Material Archive

1 year later & still my favourite pair of shoes

I can't recommend these enough. They are pure awesome. Buying them in black tomorrow. Get 'em.

Still one of my all-time fav music videos

 

Two weeks in New York City: Dinner at Mario Batali's Del Posto

WHERE: Del Posto 85 10th Ave, New York

MOOD: Traditional and formal

PRICE: Five courses for $115

WHEN WE WENT: Thursday dinner

WHAT: MB and I both enjoyed the 5 course tasting menu. I had:

• Beef & Truffle Carpaccio with Sunchoke Spuma, Sage Grissini & Sunflowers: Buttery!
• Tortello Puzzone with Taleggio Dolce & Black Truffle Butter: one of the best dishes I have ever had
• Spaghetti with Dungeness Crab, Sliced Jalapeno & Minced Scallion: In a word: delicious! Watch a great little video of how they make it here.
• Cacciucco with Burrida & Sweet Shrimp alla Buzara: the only item that I didn't hands down love as it was too salty for me.

At the end of the meal, a cheese grater was brought to the table holding various sweets which consisted of: chocoloate covered lollipops made with olive oil gelato, bomboloni - which are small doughnuts filled with vanilla orange cream, polenta crostata and candied grapefruit. All were wonderful but the candied grapefruit was especially surprising and smile inducing.

TRY: Tortello Puzzone – it nearly melted my brain it was so good.

SKIP: The Cacciucco if you are sensitive to salt

SERVICE: Very formal. An army of servers waited on us. One even brought a small chair for my handbag.

REPEAT?: YES. There's a reason Del Posto is the first restaurant in New York City to get 4 stars from the New York Times in the last 36 years – because it's exceptional.

MOST NOTABLE: The complex and intense flavours.

 

Some images are from here and here.

Two Weeks in New York City: Lunch at Jean Georges

WHERE: Jean Georges  at 1 Central Park West, New York

MOOD: The mood is calm and pretty – thanks in no small part to the lovely dining room – which is beautiful for a few very specific reasons: 1. The light quality during the day is great because the room has windows around 3 sides and when the sheers are drawn, what you see through them are lovely tree silhouettes dancing around in the breeze. This reason alone is enough for me to choose lunch service over dinner. 2. The seating and view is very comfortable in almost every spot in the room. The configuration and layout has been optimized for maximum comfort and view, resulting in almost no bad seats – which is pretty impressive! 3. The room is quiet even when it's full so you can really concentrate on your food and conversation.

PRICE: For the value and quality – I think this place is actually a steal. We had a 6 course tasting menu for $98.

WHEN WE WENT: Saturday lunch

WHAT: MB and I both enjoyed the 6 course Autumn tasting menu. Our choices from the vast list consisted of: Scallop Sashmi, Sea Trout, Yellowfin Tuna Ribbons, Sea Scallops, Peekytoe Crab Dumplings, Comté Risotto, Sweetbreads, Beef Tenderloin and two desserts – chocolate cake and a chocolate peanut butter ganache, plus macaroons, chocolates and marshmallows.

TRY: The tasting menu. The experience of eating over 3 hours in that lovely setting is a wonderful experience. A few stand out items were the Yellowfin Ribbons, the Crab Dumplings, the Sweetbreads and the Tenderloin.

SKIP: Nothing. Order all of it!

SERVICE: Attentive and formal.

REPEAT?: Absolutely! This restaurant is now in my top 5.

MOST NOTABLE: The quality of the entire experience. Loved it!

 

My visit to Ladurée New York

Well, let's be honest, it's not like being in Paris. But, it is nice to be able to get a quick Ladurée fix while trapped in North America ;)

The store sadly does not carry any pastries, chocolates or Langues de Chat (which I expressly came for), but, it's packed to the gills with macaroons, tea, candies and even ice-cream.

I left with the most glorious oval box filled with everything I could get my greedy mitts on. :)

Stuffing my face with delicious caramels as I write this...

 

 

Finally picked up my dress!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shipped in from New York – I finally picked up my birthday dress today after waiting for what seemed like forever...

Looks like all the editors liked it too ;)

 

 

It made an appearence on 9 covers and the collection overall was on 77 covers this season...

And lastly – my personal fav of the bunch. Even MJ couldn't resist :)

Maria Kristofersson's Ceramic Art

I want every piece. I love the illustrative quality to all the items – as though they are drawings of dishes made real.

See more here.

It's gorgeous outside today!

I live for big fat juicy peonies – they are the most perfect flower. Picked these up from Poppies while strolling home this morning from an early breakfast at Nadège.

Vintage Heart

Cake Opera Co.

I can't decide what I like about Opera Cake Co. more – the fact that they are such gifted artists or that they live in my own city! Making a plan to visit next weekend...

Vera Wang Jewellery

 

I've said it before and i'll say it again, I think Vera Wang is doing some of the most beautiful jewellery out there these days. I am continuously impressed and in deep covet mode for every new collection I see.

Here's an older runway collection that demonstrates her amazing ability.

Big Night Final Scene

Shot in one take – perfect every time I watch it.

Today I bought: Alexander Wang Leather Jacket w/removable skirt

Yes! :) Seriously, this might be my favourite purchase of the year so far. I think I'm going to be 80 years old and still rocking that jacket with my walker and Blublockers. Look out –

Experiential Wonder: The Art of Olafur Eliasson

A beautiful installation at Turbine Hall called the Weather Project – where Olafur created an artificial sun and the people basked! An amazing idea that would be useful as a permanent feature in any city that has a long, dark winter.

See more of his remarkable work below and here on his site.

 

Jean Philippe Delhomme

One of my favourite books that I bought last year was Jean-Philippe Delhomme's The Cultivated Life. Today, after reading an article in Interview magazine, I was delighted to discover that he has a marvelous new blog under the nom de plume “The Unknown Hipster”. I think I love this man.

Great new illustrator: Martin Bregman

See more here.

His Dudeness

Just because it never fails to make me smile.

We interrupt this broadcast for a special announcement

Happy birthday to Meat Leg! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxooxoxoxoxoxxooxoxoxoxxoxoxo

Please, you must go try this pie

If it isn't plainly obvious yet – I love to eat. And I especially love sweets. I love cakes and pies and cupcakes and cookies and pretty much everything else in between. So, take it from me, this is a %*$&ing (pardon my French) excellent chocolate peanut butter pie. The challenging part is that Wanda's doesn't always have it  – and although I'm actually tempted to phone ahead and check, I usually just go by and hold my breath right up until I reach the counter. Today, I nabbed the last piece and squealed like a piglet. Pure joy.

Gesine Hackenburg Ceramic Necklaces

 






 

I flipped when I first saw this! Gesine Hackenburg's wearable art is so beautiful. I'd like a strand long enough to drape around the house like a garland.
 
 

Lady M Crepe Cake

Oh wow – I never knew such a beautiful cake even existed until I saw the photo above on Martha Stewart's site. The Mille Crepe cake, as it is called, is from a very elegant shop called The Lady M Cake Boutique in New York City. Considering that crepes are literally one of my absolute favourite things to eat, I could easily rationalize jumping on a plane for this. Don't believe me? Well, I actually booked a flight to Montreal once because I had a serious craving for Schwartz's smoked brisket. True story. (shop images are from Yelp)

Astier de Villatte

 
While looking at PatchNYC's blog recently, I was reminded of one of my favourite tableware brands – Astier de Villatte. Designed by Benoît Astier de Villatte and Ivan Pericoli, the house specializes in handmade black terracotta clay with a milky glaze finish which is created with an old technique they revived called estampage. This method leaves each piece with deliberate little hiccups and imperfections that make each item one of kind. If you're not fortunate enough to visit their storefront in Paris, which was once home to Napoleon's silversmith, you can check out their very cool website which is unlike any other porcelain and earthenware company I have ever seen.

Great illustration book

One of my absolute favourite books on illustration –The Age of Feminine Drawing is essentially a showcase of some the best illustrators out there currently that focus on feminine themes. It is a never-ending source of inspiration for me. (Images from Amazon and SweetNee)

YAY! Marty's Threadless shirt is finally up for sale!

 


My super talented and gorgeous sweetheart had his marvelous design selected by Threadless to be made into a wickedly cool T-shirt. Buy "Say Hello to My Little Friends" here!

I want to be Maira Kalman's BFF

 

Not often, but sometimes I see someone's work and I am overcome with a mixture or delight and "I wish I did that". Maira Kalman's work just makes me happy. I would love to meet her.