Upper East Side

sorry for the no-post yesterday, we were on vaca the last few days and i didn't line up a post for monday. however, we were visiting manhattan and i have some goodies to show! we stayed on the upper east side, a block off the park, which turned out to be a great choice. much quieter and residential with a vibe all its own.

we stayed at the surrey which i'd highly recommend - very nice rooms, friendly staff, and great design. they even thought of the vent cover (top left-ish) which had a geometric pattern.

the lobby:

via the surrey website

we took a little time to explore our neighborhood - there are some unbelievable (such an understatement) townhomes on the cross streets between 5th and park. even the safety bars on the windows were amazing. these looked like tree branches:

lattice pattern:

and here i couldn't resist the greek key railing (and i think it also frames the window bars)!

not too far away was the j crew men's store. i had this on my list to visit, not for the clothing, but for the interior. i can't remember if i've posted pics of this store before but now i have some of my own! they are actually illicit photos (i'm so bad ass) but the guys working there were nice enough to "turn their heads" while i snapped a couple!

the walls are paneled in pine, the ceilings are a manly charcoal gray, and there were more hicks pendants than i knew what to do with.

downstairs is their suit shop which was really gorgeous.

and somehow mr. r managed to find a couple of things he liked so i'd say it was a fair trade ;)

a couple of food recommendations - if you're looking for a quick bite and/or a great burger in this part of town, we loved j g melon. for dinner one night we stayed uptown and we to bar italia on 2nd ave & 77th - it was chic and absolutely delicious.