is after they caught me taking their picture (oops!) They seemed like nice guys! (P.S. I just noticed that yesterday was my 400th post. I never thought I'd make it that long with the blog!