le keyboard français

my last post found me a victim of a french keyboard. a world where a's are q's and there's no discernable delete. i just spent the past few days in paris, my fqvorite city. so many fun things, but if youve been it's really just the wandering qnd sitting that's the most enjoyable. the french, hip to my blague du blog, fill my head with questions: why is everything so delicious here? tiny lamb chops, strawberries, baguette (all 12 kinds: ecureille with hazel nuts and currents, raisin, whole wheat and traditionelle). why dont we have 50 different kinds of butter to choose from like the awesome display at the food market at galleries lafayette? go to the department store, bon marche, to pick up a picnic to enjoy in les jardins de luxembourg. why doesnt anyone think the french are rude? ive had end to end friendliness and good cheer (plus any pouting and frowning which leads me in US to be admonished to smile, here just results in being mistaken for sexy and parisian). last time i went to the porte de clingencourt for the antique market, this time i hit the porte de vanves which is much more my style--outdoors (year round) and pretty relaxed. it's not inexpensive, but you'll see some things you wont see stateside, like venders eating baguette and saucissons for breakfast, housewares that bespeak the culture: white table linens, duck presses and logoed ashtrays and barware. almost the only time i went inside was to see wonderful exhibitions at the musée des arts decoratives which includes fashion in a broad sense and la mode. the work of madeleine vionnet (beautiful, simple dresses from the 1920's and 30's; she was also a pioneer against trademark and copyright infringement so i relate to her in that way too) and an exhibition about the color red--its political, sexual, psychological and other connotations as played out in advertising, clothing, accessories and housewares. the fall/winter clothes and shoes are gorgeous, btw, and discovered a new designer paule ke. anyway, time to head home.

peace out, flqtsie

le keyboard français

paris pour moi me <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

paris pour moi me <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

je me souviens

so excited! im going to paris this week and have a mile long list of flea markets to explore and some fashion exhibitions to see. but, of course just being in paris is the funnest. to prepare, i saw two movies in which paris is a major character: julie & julia and the new anna wintour documentary, the september issue . the reviews of the documentary which somewhat malign the filmmaker for the portrayal of anna w may not be entirely fair to him (would she have let him see anything else and who of us would?), but it did feel more like an ad/pr piece than showing anything you didnt know about ms w. you get a better 360 sense of Grace Coddington and the photo shoots are beautiful to watch in production. viewers note: snack-buy at your own risk. all the models and talk about "looking pregnant" and folks needing to go to the gym will scare off only the most body confident from enjoying their popcorn. for more of a film about fashion that's a very personal story, see lagerfeld confidential about karl l; you really get a sense of his philosophy and work. plus, the opening scene of the film completely justifies my recent silver ring and bracelet acquisitions--he must have 200 plus spread across his dresser. My latest ring (a giant silver signet), by the way, come from the atelier of the awesome gregg wolf. and when you go to his studio of east 9th street it's always chock full of other interesting artists. the julie and julia movie is a love letter to julia child with a side story about the blogger, julie powell, who cooked her way through jc's first cookbook, mastering the art of french cooking. jp doesnt seem very interesting (i felt her blog/book was dull too), but who is compared to jc? the oddest representation is of amanda hesser i thought, she seemed very priggish, yet her first book is charming. paris looks gorgeous in all three movies and nyc comes off very well in the september issue.

q de blog: why can you eat endless mounds butter and sugar in paris and come home thinner?

peace out, flatsie

je me souviens

dc escape

looking for a quick getaway? try the lorien hotel & spa in alexandria, virginia. it's a beautiful 4-5 star escape that you can often book for 150 a night (with breakfast); sometimes you can find it for 110. in the morning, you can read the paper in the living room with coffee and tea; i like to do that en route to the gorgeous gym with everything you could want, including a peaceful room for yoga (dvd's included). they also have a cheese, and wine shop (isnt that the point of going to the gym?) that's perfect to pick up picnic supplies to enjoy in the park on the alexandria waterfront. the hotel is also close to the metro for jaunts into dc (almost all the museums are free and you can catch a ride to amtrak or the airport), but my favorite way to enjoy it is to pop down for an overnight on a saturday morning with a mind to hit my favorite indoor enormous antique and flea market in chantilly, virginia that happens every third month or so. the flea market is run by d'amore promotions and is filled with friendly, vendors from the east coast who are happy to make a deal. fun finds include scandanavian silver jewelry from the 70's; a vendor with stacks of vintage louis vuitton trucks, bags and suitcases; and a booth filled with hundreds of metal chocolate molds--very martha stewart.

if you have time on saturday, enjoy strolling in old town alexandria. i loved (and got some vintage rosenthal china) at chinoiserie, random harvest is always fun (for vintage furniture), red barn mercantile (almost bought a huge homage a duchamp metal wine rack there, but couldn't figure out where in nyc apt to put it so even my object lust has limits, apparently!) and misha's is an awesome coffeehouse with giant slices of cake and delicious coffee. if you can, catch a movie at the old town theater, so un-multiplex . for a delicious dinner, try vermillion (roasted olives and the mixed tomatoes with burrata are especially delicious) or eve (try the very flavourful bouillabaisse and eat at the bar if it's full).

next stop, baltimore big flea, october 24-25 another d'amore promotions show that the vendors in dc swear by for shopping (bargains good enough for resale even); that one includes vendors from europe and take two days to go through, they say. i'm hoping to go to obrychi's or another crab shack (no such thing in nyc and i miss the hours of salty, spicy fun with flying crab shells, beer and conversation).

query de blog: did i invent the terms blogalicious and blogalarious (not as regards this blog, btw, but think i invented those reading another blog)?

peace out, flatsie

dc escape

time value of time

what's on your mind? what's really important to you? what makes you happy or feel sad? what's worth your time? i love a liet motif, a theme, an organizing principle so i'd been thinking about the frame (and if there were one) around my seemingly nonsequitur interests in food, art & architecture, traveling, work/business management, self-improvement and "success," shopping and fashion, and flea and antique markets.


to figure it all out, i'm reading a mix of books, journals and magazines. periodical-wise: the harvard business journal (for theory); inc. (for business management practice); the nonprofit quarterly (one of my trade's rags); vogue, elle and w (now as skinny as the models who appear therein--fewer ads!); martha stewart living and bon appetit (homage to cocktail serving, apron-wearing, housewives of another era); and best life and men's health (great for fitness and tips for the men in your life).


in books: the nine by jeffrey toobin about the supreme court gives you a sense the justices are and how they change intellectually during their tenures. the section on the bush/gore post-election issues sets out that game and the legal issues related to gitmo are clearly set forth. i was a little disappointed that it seemed thin on scalia (maybe his clerks wouldn't talk?). i didn't get a real sense of the man, but maybe i just wanted more on him because he's so smart and, like many lawyers, find his confidence in, and principled application of, his worldview refreshing and a relief from much of the pc equivocating that passes for reasoned thinking among jurists and politicians even if you don't agree with him. o'conner's role gets a lot of play (fitting under toobin's theory that she controlled the outcome of important cases during many years of her tenure) and thomas gets the most generous write-up i've ever seen. incidentally, if you live in dc or are in the area when supreme Court is in session, you really should go down to see an oral argument, it's surprisingly intimate, awesome and free!


another book really resonated with me, shop class as soulcraft: an inquiry into the value of work by michael crawford. to dip into the subject, check out the 2006 essay that grew into the book. the more philosophical and historical aspects of the book, talking about changes in the labour market, the intrinsic satisfactions in certain types of work (here work that relates to material objects) and what do and can we expect from our work were more interesting to me than where many reviewers put their focus. i didn't read it as a paean to manual labor and i certainly didn't see, as one reviewer proposed, that it was sexist and that it left women out for some bad reason. ideas that make you think include an exploration of the connections (mystic and sentimental) we feel with material objects (hey, who hasn't fallen in love with a cartier, a bmw, a super-sharp #2 pencil or a frosty coke bottle?) and the need to feel our work is connected to something real--whether it's a material object or an idea or ideal that has meaning for us at some deeper level. another cool thought by alexandre kojève: "the man who works recognizes his own product in the world that has actually been transformed by his work: he recognizes himself in it, he sees in it his own human reality, in it he discovers and reveals to others the objective reality of his humanity, of the originally abstract and purely subjective idea he has of himself. the satisfactions of manifesting oneself concretely in the world through manual competence have been known to make a man quiet and easy. they seem to relieve him of the felt need to offer chattering interpretations of himself to vindicate his worth. he can simply point: the building stands, the car now runs, the lights are on. boasting is what a boy does, who has no real effect in the world." (sounds like howard roark, no?)

my next read is by the philosopher, alain de botton. options are a novel about love or his new book, the pleasures and sorrows of work. i've decided i love him because he writes about what i think is the only stuff that counts: travel, love, architecture, shopping, and work. he also founded a school in london that has weekend courses on the areas identified as the five big issues in life: love, politics, work, family and play.

odds and ends. for a laugh, make a jello fish bowl with vodka. ok, the vodka was my twist, a la jello shots. this is a really easy, fun and funny project. in red (swedish fish are the best), white (tic tacs for bottom of the bowl gravel) and blue ("berry" flavoured jello), it's july 4 picnic fun (not for kids of course!).

query de blog: anyone up for an october weekend in london for a class about work at the school of life?

peace out, flatsie

time value of time

trend or treat

are nonagenarians the new trend? or is the trend to spend your life working on something that means something, has value, to you? this weekend i went to two dance performances featuring the work of two choreographers in their 90's: merce cunningham at dia:beacon and the spring 2009 performances at the studio of mary anthony in the west village. why do i love to see dance? it's a great way to really hear music, and at dia:beacon (and all the dia art foundation venues) , to see the best in contemporary art. drive or take the hour long ride on the train from grand central to beacon, ny, to the restored nabisco factory site; the work is so strong that you need not be an expert in anything to enjoy the experience. i love the "string" art. the cafe and bookstore are also great; you can also walk into town to grab a bite at one of the little cafes.

the cunningham performance (with the music of john cage) was inspired by, and set inside, the cavernous exhibition of imi knoebel’s 24 Colors—for blinky. this stunning (and delicious--go see, the paintings look like giant sugar cookies with bright-colored, flooded icing) work and exhibition was supported by gucci. once you're in the neighborhood and if you love gucci, bottega veneta, ferregamo, thomas pink, tods, elli tahari, calvin klein and the like, stop by the woodbury commons premium outlets. unlike most outlets, the merchandise is current, not made for outlets and shockingly well-priced (50% off of half-price). the saks outlet has all the top jeans--seven, rock and republic and the elli tahari store offers the same things bloomingdales is showing now. if you're more into housewares, visit le creuset, crate and barrel, and william-sonoma. other gems are puma, adidas, and american apparel.

i got started thinking about trends and trend spotting because i have a friend who has a preternatural ability to see the next hot thing before it hits any scene. the nyt is always at least a month late in reporting on news i already know. it happens at least once a week--it's our running joke. he rode the l train before it was hip and identified detroit as a go to spot before artists headed there for $100 houses. another example: this week i read an elle magazine article about weightlifting for women about 3 months after he predicted the death of pilates and yoga. months ago, he was all about old keys--and there they are in music videos (keith urban), kate spade ads and tiffany's just launched an awesome collection of keys (yes, i do look at their website and, sometimes, don't just look at the huge diamonds). he also predicted the return of the cassette tape (now popping up all over the place as cuff links, silkcreened onto t-shirts, and faux cassette tape cards concealing memory sticks to fill with digital music for gifting like the traditional mixtape. the nyt style section proposed this item for valentine's day). what will he come up with next?

other new things i need to know: what's going to be my hot flea find at the upcoming big flea in chantilly, va on june 6-7? will this year's peaches be mealy or succulent? will the plums be sweet, tart and juicy?


peace out, flatsie

trend or treat

away at home: chapter one: manhattan

i'm dying go to london for memorial day. this is to remind myself of all the excellent nyc fun to be had. (if you go to london, stay in covent garden for the excellent thrift stores, door to door tube service from the airport; neon cupcakes and amazing croissants from candy cakes; moroccan & lebanese food at maison touaregue at 23-24 greek street in the theater district, and visit the tate modern (don't miss the chance to contemplate what you've seen in the enchanting restaurant with an amazing bird's eye, city-view that serves many excellent dishes, including ayummy side of sauted brussel sprout leaves--the outer leaves, less astringent and more delicate than the sprouts themselves).


everyone has morning rituals. i love great coffee, but haven't been able to pull off the delicious, crema-capped cups casually served at every cafe in paris or the syrupy, smooth goodness of the tiny cups of sugary, pitch-black espresso my zia caterina made (zia was my great-aunt who came to nyc with my grandmother, her sister, in the 1930's from a farm in the cinqua terra region of italy). now i start the day with english breakfast tea, but a chance encounter with a nespresso machine at bloomingdales and friend's success in greatly improving his morning brew by hard-packing the coffee makes me hope that coffee greatness is within my reach. knowing my weakness for high-tech, shiny objects (cars, kindles, blackberries, ipods, flat screens, even if i can't work the features) and kitchen equipment, i decided to look into who says what about great coffee before becoming a (nespresso) pod person. vogue columist, jeffrey steingarten, who has a scientific, but highly personal, approach to food and food writing offers three espresso essentials: the amount of the coffee (7 grams); hard-packing the coffee and water pressure. major advantages of the pod-based machines are that the packing, the coffee volume and water pressure are controlled (although according to him, nespresso's pods fall short of the 7 gram ideal). if it applies to your device, try hard packing the coffee; i'm hearing rave reviews about that tip alone eliminating any bitterness. if this is all too much (before coffee), pop over to the nespresso boutique and cafe on madison and have a coffee in the cafe (pricey) or free it you're looking at how the machines work in the boutique.

once you're awake, take a gondola ride to roosevelt island, see some art or have some thrifting fun. grab the roosevelt island tramway at east 59th and 1st avenue. it's the bright red, sky-gondola (i ride these boxes on a string every chance i get--try the one in barcelona or vail, co, if you get the chance) that links roosevelt island and manhattan ($4 roundtrip or use your monthly subway pass); the ride includes a breathtaking view of manhattan and takes 4.5 minutes. many folks take their bikes to ride on this island, or you can sit in the grass with the paper or a great book. bring a drink and a snack--maybe a giant, homemade $3 dollar slice of excellent and not too sweet, coconut cake or a piece of the fresh peach cobbler from wimps southern bakery at 29 west 125th street; t212.410.2296. snacks from wimps may require some planning (it's further uptown), but you won't regret the trip.

back in manhattan, if you're looking for very high quality supplies to make jewelry, hair accessories or to customize your clothes, head over to m and j trimming across from macy's in herald square. it's chock full of buttons, trimmings, ribbons, beads and handmade silk flowers formed from ribbon that's a favorite with stylists. they'll pick up things like yards of single strands of rhinestones that can be tossed around the neck as a necklace. i first went there in the 1980's to pick up a boatload of tiny, irridescent beads to slip onto large safety pins which i strung together with silver elastic thread into stretchy bracelets; my defense, it was the 80's.

i have a "one art-thing" a week rule. albeit, this rule is not as good as a friend's "one new major international city a year" mandatory travel rule, but i can pull mine off for $1. visit the metropolitan museum of art and take advantage of your tax-dollars by virtue of the "suggested contribution" admission policy; hand over $1 and you're in. check out the rooftop sculpture garden and cafe (last year, it had the work of jeff koons) for the great view and an off-beat place to have a drink. if you're lucky the costume institute will have an exhibition which they do on occasion (a show just opened) and, of course, there's are always plenty of other wonderful things to see, including the temple of dendur and the 1950's cyclorama painting that puts you in the grounds at versailles (which had a phenomenal koons show last year, btw). after the met and depending on the exhibitions, i love to visit one of the auction houses, doyle's auction house, sotheby's or christie's. even if youre not buying, it's interesting to see pieces similar to those you've just seen at the met with a price tag next to them. those houses also have a fun dimension of allowing you to try on "important" jewels and sometimes to see someone's complete collection. spring and summer brings contemporary art to the bigger houses; doyle's has a fun show with vintage louis vuitton trunks and luggage as well as other handbags now.

last stop: thrift stores and flea markets. i love roundabout consignment at 31 east 72nd for mostly new clothes and bags, including marc jacobs and valentino. it's organized and can be well-priced. the sales-staff is friendly and helpful (i had the best conversation about the ins and outs of dulce de leche cake with a cia-trained chef and artist who works there). another good choice is michael's consignment for chanel, burburry, red-soled (a la louis xiv) laboutin and other high-end classics (which can be surprisingly well-priced). i also love the little antiques, flea, & farmer's markets at 1st avenue and east 67th street in p.s. 183. the farmer's market has great produce and some wonderful vendors whose booths are fun to brouse because they are so beautifully organized. there's also a super-nice vendor with piles of mostly silver (and some gold) jewlery that ranges from inexpensive to very well priced (cash-only). he has gorgeous, excellent quality mexican silver that he weighs to begin to set the price. he also considers how many pieces you're taking and gives extra special deals for regulars of which there are many. i got a very heavy, flat 16-inch chain, an inch-wide, intricately woven bracelet and he tossed in a cool bevel-edged, deco-looking sterling collar pin because i asked. there's also another dealer i love who has wonderful monogrammed, silver cigarette cases from the 1930's and 40's. (it's my idea to use these as a business card holder, but you have to make sure to check that your cards fit, mine are a little big).

new need to know: why's the texture and mouth-feel of farmed-raised salmon so odd?


peace out, flatsie

away at home: chapter one: manhattan