ACK

Sorry for the lack of posts for the last few days. Shannon and I hopped on Jetblue for an overnight in Nantucket (to be honest I have no idea why the abbreviation is ACK, and always mean to wikipedia that). We were there checking out some business ventures, but what is there not to love about that island?? We landed in sideways pelting rain and I still loved everything about it. From a lunch of turkey sandwiches at a drugstore counter with swivel stools, to checking out the original Nantucket Red's at Murray's Toggery. I was super mad at myself for not bringing my camera as there were little aesthetic details to snap for the blog like beautiful golden flowers planted in window boxes against a slate blue house - what a great color combination I would have never dreamed up myself.I think what made our 24 hours there soothing and vacation-like was our Inn. Via internet we happened upon the Union Street Inn on Union Street in town. It was a beautifully weathered shingled house with clean, crisp, and homey interiors. Our room was fresh and white and the living space had checks and toiles everywhere. I loved the little touches like Fresh products in the rooms and bathrooms, restaurant suggestions mailed to us after our reservation, teas left out all day, amazing shower pressure, and all of my favorite most recent mags at our finger tips (I got to catch up on Gourmet!). And what was even better than classic four poster beds, laying in cool open-window New England air this morning while the wind rustled in the sun filled trees? Or smelling the bacon and coming down to stacks of yummy blueberry pancakes? The Inn owners themselves. Shannon and I managed to chat up Ken and Deb for a while and they were sweet as can be and a wealth of information. I was already looking up room availability for later in the summer before we had left.. We're looking into a trunk show labor day weekend at Eye of the Needle, and I have my fingers crossed we can stay there when we come back. Thanks for the hospitality Ken and Deb! It was great meeting you and can't wait to come back.

Black Onyx H-E-double Hockey Sticks.

Happy Memorial Day weekend! Shannon and I are looking forward to getting out of here for 3 days - because this is all we've been looking at... Black onyx beads for scarves that ship 6/12. More colors to Intermix including an exclusive!

Enjoy the sunshine!!

What's in a White?

Color theory was hands-down my favorite class at Bates, and likewise picking out paint swatches is a favorite past time of mine. My mother and I sifted through hundreds of whites yesterday for my bedroom. It is sort of unreal when you realize that almost no two things you look at are the same color. And that when you break them down, it is rarely as simple as darkening with black and lightening with white... In fact in color theory you learn it rarely is -- call me a nerd, but exercises where we were not allowed to use white or black and had to plot out degrees of lightness and darkness in a color was fascinating to me. Right now I'm leaning towards Marble White. A celery tinted white, Benjamin Moore, that I found in Domino. I would never guess I would go with a greenish neutral, but it is very refreshing!!

Even Ethan Hawke gets jury duty: Guest Blog by Jenny

So I had my first real adult assignment this week, I got called for Jury Duty. Now jury duty has a bad reputation--for being boring, slow, a waste of time. However, I'm here to report that I found it great. Yesterday when I arrived, the guy running it couldn't have been nicer and more polite. He explained the ins and outs, apologized we were missing work, even gave us a half hour coffee break within the first hour of being there! Already I'm sold, trying to imagine getting half hour coffee breaks while I'm teaching. But the fun doesn't end there.... the girl next to me nudges me about half way through the guy's speech and points across from where we're sitting and says, "Hey, isn't that Ethan Hawke?" She was right. Now where else in America are you going to be sitting in jury duty on a Monday morning with Ethan Hawke but in New York City? This is also great because my all-time favorite movie is Reality Bites (a sad but true trivia fact about me).
All in all, I'm always kind of entertained by scenarios where you're lumped together with a random group of people in a room. The dynamics are just fascinating, watching the nervous New Yorkers scrolling through their Blackberries and flipping through their Posts. Getting to spend two days with the Ethanater was probably my first and only brush with celebrity (they don't frequent Harlem as often as the Village). For a people-watcher like me, it was great--and hey, missing two days of work doesn't hurt either.

I Want You to Want Me.

So New York being New York in the spring means I randomly saw people on the street all weekend long. 2 of which were Vermont friends in for the weekend who appeared at the top of the w4th street station wth rolly suitcases as Teacake and I were hanging out on the street (which we do a lot of). I met Heidi and Ave for a drink later that evening (in that amazing weather) and Heidi brought along her cousin. Her cousin brushed off my questions about how he occupies his time in the city, and said "I guess you could say that" when I said Heidi had told me he worked in the art world. Heidi had to step in and inform me that he was a working artist whose piece had just been featured in a show at the MoMA and that they were considering purchasing it. He butted in only to say that it was only one piece in a show of many artists. No big, right? Anyway - I of course, very curiously, looked it up. Not only do all of Jonathan Harris' projects look incredible (for lack of a better word, which there always seems to be a lack of words when it comes to complimenting art--most feel trite or vague) but the one featured at the MoMA is an outstanding compilation of the crazy cultural developments going on all around us -- and done in such a harmonious manner that just how each element applied comes together is staggering, nevermind how the heck the computer programming (which he did) was done. The piece is called "I Want You to Want Me" and I won't even butcher the concept by explaining it. I will let you check it out for yourself on his website and watch the video about it on youtube. One phrase from the youtube video I really liked was that the personal information people share about themselves on dating websites is "very fertile ground for building a mosaic of humanity." How cool?

End of Fall Sales.

Teacake is guarding our fall line today - saying little prayers for LA Market week - June 6th through the 10th, which marks the end of Fall 08 sales for us!

Happy Place.

One of the women on my radio alarm this morning informed me that a Harvard study found that fresh flowers were an actually mood elevator for women. Now, I mean, I pretty sure I didn't need Harvard to tell me if you polled women on the street on whether or not flowers made them happy they would say yes. But perhaps these researchers were measuring something more scientific. In light of that I thought I would share my two places here in the city that I have deemed my "happy places" (prior to this Harvard business). One I walk through (with a big inhale) and one I walk by (with a big sigh, knowing it is not in my budget). But if you ever find yourself walking through the village and you need a mood booster I recommend stopping in the Chelsea Market (9th ave between 14th and 15th) and taking a walk through their wholesale flower market refrigerator of fresh cuts (deep inhale), or walking down W10th (just east of bleecker) and checking out the window if VSF (Very Special Flowers!). They're breathtaking (Bouquet above is from VSF site).

Boston.

My apologies for the lack of end-of-the-week posts last week. Shannon and I took a car trip up to Boston to do a little research. Instead of sitting behind a computer Thursday and Friday we were hitting the Beantown pavement checking out different neighborhoods, and seeing what they were all about. An area new to both of us is the South End. A friend graciously walked us through a rainy afternoon giving us a grand tour. I wish I had my camera with me (I didn't even have an umbrella) to capture the sweet tree-lined brownstone blocks with shops and cafes sprinkled throughout. There were red brick sidewalks, and vibrant lime-green leaves rustling in the wind. I loved it! My two favorite stops were Fromaggio Kitchen (above). It was an adorable crowded market with delicious looking cheeses, oils, vinegars, produce, wines and chocolates. I could have spent all afternoon reading labels. I picked myself up a delicious bottle of organic wine for the weekend. The second was Looc (below). Looc is a new boutique with a contemporary, but still sweet and girly selection. The two owners have done a great job editing their inventory for clear stories and standout pieces. And the interior was absolutely gorgeous. (Now all they need is some Dakota Martin).

And while we didn't have a chance to stop in -- South End Buttery looked like a super cozy, very gourmet neighborhood coffee and pastry shop (though I would be willing to travel for this one). This picture from their site really made me want to be there on a day like today.

You are my sunshine.

There was a street performer playing this on a saxophone today. I hadn't heard it in way too long and it made my morning. Thought I'd remind you all of it too!

Morning Strolls.

Gorgeous spring weather is here! And thank goodness for it coinciding with Intermezzo - helps put our happy buyers in shopping moods as they hit the Piers (keep you fingers crossed for us).

Here is an updated picture of Teacake, who may have had his last L L Bean tote subway ride yesterday am. My arm almost ripped out of it's socket (I think we're pushing 25 lbs). Walking to work takes us a little extra time, and we might not always clock in exactly when we want to, but what a great way to see Manhattan in the morning. Much better than underground, even if I do love talking with people on the subway.

I had a few favorite sights this morning thanks to our walk. First was a 5 year old girl on Greenwich Avenue. She was wearing a powder pink cotton dress, with powder pink pants underneath. Her hair was in slight disarray (as a 5 year old's should be) and she was running towards her mother at the parking meter shrieking (in a cute, not obnoxious way) that she wanted to feed the meter, and her mother, very genuinely, profusely apologizing like she just dropped her neighbor's china, that she had already done it by accident. Reminded me of being in the back row of my aunt's minivan when she would pull almost through the toll booth on the way to the shore so that my cousin and I could squeeze our chubby little fingers out those minivan-slit windows to pay the Jersey turnpike tolls - such glory. My second favorite sight was glancing down Bank Street, cobblestoned and lined with perfectly green trees rustling in the breeze, with a very sharply dressed (suited) man walking smack down the center with his briefcase. Perfect Manhattan photo op.

Hope you get to get out and enjoy the weather!

Class of 2008

How smart these youngsters are before they've even been let out into the world to face college and beyond. Here is a shot of Miss Kathryn Sall and Mr. Ben Bourke at a recent talent show at The Haverford School performing "Ain't No Mountain High" in matching men's DM polos. Both are graduating high school this year, and both teach us an important lesson here: When showcasing talent always look as sharp as possible.

P.O.S.H.

This is dusk as the sun set over the Ironman in Port Elizabeth, South Africa (affectionately called PE). At dinner tuesday night I learned the origin of the word posh, and being in an industry where being in, stylish, posh, is the name of the game it was super neat to hear. Apparently when people took oceanliners to and from Europe it was desirable to sit where you could watch the sunset--and coming from the US that was Port Out, Starboard Home... How great is that?? I'll take the sunset side any day.

Happy Friday!

4 o'clock snack time.

As I planned my afternoon errands in my head this afternoon I mentally penciled in a peppermint patty run. About an hour later shannon said to no one in particular "I kind of want a York." When that afternoon wall hits there is no snack like it. Or at any time for that matter. I apologize if I seem to be addressing chocolate a lot these days, but these are hands down my favorite candy. I grew up eating them with Liz and Jen, in college we would freeze them, or get them after dinner with our dunks coffee, and even today I'm often running into little grocers to add that little pep in my step. I am happy to see that they originate in PA. According to the Hershey's website "Founded in the 1920s, the York Cone Company manufactured ice cream cones and waffles plus selected confectionery items in York, Pennsylvania. In 1940, YORK peppermint patties were introduced locally. Shortly thereafter, demand became so great that all other product lines were discontinued. YORK peppermint patties were distributed only in the Northeast, Ohio, Indiana and Florida, and no consumer advertising was used until Peter Paul acquired the York Cone Company in July 1972. Production was expanded, and in 1975, the brand was launched nationally. In 1988, Hershey Foods Corporation acquired YORK peppermint patties as part of its purchase of Cadbury Schweppes' United States confectionery operations. " Yey for PA - another top quality food from the Keystone state (in addition of course to the likes of Yuengling beer and Wawa sandwiches). Jenny can tell me all she wants that it's like squirting toothpaste into my chocolate, I'll never tire of them.