Skip's Sis Starts a Blog

Hurrah! My fabulous l'il sister, Fabs, has started a design blog!

She'll be chronicling the trails, tribulations and triumphs of decorating (from scratch) the spectacular space she currently occupies at 25 Fifth Avenue in New York City and readying it for our parents' presupposed retirement (I'm so sure).

Head to NYC Nest to keep abreast of her interior improvements.

Skip is Bummed Out

Horrid news today! I just received an email alert from the ever-informative Women's Wear Daily (WWD) that Domino magazine is shuttering!

I heart Domino and all the creative, cool interiors depicted inside...indeed, the latest February issue was fabulous!

Such a bummer! Hopefully they will at least keep the website up and running...?

Skip Covets Dior Couture

While I have no delusions about my future with regard to Couture clothing (namely, I have no future with regard to Couture clothing), a girl can still dream.

And, how lovely that the Spring 2009 Christian Dior Couture show (with the masterful John Galliano) conveys just that idea...of dream-like, optimistic 1950's silhouettes created with crinolined fabrics but with shockingly gossamer transparency and lightness.

I'm going to channel these looks for my Spring/Summer wedding circuit.

The Inspired Fire Extinguisher

I am a firm believer in the if-it-ain't-broke-don't-redesign-it school of classical industrial products. For example; please consider colorful, retro telephones compared with the insipid new black/silver plastic wireless versions or compare a time-honored time keeper clock with an impersonal digital doomsday type that haunt bedside tables everywhere. Most of the time, vintage is better. But not always...

For this little beauty I will certainly make an exception...it is a cleverly redesigned version of the classic, red fire extinguisher that I discovered while perusing the surfeit of design blogs on the world wide web this past weekend.

If only it were available in the U.S....currently, you can buy it at Cox & Cox in the U.K.

Skip's Tip Top Hat Hunt

In order to glamorously convey my British-ness, I have decided that I will be wearing a hat (or fascinator) to the myriad of weddings RTT and I are attending this Spring/Summer. Of course, this requires me to find the perfect hat first...While, in an ideal world I would fly to London to visit the ancestral home and meet with my milliner, alas I am rather confined to searching on the world wide web for now.

Thus, my new favorite website is the quaint, curious site of Samuel's Hats, based in downtown New York City, selling insanely beautiful hats by Anna Rizzo, Herald & Heart and Philip Treacy, to name a few. It is a bit of a cumbersome site, but with some dedicated searching, I have found more than a few hats that I am lusting after...less Isabella Blow and more Renee Perle, I hope.

Of course, the hat is dependent on what my couturier designs for my dress...

Skip Attempts the Blueprint Cleanse

Persuaded, unknowingly, by my little sis, Fabs, and further provoked by Holiday party pounds, RTT and I embarked on a super trendy, 3-day pre-packaged juice cleanse from Blueprint Cleanse this past week. Promises of renewed 2009 energy, clear spirits and weight loss convinced us that the $65/day cleanse (I picked up the juices in NYC while visiting the fam) was worth it.

The Renovation Cleanse consists of 6 juices per day and stricken all solid foods from the diet (the only non-Cleanse item permitted is herbal tea). Two of the juices were a green lettuce-y based concoction that tasted suspiciously like L'Occitane's Verbena soap smells and thus required me to quickly gulp them down to avoid my gag reflex. Another juice was a delightful pineapple-mint beverage that I thoroughly enjoyed and the Peppery Lemonade (with Cayenne) was actually quite refreshing as well. The juice menu was rounded out with a very ginger-y Beetroot juice (RTT hates beets, but I found it to be decent) and a well-received Cashew Nut Milk.

We were considerably hungry during day one and both experienced persistent but minor headaches, yet, to be honest, after the initial food withdrawal symptoms passed, we were good. No hunger, no headaches on days two and three.

Here's the thing, while I was not hungry, I was also not satiated. I was feeling not bad but not great either. I was expecting to feel rejuvenation yet I felt run-of-the-mill. And, I just got so sick of juice! It was too much liquid for one person to consume and I missed the ritual of getting up from my desk for lunch and chopping and cooking for dinner. It was so dull.

So, my lovely readers, I can happily disclose that indeed the money was well-spent because RTT and I learned a valuable lesson; cleanses are gimmicky and boring...for people like us. If you want to detox and need focus and a filter, Blueprint was a peachy option. But, next time, RTT and I are going to limit ourselves to fruits and veggies for a week instead. I expect that will Renovate us just as well.

Skip Loves Happy Ending(s)

While watching my most favorite guilty pleasure on television, the show Privileged on the CW (I know, I can't believe I have sunk to this level), I heard the most fantastical song ever! And, using Shazam, I discovered that it was funky, far out "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" singer Mika's oddly uplifting yet depressing ditty, "Happy Ending."

Of course I am late to the Mika party as the song is from his March 2007 album, "Life in Cartoon Motion," but I almost don't even care! I have literally listened to this song on repeat everyday since.

Participate in tween-er music love by buying the song on iTunes...oh, and watching Privileged.

Skip Supports the Steelers

Thank goodness I was wearing my #7 jersey! Again!! Go Steelers!!!!

PS- Hi, Ben.

Skip Wants to Throw a Party

I can't believe I am even uttering the word 'party' after barely making it through the Holidays, but I am looking for any excuse to buy these confetti-filled pinatas.

They are perfect for my glam, white and gold color-schemed Mexican cocktail fiesta which will also include these White Paper Flowers, something made of feathers and will take place in my yet-to-be-bought-and-or-built party barn.

Ah, confetti-filled dreams!

Skip Adores Mistral

When I left San Francisco for Boston I was convinced that I was leaving behind the incredible foodie culture and iconic, gourmand juggernauts of the region like Cyrus, Zuni, Town Hall and Kokkari. And, in fact, upon arriving in Boston it became clear that my premonitions were completely conceived. For the most part, this city is chock-full of pub grub grease-pits and mediocre, uninteresting restaurants with vastly inflated prices and extensive truffle oil use.

But, maybe, keeping my expectations low (and after a series of disappointments at supposed Boston yuppie hideaways like Masa and Sibling Rivalry and special occasion treats like No. 9 Park) prepared me to be blissfully surprised when I finally dined at Mistral.

If I were to describe in exquisite detail my ideal daily (note, this is not a description for those exclusive, once in a lifetime, sell-your-Jimmy-Choo-handbag-to-pay-for-the-meal places) dining event from the valet to the entrance way's first impression to the decor to the lighting to the music to the service to the bar scene and bartenders to the wine list to the menu layout to the appetizers and entrees to the prices to the companion clientele and, of course, to the bread offering and bathroom conditions, I would describe in exquisite detail the entire Mistral experience.

First, the valet service is quick and helpful (one kind young man rushed to catch me when I hit the skids on a nearby patch of ice) and, um, kind of a ridiculously handsome bunch, and the entrance is impressive and sophisticated in wrought iron glory. A warm, neutral space with simple, organic decor elements strikes a Mediterranean slash Northern California Wine Country note (and you wonder why I love this place) overall. The lounge-y hipster area encourages happy hour co-mingling at the front of the restaurant and off to the far-right of the larger dining space that occupies the side-left and back of the place, separated subtly from the more demure diners with frosted glass (I did prefer the potted cypress wall that was recently replaced but I'm sure no one really cares what I think), is the fantastic, expansive concrete bar where RTT and I prefer to feast. There was a happy quote collage on the bar-facing wall which I thoroughly enjoyed as a bar-dining view, but it has regrettably been replaced with a chic liquor display and less-chic television nooks (alas, there is now no restaurant in Boston from $ to $$$$ that doesn't have a television on which the obsessed public can ogle their beloved sports teams). I should also mention that the bathrooms are always clean and oddly devoid of women, which I find to be rather lovely and calming. Who likes to wait in line to use the restroom?

My drink of choice is the rare Hangar One Kaffir Lime Vodka & Soda or a generous glass of the Catena Malbec. And, I must say, the bread teaser with a garlic-chick pea spread is some of the best I have had in my life (and I am a wee bread snob). I think my favorite food item in all of the earth, the Maine Crab Ravioli, is my preferred appetizer but I also adore the Seared Foie Gras and simple Garden Greens Salad. I am essentially addicted (if one defines 'addicted' as devoted to a practice or habit or fare) to the White Cheese & Hot Pepper Pizza and will be scarcely able to face the daylight when they take it off the menu in the Summer season. Perhaps I can abduct chef Jamie Mammano and force him to make it for me come May? Really, in the end, a shocking lack of matchbooks is all that is left to be desired...

By the time we leave Mistral, I am perfectly satiated, life is grand and I am the happiest Skip in Boston. Why would I not want to eat here every week? Why would RTT not want to keep me so euphoric?

Indeed, RTT and I are going to make Mistral 'our place.' RTT knows it's worth the investment.