Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The Big Apple - It was delicious

Aside from fashion stalking the random passerby on the streets of NY, I also did what I typically do when I go to NY. Eat. I swear. I could do nothing but eat and shop when I'm there. So much good food. And it's everywhere! That's one big thing NY has that SF doesn't. Food availability. If you want a delicious sandwich at midnight, you can have one. Jealous.

My first dinner in NY was at the wonderful Daniel Boulud's DBGB Kitchen & Bar. Amazing! I saw Bourdain do an episode of No Reservations with Daniel a couple months ago and Bourdain couldn't stop raving about how great the food was. DBGB really specializes in sausage and they make everything in house. I had no doubts that it would be amazing, but I wasn't ready for how great it would actually be. We tried the Espagnole sausage, made with chorizo, and the Beaujolaise sausage, made with pork and mushrooms. It is absolutely impossible to say which one was better. Both were equally decadent in their own way. (Sorry no pictures of those) I had the sauteed skate for my entree (pictured above). No need for me to tell you how good it was because I think you already know that it was phenomenal. I can't wait to bring the parents and the bf here the next time we should find ourselves in NY. Truly a gem to eat at when in the city!

As a self proclaimed Food Network fanatic, people find it shocking that I don't like Bobby Flay. I just don't. I tend to also be skeptical about people that make fancy Mexican food. As someone born and raised in California, I have had my fair share of life changing Mexican food. So I am very skeptical when people do fancy, expensive Mexican food. I did tell my bf that I would eat at a Bobby Flay restaurant if I was not paying for it. Low and behold that's exactly what happened! :) I showed up for a lunch meeting and they informed me we were going to Mesa Grill. Well then. To my dismay, everyone at the table ordered a salad. I couldn't bring myself to order a salad when I was at, what I consider, a fancy restaurant. At least a fancy place for lunch. I had the cornmeal crusted chile relleno (pictured above). This is not something I would normally order especially since it was filled with eggplant. I must say, it was really, really good! Job well done Mr. Flay.
And p.s. that plate was gorgeous!

I spent my last night in NY with a friend of mine in Brooklyn. She took me to an outdoor showing of Romeo & Juliet, a gigantic margarita and a bahn mi style hot dog. I shouldn't even have to say anything else. Pure bliss. The idea of being able to walk into a bar and order a margarita to-go is the most amazing thing I've ever heard of. And the hot dog was an out of body experience. The place was called AsiaDog and they take regular hot dogs and add an Asian twist to them. Sign me up! Who knew such great things existed? I'm so sad that this isn't in SF. Probably for the best however, because I'm sure eating hot dogs everyday is not good for you.

So thank you New York. You were amazingly delicious!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Fashion Don't - Lost Socks?

While at the conference yesterday, I scoured the crowd expecting to see some great fashion Don'ts. Usually they are easy to find, but you are a strange beast NY. Here is what I did find.

The mens trend of the day appeared to be no socks. Let me tell you what the weather was like. Imagine hell, and then add humidity. So. Why on earth would you want to wear leather loafers without socks?! That doesn't even seem remotely practical to me. Did the dryer eat their last pair of matching socks? What other reason could there be for such madness.

I managed to snap this picture of a speaker while on stage. Aside from the leather loafers sans socks, he had other issues. Like, his horrible posture and the fact that his pants seem to be too short. He was fidgeting the entire time and he looked silly. I understand that some mens shoes are to be worn sans socks. I get it. But these? I don't think so.

I could almost get behind this guy not wearing socks but it just doesn't work. It doesn't. His outfit was kind of all over the place too. Part of me thinks that this was his attempt to do the "I don't care what I wear, but I put time into this" look. So, it almost worked but didn't quite make it. At least his shoes are more believable on the no socks front than the other guy.

Here is my assessment. I don't like it when guys don't wear socks with their shoes unless we're talking about slip-ons, like the Vans-style shoes I talked about here, or Converse. It just looks off otherwise.

Let me know if the guys out there feel differently. Discuss.

Although I was unable to capture this on camera, there was a woman sitting next to me that was wearing a floor length skirt, circa 1991, and Teva-like sandals. Awesome. I can barely keep some items in my closet for a full 12 months and this woman has managed to keep something around since the early 90s! I feel like I should high-five her while I tell her that this outfit is horribly out of date. And I refuse to even address the Tevas. I just won't.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Live from New York...

(This picture was before the lightening storm began)

About 3 hours ago I arrived in a very humid, light rain and lightening filled NY. Not much to report in terms of fashion just yet, but I do love being in this city. I don't know if it's the seat-clutching cab rides, the smells, the food or the architecture, but this place is full of inspiration. I will be attending a conference tomorrow and like all conferences, there will be some epic fashion Don'ts. I will be sure to take pictures and report back.

As of right now, I'm in the adorable Hotel Roger Williams enjoying a comfy bed and a bottle of water. Just a quick note about the hotel, I am quite enamored with the headboard and comforter/sheets. So clean and crisp looking. Contemplating recreating this...

(Yes that is Domo. I like to bring him when I travel. Reminds me of home.)

In case you can't tell, the headboard is a bright navy blue neoprene-ish fabric and the sheets are stark white with kelly green trim. Wonderfully simple and striking at the same time.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Nordstrom Sale = Shoe Happy

A friend of mine recently got a job at Nordstrom. So. Exciting. When she told me the Anniversary Sale was going to happen soon, I got really excited. What enhanced my excitement even more was that there was this thing call Pre-Select where you get to go into these special rooms full of stuff not on the floor AND on sale AND buy them before everyone else!

If you know me, you know there are a few things that make me very happy:
1. having things other people don't (one-of-a-kind items)
2. having access to things that other people don't
3. candy

You can imagine my face when she told me to come in and she would bring me to these special rooms so I could shop. Oh. Happy. Day. Let's just say it was an expensive trip.

Here is my current favorite purchase.


Thank you Mr. Franco Sarto for coming up with this glorious Artist's Collection shoe. I don't know how I could have lived without animal print flats with a giant bow. I just don't. And the pony hair just adds a touch of elegance too. I used to be against pony hair because I put it in the same boat as fur. I no longer think that way. (I still won't wear fur though)

I wore these yesterday and had an extra big smile on my face knowing that they weren't available to everyone else yet :) It's the little things right?

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

A Happy Place - Dior Couture

Once again I was reading Tom & Lorenzo's blog and they had a post about the amazing Dior Haute Couture collection. I can't stop thinking about it or looking at it. It's TO DIE! The colors are so rich and in-your-face pretty. John Galliano never ceases to amazes me. He is a true genius.

Here are a few of my fav looks.
To see their whole post, go here.