Gotham Gal

Havens Kitchen....and Kirsten Gillibrand

I was invited to a small gathering of women to hear Kirsten Gillibrand speak.  It was held at Havens Kitchen.  Havens Kitchen is a fabulous new store that not only has specialty food products to purchase, they have cooking classes, a sweet event space and a nice big kitchen.  The people behind Havens Kitchen have done a great job and I hope they hit one out of the ball park.  Great concept.

I came to the event because my friend invited me and for her I came.  I lost my interest in getting behind candidates a few years back because of the money, the game, the whole shooting match.  I wrote about my experience awhile ago.  Yet for the first time in awhile I liked what Kirsten said.  She gets the issues that important to women.  Healthcare, childcare, birth control, issues around obesity, education and jobs. You would think all senators would care about those issues and try to reach over the table and work together to get funding and bills that are proactive instead of reactive but unfortunately it is never that easy.  What I like is that she is working with all the women in congress, regardless of their party affiliation to pass bills that are important to all of them and to work together.  That is what I want to hear.  We can agree to disagree with lets get something passed that makes us all happy.  Really enjoyed listening to her and the other women in the room having a free flowing conversation.  Kirsten has really grown into the job over the past three years. 

Back to Havens Kitchen...here are the pics.  This is the check out area.

Here is a small table set up with a few wares.

Classes available.

More product.

Stairwell en route to the event space. 

So do I see myself getting back into the world of raising money for politicians?  Never say never but I will absolutely support Kirsten...and Havens Kitchen going forward.

 

 

Last day on Abbott Kinney

More new stores and places to eat on Abbott Kinney.  You really can't go wrong walking the long street.  We do it every time we come to Los Angeles and enjoy how much it has evolved into a really incredible spot.  We began breakfast at 3 Squares.  It was good not great. 

As we continued to walk down the street I might have stopped in the New Cafe for granola instead. 

Here is the granola.

Nothing opened until 11 so Josh and I just walked until we hit Gjelinas new take-out place next door to the restaurant.  Everything looked so good.  Natural sodas are big out there and Josh really got into the ginger ale.  I had a limeade which was seriously tart.

I hooked up with Emily and Jess before doing some damage once the stores opened.  Josh and Fred took off for another area to do damage in another part of town.  Last stop was Intelligentsia which is a sweet coffee shop. 

We drove back to Santa Monica stopping at Tender Greens to have lunch.  I wish there were more places like this in NYC.  All fresh ingredients.  You can order the salads they make or make one up on your own. 

I had the Santa Monica farmers market raw salad with steak on top and a balsamic vinegar on the side.  Really excellent.

Fred and I drove over to Brentwood to the Country Market hoping we would find stuff to pick up for dinner but it is just a grouping of cute stores and eateries.  We ended up going to Whole Foods and then back to the hotel for a drink to watch the sunset before heading over to my brothers for dinner.

Such a great couple of days in Los Angeles.  I really love it out there. 

 

last full day in Cape Town

We started out at Greenmarket Square.  Lots of stalls with mostly African wares.  The merchants are pretty aggressive so engaging in conversation unless you plan on buying something is not wise.  Once you decide to buy something, use cash and negotiate.  There are a few vintage type booths walking down to the square.  This guy had sunglasses and a random skate.

I didn't do a great job of capturing this woman but I tried.  

This booth was where we ended up buying a bunch of random bracelets for gifts.  

We went over to the art school of UCT afterward.  There is a small gallery there called Michaelis.  The exhibit was called Threshold, about climate change and environment concern.  Really wonderful pieces from students and I believe alumni.  

This is called Oil Painting by Alexandra Karakashian.  She is using canvas that is dropped into used motor oil.  My guess is over time the canvas will get blacker and blacker as the oil seeps up into the canvas.  

This piece is called Landscape by Carolyn Parton, reconstituted reclaimed paint.  It is really cool how she was able to take thick pieces of used paint and manipulate it to sit inside a frame to create this piece.

Carbon Cloud by Lindi Sales was my favorite.  This entire structure is about climate change and global warning which is happening because of carbon emissions known as greenhouse gases.  The most common carbon emission is carbon dioxide which is increases because of our dependence on fossil fuels.  

This reminds me of old style paintings although it is actually pigment ink.  This is called Hottentots Holland: Flora Capensis 2 by Andrew Putter.  Many of the plants are becoming extinct, endangered or rarely seen because of carbon emissions.  Cape Town is one of the six floral kingdoms in the world.  There are more kinds of plans in the Cape Floral Kingdom than there are in the whole of the northern hempisphere.  Table Mountain alone supports 2200 specifics which is more than the sum total of specific in all of the United Kingdom.  Pretty amazing.  

We returned to the Biscuit Factory where I picked up the cheese platter made of the wine barrel top.  Had to have it.  After we went to the Goodman Gallery and saw a very cool installation.  The artist is Siemon Allen.  He started collecting South African music years ago and this project represents a fragment of that history.  Each label in this collection of 5400 images is a memorial to all the artists.  It is so beautiful how it is hung with the plastic curtain with the light shining through it.

Here is another one of his pieces in the exhibit that is called Reggie.  This was a cover of an album.  I love this piece.  

We went and had lunch at Loading Bay, one of Jessicas lunch spots.  I love the indoor/outdoor feel and part of the restaurant is a store that carries mostly Acne and a few Swedish labels.

They love their juices here.  Jess had apple/ginger and I went for the boring orange juice but so good.

For lunch Jess had the carrot/orange soup.  

I had the salad that they love here.  Butternut squash, beets, feta, pumpkin seeds and rocket.  

We drove over to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens that are just so old and beautiful.  The land was purchased by Cecil John Rhodes in 1895 for 9000 pounds to protect the eastern slopes of Table Mountain from urban development.  He left is to the nation in 1902.  This garden is dedicated to the cultivation and study of indigenous plants of South Africa.  This is the first view we got when we walked into the place. 

Aloe everywhere. 

Views and more views.

A great climbing tree although you are not supposed to do that.  

More aloe.

Flowers

Lilly pads.

A fun filled day.  A few hours left before I get on the 18 hour flight home.  Jessica has truly taken advantage of what Cape Town has to offer.  What an incredible experience.  

 

 

Just gorgeous.  We were really glad we did the walk.  Last time Jessica came it was in the dark.  Back to the hotel to get ready for my last evening in Cape Town.  

another day in los angeles

Before I even get into the series of events today I just want to say how much I LOVE Google Maps.  Now you can even launch the navigational tool on your handheld and a voice speaks to you while you drive.  Works quite well if you are alone in the car.  Just brilliant. 

I have always been connected to Los Angeles.  I was born here and didn't move out until I was almost seven.  My parents went to college at UCLA (and Berkeley) and my father spent his teenage years here and my mother grew up in Bakersfield.  My grandmother lived here and in Laguna Beach for years.  My sister worked out here for four years.  I did my college internship out here and now my brother and his family are happily settled out here.  Almost full circle.  When I come out here to visit, in many ways I feel at home.  I know where I am and am comfortable.

I met up with Emily and her friend and my sister-in-law for lunch at the Ivy on Robertson.  A classic institution.  Food is definitely not what it used to be.  Years ago this salad was much larger and consisted of many grilled vegetables and almost no greens but now it is just the opposite.  Regardless it is a fun place to go and sit outside.  Driving over to that area from Santa Monica is the one thing that is not fun but that is Los Angeles. 

Then I took Emily and her friend to Opening Ceremony.  I love this parking meter in the front.  You can use quarters or credit cards.  Can we get some of those in NYC?  Opening Ceremony, IMHO, has lost their way.  The store was originally full of interesting merchandise from new designers at relatively affordable price points.  Now the store is chocked to the brim, literally you can barely see what is on each rack there is so much merchandise and the price point is really high on basically every item.  I can't imagine how they are turning their merchandise when the average price is over $500.  Alas, my prediction is that they are not doing well and there will be something to pay for all that merchandise sitting in the store. 

We then took a drive over to Satine on West 3rd.  They have moved since I was in the store last.  Great mixture of clothes and I really love the space.

Next stop was Noodle Stories where we bought some of these travel books.  I had never seen them before.  Well done and spot on.  Joseph Leonard was in the NYC one!

Afterward it was time for some frozen yogurt.  After all, there is a variety of yogurt places out here.  We opted for Bigg Chill.  Nice call.

Back to Santa Monica for a quick stop at Undefeated, Josh's fave store.  Had to pick him up a little something. 

We went back to the Shutters where I am staying and washed up before heading out to Katsuya.  I am not really a fan of Katsuya like I was when it first opened.  It is loud, the service is terrible and the food is ok.  But, I was thrilled when a woman came over to intro herself to both me and my brother because she recognized us and reads both our blogs.  I admit, I always get excited when someone says hi and I get to meet a face of someone who enjoys the posts.  The real reason we went to Katsuya is because Emily loves the spicy tuna on the crispy rice.  It is a nice dish.

Uni is always a fave, at least for me.

Home to bed, I am exhausted.  Emily summed up the day perfectly.  Salad for lunch, frozen yogurt for a snack and sushi for dinner...the perfect LA day. 

 

 

the meadow

Yesterday I met my sister and father at Jeffreys Grocery for lunch.  The newest restaurant of Gabe Stulman...well actually it is a marketplace.  Produce, products and a variety of pantry filling items in the front and a communal table and bar in the back.  You can order on line too and have food delivered if you are in the vicinity.  Lucky for me, I am in the vicinity.  I didn't take pictures of my food...sorry.  In full disclosure we are investors in Jeffreys.  Gabe is still working through some of the kinks.  You can see him writing notes on a group of papers in his pocket.  I highly recommend the sandwiches.  The pork sandwich and brisket sandwich is killer.

Afterward we strolled around the West Village and came across The Meadow.  A new store that opened about three days ago located at 523 Hudson Street.  Interesting concept.  They carry salt, chocolate, wine and flowers.  The salt is from all over the world.  All different in flavor, all work differently on certain food.  I am having a dinner party this week and bought some salt that might work with a specific dish.  The salts are beautiful.  They also have salt bars.

This picture of the chocolate wall defines what they do.  I picked up a jar of salted caramel sauce which looks delicious.  Have yet to open it.

They also sell bitters and are continuing to bring in new products in this area.  The main store is out of Portland, Oregon. 

Nice addition to the neighborhood. 

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madison square park food stalls

I have flown by the corner of Madison Square Park many times over the past few weeks and have noticed the stalls.  On one side there are retail stalls.  T-shirts, scarves, handmade crafts, etc.  On the other side of the street there are food stalls.  I happened to be in the area yesterday and walked through them.  They will only be open until the 23rd of October but if you are in the neighborhood, a fun thing to do.

Pies and Thighs is one of the food vendors.  A place that has had tons of press over the last couple of years.  I picked up some delicious layered biscuits for dinner.  Although the kids grabbed a few and smothered them with jelly.  All good.

Roberta's also has a stand.  A traveling pizza oven which is just awesome.  Tried one of their pizzas for lunch.  Another restaurant that I am dying to get out to.

Other food purveyors are Stuffed artisan cannolis, Resto, Fatty Crab, Piccolo, Ililli, Tanjore, Bar Suzette, Almond, Breezy Hill Orchard, Waffles and Dinges and Sigmund Pretzel Shop. 

Everything looked good.  I then made my way over to Eataly.  Things have definitely calmed down and appear to be flowing much easier.  The products they carry are truly fantastic.  I picked up a few things for the pantry.  Every restaurant place was packed for lunch.  Not an empty seat.  I want to get back and take a seat.  Next time. 

Continued walking home.  Fall is in the air and it feels fantastic. 

a day in austin before the festival

We opted to spend some time in Austin yesterday before getting out to the festival.  Lots of bands we wanted to see but we have seen so many of them that getting out there later just seemed like the better thing to do.  Fred and I got up and went to Halycon for breakfast.  Good food and really good coffee.  Think we might return for breakfast there today. 

Then we made our way up South Congress until we found a space and parked.  Our first outing had to be at Allen's.  Not sure you could find a store like Allen's anywhere else but Texas.  Filled with Stetsons and boots.  Josh and Max tried on some hats.  This might be my favorite picture of the entire trip. 

Our next stop next door was the costume shop.  You can rent or buy.  They take their costumes really seriously here.  Very organized and loaded to the gills.  Emily got a princess costume for Halloween, tiara and gloves...the whole works.  Josh tried on a gorilla costume which was hilarious but no pics.  Totally get it.  People would just run around and try on stuff while their friends took pictures. At this point Josh, Max and Fred went back to the hotel to watch some football while the girls marched onward.

Next to that is a store called Unusual Objects.  You could easily spend hours in here.  A mixture of, well, unusual objects.  25 vendors who have come together under one roof.  Vintage and funky.  We loved this store.  This guy was hanging out in front of the store making jewelry.  Been here since 1976.

We went across the street to check out the flea market that also had a few food trucks.  Food trucks are huge here.  The Mighty Cone was also out at the fair grounds. 

We all split one cone.  Hot and crunchy shrimp and avacado cone.  Deep fried and crispy piece of shrimp and avacado rolled up in a tortilla with cole slaw and a spicy sauce on top.  Yum. 

Continued onward and stopped by Cutie Pie.  Loved how designed their truck.  Small pies. 

Luckily we got to taste and didn't need to purchase a whole one.  Buttermilk was really good but the mixed berry was amazing.

The Candy Shop is like something from out of another era.  The smell of chocolate and candies hits you the minute you open the door.  There have a lot of candies in there that are from years ago that are not easy to find. 

Down the block is Fran's Burgers.  Talk about stepping back in time. 

We split a cheeseburger.  Good fast food basically.

These adorable girls were selling lemonade for Haiti along with rocks that are carved in Haiti to raise money.  Had to support their cause.

The street is filled with parking lots that have more food buses and flea market wares. 

Amy's is the ice cream to get when you are in Austin.  It reminds me of Steve's in Boston.  The original mix-in with homemade ice cream.

We had a small cup of Mexican vanilla mixed with strawberries.  Wow.

Last two shops were Turqoise Door.  And Blackmail.  This sign in the store might easily be hanging out in my closet at home.

Out to the festival.  A bottle of wine to enjoy the last show.  I love how they sell this.  We sat on the lawn and just listened to the closing show of Norah Jones.  We saw the Flaming Lips, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros earlier in the day.  I would have done the National for my last show but Emily and Lizzie wanted to chill to Norah.  I've seen the National a few times so I went with them. 

It was a great way to end the 3 days at ACL. 

 

Wrap up before the road trip

We are nearing the end of this trip.  I could easily leave tomorrow but the reason we are here in the first place is Emily is taking classes at Central St. Martins.  Her class ends next Friday afternoon and we leave on Sunday.  I figured I would give her one day to do last minute things before bolting out of town.  I didn't think it would become a family vacation.  Next week, the gang is all here.  Tomorrow, Fred, Josh and I depart for a side trip to Normandy.  We are staying in Deauville.

Josh is slowly losing it and quite frankly I don't blame him.  Luckily, Josh and Fred did a day of golf on Thursday which unfortunately made Josh crave even more activity.  We do run almost daily in Green Park but it isn't the same thing.  I can't shoot hoops.

 Emily and I spent the day hitting up a few stores on Thursday while the boys played golf.  First stop Selfridge's.  The store is so frenetic.  The food halls are crazy.  No pictures which I will never understand why.  We had lunch at the salad place called chop'd.  Think someone saw that in NYC and knocked it off?  Duh. 

We walked over to Brown's which is a great boutique with both the classic lines and new designer lines.  I have yet to come across anything that I can't get in NYC in any of these stores.  Alas.  Acne in NYC doesn't do a great job but I have found their stores overseas are great.  Not sure why.  Otherwise, nothing unique.  Highlight of the day was shopping with Posh and David Beckham at Acne.  Serious sighting.

 Emily took off for Amsterdam with her friend and her Mom Friday morning and had dinner with them on Thursday night leaving the three of us alone.  We went to Ikeda.  Excellent Japanese food.  Fred ordered a bottle of sake and they gave him the entire bottle with one glass.  Kind of strange.  Had to wave someone down for another glass.  We tried a braised pork belly in sake and soy sauce with mustard and spinach on the side among other things.  So good.

 Josh and I went for the chirasi.  Raw fish over rice.    Perfect.  Green tea ice cream with red beans for dessert.  Yum.

 Today, we got up late.  Fred had a board meeting and Josh and I went over to South London for lunch.  Up to Oxo tower.  An area of London that was definitely planned to create an economy.  Lots of stores in a plaza surrounding Oxo Tower.  The views at Oxo Tower were great.  Modern architecture.  Pleasantly surprised by the food.  We split three things.  Mozzarella, caponata, pesto, grilled crispy piece of bread and a few sun-dried tomatoes.  The caponata was delicious.  We even took the time to figure out what exactly was in it.

 Grilled squid with a brush of black ink, two slices of chorizo and a mango aioli.  Nice.

 Half a small chicken with perfectly grilled corn bread, a small cup of barbecue sauce and a asian tasting cole slaw.  The chicken was perfect.  Juicy with a hint of cajun spices.

 Nice views.

We left and opted for the movies.  The movies might be what get us through next week.  Looking at the schedules now.  Thinking of seeing a movie a day.  The next movie playing when we finally got to Leicester Square was the A-Team.  At this point, I didn't care, just wanted to see something.  I really liked it.  Laugh out loud, totally stupid.  Josh and I had a blast.

Home for a little rest before our run.  Still talking about our favorite lines.  That is always a good thing. 

Golf prep

Josh was going golfing with Fred and needed to get the appropriate gear.  Even if he had brought his golf clothes and shoes from home, nothing would fit him anymore. 

We started the day walking over to Carnaby Street.  In college did I actually think Carnaby street was cool?  Just a bunch of stores, kind of tacky. 

Josh had to have his iced chai tea fix at Starbucks.

I went for a frozen yogurt at the pop-up Snog store in Liberty of London. 

Love how they put out the fruit and chocolates.

Stopped in Howie's on Carnaby.

Stopped in Beyond the Valley on Newburgh, off of Carnaby.

Pub across the way where lots of drinking was going on at 130pm on a Wednesday afternoon.  Nice.

Walked over to the Golf shop on Maddox Street.  Couldn't be nicer in there.  Shoes, pants, polo, glove and vest, Josh looked quite sporty and like a real golfer. 

We walked down the Regent Street Food Quarter for lunch.  Nothing great down there but a nice outdoor cafes.  We lunched at Piccolino.

Josh relaxed.

I relaxed.

Pizza.

Salad.  Neither great.

Walked over to Fortnum and Mason where Josh bought what he was making for dins.  Hitting the greens early in the morning. 

Kings Road

After my exhausting morning dealing with Swiss Post and the British Post, we finally got out of the apartment.  We grabbed the bus which took us directly into Sloan Square and down Kings Road.  We got off at Bluebird. 

Bluebird is a bit of a concept store.  Mostly clothes, a few cafes and some home items.  Large open space.   We had lunch at the cafe.  The store reminds me a bit of Merci in Paris blended together with Corso Como in Milan.  

Stopped in their food shop.  At this point everyone has one.

Walked across the street to a cupcake store.  I believe the store is called Love Cupcakes.  We all split the one with rhubarb cream.  Excellent.  That is Josh's thumb in the corner.

Love the tiny cup cakes.  Photo by Emily.

Next door was a chocolate store called Rocco.  Smelled exquisite in there but believe it or not I wasn't in the chocolate mood.

We took the bus back, riding on top, to Sloan Square to walk through the Saatchi Gallery.  All art from young artists.  Who knows where any of them will be in 10 years.  It is truly genius what Saatchi has done.  Collecting young artists before they even get out of the box based on what he likes.  Don't we all wish we could do that?

This piece was hanging outside the museum door.  We all loved it.

A room of amps with music was by the artist John Wynne.

A row of head sculptures by Jonathan Baldock. 

It Happened in the Corner by Littlewhitehead.  I could have sworn they moved.

Two pieces by Hurvin Anderson.  And there were more. 

Hurvin Anderson is really good.  I really like his work. 

Back home for a little rest and relaxation, a run through the park and out later.