Ralph Lauren and More

One of my brother's classic looks is straight out of a Ralph Lauren window. Impeccable, to say the least. Casual British royalty meets classic American aristocrat. Of course, he looked the part, as it should be, walking Madison Avenue. Me, I wore all the black I could conjure up in an outfit. lol. (Looking like I belonged more on 5th than Madison.) I can't, and never could, pull off any fashion styles. Well, perhaps the Laura Ashley dresses in the early 80s; but that was long ago. So be it. I've accepted it and have moved on . . . to black.

Therefore, of course, one of our stops was the Ralph Lauren store(s) (if you can even call them stores). We first went into the smaller Polo sportswear store where we browsed through the sale items (still very steep) and the winter resort wear one would wear, say, in Aspen. Of course, I took lots of pictures of the windows with the wintry outdoors motif. They were very lovely. When we exited and Jim pointed to the mother of all stores across the street, I couldn't believe it. Wow. Now, this is what I'm twalkin' bout.

The Ralph Lauren Mansion, as it is titled, is an 1890s mansion on Madison Avenue that was abandoned way back when. I have never been able to understand how any home, none-the less a mansion on Madison, can "fall into disrepair. " Which is exactly what happened to this gorgeous property until Ralph purchased it in the early 1980s and fixed it up. And fix it up he did. Oy. You must click on the link above and read about it and see the slide show of the inside. The staircase alone made my heart pitter patter.

Of course, the windows outside were beautiful also. The opulence and grandeur of the old-world architecture and details of the entire mansion were breathtaking. Even if all of Lauren's items were removed, the interior could stand on its own. Although, I have to admit, I do love his English-style home decor style. I loved this little nook up on the home furnishings' floor. I felt like sitting down and taking a cup of tea. This little spot was part of the St. Germain Collection (click to view gorgeous videos). All the interior shots in the various videos and stills were taken at the Mansion. And so, you see my excitement in the beauty and magic of it all. Sigh. I purchased a book entitled A Room of Her Own, which I cannot wait to delve into. It had me written all over it and called to me until I finally picked it up and carried it throughout the mansion in my arms while the brother shopped for fabric to cover an old chair he has.

After leaving The Mansion (grin), we headed back down Madison where we spied the Juicy Couture store. My niece Madeleine would think she had died and gone to Juicy heaven if she had been there.

We passed the beautiful Villard Houses (right), now part of the The New York Palace Hotel, previously The Helmsley Palace Hotel made famous by the notoriously nasty Leona Helmsley in the 80s.

It was then a beeline to the Paul Stuart store, another one of my brother's favorite haunts and fashion preference. We spent all kinds of time roaming the floors and he picked up a few items. (Val, I think this tin foil gown could be in order for your next ball. Get out the Reynold's Wrap!)

Strolling down Madison, I spied a shop that I had written down on my little note pad as a possible place to stop. It was a chocolatier named MarieBelle's. A sign on the door said "Best Hot Chocolate in NYC!" It had turned chilly and so we stopped in for a cup. Oooooooof! OMG. It was soooo rich, I kept adding water to it and it never did get drinkable for me. We also ordered the crepes with caramelized bananas and cinnamon. I could barely taste it from the chocolate! But I could tell it was delectable, just the same. I say, skip the hot chocolate and go straight for a piece of chocolate or crepe. I don't think I will ever think of hot chocolate the same. Jim and I had quite a chuckle over it. The chocolates from MarieBelle's are little pieces of art. We both bought a box for friends and we were back on our merry little way. Would we ever eat again? Of course we would. Although, we really didn't need to. Ooooooof.

We finally made it back to the hotel, put our feet up for about an hour and then, yes, headed out again for dinner. We went to the concierge desk and asked for suggestions--within walking distance. She suggested JoJo's, back again to the Upper East Side, a mere 10-12 block walk--but not 20-odd block walk to Ralph Lauren's Upper East Side (not to mention back), thank goodness. I don't think I could have made that schlep again! It was all worth it. We got a table upstairs, which I hear are the best in the place. We had an end table which was right near the front windows. Fab. We received our menus. The brother was like, "OMG." Wha? "This is one of Jean Georges (Vongerichten) restaurant!" He had mentioned the chef's name over and over since he had arrived. Myself, I've never heard of the man, sorry Jean. I'm not quite the gourmand my brother, not by a long shot. Again, it was a magical moment. As if the NYC gods had lined up for us once more to make this trip a most memorable one.

And then, it began. Allow me to set the scene. You can see by the photo (not mine) on the right how intimate the seating is here. And it just so happened that as we sat, the couple asses next to us were being served their dinners. The woman be-otch began her rant. "The food came out way too fast. This is totally unacceptable. I cannot believe how fast the dinner came out. I CAN NOT BELIEVE . . . " Jim and I tried to contain ourselves and continue our conversation but this woman would not end. She went on, no lie, for over ten minutes! The waiters tried as best they could to satisfy her, even taking the food back to the kitchen and bringing it back later--at a more suitable time for her, I suppose. OMG. I have never witnessed such a temper tantrum by an adult in all my days. She was even "herrrrumph"ing and flailing her arms. Poor soul. Must have a horrible life. What gives any person the right to try and embarrass another--this time being the waiters--in order to draw attention to themselves? And over a meal? Puuuuleeeeze. Again, I felt really sorry for them. After they finally left, Jim and I had a good laugh over the entire episode. I'm sure they're ears were ringing. We all should have stood up and applauded their exit. (Shame on me.) No, shame on them. Really now. Tsk tsk. Anyway, we enjoyed our dinner in spite of them.

Our dinner consisted of:

Appetizers (in which we shared):

Fois Gras: Green peppercorn terrine, haricot vert and lemon zest salad
Warm Asparagus: mescaline salad, mushrooms and avocado

Dinner (in which we shared again):
Jim-- Skate with winter vegetables and smoked bacon vinaigrette
Me-- Roasted chicken with ginger, green olives and coriander and chick pea fries

Dessert (we shared):
Warm apple crumble, cardamom ice cream and green apple sorbet

My hat's off to the chef. Now I know Jean Georges! The flavors in each dish were both intense and subtle making each bite an adventure. It was the most delicious fois gras in my life, the chicken had a slight crunch to the skin even though it had a wonderful sauce on it and was as tender as could be. I enjoyed the green apple sorbet (still od'd off the chocolate, I'm afraid) while the brother enjoyed the rest of the dessert. I asked him to make green apple sorbet for next year's Thanksgiving instead of his usual cranberry. Yum.

We enjoyed out stroll back to the hotel, stopping by Bloomies' windows to take a peek without the crowds, ogled over the Ferrari's and Maseriti's in the showroom on Park Avenue and even spotted one of Jim's favorite shoe stores, Belgian Shoes.


Yes, we went back the next morning to both stores. He bought me a pair of shoes, I bought him a new Ferrari. (hehe, I wish I could.)

We ended our trip with lunch at the hotel's restaurant. Beautiful white amaryllis adorned the tables. We found out that next year, the St. Regis will be opening a new restaurant "Adour" with renowned Chef Alain Ducasse. Again, Jim knew the name, I didn't. Which only means, we will have to come back again next year, no?

I jumped in a taxi (now adorned with flowers) to Newark, he strolled back to Bergdorf's. All the way, I reminisced on our wonderful two days in NYC. It was one of the most memorable trips I have ever had. I'm glad though it was only two days. Another day would have killed me (and my aching feet). grin.

I miss ya brutha. Hope you had a wonderful birthday.

Park Avenue Winter

We had lunch at Park Avenue Winter which was fabulous. I only snapped a pic of dessert because I think Helen Gurley Brown was sitting next to us! No lie!! If it wasn't her, it was yet another exorbitantly rich well-preserved lady. The restaurant changes its name and decor with the seasons. How fun. It was very white, wintry and stark, indeed. We shared an appetizer of Porcine Ravioli and Swiss Chard with Gorgonzola Cream. Then we both ordered a Garden Salad with Winter Frost Vegetables, delish. The brother ordered the Langoustine Roll (a take on the New England Lobster Roll, I'm told), and I ordered the fried chicken and waffle sandwich. Mine was rather dry and bland while his was out of this world. We ate half and then switched plates. (Wonder what Helen thought.) We ordered fresh sauteed Snow Peas on the side to share. Our dessert consisted of gingerbread cake on top of crunchy crepes filled with whipped marscapone and homemade vanilla ice cream with raspberries. Over the top? Yep. I enjoyed every bite. I think he did too.

And I chose the restaurant. With the help of Chowhound, of course. Not too shabby.

Peace

Peace.

It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

(Author unknown)

A Manhattan Holiday window--2007

A Whirlwind

It was a whirlwind once I met up with my brother. Woooosh. This is about how my brain was feeling!

Jim had literally arrived in the lobby of the St. Regis at the same time I was walking in to meet him. Perfect timing. We ran up to the room, dropped our stuff and headed back out into city. I had to go back to Takashimaya, almost next door, to pick up my wrapped gifts and thought this would be a nice place to stop and have a little tea to rejuvenate. He happened to be needing a little nourishment also so we went to the tea room in the basement after walking about the store waiting for it to open at noon. He had a bowl of soup and we both had a pot of Darjeeling tea. It was just the right thing to get my motors running again.

Afterwards, I took him to Bergdorf Goodman, first to the men's store (an entire building to its own) and then across the street to the department store. I always go to the 7th floor which is home furnishings. The rest of the floors are women's clothing, none of which I would be able to fit into, so I always pass them on by on my way all the way to the top. Natalie Sarabella's display was gorgeous this year (like last year wasn't, pfffft!). All of her ornaments were on a bookshelf and there seemed to be a lot more designs to choose from. I ogled over each and every one. I picked up a little two-inch stuffed woolen bird ornament as it caught my eye. $32! Geesh. No wonder I wait until the 50-60% sale hits during our visits in January. Ouch.

As I said, it was a whirlwind after the brother arrived so if any of my pictures are mislabeled (to those who may know NYC better than I), forgive my ignorance. I'm thinking these are all from Bergdorf's windows. The theme was "Elements." Click here to see a video, it's worth it, believe me.

(All aluminum cans and bottle tops.)Barney's theme was "A Green Christmas." I have to admit never being near Barney's before. I'm a 5th Avenue girl while Jim is a Madison Avenue guy. Barney's is on Madison. (The bottom picture of all the "heroes'" faces was borrowed from the www.) I think my actual photo of all the faces is the blurr at the beginning of this post. Oh vell. I loved the windows though. Unfortunately, I missed Saks', Macy's and Lord & Taylor this year. There just wasn't enough time with us staying mostly on the Upper East Side. Oy.

Bloomingdale's was mostly done by children which was cute, but then it went into a strange theme. Dunno 'bout that. I did like the snowman though. Guess it was from the mind's of babes.

I loved the elderly lady admiring the window. I wish the lighting would have been better. This was probably about 11 p.m. Monday night on our stroll back to the hotel after dinner. (Again, you can click on any photo to get a larger view.)

The NYC Apple flagship store. Funky.

The Plaza at Central Park. It used to be a beautiful opulent hotel (where we stayed our first night of our honeymoon). It's now private residences. Fa fa fa.

Jewels, jewels and more jewels. There were lots of emeralds on display this season. Yummy. My favs were the Aaron Basha (I think) bell charm bracelet. Still out of my league, I'm afraid.

Designer stores.

Designer wear (Prada). Love the clunky platforms! Blast from the past (just not Prada past). Spring, already?

A mansion for sale and the fixer-upper next door on the Upper East Side.









And a beautiful brownstone a few doors down dressed to the nines. Can't even imagine. But, it's fun trying.

St. Regis Hotel, NYC

Built in 1904 by the world's wealthiest man, John Jacob Astor IV (later to perish in the Titanic sinking), the St. Regis stands as a lasting tribute to his vision of bringing the style and comforts of the "grand hotels" from Europe, coupled with innovations unique to America. The St. Regis is the most highly acclaimed luxury property in North America. A white marble staircase cost $1 million (in turn-of-the-century dollars). That old-world grandeur is still on view in the intricate carved moldings, inlaid marble floors, gilded mirrors and doors, and crystal chandeliers that are the hallmark of this urban palace. Apart from the lavish style, though, every experience is a classic here, from formal afternoon tea in the Astor Court to a Bloody Mary (which was invented here) in the King Cole Bar with its famed Maxfield Parrish murals.

With the hub traveling the world all year round, my trip to NYC was free-of-charge--that is less the wear and tear of the hub. With all the miles he had accumulated over the past year and since we have decided to stay local after Christmas, he used his miles this year to fly me to New York and put me up at The St. Regis Hotel. Oh my. Of course, I have always walked by the St. Regis with no thoughts of ever staying there. What a treat it was, to say the least, to actually spend several days. I called my brother Jim, knowing his appreciation of all things nice, and asked him if he wanted to meet me up there and spend the night. I am happy to say he took me up on the offer.

(Chocolate replica of the St. Regis in the lobby)

I arrived on Sunday and when I checked in, I was given a deluxe room. With my brother arriving the next day, I asked, politely, if there happen to be a suite available on Monday, would I be able to change rooms in order to accommodate a guest. The sweet Ophelia behind the desk smiled, disappeared for a moment and then returned to say they would prepare a suite for my entire stay. Sigh. How nice is that. Of course I didn't mind having to wait for one to be cleaned. And so my luxurious journey began, Christmas NYC 2007.

I did all my walking, as noted in my previous posting. I was truly ready to sit back and take a load off by the time Ophelia phoned to let me know my suite was ready. When I arrived back at the hotel, she saw me walk in and met me in the lobby. She then personally escorted me to my suite. My bags were already in the room, situated perfectly. My clothes case was put in the bedroom, my small roll on was placed by the desk in the living room. Schweeeeet. (I didn't take the picture above but this was pretty close to my suite. I don't know why I didn't get a pic of this view because it was the loveliest of views.)

The bed was made for a queen. Let me tell you, Sunday night, I slept like a baby. The duvet was as soft and fluffy as a heavenly cloud. I have never felt anything as soft. The TV raised from a base, ala Ozzy Osbourne style; and a remote box in both the bedroom and living room gave me the ability to do just about anything with a push of a button--control of the lights, the temperature, do not disturb, make room, radio and several more dozens of things including, of course, a buzzer for my butler! Geesh. Of course, as soon as I arrived, I put classical music on to keep the mood flowing. I then ordered dinner through room service--a grilled cheese with a vegetable salad. As my food arrived, my brother phoned to give me the details on his arrival on Monday around noon via train. He told me to find some restaurants to look into some restaurants to go to. My first suggestion was a deli. No go. You know, food snob (again, lovingly named). While in NYC must do the best of NYC. I don't do the best, I do the local, as if I lived there, NYC. And so, while eating my dinner, I puroved the internet and again ended up at Chowhound looking for good restaurants that brutha would enjoy. I came up with three or four, maybe even five that I would show the concierge the next morning in order for him to give me suggestions and to make a luncheon reservation for us.

I went in the bedroom to get into my jammies and the bath was calling me. I don't take baths at hotels--ew. But this tub was as sparkly clean as if it had just been built. There was a back brush and special bubble bath, even a TV in the corner, so there was no saying no. It was heavenly--except I kept hitting the stopper with my foot and releasing all the lovely warm bubbly water! And, as I said before, as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was in la-la land. I never did watch that fancy TV popping up from that stand.

I set the remote box to wake me up to classical music at 7. Of course, I rolled back over after hitting the snooze button several times and finally got up around 8 (7 a.m. Nashville time, mind you). Called room service for a continental breakfast with pastries and coffee. It arrived in record time--no more than 15 minutes--being delivered by my butler. Simply perfect. I lingered for a while and I was out the door into the hustle and bustle of the city by 9:30.

I first hit a shop that I hadn't seen before. Perhaps it wasn't there last year. I've always wanted to visit the American Folk Art Museum, but it has odd hours. It was closed again this day but the little shop was open and enticed me in, of course. It was fabulous. I picked up some little stocking stuffers and then went next door to one of my favorite shops, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa). I always enjoy their selection of books and little toys at this time of year. To my surprise, Frank Zappa's Hot Rats was playing in the shop. I sang and hummed along as I filled my hands with little goodies. It was about this time that my brother called and said he had arrived! Early!! Oh my. I wasn't expecting him until 12 and it was barely 11 a.m. Okay, so I finished up at MoMa and headed back towards 5th Avenue.

I knew it would take Jim a little while to get to the hotel from Penn Station so I made one more stop at Takashimaya, the Japanese department store on Fifth. I had never been in, and I was in for a real treat. I only made it to the main floor before deciding I better head back to the hotel and meet my brother. I found some goodies for various family members and loved ones and asked the lady to wrap them and told her I would come back to fetch them. I was then off to the St. Regis once more to meet up with my brother.