believe the hype

what a spectacular, warm, fall-ish, new york city weekend: two perfect days--to steal mug's nice turn of phrase--to "stroll the hell out of this city."

and stroll we did: from as high as 75th to as low as rivington; from battery park city over to norfolk street.

of course, strolling means popping into stores and museums and such. and you get hungry, doing all that strolling, so you also need to stop every now and then for snacks and treats. and when it's time to rest, it's time for a movie.

here are three highlights from the weekend's adventures, all things that got great reviews, and then met or exceeded my expectations...

the richard tuttle show at the whitney was excellent. some of his pieces--especially the collage-y ones--look like the kinds of things bo and co used to bring home from kindergarten, and i mean that in the best way. others stuff is so minimalist you can't help but smile (a favorite was called something like "one line" and it was just that: a two-inch line, drawn in pencil, on a piece of ruled paper... little wonder, as the times pointed out last friday, the last time there was a major tuttle retrospective, in the 70s, people walked out saying "are you KIDDING me?"). his colors are beautiful, his restraint brilliant, his lines carefully considered, the handmade frames perfect, and taken as a whole--it's a pretty large exhibition--it just makes you feel lighter, and peaceful, inside. i'm definitely going back with bo and co, especially since there's a dglass-endorsed ed rusha show starting there this weekend.

if you're within ten blocks of rivington and norfolk and you feel like something sweet and delicious, maybe with an espresso or a cup of tea, you absolutely have to grab a table at schiller's liquor bar and get the toffee pudding. i'm not kidding. this is a requirement. i had read about this dessert in time out new york a couple of weeks ago and they were right: it was UNbelievable. it's a dense toffee cake poured over with heated caramel sauce, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. it's cold, it's warm, it's chewy, it's sweet, it's total heaven. schiller's serves a complete brunch and dinner, too, but we just did the toffee and coffee (and tea). bonus: everyone who works there is friendly and cute and smiley and the place itself is this cool old... something-or-other. we couldn't figure out what it used to be... anyone know?

i thought no way is pride and prejudice going to be as good as everyone's saying. i was wrong. THIS is the movie to see: sumptuous, funny, exceedingly clever (obviously: it's austen), wonderfully romantic, filled with great performances, especially matthew macfadyen as darcy--watch for the one moment he smiles--and keira knightley as elizabeth, and brenda blethyn as mrs. bennet (so hysterical in both senses of the word) and really everyone else, too. and the lizzie/darcy first kiss you're waiting for the whole movie? they totally deliver the goods. an absolute lump-in-the-throat, tears-in-the-eyes, "true-love-IS-real!" moment.