my stylist...(i wish!)

On Friday night we attended a dinner with several other couples. 

 I was told beforehand that this restaurant was like an exclusive club  

and that you are treated in direct proportion to your status in New York.  

(I hoped the other couples were important.)

I toyed with the idea of finding out if I knew anyone who worked there
and asking them to pretend that John and I were reaaallly important...

just to mystify our dining partners.

One of the ladies at our table is a stylist in Manhattan.  

She has dressed women for the Oscars and Golden Globes. 

 However, she says her true calling is the working woman in New York - 

the hedge fund girls making 5 mil. a year.   

 (note to 20 year old self:  change majors!)

I liked her and learned a few things along the way.  

One - she ordered the garden salad and then asked for it to be chopped - kind of like slaw.  

She said that this way, you can actually Eat your salad and still chat.  

Made total sense to me - I Hate trying to eat salad.

She also said that she tells all her clients to gain weight -

that extremely thin is not attractive after 40.
This is not really a Georgia problem,
but it is Definitely an issue for New Yorkers.
I have friends here that don't eat. Ever.  

Then, she ordered onion strings.

That conversation led me to ask if she'd like to kick Rachel Zoe's a**.
(you can take the girl out of georgia...)
She laughed and said, "Yes."
(How could you not?)
Then she followed up with what a truly nice person Rachel really is.

We discussed the fact that if she ever runs into clients socially,
they pretend not to know her.
It seems no one wants to be outed that they have a stylist.
That cracked me up.
In the south, we tend to Over Share.
If a southerner ran into her stylist at the beach club
it would go like this:
"Yoooo Hooooo!
Heeeeeeyyyyyy Hollleeeeee!
Come over heeeere!
How do I look?  Did I do okay?
Does this cover up go with these flip-flops?
How are my earrings?
What do you think?
I'm okay?  I look okay?
Can you come over Tuesday?
Hey y'all!
Holly is my stylist!
You should use her too!
She's the best!
You know that dress I wore to cotillion -
the one I wore with those great earrings?
Holly!  She picked it all out!"

Everything the stylist ordered was made specifically according to her instructions.

(Maybe she IS really important.) 

 I think she even ordered chicken milanese without the breading.

She said the usual - anything you haven't worn in two years - get rid of! 

In the end,

I met someone new and interesting.

That's what I love about being in New York.

There are always new people to meet

with interesting lives

and stories to tell

and I always grow just a little bit

from being in their presence.

P.S. I was not impressed with the restaurant.  I felt like it was the equivalent of a Hamptons

Western Sizzlin'.  Funny - the things that make people feel important.

taste the evolution

John and I attended a wonderful dinner last night in East Hampton.

Could it be any more picturesque?

I really just wanted to sit in one of those lounge chairs on the lawn.

The Maidstone overlooks East Hampton's Town Pond.

Here's a description of the event:

An Evening to Taste the Evolution! At Featuring fine wines from the Wine Library of Wölffer Estate Sunday, July 17th Cocktail hour begins 6:00pm The idea behind this fabulous line up was not to just share Wölffer’s story, but to taste their journey.  We will be comparing side by side, with each course, a wine from their cellar to the present vintage.  We will get to experience how these wines have evolved over the years.  As an extra special treat, the 1997 Estate Selection Chardonnay will be poured from magnums!  Winemaker Roman Roth, is the creator of all these wines and will be on hand to guide us through this vinicultural journey.  Executive Chef James Carpenter has paired a mouthwatering menu featuring local epicurean delights that will surely amaze your palate in every sense!  Please join us for this amazing evening of wine, food and fun. Menu Cocktail hour Passed hors d'œuvres             Home made gravlax with Swedish mustard sauce             Västerbotten cheese tartlet with herring             Toast Skagen with caviar 2007  'Noblesse Oblige' Sparkling Rosé First Course Chilled local corn soup with lobster panna cotta and fresh chives from our own Chef’s garden 1997 Estate Selection Chardonnay and 2008 'Perle' Chardonnay Second Course Slow braised Berkshire pork belly with local shitake mushrooms and dark syrup gastrique 2000 Cabernet Franc and 2008 'Caya' Cabernet Franc Third Course Grilled Black Angus rib eye steak with green garlic butter, bordelaise sauce, Balsam Farm baby arugula and heirloom cherry tomatoes 2000 Estate Selection Merlot and 2005 'Lambardo' Merlot Fourth Course Mormors Tasting Trio  Sticky toffee date cake 2006 'Descencia' Botrytis Chardonnay ~~~~~~~~  Artisan blue cheese, Blue Hill, Ma 2008 'Diosa' Late Harvest (Ice Wine) Chardonnay ~~~~~~~~~ Elderberry flower custard  2009 'Laica' Late Harvest (Ice Wine) Vignoles & Riesling

Roman did a great job of describing the vintages.
He was funny, interesting, and informative.

Each course was served with a wine from the library 

and a present vintage.

It was fun to try the wines side by side

and I discovered that I like the older, more mellow,

vintages best.

The food was delectable ~

The company divine ~

and a good time was had by all.

Cheers!

dumpster diving

Here is a picture of my laundry room closet in New York.

It is right at the top of my stairs - open to my foyer.

And it has been very difficult to decide Where to put 

our dirty clothes and laundry necessities such as

detergent, shout, bounce etc.

because it's right in front of the giant window in my foyer.

Everyone who drives by can see my dirty laundry.

Nice.

The other day,

as John was driving around the barn,

he saw an old tack box sitting next to a dumpster.

Later, after thinking about it,

he decided it might be the perfect thing for our laundry dilemma.

However, by the time he returned, 

the box had been thrown in the dumpster.

John determinedly rescued it, brought it home, 

and after an Enormous amount of cleaning,

we placed it in the hall.

Once again,

good job John.

I think he may have missed his calling...

the best laid plans...

We were so excited when planning our summer in New York,

that we made a list of all the things we wanted to do.

We had nine weeks

and hoped to spend a little time in Boston,

go to the city, visit Niagra Falls, camp on the beach,

take the kids deep sea fishing, see a Yankees game etc.

And then life happened.

We had pony camp, horse shows,

sleepovers, play dates, tennis camp, sailing camp etc.

Finally with two weeks left,

we headed to NYC yesterday.

We had hoped to leave at noon -

after John played golf,

Lyons played tennis,

and C finished pony camp.

Of course, that didn't happen.

We ended up leaving frustratingly at 2:00,

arriving in the city at 4:00.

So much for our "day" in the city.

After parking,

we passed the TKTS booth and 

spur of the moment 

jumped in line.

We decided to purchase tickets to Memphis

because it was 50% off

and it started at 8:00 -

great criteria, right?

We visited the Discovery Museum's

new Pompeii exhibit.

It was Amazing.

Having read about Pompeii all my life,

it was the coolest to actually see artifacts

and casts from the city.

For the record,

the kids were freaked by the casts.

It was sad for them to see the positions

families and pets were in when 

Mt. Vesuvius erupted.

Then, we headed over to 

The Hard Rock Cafe

for the 9,999th time,

but the wait was too long.

Since we had such a late start,

we only had an hour for dinner.

We ended up eating at John's Pizza 

and it was delicious!

the ceiling at John's Pizza

 We rushed across the street just in time to take our seats.

The show was Unbelievable!

Love, love, loved it!

Afterwards, C insisted we wait at the stage door to meet the actors.

They were gracious and I'm glad she was able to meet them.

So, maybe our day (or our summer) didn't go exactly as planned,

but in the end, it was pretty terrific.

Have a great weekend!

stay cool

Yes, I've fallen into a black hole in blog land.

Too busy to write, 

but I'll be back

asap.

In the meantime,

stay cool.

where to begin?

I don't even know where to begin today's post.

Life has been crazy busy the past week.

We had a great time at a beach bonfire.

tolerating the girls...

I had dinner with a good friend of mine at Pierre's.

She had just returned from three weeks in the south of France.

While there, she bought Another Birkin.

However, she informed me that 

the Hermes "toolbox" she was carrying

is the new "it" bag.

(In case you were wondering...)

Image: Vicente Sahuc

She then whipped out her black AmEx

and insisted on paying for our $250 dinner for two

because she had invited me.

(thank goodness!)

C has been spending some time here

with the nicest little girl.

(Do you think they'd adopt me?)

And John and I were lucky 

 to spend the day together

Saturday.

First, we took the kids to Long Beach -

the boys jogged

and the girls walked.

Then, C had a play date adventure to Montauk

with a certain little girl, a private chef,

and the nanny.

The boys rode bikes around Sag Harbor.

Then it was my turn!

A glass of rose' on the porch of the

American Hotel,

shopping in East Hampton,

followed by dinner

at Tutto il Giorno.

Life is good this summer.  

Very good.

pike's

In the summertime here, 

there is a farm stand on practically every corner.

I love to stop and buy fresh, locally grown,

organic, fruits and vegetables.

It's strange,

because I can't think of a single farm stand

at home in Georgia.

(Have I missed one in my hometown?)

Did you know, at one time,

 the Hamptons were just a bunch of potato farms?

Even today, the Hamptons are filled with 

 wide open farm land.

It's what makes this area unique.

There are no high rises

and very few hotels.

Every house sold

must contribute part of the proceeds

to conservation

and many of the development rights 

have been sold.

In that way,

the Hamptons retains its charm

and the local farmers,

who are vital to this community,

can remain.

On Sunday afternoon,

we stopped by Jim Pike's farm stand.

He is a local gentleman farmer

who is well thought of in these parts.

Here are some pictures of Pike's on Sagg Road:

Delish!

Have a happy weekend everyone!