Okay – so here’s the scoop on Old Crow Farm which I found out by trekking to Earlham Iowa today. The three-times-a-year sale that used to happen at the Old Crow Farm is no more I was told. Which was a bit disappointing. It’s been replaced by a soon-t0-be once-a-month sale at Old Crow Farm’s new in-town location, a former 1900’s hardware store that now goes by the name “Rescued Junk” and that’s just what was in there today during the grand opening. Place was packed with people – and there was cider and sweets to mark the occasion. The rescued junk was okay – not as much stuff as I expected, mostly salvaged metal furniture and knickknacks – old tool kits, stools, signs, the kind of old things that were lying around your grandma’s house for years, that need fixing up. The store will be open the next two weekends (Thursday-Saturday) 12/9-12/11 and 12/16-12/18
Filed under antiques, Iowa, Uncategorized
The cavernous lobby of the Museum of Modern Art was almost as full of people as the streets lining Fifth Avenue in midtown NYC yesterday, the day after Thanksgiving, and my husband seemed to disappear into the coat check room, amidst a long line but once we finally got squared away and into the galleries the crowd thinned a little and we were able to enjoy the Kitchen Design Exhibit and the Women Photographers/New Photographers show. My brother came through again soon after I texted “Need good, quick, reasonably priced restaurant near MOMA for lunch?” He suggested La Bonne Soupe a block north on 55th street between 5th and 6th and we weren’t the only people who knew about this little place. It was packed at 2:45 p.m. Guess everyone got a late start yesterday. Good food – not just soup but salads, omelettes, sandwiches. I shared a very good Salad Nicoise. The guys had great Croque Monseurs and Madames (a Monseur with a fried egg atop.) Good fries and bread. Chocolate mousse looked amazing but withstood the temptation.
We rented a car at Enterprise – so far so good – and drove in light traffic (amen) to Watermill on the eastern tip of Long Island in about 1.5 hours. Must remember next time to take the Long Island Expressway from the Northern – we missed that and had a brief detour. Staying at a huge mansion – no joke, a friend of my relatives who have their own mansion – in East Hampton. Only one problem – the heat in our room is faltering. It was 65 when we arrived. In the middle of the night I felt really cold – the thermostat read 45. We realized after turning on the light that the wind had blown the door to the outdoor balcony overlooking the bay open. Lots of cold air. Oh well. Keeps us humble.
Filed under museum exhibit, New York City
I often have a free day in NYC on a Monday and want to go to a museum but not all are open that day. Just checked for this month’s trip and there’s good news and bad. Museum of Modern Art – open on Monday! New Museum in the Bowery – not so new. not open on Monday.
Filed under museum exhibit, New York City
I have been wracking my brains (what a strange expression) trying to remember the name of this place – that sells antiques/ “rescued junk” (from country primitives to urban industrial) three times a year displayed in an old barn and the surrounding grounds of a Madison County acreage about 20 minutes west of Des Moines. And finally – I stumbled upon a mention of it in the December Issue of Midwest Living. Old Crow Farm Antiques next sale is on saturday Dec. 4 (“jolly junk vintage market”) and I’d really like to get there. For more info see oldcrowfarmantiques.com and check out the blog.
This sale will also – if I understand the blog correctly – mark the opening of the Old Crow folks’ new shop called Rescued Junk by Old Crow Farm, housed in an old building they’re fixing up in the town of Earlham. It will be the location of monthly “occasional sales” rather than only three sales a year. You can also shop online at oldcrowfarm.etsy.com. The farm is at 2125 130th street. take exit 110 of I-80 south towards Winterset to 130th street then west 1/4 mile.
Baltimore is one of those cities I collect travel info on since I may actually return there sometime (for work.) So here’s some suggestions from the NYTimes on the art scene in Station North, an arts district near Penn Station, the city’s railway hub (which itself sounds like it’s worth seeing):
Metro Gallery, 1700 North Charles st.
Joe Squared, 133 West North Avenue, serving great pizza (one with bacon and clams, yum), plus has exhibitions and live music.
The Charles Cinema, 1711 North Charles street – longtime artsy film house.
Tapas Teatro, 1711 North Charles – Iberian-influenced tapas including asparagus w/Serrano ham (my brother just returned from Spain and raved about the ham there – and Gaudi buildings!) and crab/spinach in sherry cream sauce (which would probably kill me but sounds delicious.) Plus rare wines like Txakoli from the Basque region.
I’ve been recommending things to do/see in Chicago to friends and family and realize I neglected to blog about my visit last September to the Chicago Architecture Foundation, near the Art Institute on South Michigan Ave. Several interesting tours leave from the place – and it has one of the best gift shops I’ve come across anywhere, full of great stuff on architecture and design – especially clever architecture T-shirts. Also forgot to mention one of my new favorite buildings in chicago – the Aqua Tower by Jeanne Gang. I was mesmerized by it a few years ago when I spotted it during a Chicago Architecture Foundation boat tour. The New Yorker gave it a thumbs up too recently. see :
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/skyline/2010/02/01/100201crsk_skyline_goldberger
Filed under architecture, Chicago
Most Thanksgivings we visit relatives in New York City and I have one or two day to explore the city, which usually involves picking one museum to visit. This year’s winner? MOMA – which I haven’t visited for several years. Several exhibits have caught my attention that I”m eager to see – CounterSpace: Design and the Modern Kitchen (through March 14) and Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photograph (through March 21).
First runner-up (and a museum I hope to visit) is the New Museum downtown on the Bowery, which has an exhibit an old newspaperwoman can’t resist entitled “The Last Newspaper.”
Filed under museum exhibit, New York City
We went up to Mason City yesterday to check out the work being done to restore the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed hotel there and while there’s a lot of work still to be done, it’s a great looking building and should be a gem if restored well. The hotel and adjoining bank – are scheduled to reopen on June 30, 2011 although I’m told guests probably won’t be able to stay there until later in the summer. The bank side looks far from done – and the ground floor has been completely gutted. We couldn’t see the hotel side as well (construction of the building and the streets its on restricted our access and view) but looks like it’s more intact. It will be the only remaining of six FLW-designed hotels in operation!
We also visited the FLW-designed Stockman House – took an informative tour for $5 a piece. Well worth a visit- it’s the first FLW Prairie Style house in Iowa and was saved from the brink of destruction back in 1993. We also toured the Rock Glen/Rock Crest neighborhood – with its Prairie Style homes by a FLW contemporary. And of course we had to stop at Birdsall’s, the old ice cream store on Federal Street that looks pretty much like it did decades ago (and has very good malts and sundaes.) Nearby Borealis looked like a good place too – a little cafe.
Filed under architecture, Iowa
Not long ago, D and I toured Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Robie House near the University of Chicago on the south side. The tour cost $15 and we were in a group of maybe 10 people. The house was mid-renovation and had little furniture. I couldn’t help compare this to my visit a few years earlier with my friend Francine, who was visiting from London, to Wright’s not-as-famous-or-grand house, Cedar Rock, near the town of Quasqueton.
At Cedar Rock, Francine and I paid a very modest suggested donation – a couple of bucks as I recall – then hopped on a little cart that took us down to the house on the river. We – and only we – took a guided tour of the building, which was fully furnished. We were astonished to have the whole place to ourselves.
Now comes word that the trust fund that enabled these tours has run dry and the DNR has assumed most of the financial responsibilty. Staff has been cut, visitor hours and tour times have been reduced. Perhaps they should charge more for admission (currently, a “$5 donation is suggested) – which seems only fair. The home is open Memorial Day through Oct. 21, Thursday – Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with hourly tours.
Filed under architecture, Iowa
TakeBetsywithyou
TakeBetsywithyou 