Glass flower made at Corning Museum of Glass

Finger Lakes, NY | The Corning Museum of Glass is Way Cooler Than You Think It Is

The fire was glowing bright orange, burning at a temperature above 2000 degrees. We pulled our safety goggles on, slid on our gloves, and got down to business.

The business was glass-making and the results were beautiful glass flowers, shipped to our homes the next week. I was in Corning, New York with One Carry-On and Stories My Suitcase Could Tell for a Finger Lakes adventure. We had heard we couldn’t visit Corning without spending time at the Corning Museum of Glass, but I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy it much. I was completely wrong.

Lisbon, Portugal | An Ode to Exploration in Belém

So many of us call ourselves explorers. But we depend on Google Maps, Rick Steves, GPS, TripAdvisor, and Yelp. The explorers who set off from the coast of Portugal in the 15th and 16th centuries had none of those resources and accomplished so much more than finding the most delicious sandwich in New Orleans or the greatest bar in Manhattan.

NYC | An Adventure in Sculpture with Picasso

I’ve had a thing for Picasso since I was a 9-year-old nerd with a red French beret, trying to become an artist and a dolphin trainer at the same time. I try to see as much of Picasso’s work as possible, so it’s helpful to live in New York City.

NYC | Cut it Out! Matisse at the MoMA

A few weeks ago, Christie and I decided to pause our Friends on Netflix marathons, peel ourselves off our couches, and make our way to the MoMA. The MoMA is one of my favorite museums and until February 10, it is home to an exhibit of Henri Matisse’s cut-outs. It’s important to me that when you’re reading this post, you are saying the French “ahn-REE” and not the boring English “Henry” in your head. This gent deserves it.

NYC | No Irish Need Apply at the LES Tenement Museum

I’ve wanted to go to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum since Katie and I took a tour of the Lower East Side with Jeff from Walks of New York this spring. On that tour, I learned a lot about the history of immigration to the LES and realized that I currently live in an old tenement building.

Washington DC | Secret Agent Woman

I walked into the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, and immediately had to assume a false identity. No longer was I ErFer, a 29-year-old trying to figure life out in NYC – now I was Angelena Falcone, a 21-year-old travel agent from Italy. It was in this first room where the recent film Argo was highlighted, based on the real-life Iranian hostage crisis in 1979.

NYC | ABC. Easy as 123.

Y’all already know I’m a huge fan of libraries, especially the New York Public Library and its lions. But you may not know that I feel the opposite about mornings. Get them out of here. When my parents were visiting me last month, I had a suspicion that they’d wake up at the buttcrack of dawn and they sure did. Because I don’t typically do a lot in the mornings, I didn’t know what to do with them before our lunch in Chinatown. Luckily, my dad suggested the library since they had never been. Plus, there were a couple of exhibits we could check out, just like we’d done the day before at the Beatles exhibit at the NYPL of Performing Arts.

Philadelphia | How am I Gonna be an Optimist about This?

Pompeii is having a moment. There was of course, my family’s visit to Pompeii, Italy this past summer. There is the amazing Bastille song that I haven’t been able to get out of my head for months (not a complaint). There is a Pompeii movie in theaters now and one available on NetFlix. And, there is an exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia with relics on loan from the Naples National Archaeological Museum in Naples, Italy.

NYC | Night at the Museum (of the City of NY)

One of the hardest things to do in New York is to find an apartment. I starting panicking in January last year when I knew I would have to find a place by August. I’m sure this does not shock you. It turns out that I was semi-founded in my fears as I found out at the Museum of the City of New York this past week that only 1.5% of NYC’s rental housing stock is a studio or one-bedroom apartment ready for occupancy. That is insane.

NYC | You Oughta be in Pictures

For a few years in high school, I was convinced I was going to become a famous film director. I had made several films with my frousins, neighbors, and in school. I had a notebook full of opening scenes for movies. I practiced my Oscar speech in the mirror. This dream eventually went the way of other dreams, like being in the Olympics, becoming Miss America, and being elected the first female president.

NYC | Take Your Dad to the City Day

When I was in middle school, a friend of my dad’s called the house and asked me to tell my dad that he had called. I forgot to tell my dad, probably because I was too busy working on my ‘N Sync website, and it turned out his friend was going to ask him to go to The Late Show with David Letterman with him. Being from the sticks of Jersey and not being able to imagine at the time that I would ever even *go* to New York, I felt awful. My dad doesn’t remember that this even happened.

NYC | 50 Shades of Black & White

A few weeks ago, Kat and I checked out the Picasso Black and White exhibit at the Guggenheim. It was actually my first time at this museum (hereby referred to as “the Goog”), but it definitely won’t be my last. The museum design (by Frank Lloyd Wright) is iconic and has been featured in many movies and television shows, including Mr. Popper’s Penguins which I accidentally watched a few minutes of once, but got to enjoy people chasing penguins all around the museum.

November 2012 Recap

This month’s posts would have overjoyed the Erin of the early nineties – did you notice this theme? It truly was unintentional, but I ended up having a very nostalgic November, and have zero complaints of my recent experiences with penguins, Monet’s garden, Winnie the Pooh, and American Girl Place.

NYC | This City was Built on Rock

A few weeks ago, after a fabulous brunch at Cornelia Street Cafe, a subway ride uptown, and a walk across Central Park, a few friends and I walked up to the Museum of the City of New York on 103rd and Fifth.