A word of advice: call before you go....

...lest you discover the store you so desperately want to visit has moved completely. So I didn't get to buy the Ben Nye eyeshadows I enjoy so much, but I did run into TWO of my grad school classmates, just upon exiting the subway! and then I got to hang with a certain Brooklynite (Brooklynian? Brookie?) friend whom I still like to refer to as DJ Silky from our radio show days.

I wish I were more conscious of the fact that I have a freaking camera in my phone, and then I could have "moblog"-ed our travels around Union Square and Chelsea. Photos that should have been taken: the very busy farmer's market at Union with the wee gourmet potatoes and perfect-in-every-way croci plants, our overpriced brunch delicacies at Petite Abeille, the trying on of neon orange blush and iridescent fuchsia lipstick at Sephora, and our slightly snooty waitress at the Maritime Hotel.

But alas, all I can show you are these photos of the very cool Maritime (credit: http://www.nyc-architecture.com/) which has really awesome windows and a fantastic huge outdoor patio (is that redundant?), and a really interesting history:

It was built for a sailors' union, then became a home for runaway teens, then housing for students from China, and now finally is a swanky hipster hotel (only a matter of time, eh?)