Coming back from from New Haven, we got off at Grand Central and he took me down one of the concourses to the place with the vaulted ceiling. He stood at one corner and I stood at another and we whispered into the walls, our voices drifting across to each other.

Somewhat off the beaten Williamsburg-track, Brooklyn Art Library is nestled on a mostly residential street. It’s home to tens of thousands of artist sketchbooks known as “The Sketchbook Project”. Over 100 countries are represented and their “collection houses books from small communities in Mongolia next to professional illustrators from New York.” You can donate one of your very own! All the sketchbooks have been cataloged for easy searching of their vast shelves, by artist and subject, and visitors are invited to browse what feels much like a hands-on museum. The Art Library also remains one of the few places to find art supplies (while limited) in the neighborhood, and if you’re in the market for a special gift (including books, totes and the cutest retro pennants) for your favorite art-lovin’ bibliophile, you might just get lucky here.

Long afternoon naps rarely happen here, sadly. But I never stop fantasizing.

Local fashion (men/unisex) with beautiful signature varsity jackets. Also exhibits interesting artists in the same space. They say they want to tell the story of style throughout American history and to emphasize the power of presentation and they do this extremely well.

Petra “Petee” Paradez’s pies don’t just taste amazing—they’re made with amazing ingredients, like seasonal local produce, organic flour, grass-fed butter, and natural fair-trade sweeteners.