While @mommyshorts and @averageparentproblems on Instagram are both still going strong, I’ve struggled this year trying to figure out what to do with both @insta2yearold and @pinkinnyc. Insta2yearold relies on Harlow staying young forever, which I’m sad to report, appears to be an impossible dream. PinkinNYC used to rely on Mazzy’s infatuation with pink, which died a rather sudden death about two years ago.
Since then, I’ve let @pinkinnyc go pretty dormant, even though it still makes me happy to look at the feed. Posting random pink things I see in Manhattan just doesn’t have the same magic when my daughter is no longer looking with me.
This year, I’ve thought a lot about how to evolve both accounts to fit our current lifestyle and both my kids’ personalities. I’m still stuck on what to do with Harlow, but I recently had an epiphany about @pinkinnyc. For one thing, just because I have “pink” in the handle, does not mean everything I post needs to be pink. I think it just needs to be colorful, whimsical and show a bit of the magic that we experience daily in NYC.
And so, Mazzy and I are ready to break the color barrier. First non-pink photo I posted was of the Egg House, a place I only recommend if you are looking for Instagram photo ops.
Secondly, instead of just posting random pink things I find on the street (pink cars, pink puddles, someone walking by with pink shoes), I want to make the account an actual resource for NYC families or visitors looking for kid-friendly things to do and see and eat in NYC.
Kind of like an extension to my “Mommy Shorts Guide to Manhattan” series, featuring all the most Instagram-worthy cupcake shops, pop-ups, ice cream cones, street art, etc. All the places and details and dishes that make Manhattan special and unforgettable to me and my kids.
Or forget kids altogether— some places are fabulous spots for lunch with your girlfriends or cocktails with your spouse, and I want to share those places too. Like “When We Were Young,” a beautiful restaurant I went with Seri recently.
It will still be mainly my photos (and still an emphasis on pink) but I’ll also be regramming other people’s photos so that I can show you guys the places we want to go (like the flower installation outside Sezane in Nolita)…
Along with the places we’ve already been (like the Seaglass Carousel in Battery Park)…
Sometimes a pop-up opens and even though we can’t go for a few weeks, I’d still like to be the one who tells you that it’s there. For instance the Pint Shop (by the same people who brought you the Museum of Ice Cream) just opened in the Meatpacking District. We are trying to find time to go there next week.
And lastly, @pinkinyc will travel when we travel.
In a couple weeks, I will be going to New Orleans and Northern California and you can be sure I’ll post the special places we find there too. I’ll also probably go back in my archives to post some pics from our old trips, like the pink flamingo graffiti in Montmartre and the ridiculously beautiful pastries we got in Copenhagen.
Everything will be location tagged so that you guys can find these places too.
If you’ve been following @pinkinnyc for awhile, I hope you like this direction. If you haven’t, now is a great time to jump in!
Now, what to do with @insta2yearold???
I say go all-in and make insta2yearold a light-hearted political update account =P. I’m sure you already lost all the people who commented “unfollow” on the first few political posts so why not continue it. In a time where reading the news often makes me want to cry the periodic updates from insta2yearold on the issues always make me smile.
Insta2yearold should be #wokeharlow. I feel like the followers who have stuck around are the ones who appreciated the childlike point of view of politics and what is impacting all generations.
I agree with the couple posters above. Continue to make insta2yearold a political, societal feed. It can focus on what is happening in the world (political or not) through Harlow’s eyes…regardless of her age. It might help those with kids her age figure out how to talk to their kids about some of this scary grown up stuff. And help us grown ups maybe feel not quite a scared.
Just my 2 cents. 🙂
No advice on insta2yearold but you have to go to Central City BBQ while in New Orleans. It’s amazing.
the picture of the flower shop would give me a beautiful picture. The picture is very beautiful, congratulations
Love the new direction for pinkinnyc! I also like the suggestions about a semi-political account for inst2yearold. Of course, it’s easy for me to agree since we seem to see eye-to-eye politically. But perhaps framing it as about current events, issues, and causes that impact your girls, like the post you did about Harlow making you more aware of the amount of plastic you are using.