Once more into the breach...

This is kind of embarrassing, but I still haven't finished showing you all of the beads I found in New York City. I think this makes, what, a full week of new stash acquisition posts? Argh. It's just as well that the Husband doesn't usually read my blog (too girly for him, I think). Really, if I didn't love them so much, I'd just chuck the idea of showing you, but I do happen to like these, so I hope you don't mind another peek into my stash. There's a good bead store link in it for you!

As I was saying before, I am an Upper West Sider at heart, when it comes to Manhattan. And my local bead store in that fine city is Bruce Frank Beads. It has the advantage (or disadvantage, depending on how you look at it, I suppose) of being right next door to Cafe Lalo, that New York institution of mouth-wateringly fine desserts (as seen in the movie "You've Got Mail". Remember when Meg Ryan is waiting to meet Tom Hanks with the rose and the copy of Pride and Prejudice? That's Cafe Lalo. Actually, I loved that movie, since it was filmed in my old 'hood - it was fun to spot favorite hangouts. Anyway, where was I?). I bought my birthday cannoli there. So basically, you can buy your beads and eat cake, too (okay, that was terrible) in one trip. A perfect afternoon, in anyone's book, I would think. Plus, Cafe Lalo gives out terribly cool Toulouse-Lautrec matchbooks.

But enough about mouth-watering cakes and Toulouse-Lautrec. Bruce Frank Beads is a relatively small establishment that carries a nice assortment of beads. I always find a few focals that I really love whenever I visit. This trip, they had a basket of Chinese porcelain pendants. I'm not sure why, but I've always been a sucker for Chinese porcelain shards. The examples above are modern - they are neither Qing nor Ming dynasty and have no provenance in this regard. But, on the other hand, they didn't cost the earth and they are, to my mind, very colorful and attractive.

So, if you find yourself in the Upper West Side at any point, you'd do well to pay them a visit. (And if you're in the company of kids, yet another advantage of the store's location is the fact that they are right across the street from the Children's Museum of Manhattan.)

Thanks for visiting!