Our current 'State of Mind'

Everyone seems to be talking about the exact same things these days:

1. Kanye West/Taylor Swift at the VMAs

2. Patrick Swayze's demise

3. NY Fashion Week

4. That creepy Yale grad student murder where her body was found stuffed in a wall

5. The US Open: Serena going berzerk and Federer's unrealistically amazing shot

So- since you are probably overloaded with images and stories of those subjects, we at NYCtidbits will not be covering any of those topics. We're not ignoring them or anything, but we feel that you can find great sources for any of those subjects, and we are not going to try to wow you with our detective skills in uncovering the Yale murder case or try to dazzle you with our tennis prowess.

Instead, we are simply going to leave you with a few tidbits we are currently loving:

1. Jay Z and Alicia Key's Empire State of Mind- what a great homage to our city..

2. The Standard Hotel's new Boom Boom Room, already touted as this generation's Studio 54

3. DBGB, Daniel Boulud's trendy new restaurant down on Houston and Bowery

4. Hearing about risque, topless parties hosted by a Goldman Sachs partner at the Hamptons. Giggity giggity.

5. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's book, Influence- surprisingly insightful interviews from industry greats like Missoni, DVF, Lauren Hutton and John Galliano.

Aside from #4, we are all for indulging in each of the above- as questionable as they

may seem (You must be thinking, "A place called Boom Boom Room?? The Olsens' book?")

Just trust us, though.

Now, if you could excuse us- We'll be back in a New York minute.

Sincere Apologies

We have been gone for far too long.

We don't blame you if you took us off your blogroll....or deleted us from your Favorites.

We are going to work to get your loyalty back, and by the end of the week, we hope you add us back to your list of "Sites to go to when bored out of my mind at work/school/home".

Napster is really annoyed right now..

At the Apple event earlier today, Steve Jobs unveiled a new iPod Nano that would have video capabilities, as well as a faster iPod Touch.

But the most exciting news we learned was that iTunes 9.0, which is now available to all of us, allows "home sharing"- you will be able to see the MP3 libraries of other people on your network and copy their songs to your hard drive.

This is our advice- Go to the coolest and most crowded coffee shop you know about, plug your laptop in, let iTunes 9.0 pop up, and wait for the magic to happen, courtesy of all the other iTuners around you. You will probably end up with the latest Jay-Z single, some music from Anjulie, and maybe some new Bollywood hits too. And who knows, you may even be surprised by what you find- a hipster with some Miley Cyrus songs, the rap-artist look-alike with Taylor Swift, or a professor-type with every Santigold song out there. Don't discriminate- just grab all the jams you can.

New Shake Shack in Nolita

We apologize for going MIA yesterday. Never again, we promise. To make it up to you, we're going to go on a posting spree-- and we start with some pretty fantastic news:

As we told you last week, Shake Shack will be expanding to three new outposts through New York City. And now, we are told that it's newest location will be...

on 47 Prince Street, on the corner of Mulberry and Prince. We really love that whole area because it has everything we could want- Epistrophy for some good caprese and wine, McNalley's to escape into literature, Rice to Riches for some 5000 calorie rice-pudding heaven, and of course, Charlotte Ronson for a shopping fix.

But now that Shake Shack is here, we know we're going to be in Nolita heaven. This reminds us of that Vanessa Carlton song, Nolita Fairytale. Blissful.

Happy Labor Day

Straight to the point, but classically unique as well. REDWHITEBLUE, Frida J. Happy Labor Day.

Photo pulled from Lookbook.nu

We have no words

Once again, the lovely analysts over in the finance hemisphere- this time, at JP Morgan, are clearly using their Friday-before-Labor-Day productivity to good use, with a:

McNugget Challenge!

Two Analysts. 70 nuggets each. 60 minutes to devour them. Winner becomes master of the universe, or something 'awesome' and 'badass' like that. Or something.

Whatever- it's Friday afternoon, and gorgeous outside. We will be celeb hunting in Soho, so if you are still at work and need a bit of entertainment, check out our heroes' progress at Dealbreaker.

photo pulled from rejectedjokes

Shake Shack here, Shake Shack there

Yummy Burger-and-chocolate shake-haven Shake Shack somehow always seems to have a line longer than the H&M dressing rooms, the DMV, and the TKTS booths combined. (We swear it's true!)

Of course, we completely understand why. This little gem in Madison Square Park churns out the some of the best mouth-watering delights, so it's no wonder that it's constantly packed.

But that's about to change- Shake Shack will be expanding to three more New York locations, then to new spots around the nation, and eventually, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Seven new outposts will be opened in the Middle East, according to Eater. No definite timeline has been given, but we are keeping our fingers crossed for some "ASAP" action.

photo pulled from curbed

Our kind of Fashion Show

By next week, New York is going to be overrun by gazelle-limbed creatures, champagne and couture. NY Fashion Week will be well on its way (white tents are already going up in Bryant Park!), and we will certainly be sweetened by all the eye candy around.

But among all the sophisticated, elegant shows to watch, we have a new entry that will be strutting down the runway...theSnuggie!

The blanket with sleeves will be hosting a runway show of its own during Fashion Week, and according to NYMag and the invite:

"Celebrity host Ross "The Intern" Mathews will dish about the sexiest looks in blanket-wear and adult, kid and even canine models will hit the runway."

Now who said laziness can't be hot?

Photo pulled from nymag

Archie, Betty and Veronica in NYC

We used to love Archie Comics, until a few months ago. We've grown up with the intangible question- Betty or Veronica? And we liked it that way. But earlier in the summer, Archie Comics decided that Archie, after more 70 years of indecision, should choose and get married to one.

So then, our idealistic hearts fluttered and we hoped he would choose lovely, sweet Betty, and not snobby vamp Veronica. But guess who he chose? That's right. Archie tied the knot with Veronica Lodge. And Betty ends up with Jughead.

We were so upset that we decided to boycott reading Archies (slash we also felt we were a bit old to be perusing through comics..). That is, until we found out that newlyweds Archie and Veronica, and third wheel Betty (awkward..) are visiting New York City in the latest issue of 'Archie and Friends'. Archie's band "The Archies" have lined up a gig in Central Park, so the storyline centers itself around the gang's adventures in the Plaza Hotel, shopping at Central Park West, and "world famous" Tavern on the Green (why??). Archie and his friends even meet famous New York celebs like David "Betterman" and Donald "Stump".

Part exciting, part cute, part bizarre, don't you think?

Photos pulled from archie-blogs

Mi casa es....?

We have some good news for you speakeasy aficionados:

DBTH reports that the West Village has just acquired a new speakeasy, with a Mexican flair.

With Mexican themed cocktails, tapas and a new line of mixologists, Su Casa (404 6th Ave) is the brainchild of three NYC nightlife veterans. According to DBTH's little birdy, "the place will have a rustic old-world Mexican feel...think Upstairs, designed by Frida Kahlo." We imagine it may look like a combination of La Esquina downstairs and Upstairs, so this is very exciting. With two pretty good Yelp reviews under its belt, Su Casa may become our casa pretty soon. Word from the wise, though- Be sure to go soon before everyone finds out about it!

Following Frank's frankness

Former NYTimes food critic Frank Bruni is everywhere nowadays, since he doesn't have to mask his identity anymore in order to remain 'anonymous' when going to restaurants and reviewing them. Since his departure from the Times, Bruni has been giving surprisingly frank (pardon the pun, heh) interviews, explaining his complicated relationship with food, the best and worst things about being a food critic, and now, tips on how to order the best things on a restaurant menu.

Frank has made an audio appearance on GQ's blog and has a set of rules for ordering:

"Look at the list of appetizers and entrees....cross out the appetizers and entrees you've seen at every other restaurant- that's the chef and restauranteur playing to the lowest common denominator. Then find the weirdest dish, and cross off each of those because that's the chef indulging his or her own worst vanity. And look at the dishes left and order from those."

Grub Street has applied Bruni's advice to three newcomers-Hotel Griffou, Graydon Carter's MonkeyBar, and DBGB, and has a list of what to eat.

We are going to try the 'Frank Bruni' ordering method this week- we will let you know how it works out.

Photo pulled from huffingtonpost

Mark your calendars: NY's Fashion's Night Out

Hello September! Fall weather, Labor Day weekend, and NY Fashion Week are just a few things we are looking forward to.

But we are truly anxious and excited about the eve of September 10- New York City's Fashion's Night Out. Sponsored primarily by Vogue, this is a global event to celebrate fashion and encourage shopping- China, the UK, Spain, India and Greece are just a few of the countries participating.

Basically, shoppers, this night is for you: all the events are free, and NYC is going to be in a tizzy. Over 700 designers are opening up their flagships and stores from 6 pm to 11 pm that night, and you can head over there to be a part of the celebrations- neither tickets nor invitations are necessary. There's going to be great giveaways, surprise performances, complimentary cocktails and major star and model sightings.

Here's why you should be a part of all the FNO fun:

You could get serenaded by Oscar de la Renta at his boutique (66th and Madison)

Get your Sept. issue of Vogue signed by Charlize Theron at Dior (57th and Madison)

Bergdorf Goodman has appearances by Cynthia Rowley, Issac Mizrahi, The Olsen Twins, and more (58th and 5th ave)

Meet Manolo Blahnik at his store (54th and 6th ave)

Meet Serena Williams at NIKEtown ( 57th and 5th ave)

Meet Blake Lively (Serena from GG!) at Ralph Lauren's Bleecker St store

For all the information about FNO, go to: http://fashionsnightout.com, and follow them on Twitter for latest updates!

We aren't completely sure how this is actually going to entice customers to shop, but all we know is that we're going to be painting the town red that night!

Check out the awesome PSA here