Hotels are so passe, didn’t you know? As we continue our search for authentic travel experiences a new trend has emerged: Renting someone else’s sweet pad instead of feeling like a tourist in a Doubletree.
My latest travel story came out as part of New York magazine’s Winter Travel feature, a package devoted entirely to the art of crashing at someone else’s place. I wrote about the converted barn, above, on Long Island’s North Fork and what’s new in the area. The short answer: Plenty!
Big news: We’re leaving Brooklyn and returning to Richmond — in a week! We’ll be moving back into our old house with plans to give it a little refresher. Here’s what it looked like before we moved out… Continue reading →
I’ve been thinking about this photo for years. It seemed so odd to see this gondolier in Venice talking on his cell phone. Gondoliers are a holdover from another era – one without mobile phones. Ever since I shot this in 2004, I’ve kept eyes peeled for mobile phone anachronisms, times when cells just don’t belong. I call the series Disconnected. More to come.
Have any great shots of someone on a cell phone? Send it my way and I’ll post it.
I’m fair and freckled and I’ve faced facts: I will not get tan. And sunblock can only do so much when I’m scouring the Brooklyn Flea in the blazing sun or on the deck of a boat in Capri (more on that soon, I promise!) So I always carry a hat, but I don’t always want to wear it all day. That’s why I was so happy to find this awesome, orange sun hat (modeled above by my daughter, Marguerite), San Diego Sun Hat’s large-brim ribbon hat.
It’s cute, has a big brim that can be bent up or down and, best of all it, can be folded up and put in my purse or suitcase and won’t get crushed. So I will never again be caught carrying a straw hat around an airport in January.
See what other genius clothes and accessories are on my Packing List.
Here are two surprising facts about the Hamptons: Some of these quaint Long Island beach towns date back to the 17th century, and art’s abstract impressionist movement was founded there in East Hampton. So not only can you find adorable weathered-shingle homes but also serious art cred. Jackson Pollock, for one, did his drip thing on the floor of one of said cottages. You can visit Pollock’s house (above), and other shrines to the past, but where are the contemporary art and artists in the Hamptons these days? That’s what I wrote about in my recent travel story for New York magazine, along with great places to stay, eat and play. I didn’t include the beach (below) but that goes without saying, right? (This one’s Main Beach in East Hampton.)
Lately I’ve been eating my way around Brooklyn, and spending long afternoons in Prospect Park, but New York’s other great pastime – shopping! - can’t be beat along Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn.
Boerum Hill is a tiny brownstone neighborhood just south of Brooklyn Heights (and probably best known as the former home of Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams). Its main thoroughfare, Atlantic Avenue, has become a chic main street to the tony adjacent ‘hoods with its new Barney’s Co-op, Jonathan Adler, Steve Alan and, more importantly, tons of cool, locally owned boutiques. Here are a few shops with great design (and – I couldn’t resist – a place to stop for a bite).
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Snuggled right next to a park, this adorable little red cafe is the perfect spot to while away a sunny weekend afternoon. Ted & Honey is in a prime spot in Brooklyn’s lovely brownstone-filled Cobble Hill neighborhood. Here, you order at the counter and they bring your food to you. Or you can get a coffee, sit at their communal table (or at the bar in the front window and read the paper – love that!) As we sat on the patio eating, lots of folks rolled up and ordered their food to go and took it next door to shady Cobble Hill Park to eat.
Of course this being Brooklyn, the chef uses locally sourced ingredients, but I’m over that. What’s more notable is that he makes his own ketchup, salsa and various pickled things that he sells in jars on the shelves of the market (also overplayed in Brooklyn, but still cool). But the real headline is his homemade pop tarts filled with strawberry preserves, bananas and chocolate and a variety of other delicious things. Gourmet junk food – what a fun idea! Now if someone could only get the yodel down…
San Francisco designer Tina Frey makes the most amazing resin jewelry. I love her chunky cuff bracelets and bold, pod-shaped beaded necklaces. (She and her dog, Zoe, are wearing them above.) So naturally, I want to know what fuels that creativity. Frey chronicles her travels on her blog, but she also finds inspiration at home. We tapped Frey for a few of her favorite San Francisco spots. And one thing I love about her list is that she not only gives us a great brunch spot, but also place to get a snack while you’re waiting for your table. Genius!
Read Tina Frey’s guide to a lazy San Francisco afternoon after the jump … Continue reading →
Hop in the car right now! Early summer before the summer crowds stifle eastern Long Island is a great time to head to the North Fork for wine tasting and wandering historic seaside villages. (Forbes just named one of them — Greenport, N.Y. — one of the “America’s Prettiest Towns.”) And you might even get lucky there, gents.
I just wrote a piece for New York magazine about how to spend a romantic weekend on the North Fork. Here’s an excerpt:
Spend a day exploring some newer additions to the area’s slate of 48 wineries. Start out with a tasting ($17 for four wines) at Sparkling Pointe Winery and order caviar ($14 to $26) or Vosges chocolate ($10) from a vineside armchair. Head to Shinn Vineyards for the new vintner tasting ($25), during which owner David Page lets guests sample from the barrel and taste current vintages of reserve wines not available during regular tastings. Call ahead to One Woman Wines in Southold to see if they’re hosting Tastings Under the Stars, a bi-monthly campfire outing from 6 to 10 p.m. with cheeses, tapenades, hummus, and other tapas available ($6 to $10).
I was so completely taken with the new Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met’s Costume Institute I can’t stop thinking about it. The show, which runs through July 31, 2011, features his incredibly creative clothes – from a straight-jacket-like kimono to butt-crack revealing pants – as well as accessories like a silver, rib-cage breast-plate, eccentric hats from Philip Treacy but best of all are the videos.
The catwalk is where McQueen’s vision really came alive. I walked away with new respect for the way he completely re-thought the catwalk. Forget models simply walking the damn thing. Instead he put models on a life-sized chess board, or used robots to spray-paint a model wearing a white dress, actually creating the dress in front of the audience. How amazing is that?! But the most haunting video was this hologram of Kate Moss at his Fall 2006 show. A hologram, people!
“Savage Beauty” is a must-see show in New York this summer. So far none of the other museums have come up with anything quite to striking and poignant.
To see how the Kate Moss video worked in the context of the room check out this video. So incredible. How I wish I had seen one of his shows…
