Facelift

Unfortunately, my reading these days has been limited to graduate school work and books that I am teaching, so I have no new recommendations on the book front. That said, this weekend, I stumbled upon a lovely little New York City gem where I am now dying to take out-of-town-visitors! Since last weekend was tragically boring and devoted to doing work/planning for the new semester, we decided that it was time for some fun this weekend. The boyfriend and I are both museum people, so in addition to some dinner plans at a jazz restaurant downtown (on route to which I had a fun Gossip Girl sighting!) and a post-museum trip to a little wine bar on the Upper West Side, we decided to spend the afternoon at the New York Historical Society. After a lovely walk through Central Park, we arrived at the newly renovated museum. I had been to the museum pre-renovation and, let me tell you, this place has catapulted to a very high place on my NYC "Must Visit" list after its 65 million dollar renovation! In addition to adding a beautiful wine bar/restaurant that is gorgeously decorated (I am a sucker for white decor and glamorous chandeliers) and has a newly conceptualized menu, the museum has been updated to be more interactive, culturally relevant, and fun. 

All images courtesy of the New York Historical Society 

Before touring the museum, there is now the option of a short film on the history of New York, which, I am not going to lie, made me tear a little during the September 11th portion, and ended with Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind." Again, cheap shots, but they totally worked on me. Favorite exhibits included: "Revolution! the Atlantic World Reborn" and "Urban Views: American Cities." The museum itself is architecturally beautiful, borders Central Park, and is across from The Natural History Museum. It is also dangerously close to Shake Shack! A definite must for those looking for a different museum than the usual suspects.