I love when I go into New York and stumble onto a street fair. I was passing through Union Square today and wandered into this one. I bought a great woven bowl from Senegal, and the food all smelled amazing. If I wasn’t getting ready for dinner with my mom, I would have been all over those arepas and grilled meats.

I spent the whole day in New York, first with my friend Maggie in Brooklyn and then with my mom in Manhattan. I met up with Maggie at the Brooklyn Flea this morning; neither of us had been before, and it was great. I bought a fabulous pillow from Alexandra Ferguson, who uses felt made from recycled plastic bottles. I saw her stuff on Etsy not long ago, and it turned me onto that felt. I had no idea she’d be there, and the pillows were even cooler live. And we went to the Whimsy & Spice stand so I could buy marshmallows and gush about my prize like a fangirl.

Maggie and I had lunch at Zaytoons, a great Middle Eastern restaurant near our grad school. I hadn’t been there since we graduated. Then I headed back into Manhattan to meet up with my mom. I passed through that street fair on the way to meet her at City Quilters for some Mother’s Day shopping.

My favorite part of the day was when my mother saw a leopard print scarf in the window of Bebe on 5th Ave., and she marched in when she’d decided it was perfect for her trench coat. They only had 1 left, and there was a pulled thread so she negotiated for a discount. I was very proud, since nothing else in that store would fit either one of us. I don’t think I’ve ever even been in Bebe before. The shopgirl kept calling her “honey” and “dear.”

Then on to dinner at Mesa Grill. We even sat at the bar right next to Stephanie March, and I was extremely uncool when I leaned over to my mother and whispered loudly, “That’s Bobby Flay’s wife!” I’ve apparently been a fangirl all day. I’ve seen them together, on a plane at Newark Airport, but I was just surprised that she was sitting one chair over.