Day five in New York this December and the "glampers" were in the groove with East Coast time to make it out for breakfast before 10 am! Let's just say that once we hit the ground we hit it running, but some of us (more than others), yours truly for one, had a harder time adjusting to the rise and shine three hours earlier than the body clock preferred.

photos:Sarabeth's
Sarabeth's on Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side is named for award-winning jam maker, acclaimed pastry chef and restaurateur — the driving force behind the stellar reputation and success of the Sarabeth brand.
It's a fit-for-foodies American Dream business story. Sarabeth started making her signature Orange-Apricot Marmalade from her home kitchen from a 200 year old family recipe and selling it to local food shops in 1981. Today, Sarabeth and her husband and business partner, Bill Levine own and operate a jam factory, a wholesale-retail bakery café and nine restaurants. Read more on Sarabeth's blog.
We'd split a couple of tempting pastries with coffees at Sarabeth's in The Chelsea Market the day before, holding off on full-breakfast favorites for a proper sit-down dining experience at the lovely Amsterdam Avenue location. I opted for a fluffy Farmer's Omelette with leeks, ham, potato, gruyère, though our server appeared quite delighted that for the first time ever, a customer didn't ask him what Toma when I wavered as to the alternative of baby kale, Pt. Reyes toma, smoked marcona almonds with toasted sourdough. I'd declared it my favorite local cheese from home and that seemed to make his day!
Lemon and ricotta pancakes sounded tempting too, as did most of this delicious breakfast menu. I'd definitely go back to gracious Sarabeth's next time in New York.

Next stop was one of my personal highlights of the trip, a visit to The Merchant's House Museum on East Fourth Street. My globe-trotting friend Alice (of Alice Dishes) had recommended The Merchant's House as a must see.
As we were the first to arrive at the museum that morning, we followed instructions to ring the doorbell for access. Standing across the street, patiently waiting for opening time so that we didn't ring the bell a minute early, I was reminded of the sweet Disney movie, "UP" in which the little old man loses the love of his life and ties his house in the fast-developing city to balloons.
The Merchant's House is similarly precarious in that development construction surrounding its stalwart standpoint in the Greenwich Village area threatens its stability. Developers of an eight-story hotel next door claim they will protect the house, but the museum has nothing in writing. Given plans they presented during two years of hearings at the Landmarks Preservation Commission, safeguards are likely not nearly enough.
Museum lawyers are trying to negotiate a license agreement with the developers that will include four separate protection plans: for building settlement, vibrations, water infiltration, and for ornamental plasterwork. Fundraising efforts are underway.
Considered one of the finest surviving examples of architecture from the period, the Merchant’s House is a National Historic Landmark (one of only 2,400) and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been awarded landmark status in New York not only for its 1832 late-Federal brick exterior but also for its Greek revival interior rooms.

It is the only historic house museum in the Greenwich Village/Soho/NoHo neighborhoods and celebrated 75 years as a museum in 2011. The House was among the first 20 buildings designated in 1965 under the City’s new landmarks law.
Merchant owner, delightfully-named Seabury Tredwell’s great-great-great grandfather, Edward Tredwell, came to Massachusetts from Kent, England, around 1637.
In 1798, 18-year-old Seabury arrived in New York City, seeking his fortune, first, in the hardware business. He married Eliza Parker, the daughter of his landlady in 1820, at the age of 40. Eliza was 23. The enterprising couple had seven children in 15 years — Elizabeth (1821), Horace (1823), Mary (1825), Samuel (1827), Phebe (1829), Julia (1833), and Sarah (1835).
After 32 years in the hardware business, Seabury Tredwell retired in 1820, at the age of 40. He bought a house at 29 East Fourth Street. An eighth child, Gertrude, was born in the house in 1840.
Only three of the Tredwell children married. Today, there are only six living direct descendants of Seabury and Eliza Tredwell, all descended from son Samuel and his second wife.
According to an article in the New York Times: "Some say the Tredwells, who lived in this house for nearly 100 years, are still here.Gertrude Tredwell, in particular, is thought to be watching over her family home. Born in an upstairs bedroom in 1840, the youngest of the Tredwells’ eight children, Gertrude never married and lived her entire life here until she died, at the age of 93, in 1933. She was the last member of the family to occupy the house.
Since the 1930s, when the house opened to the public as a museum, strange and inexplicable happenings have been reported – sounds, sightings, smells – by staff, volunteers, visitors, neighbors, even passersby".

I half expected one of the Tredwells to open the front door. Whether or not the Merchant's House is haunted by one of them, the house exudes a calm welcome and after spending an hour wandering its beautifully preserved parlors, kitchen and bedrooms, I'd say the Tredwells were a well contented family.
We learned a lot about a New York Victorian Christmas from seasonal decorations and displays. Handmade items were of greatest value, despite the affluence of the family. Careful curation of hand stitched and delicately embroidered artistry provides winter visitors with a more personal connection to those who devoted their afternoon hours and evenings to pleasing one another with beautiful handmade clothing and accessories.
Four Irish maids lived on the top floor of the Merchant's House at any one time. Most of these young women arrived in the house fresh off the boat from the Emerald Isle. Housekeeping in a New York summer or winter would have been a culture shock to country girls, yet it was in the interest of families such as the Tredwells to treat their servants well. Competition for good help was rife in this gilded age.
We felt very much at home in this unique house. I hope that preservation efforts are indeed a priority during the next few critical years.
The Merchant's House Museum is located at: 29 East Fourth Street, New York, NY 10003
212 777 1089 | nyc1832@merchantshouse.org
Hours: Thursday thru Monday, noon to 5 p.m.
Admission: $10, $5 Students & Seniors, Free under 12