Nice To Be Home

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No matter how much you’ve enjoyed a long trip, it’s always nice to come home, isn’t it? Funny how that works. Your own bed & comfy sheets, the way your home brewed cuppa tea in the morning tastes so much better than any hotel tea (except maybe in London)

Other than the unpacking, and the stack of bills awaiting you, it’s a grand feeling.It’s especially nice to come back to roses on the 11th of November!

I know we should be cutting them back, but it’s hard when they’re still making such an effort!

Some of them are about 7 to 8 ft. high.

About the same height as my bills and catalogues.

I’ll be back in a day or so-I went to a much needed “Restorative Yoga” class tonight and my bed, my wonderful bed, is calling to me :)

Namaste Friends

~

Loco For Rococo

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Well, just as I predicted (genius that I am) while 1/2 the country is elated this week, the other half  is deeply in need of some botox right between the eyebrows.

Sorry I can’t help you with that (Virtual Blogging Botox Party?!) but I can offer some completely over the top, nothing even vaguely tethered to reality escapism for just a couple of minutes.

If you’ve picked up  just one fashion magazine lately no doubt you’ve clocked the fierce force of ornamentation, brocade, bling, bang & baroque that assailed the runways this Fall.

Dolce & Gabbana, Givenchy, Balmain, Alexander McQueen, and Valentino were only some of the big boys that pulled out all the stops with needlepoint and pearls.

Seriously I don’t even want to think about how much these jackets must cost (or how much they weigh for that matter…couture as exercise?)But the exquisite workmanship and beauty  cannot be denied.

Unless of course you’re a dyed in the wool “Grunge” devotee’

In which case these Celine sandals from Spring ’13  might be more up your ballroom

I admit, chances are very slim we’re going to see anyone wearing most of these, but it’s certainly Fantasy Fashion at it’s best.

Speaking of Baroque, Rococo and Fantasy…When I was in Paris a few weeks ago I saw John Malkovich in the Hotel Costes restaurant. (Well, actually one of my girlfriends spotted him-literally the first SECOND we walked in. She’s rather genius at that. She can also read a guest list upside down. In French) It took me a minute or two before my one lasik-ed eye was able to confirm that yes, indeed it was J.M.  He looked, you know, pretty good, pretty cool & pretty louche, much how you would expect John Malkovich to look holding court in a french bar at 1:00am. Afterwards, my friends had a little visit with him and said he was utterly charming. Don’t ask me why I didn’t go with them. If it had been Sawyer I would have.  Anyway (sorry-this is getting so long!) when I got home to Santa Barbara a friend called and said she was having some people over to watch “Dangerous Liaisons” and would I like to come. Would I??!

Do you remember how GOOD that film was and can you believe it was made in 1988??

Does this jog your memory?

Of course we’ve had several films with similar sensibilities since then

Sophia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” comes to mind. It was beautiful and fun but didn’t even come close to the naughtiness and wit of “Dangerous Liaisons”

Marie Antoinette’s bedroom at Versailles


Alexander McQueen

Valentino

Valentino. Magical, right? I love thistles.

Subtle Baroque by Bottega Veneta, Fall 2012

Balmain Fall 2012

Dolce

I think Dolce

Dolce Fall 2012

Karlie Kloss in Dolce & Gabbana

Judith Leiber minaudière

Balmain- wow. I would just hang this on my wall and touch it every day.

Nicholas Kirkwood

and possibly my favourite coat of the season from Fendi

The moment Malkovich realizes she is completely in his  power is staggeringly good. The dude can act.


Valentino. I love the way the metal studs hip up the needlepoint, don’t you?

This has to be a Tim Walker photo, right?

He loves those boots

Happy Day to you and give yourself a treat and watch “Dangerous Liasons” again.

~

(any uncredited images via Tumblr or Google, Kate Blanchett in first Vogue image)

The Night Before

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Blogging is an interesting endeavor.  Sometimes composing a post is as simple as pie (store bought), other days it’s not that easy. Today, I must admit, falls into the latter category. To say the least, it’s been a tumultuous 7 days here in the east. As you know, I arrived in NY just a day or two before Hurricane Sandy struck. We are all aware of the devastation the storm left in it’s wake. Although power has been restored to lower Manhattan and a good portion of mass transit, including many subway lines are in service again, a week later  there are still hundreds of thousands without power, water, gasoline, a safe place to lay their heads at night and even warm clothes. To add insult to injury in a most literal sense, the forecast predicts another storm moving  towards the east coast on Wednesday. My thoughts and prayers are with all those still struggling in the aftermath of Sandy and I’m sure that all of you, my wonderful compassionate readers, feel the same.

A friend sent me an email a few days ago in reference to my post about New Yorkers being incredibly resilient.

She included this photo with the caption “I guess this is what you meant about New Yorkers”

I loved the photo and thought, YES! This is exactly what I meant, and shared the photo on Facebook as well as Twitter. The response, as you would imagine, was overwhelmingly positive, but there were actually a few people who got darn right snarky about it. According to them, this photo was taken in New Jersey, not NYC.  Apparently, there are always going to be a few people who just miss the point, which I find a little sad. I thought the photo was about people being kind, resourceful and helping others,  not about a postal code.

And another thing…

Tomorrow, as we ALL KNOW is Election Day in the United States. I, for one, cannot wait for this, equally ugly storm, to be over. I don’t care to engage in political discourse on my blog, or even in real life to be honest-it’s just the way I was raised. I also like to think of “Slim Paley” as being a pleasant escape from the negativity we are bombarded with daily, so I’d just like to say this;  Whatever the outcome, by Wednesday morning 50% of this country is going to be very disappointed, many even devastated, which is also truly sad. So let’s all try to be compassionate and GRACIOUS on Wednesday. After all, it’s not arms and legs, it’s politics.

Back to “normal” posts in a day or two, I promise!

~

Top photo of flower via HughStewartGallery.com

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Scorch & Soda

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We turn the clocks back tonight (boo hoo!)

You know what that means my friends.

That’s right

It’s Officially Heartier Cocktail Season.

Not since a caramel fell into a bowl of salt have we seen a flavor sensation dominate like the “smoky” cocktail.  I’ve been experimenting here & there while slowly compiling this post over the summer but it wasn’t until I had my very first GIN martini the other night (I know, right? wonders never cease) accompanied by big fat smoked olives that I became a full fledged “Smoker”

OK, I know this photo would have been so much nicer if the glass wasn’t 1/2 empty and I hadn’t taken a big bite of the olive, but I just wasn’t anticipating how damn good it was going to be! (Hendricks gin btw) and you’re probably saying; can this possibly be the same Slim who loves roasted marshmallow martinis? I agree-it’s sheer madness.

Even I didn’t know I was this ambi-drinkerous.

So, at least for the month of November, I’m all about the “the fumes”

I’ve been wracking my brains trying to think of a way to capture smoke within an ice cube. I tried typing “Smoke in ice cubes ” into Google and got nothing but photos of the rapper “Ice Cube” smoking cigars, plus some rather inventive ways of smoking meth.

Do you think I’m going to get meth spam now??  I’m worried :(

Try putting a few of  these in your pipe;

A couple of tasty smokers at Rick Bayles’ “The Frontera Grill” Chicago

Los Angeles: The molecular-minded Bar Centro at the Bazaar by José Andrés.The Drink: Smoke on the Water ($18). What’s in It: Blackberries, atomized Islay Scotch, liquid nitrogen, and a flaming orange peel.

Miami: The new Yardbird Southern Table & Bar. The Drink: Smoked Pear ($8).
What’s in It: Woodford Reserve bourbon, pear liqueur, lemon juice, maple bitters, and smoked-pear purée. 1600 Lenox Ave.; 305/538-5220.

Boston: Clio, home to the city’s most extensive cocktail list. The Drink: The Hunter ($13).
What’s in It : Sage-infused white rum, Willet single-barrel rye, and apple cider, plus a cloud of burned oak and cinnamon. Smoked ice (smoked over liqueur-soaked wood chips) are used in the “Frank-)” cocktail, also at Clio

(info via Nicki Goldstein/Travel & Leisure magazine)

In Yountville, CA, Bottega serves up a smoky trifecta with smoked tequila, smoked jalapeños, rimmed with smoked salt.

“The Smoker’s Delight” at PX in Alexandria, Virginia uses strained water that has been steeped in 3 kinds of tobacco. ( Oh, sorry, but that sounds gross! )

Smoke Signals

Here I’ve found a recipe to “smoke” your own ice at home-but be careful kids!

Line heavy large pot with heavy-duty foil. Sprinkle wood chips over bottom of pot; cover. Turn exhaust fan on high. Heat pot over high heat until smoke begins to form inside pot. Fill 9 x 4 1/2 x 3-inch metal loaf pan with ice. Place in pot; cover tightly. Smoke ice until just melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool slightly. Cover loaf pan tightly with plastic wrap; freeze until firm, at least 6 hours. Using ice pick, cut ice block crosswise into 4 large smoked ice chunks. Wrap tightly in plastic and keep frozen.

Bring 1 cup water and sugar to boil in medium saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add pecans; reduce heat to medium and simmer until syrup tastes like pecans, about 12 minutes. Strain; discard pecans. Cover and chill pecan syrup until cold, about 2 hours.

Place 5 tablespoons whiskey, 3 tablespoons Sherry, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons pecan syrup in cocktail shaker. Fill with plain ice cubes; cover and shake until cold. Divide mixture between 2 old-fashioned glasses. Repeat with remaining 5 tablespoons whiskey, 3 tablespoons Sherry, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 3 tablespoons pecan syrup, and ice. Place 1 smoked ice chunk in each glass and serve.

(via Epicureous)

Mezcal and tobacco-infused syrup flavours the “Oaxacan Fizz” at FATHER’S OFFICE in LA (LOVE that name!)

“Smoke on The Water” at Bar Centro in The Bazaar, LA, literally smokes with a blast of liquid nitrogen and Islay Scotch.

Wouldn’t this make a good Christmas present?

Smoked salt via TheSpiceLab.com

For those smoked olives, you may

1) Marinate your olives for several hours in smoked olive oil

$24

2) make your own smoked oil by gently heating and infusing olive oil with hickory smoke powder and fresh or dried herbs of your choice, then marinate olives.

3) Thoroughly soak a cedar plank (important), wrap olives in a tinfoil package, making several slits in the top and sides,  place on wet plank, cover and grill (smoking times will vary depending on temperature) You can find several recipes for smoking olives online.

4) or just buy them already smoked.

Lastly, if you’re not already totally smoked out,

An interesting article on smoked cocktails HERE

Thank you for smoking and don’t forget those clocks tonight!!

~

(First photo Artist Liza Ryan (2012) any uncredited photos via Tumblr or Google)

Dispatch From NY #3

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The update on Manhattan today is still very much ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. From 39th St. down to the tip of the island remains completely without power while life above 39th St. carries on pretty much business as usual.  North of 39th the streets tonight are throbbing with trick or treaters and overbooked restaurants however my son reports the scenario downtown is quite a different picture. Very dark and abnormally quiet, for the most part it appears people are staying calm, cool and collected and behaving incredibly well given the circumstances. Neighbors are being neighborly and basically New Yorkers are doing what they do best-being NEW YORKERS. Still, there have been some reports of robbers dressing as utility repair people  to get into buildings so people should be extremely careful of anyone trying to gain access without proper identification. Fingers crossed that the mild weather stays until the power is turned back on. Busses are back in service and even some subway lines have re-opened but it will still be quite some time until the isle of Manhattan becomes one again.

Slim Paley photo

Snapped on the streets of NY today

Oh oh…it’s my hands again!

~

Storm of the Century and all, I can’t let one of my favourite holidays go by without wishing everyone a VERY Happy Halloween!

and if you have little trick or treaters ENJOY EVERY STICKY MOMENT!!!

Those are my most poignant memories of my boys when they were wee lads.

my wee Mummy

Links;

Haute Halloween 2011

Frankenstein Was a No Show 2010

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