Brian's offices were closed on Friday, April 3rd because it was Good Friday. That day was also the nine year anniversary of the day we got engaged! I'm so happy we got to spend the whole day together, it was nice to have a longer weekend with Brian.
We started the day off by going to the temple with our friend Matt. That is always a great experience. Afterwards we walked up to the nearby Shake Shack, where we ate lunch. I love their strawberry milkshakes and fries, but think their burgers are just okay. The place is always crazy crowded, and even though the food is good, we don't think it's worth all the hype.
Afterwards, we went to Macy's on 34th Street/Herald Square. It seems like we've been ending up here a lot lately, but we've had a lot of errands in this part of town. It was slightly rainy, but the overcast sky and damp sidewalks didn't deter the crowds.
We popped inside Macy's to find a bathroom. It was noisy and crowded as usual (always a bit too much on both fronts for Brian), but I didn't notice any of that. I was distracted, and pleasantly surprised because their flower show was in progress. I didn't know it was happening yet, and was excited that we had unknowingly decided to stop by the store.
The men's bathroom was on the 7th floor, so we rode escalators all the way up. There was a steady line of people making their way in the same direction, so we just got in line and followed everyone up. By the time we reached the right floor, and found a long line to the men's restrooms, Brian was not a happy fellow. I went and looked around at the nearby clothes on display while waiting for him.
He was in a slightly better mood once he found me, but not by much. Brian hates loathes shopping if it's for anything other than food or electronics, and he especially hates being in a crowded store if we don't have to be. I was determined to look around at the flower displays before we left though, so I told him he didn't have to look with me, but could find somewhere to sit down and wait. He followed me back down, and when there didn't appear to be anywhere to sit, just trailed behind me while glaring sullenly at everything and everyone. Haha! I should have found a place to sit him down first, but was just so excited to see everything that I started looking around and let him follow. In his defense, he usually is a good sport about visiting things like this with me, whether it is planned beforehand or spur of the moment.
The flower show's theme this year was Art in Bloom, so there were a lot of art pieces scattered around with the plants and displays reminiscent of famous artists' works. I loved the small wisteria tree, the blown glass calla lilies, and especially the orchids and fresh calla lilies spread throughout the store.
The setup was a lot like it was last year, with the majority of the plants sitting on shelves suspended above our heads. The whole thing has to take a lot of work to put together. It's such a juxtaposition, to have a "garden" in a retail store. It definitely highlighted the delicate beauty of the plants and flowers.
The "bouquet of the day" was actually a beautiful blooming tree. The artist had surrounded it with random objects, and even hung some things from its branches. This piece just made me so sad. They took this beautiful peice of nature (a work of art in itself) and ruined it with junk. This is not art--art should inspire and beautify, not confuse and deface. I just wanted to pull all of that stuff off and take the tree home with me!
I love the new camera Brian got me for Christmas. It lets me take up-close shots that I never was able to do before. Isn't this orchid so pretty?!
I really liked this display inside the store. Its design is based on Piet Mondrian's artwork. We've seen some of his paintings at MoMA.
I loved the hydrangeas!
This guitar display was fun, with all the cacti and other succulents. It was still in perfect shape.
The next day was the flower show's last day, so a lot of the flowers were starting to get old (brown around the edges, wilty, fading colors) and the displays weren't as pristine as I'm sure they were at the show's start. That's okay though, it all was still very pretty.
Another favorite display was this Bloom sign, a nod to the artist Roy Lichtenstein.
I was excited to see the showpiece, but was very underwhelmed and disappointed when we found it. Last year they had a gorgeous red dress made entirely out of flowers. This year it was a statue of David standing on a pedestal. Artsy line-drawn and pixelated images were projected onto the statue's surface. The images would change every so often. The flowers on the pedestal were very faded and starting to drop petals (again the show was almost over).
Brian was more than ready to go at this point, and I had seen all I wanted. We ended up leaving the store on the opposite side from which we had entered. The cool air outside felt nice, after the unusual warm temperature inside the store. I assumed the interior heat was for all the flowers.
Once out the doors, I turned to talk to Brian and caught sight of the window displays.
They were stunning! I'm so glad we came out this way, otherwise we would have missed them. These displays were definitely my favorite part of the whole show.
The flowers in each window were perfectly fresh. I loved the white orchids and snowy clusters of hydrangea, azalea, and kalanchoe blooms in this window. You can't see the figures very well because of the glare on the glass, but they were wearing top hats, and each had a mustache. In the back left corner, a live little bird was jumping from branch to branch of a shrub.
The design below was composed entirely of blooming kalanchoe plants.
I really liked that they used smaller flowers in this display to mimic the pointillism of the figure's dress. The ships were slowly rocking back and forth in opposite directions.
Of course this ballerina window was my favorite. I stopped to look at this one for a long time. Each figure was rotating slowly.
Aren't those colors just amazing?!
When we first came out of the doors, and Brian realized that I was going to want more time to look at the windows, he headed over to the area just beyond the sidewalk that had tables and chairs. He was sitting there, waiting for me when I was finished looking and taking pictures. He was in a much happier mood, since he got to take a break from the chaos of the crowds.
It really started raining at that point, so we sat underneath the table's umbrella for a bit, just until the rain subsided. The cool air and nearby planters full of blooming tulips and hyacinths made the area pleasant. Below is a view up 6th Avenue from where we were sitting.
Once the rain slowed, we started walking north on 6th Avenue towards 42nd Street for the next adventure of the day.
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