Aquarius Celebrating

**This was supposed to be published 1/31/25 but due to a technical snafu we are live today!**

I am a January Aquarius – IYKYK.

Since I was a child, I have greatly disliked my birthday. Not because I am getting older – I have an oddly sanguine obliviousness to the passage of my own time and age, though not that of others. But that is a post for a different time.

Birthdays, to me, mean things are changing. I want to enjoy the things I have built, I want to be in my safe space, cocoon without change. So, my family never quite knows what reaction I may have when I wake up on my birthday. I have had some good, some great and some really shitty birthdays. Probably not much different than everyone. 🙂

This birthday — one of my best!

This year my birthday was on a Friday. Of course I saw this as a sign to spend the weekend in NYC. Have I mentioned my thrill at being back on the East Coast — more NYC, more Boston, more Newport… This time it was more NYC! An added bonus being that our absolutely favorite family from Seattle were also going to be in NYC at the same time. <3

How We Got There —

We took Amtrak. I find the train to be so civilized. The train works for us when we have flexibility in our weekend schedule. The added benefit to the train is that Union Station in DC is such a beautiful, clean and easy to navigate train station. The renovated Moynihan Hall on the NYC end is beautiful and has a great food hall if your train is delayed! (If we are on a tighter schedule, we may take a plane shuttle.)

Where Did We Stay —

We belong to both the University Club of Washington, DC and The Rainier Club in Seattle. We enjoy these clubs for many reasons – the U Club welcomed us with an infant and gave us a community and the Rainier Club was our saving grace in Seattle for socializing – but one of the best reasons is the reciprocity to other clubs around the world. We have decided to try each of the NYC reciprocal clubs each time we pop up to the city. Reciprocal clubs are a brilliant option for NYC – locations are great, rooms tend to be larger than the average bear, you feel like a VIP, and the cost of the room is super competitive.

Where Did We Go —

The Morgan Library: We got early morning (11am on Saturday) tickets to The Morgan Library. This has been on my NYC list ever since I read The Librarian. In addition to the actual Morgan Library rooms, there are a couple of temporary exhibits – we were particularly excited that this time included a Frank Zappa overview of his life and legacy.

Tips –

Early morning is the way to go — The museum rooms are a smaller space where you spend a lot of time reading about all the things. We arrived at 10:50am and left at 1:30pm. By the time we left the space was feeling full.
Cafe – I was feeling a birthday tea vibe for this trip but did not want to give up the requisite 2-3 hours chunk of precious NYC time that a traditional tea reservation requires. Prior to our trip I researched the cafe at the Morgan Library. Amongst the very full and yummy menu, they have a solid, lovely afternoon tea for two. <3 My daughter and I got the tea and I tell you that the food and tea selection was quite satisfactory and if there is a savory or sweet you particularly like, they will graciuosly bring you another one.

Hotel Chelsea:

My daughter has an appreciation of music and literature that is worthy of admiration for someone her age. She asked that we stop by the Hotel Chelsea as it was such an epicenter of the intersection between great musicians and authors. I love supporting her travelogue of moments in history — one of my favorite spring breaks was the NYC>Boston on a Hamilton trail of poignant locations that she put together.

We hung out in the Lobby Bar with our good friends who were in town from Seattle. I don’t know how we even came up for air to order because we were so busy catching up from the last 6 months. But we did order and I can vouch that the Olives are sublime and the Cheese tray is more substantial than one expects. The cokes come in a bottle and the craft cocktails are super pricey but come in full glasses – no precious pours here. The clientelle is 50/50 tourists and native NYCers. Special shout out to the hostess who accommodated our larger group of 6 during prime happy hour time on a Saturday.

Blue Willow:

I will walk miles and pay top dollar for a good chinese food restaurant. Even before I became a resident of Washington, DC it held my heart because the first, life changing chinese meal I ever had was at 1980’s era City Lights of China. From the amazing dim sum spot at Bryant Park to the best dumplings in Midtown, my sister has been my NYC chinese restaurant savant. I knew what I wanted for my birthday dinner – Blue Willow and every dumpling and wonton on their menu. You definitely need a reservation. The kitchen stops taking orders at 9pm so plan accordingly. I was beyond grateful that the management graciously allowed us to add our Seattle friends last minute to our reservation and not only did they accommodate us, we had a lovely private alcove overlooking the street.

Luna Luna:

This one I owe to a former colleague of my husband who I follow on Instagram – she is well versed in the art world and when I saw that she had visited Luna Luna, I knew we needed to as well. Basquiat, Keith Haring…the best of our imagination. To be honest, I bought the tickets before I knew the whole story and was prepared to be disappointed. Spoiler – I was NOT disappointed. The back story on Luna Luna alone is worth the price of admission. We loved it!

Tips –

Prepare to spend a couple of hours – there are certain things that happen on a timed schedule.
The coat check is free so take advantage of it.
Pop up to the Butterfly Bar afterwards to get a special overview of the exhibit.
Walk the High Line after for some great views- the exit to the highline is directly next to the coat check.

Central Park Carousel:

Every city we visit with a significant or historic carousel, we ride that crousel. This carousel is housed in an indoor / outdoor building so it is open year round. In the winter, you are protected from the wind and in the summer you get to feel the breeze when the large garage doors are open. The roof means you can ride it rain or shine!

What I Wore —

These are the outfits I wore each day. Not all of the clothes below are the exact items I wore but some are and I note which ones, but the others are examples because the clothing items I wore are older or not available.

Dinner at the private club Friday night OOTD –