Highline - Part 2 - Rainbow City and more ;)

Quite the unusual sight for Manhattan, right!?! Rainbow City is in an open lot {another rarity for New York!} at the new top of Highline Park! (30th Street and 10th Ave.) 

Here's the description of Rainbow City from the official website: "FriendsWithYou and AOL are excited to announce the opening of the forty piece environmental installation “Rainbow City” in New York City, in celebration of Section 2 of the High Line. Originally commissioned by Luminato Festival of the Arts in Toronto and showcased in association with AOL and PAPER Magazine during Art Basel Miami 2010, FriendsWithYou presents a vibrant collection of mutable, air-filled sculptures. Inaugurating in the art district of Chelsea during the month of June, this will be FWY’s first large-scale installation in New York City. This happy city is made up of intensely colored balloon pieces, encouraging visitors to be active and explore the giant 16,000 square foot playground. Built for adults and children alike, the installation allows for interaction with each art object, making the experience unforgettable."

WoW! I love the fun and funky things you see in the city! 

What's cool as well about this lot is array of food trucks! Unfortunately, it started raining right as we got there so they closed up - but I'm hoping to make it back to check this out!

Wishing I was here right now! The newly extended Highline Park!

I'm at the Chicago O'Hare airport right now.. Have been for hours and really hoping my flight will leave soon so I can make it to California {for my sister's wedding} before the sun comes up! Ugh.. I was supposed to be there before midnight! Oh United - thanks for delaying me for hours and for checking my bag - even though it was the right size...

Enough of that... just wishing I was right here instead right now. Highline Park is probably one of my favorite places in the city to take a walk. It really is magical. And now - it has doubled in length! If you liked Highline before, you'll be even more wow'd now!

Highline Park is ABOVE 10th Avenue essentially between 10th and 34th Streets. Info about entrances is here.

Brooke, Emily and I walked through it last week and enjoyed taking in all the views! 

I love the theater style steps where you can people watch from above!

No matter what time of year I've visited - the flowers and gardens have been spectacular! Highline is built on top of an old train track (that was never finished) a few stories above street level.

PS - do you like our necklaces?! Creative Brooke and I {with her help:)} made them! Details on that next week!

So many interesting views in the new extension! Oh and I almost forgot to mention - People's Pops are just one of the fun vendors on Highline!

 Gorgeous Emily and me - with the Empire State Building behind!

And what is this below??? Introducing Rainbow City tomorrow ;) Hope your Thursday starts out better than mine!

People's pops

When my cute sister, Brooke, was here last weekend, she had a full list of things to do and places to try! On the list was People's Pops!

People's Pops says they take some of the best local fruit and make it into the frozen treat! We tried the apricot-orange(?) flavor and it was delightful! The real chunks of fruit make it feel like a healthy snack!

 Good to know: People's Pops is inside Chelsea Market and on Highline Park!

Donut Plant in Chelsea!

Donut Plant
220 West 23rd Street (between 7th and 8th Ave.)

So I've heard for years about the original Donut Plant on the Lower East Side, but it's not the most convenient neighborhood to get to.  Earlier this year, Donut Plant opened a gorgeous new store in Chelsea and it's fantastic!

A friend and I shared the carrot cake and the tres leches donuts! The carrot cake was out of this world! The tres leches was amazing too! As you can tell by those two flavors, these aren't your typical donuts. More like a food connoisseurs' heaven!

Good to know: Get there early for a full selection! The hours listed on the website are "until donuts are sold out (between 5-7pm)." Also, the original location is at 379 Grand Street.

Apple fans - this one's for you!

Tekserve

119 West 23rd Street (between 6th and 7th Ave.)

I've been having trouble finding a case for my new iPad so someone recommended I check out Tekserve. Oh wow! For a Apple fan, this is like a candy store! They have tons of accessories! The service is superb! And you get one-on-one attention to help you find what you need!

When you first come in, they ask you if you want a ticket from this cool machine! This way you can look around and don't have to stand around in a line or try to flag someone down to get help finding what you want. When they call your number, a sales tech {not sure what they're really called - just made this term up because it fits} is all yours!

 There's a lot of stuff in here!

And this was pretty cool! An old-fashioned coca-cola machine that actually works! It's only 10 cents for a glass bottle still! If this was diet, I would have cleared it out!

Oh and they even have an old-fashioned phone booth that you can really make a free call from - in case you forgot your cell phone at home!

Good to know: Even if you don't live in New York, Tekserve has a great website and offers a huge variety of Apple-friendly products!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Doesn't this just look so, so yummy?! Well, it was! One of the few things the city really could use more of is Mexican restaurants! I'm sure La Esquina and Rosa Mexicana will be packed today so if you're looking for a quick bite - head on over to Chelsea!

Chipotle's Test Kitchen

149 Eighth Ave. (between 17th and 18th Streets)

From what I've learned, the location on Eighth Avenue in Chelsea is where the chefs test out new items or recipes before making them part of the menu elsewhere. Unique items at this location now (as of 5/4): chorizo, corn salsa with white corn, wheat tortillas, {and I think a few other things I can't remember}...

I've been told this is one of only three Chipotle 'test' kitchens in the world. I heard the others are in Colorado and London.

PS - did I mention how much I love it when I can put a freshly cut slice of lemon in my Diet Coke {and get refills too!!}? Just another reason to check out this 'chain' while in the city!

Good to know: The guy at the register told me this is one of the few {if not only in the city} locations where all of the food is prepped from scratch on site{and you can see them doing it}. So if you really want it fresh, go here!

Better look for this one or you'll miss it!

It really is kind of hidden, but definitely worth finding! I stumbled upon it while walking to the subway the other day. The cakes are a sight to see and the cookies will make your mouth water! 

City Cakes

251 West 18th Street (look for the stairs!)

Cupcakes, cookies and cakes! This place has enough sugar inside to send you straight to the dentist! And check out this cake! Their creations are simply amazingly beautiful!

One of the owners, Benny Rivera, told me they made these displays after creating the cakes (which were obviously very popular with their clients). He said they actually just opened the retail counter last summer. Before that, they only did custom orders! If any of these look familiar,  you may have seen Rivera and his cakes when his shop was featured on TLC's Fabulous Cakes show!

So I didn't actually get to try a cake, but I did get a taste of their cookies! Each one is a half-a-pound! Whoa! So, so yummy!

As I was getting ready to walk out the door, Benny told me I really had to try one of their cupcakes because he said they are famous for their moist cakes and smooth buttercream frosting. It didn't take much convincing and I was out the door with a salted carmel cupcake. I'm a chocolate girl all the way, but this cupcake was definitely worth switching it up for! It was every so moist (think sticking to fingers - not crumbling) and the frosting had some type of syrup drizzled on top that was incredible!

Sorry the photo of the cupcakes is so bad! I guess I'll just have to go back :) And you'll have to check with them to see if this deal is still going on, but it caught my eye! 

Know before you go: There's no seating inside. On a nice day, I'd suggest picking them up and then walking the few blocks to Highline Park! Also, it's not exactly a cheap treat at $2.50 for a regular cupcake and $3.50 for a premium flavor, but its definitely worth trying. Cookies at $3.50, but remember, it's a half-a-pound!