window shopping

Yesterday afternoon, for the first time in a long time, Blake was home and everyone was relatively healthy. It was a rare window of opportunity, and so of course we used it to go look at windows -- 5th Avenue holiday windows, that is. The weather was perfect, a balmy 40ish degrees, which unfortunately meant that five million other people were out doing the same thing we were. The crowds were at times unbearable, especially at Rockefeller Center, which was like trying to wade through Dante's seventh circle of hell, and which led me to vow that next year we either skip this tradition altogether, or do it on a day when the weather was a little less cooperative.

The best windows were Tiffany's, Bergdorf Goodman, and Lord and Taylor. Bloomingdales didn't do much in the way of windows this year (unlike their awesome SNL tribute last year) and the Saks windows were definitely not worth waiting in line for. Their new snowflake display, which was a projected light show instead of actual lights, was also a little disappointing. Garrett and Caleb, however, were completely mesmerized. Though we started our trip at Macy's, the crowds kept us from sticking around for too long. We'll get a better look at their windows later this week when I take the boys up to see Santa.

A definite highlight of the excursion was a stop at the Transit Museum's Annex at Grand Central to see the Holiday Train Show. It was the most amazing model train display I've ever seen -- Garrett was in absolute awe. Seriously, if you're ever in the area at Christmas time, this is worth the trip to see.

The tree at Rockefeller Center. We got real cozy with all those people during our walk (ahem, slow shuffle) up the plaza.

Tiffany's -- simple yet striking.

Bergdorf Goodman -- always so elegant.

Lord and Taylor -- their attention to detail is pretty impressive.

The new Saks snowflakes. I liked them better in previous years.

The Holiday Train Show.

(Click for Part 1 and Part 2 of the video sequence.)