MY ELECTION DAY ADVENTURE

Have you been following Natasha Burns’ chronicle of her journey across America?

If not, here’s the plot summary to date.
* My extremely charming and talented Australian blog buddy landed in Los Angeles about a week ago.
* Dede of Dream Create Share and Christine of Dolly Belle’s Peep Show were her cordial tour guides. Check out their beautiful blogs to join in Natasha's fabulous Shabby Chic expedition.

* Next, Natasha flew to Georgia where altered art/mixed media maven Jenn introduced the down-under darling to Halloween (the holiday isn’t much celebrated in Australia) and assumed the mantle of gracious guide. Check out Natasha’s first ever Jack-O-Lantern on Jenn’s Sweet Candy Creations blog.

* Before heading North, the two southern belles (living in Melbourne automatically confers southern status) traveled to Savannah where they met mosaic artist extraordinaire Penny Carlson of Lavender Hill Studio and enjoyed the splendors of this historic city.

MY ELECTION DAY EXCURSION

Having voted a week early, I turned up in NYC on November 4th to join Natasha and Jenn for several days of non-stop shopping and sampling local food specialties.

I met the dynamic duo at Jing Fong, an enormous Chinese dim sum palace.
My friend Chitsou, who rarely misses an opportunity to share his native cuisine with visitors, ordered an amazing array of delicacies, including these faux carrots filled with peanuts.

I surprised Natasha by presenting her several gifts from Jo of Neere An Dear Creations
(including the rose painting in the lead photo!)

You’ll have to wait for Natasha to fill you in on our post-lunch shopping adventures and Chitsou’s negotiating know-know...

However, here’s a peek at one of our stops... Pearl River Trading, one of my favorite places to find unexpected treasures.
Its bargain-priced imports were a hit.

Later, that same day, while more than 130 million American were casting their votes, we had a quick drink in SoHo with photographer Dan Mayers.

My ‘Best of NYC’ excursion continued on the Lower East Side where Natasha and Jenn tasted hot dogs and sour pickles from Katz Delicatessen.

Then, it was on to Rupa and The April Fishes’ Election Night Extravaganza concert at Mercury Lounge.
The name April Fishes was inspired by the French term les poissons d'Avril, a similar concept to April Fools day.

I'm a big fan, so I hope you will check out their latest album and let me know what you think.

Rupa now has two new members of her fan club.

My friend Scott presented Rupa with a bouquet when the TV over the bar indicated that Barack Obama’s victory seemed certain.

Along with the many of New Yorkers, we took our celebrating onto the streets of New York.

We partied til the cows came home, and since there aren’t many cows in NYC...
We stayed up mighty late!