The weather has been wonderful here the past few nights, prompting us to go take in the evening skyline and see the new rooftop exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This year, the exhibit is Tomás Saraceno’s “Cloud City,” made of up stacking and interlocking geometric shapes. As always, the people-watching was half the fun–especially watching the people watch themselves in the mirrored surfaces. (I have to admit, we snapped a few self-portraits from time to time, too.) And you can climb up into the piece with a ticket for a timed-entry. The photos of the installation process are pretty wild.

As always, the roof of the Met is a must for anyone visiting the city during the summer!

I snapped this shot from a cab the other night; I can’t believe I’ve yet to go to the Paris theatre. I’ve been told that it’s such a romantic space in which to see a movie. Incidentally, I was on my way home from a chocolate chip cookie tasting party (I know!), and mine took second prize!

Then last night, to humble me a bit and bring me down from my big win, I met up with an amazing group of women to talk about blogging and media and taste Rosé (but I must admit that my cookie win–I bested Momofuku!–did come up).

So while I’m tooting my horn, let me also slip in that ebay’s The Source just interviewed me. So nice! It’s been a good, albeit busy, week.

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend. Sleep in, so that I can do so vicariously!

A while back, someone wrote me to ask how I pack a bag for a day out in the city for Hudson. I can’t say it’s down to a science–and ask me again next week and you might get a different answer–but here’s what I would currently pack for a day around Manhattan or, frankly, a day traveling just about anywhere.

In my “diaper bag” (actually just a large purse):

Sun Hat
Warm Hat
A few favorite toys (one is usually strapped onto the seatbuckle if we’re using a stroller)
IPhone (aka camera)
Wallet (now filled with coffee and frozen yogurt punch cards)
Carabiner (useful for anything from attaching an umbrella to my bag to securing that toy to Hudson’s stroller buckles)
Diaper changing kit (with 3 diapers, wipes, and a few of these diaper sacks)
Pouch with lipstick, hair tie, and keys
Glasses
Baggu shopping bag (incredibly strong for toting groceries, but also handy for covering another bag on rainy days)
“Go-Bag”

The “Go-bag” is key. I bought a rather utilitarian “Go-bag” from by Eagle Creek , made to house toilettries (so it wipes clean easily in case of spills). This is really where the essential baby stuff is kept, and every night or morning I make sure anything I’ve used has been replaced so that I can move it from my bag to Aron’s or wherever else without rethinking the packing every time we leave the house. Most of the time this just means grabbing more cheerios and a new spoon.

Inside the “Go-bag”:
Bib
Spoon
placemats (for finger-foods directly off the table)
Tupperware of cheerios or puffs
Food packs (usually one fruit or veggie squeeze and one chunkier main)
Bottle (with extra nipple for water)
Some formula to-go packets just in case
Sunscreen
Hand Sanitizer
Infant Acetomeniphen and Ibuprofen
Teething biscuits

This seems to work for us at ten months. (Ten months today!) When he was an infant, I would have had less food and more diapers. I would have also had a change of clothes along. As he gets older, I have a feeling the snacks will increase. Aron is eagerly anticipating the increased-snack portage stage, he tells me.

P.S. I’ve had a few stroller hooks and these are my favorite. Also, we have used this Polarn O. Pyret suit non-stop for the past five or six months. It was often better for us than the bundle bag because we could move Hudson between stroller and carrier and onto a playground without changing jackets (e.g. off to go in the bundle bag, then on again to go out or in the carrier). And it was so easy to get him in and out of it quickly to dash out of the house. Here’s my original list of baby essentials.

Oh, and also, since I’ve taken these photos, we’ve missplaced his PO.P sunhat and his cute little wooden car toy! So my word on being organized should be taken with some serious grains of salt.

I passed a girl wearing these Loeffler Randall rain booties the other day and they looked so chic! You couldn’t even tell at first that they were rubber!

They seem like a much more practical option than Hunter Wellies which often aren’t: first, it’s too warm (today’s forecast calls for rain and 78 degrees); and, more often than not, there’s a 50/50 chance that it actually won’t rain when the weatherman says it will. It stinks (um, literally?) to walk around in rubber boots, lugging an umbrella once the skies have cleared. Those who work in an office will often wear their boots to work and then swap them for the heels under their desks (or the flats rolled up in their purses), but what about on the weekends?

Recently I traded in my tall wellies for the all-black Bean boots below and I’m so much happier to walk around in them for hours if I’m far away from home and the sun breaks out. They’d also be much easier to pack for a rainy destination (like London, lately, I’ve heard lamented).

Here are some other good rain boot(ie) options for spring–or travel…

[From top left, clockwise: Hunter Brixen Boot; L.L. Bean 8" Bean boot; Sperry Top-Sider Rain Drop Waterproof Boots; Clyde Rain Boot for Steven Alan by Totoosh; Bogs Rue Gum Rubber Shoe; Bogs Charlot Rain Chukka]

And Hunter’s Brixen Boot could stand in for Doc Marten’s with jeans–or with a floral dress, a la Angela Chase or Alicia Silverstone circa Clueless. “The dream of the 90s is alive…”