I know I write predominantly about food and wine, but I do have other interests… I swear! When Mom was here this past weekend, we spent a really hot day in Park Slope exploring the Botanical Gardens and the Brooklyn Museum. It was a bit too hot for the former – a lot of the plants were drooping as a result of our continuous heat wave – except that the “Herb” Garden was in full swing. Check out some of the yummy goodies they’ve got growing (ok, this is food-related, but still cool!):

Afterwards, we went to cool off at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, which is a decidedly wonderful museum. Even though my major in college was art history-focused, I find that I do not spend nearly enough time exploring art in this city. Who knew that so many fantastic pieces and shows were tucked away in the heart of Brooklyn?

Currently on display are an Andy Warhol exhibition (the late years), an African art exhibition (which I studied my senior year – I’ve retained much less than I thought), and a display of the the museum’s costume collection. We’d seen the sister fashion-oriented show at the Met the week before, and I’d been underwhelmed. So I was pleasantly surprised to find myself engrossed in this exhibit: the collection is extensive, and because it is predominantly donor-based, the clothing is in exquisite condition. Also by virtue of the donor’s tastes, a few designers are more heavily represented than others, including Elsa Schiaparelli, whose work I love. The layout of the show was not incredibly visitor-friendly (chronology was only a loose organizational mechanism), but the pieces – from dresses to shoes to drawings – more than compensated.

Some favorites: