Merry Christmas!

I am planning on getting in front of the fire in a few hours and not moving for a couple of days. I'll drink champagne and eat shrimp and worry about it later. I'm so sad I did not get to do all the Christmas posts I had planned on, the season got away from me, and I had some other projects. But I plan on returning full force in the New Year! 

Ruby Red

I had a GREAT weekend. Had the engagement party at my most faaaavorite restaurant in NYC on 19th street. The dress was a challenge but when I found it- I knew! THEN the shoes were a challenge until I found these...love at first sight! The evening was very red...red shoes...ruby red tuna tartare....and a cranberry cosmo...ALL.DOWN.THE FRONT. OF MY DRESS. And splashed on my shoes! The sheer horror! The dress, amazingly, was salvageable- DvF magical fabric to the rescue again! But my shoes...they will need some resussatation. Still an incredibly magical night.

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by The Goods Design, a wonderful blog by an author with impeccable taste in interiors. The objective is to reveal 6 quirky but boring details about myself, so here it goes!1. The Cadbury Creme Egg is my favorite food on earth. Most people are horrified when I reveal this. My mom used to get me 36 packs for Easter. I swear I'm not fat.


2. I am getting married in about one year and one week. This is not quirky or boring, but what is quirky and boring is that Chris and I chose December because we love, love, love the Holidays.


3. I have read every food book under the sun, Reichl, Steingarten, Bourdain, you name it. It's an addiction.
4. My guilty (or not so guilty pleasure) is watching reruns of the Cosby Show on TV Land before I go to bed (Cosby Sweater above). My boyfriend finds this quirky, boring, and bizarre.
5. I have a boat license. Why anyone would permit me, at age 14, a boat license is beyond me- and why anyone would permit me all these years later to have one is still a mystery.


6. I draw lips, eyes, and noses ALL OVER my notes. I have been doing this since junior high, and it seems to be getting worse.

I am going to tag my two BFFs (I don't know 6 bloggers!!!)
A Design Affair
Capturing the 7

Here are the rules:
* Mention the rules on your blog.
* Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself.
* Tag six other
* Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they are tagged.

K-town

I called my brother, the adventurous eater, earlier this week and asked him if he wanted to get REAL Chinese in Chinatown. Then suddenly it was freezing here in NY, and we got lazy, and decided to meet in Koreatown- that hopping stretch of 32nd street- instead. Here I am, still recovering after about a million shots of Soju! Evil Soju.  My brother, having lived in Korea, is a huge fan of Korean BBQ. I just love the set up: a million tiny dishes with all kinds of condiments and pickled everything. Of course, the smoke reaks absolute havoc on your clothing, my coat is still airing out! 

BAM

I went to the Brooklyn Academy of Music this past weekend for a performance of Amjad. I have not seen many avant-garde dance pieces in my lifetime but I think this one is probably up there! It was great. The building is impressive- it  has a cool wavy glass awning on the front. It was downpouring afterwards so we ran across the street to Thomas Biesl for some rose and apple-cranberry crumble. 

Top is my little painting of a John Robshaw headboard from Domino, used in designer Fawn Galli's Brooklyn brownstone. I.LOVE.IT. It reminds me of above pages from Mrs. Kennedy Goes Abroad, by Vibhuti Patel, illustrated by Jacqueline Duheme . I must get this book! The illustrations are stunning!

Pink Rooms

I have been seeing a lot of pink rooms lately. There was a great spread in House Beautiful this month with a few. I would love to paint a room a medium pink, all the trim would be white, and I would throw in a couple of red chairs on a citron striped rug.

There seems to be an electricity in the air today in NYC....after this long, long campaign, I cannot wait to see the outcome.

A sketch of one of my favorite West Village townhouses. I mean really, is there anywhere else you would rather live besides a lavender townhouse in the West Village??

Artisanal

When my former roommate and I were poor recent college grads, we lived on three things: popcorn, peanuts in their shells, and the "Red Cheese" as we called it. I don't even know what it was- gouda maybe, but every time my mom came to visit she brought the red cheese, which she lovingly purchased at Costco. We would sit and watch Paradise Hotel on our little TV and eat layer after layer of that thing. 

We've since upgraded to higher end cheese purveyors, Artisanal being one of them. It is the only restaurant worth going to in the East 30's (Les Halles too, I think, though I have never been, despite my Anthony Bourdain love.) You leave there smelling like cheese, but it is worth it for the French Onion Soup and the cheese plate, followed by some fondue. Clearly I need to have my cholesterol checked.

My Happy Place

Rizzoli on 57th street is my happy place. Whenever I need to be inspired I go there and browse the food and art books and the Children's books. They have the best Children's book section in the city, I think. It is small but it has the most unique selection. Buying a book at Rizzoli feels much better than buying from Barnes and Noble, or any other huge book store. 

Project Runway Finale or Presidential Debates??

One was a little more captivating for me....

Children's Book Art!!

My amazingly talented friend Sari reminded me with her post about the "Original Art" show at the Society of Illustrators. Fall would not be complete without going up to the Society on a crisp fall day and seeing the original art from all the best Children's books. It is so inspiring for people who are interested in Children's book art.

Above is a detail from a Children's book I have been working on- on and off.

I went to a wedding this past weekend and I really had to pull from the archives for an ensemble.....tough economic times and all. I managed to pull it together with an old DVF...ever the classic... and accessorized to death.

I was working on a Spring wedding invitation with this as the envelope liner. I would love to open up a white envelope to see this pop of color.

Illustration Friday "Sugary"

Some little illustrations of desserts for a project.

Macaroons

I went upstairs today to visit my wildly talented and funny coworker and friend Dan. He just got back from Paris and brought back some Macaroons.....my favorite thing on earth. I had what I think was a vanilla bean one- unreal. When I went to Paris a while back, I brought some home in the Laduree boxes above....and polished them ALL off while driving back from the airport on the FDR. I did the above illustration soon after I got back. Now they are decorative objects in my apt (I've seen the black and white box a bazillion times in magazines- it is a stylist's go-to.)

Spain...On the Road Again

I watched the first installment of Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow's Spain...On The Road Again on PBS. I know Mario is overexposed but I love him anyway. They talk a lot about the history of Spain but the real purpose is a culinary road trip.

A sketch from my impromtu dinner with Audra at Frankies on the L.E.S., the tiniest restaurant ever!