Monthly Archive for August, 2011

The Great Gatsby & East Egg

Published on August 31, 2011 in Inspiration and Travel. 1 Comment

A quick note to send thanks to friends who checked up on us in the “evacuation zone” last weekend. We escaped unscathed to the hills of Park Slope in Brooklyn (I never actually made the connection between the name and the elevation; see how learning comes out of life’s trials?). And were re-ensconced at home by Sunday (albeit after climbing 28 floors to our apartment as the elevators were still out). Others have not fared so well, and we send best wishes out to everyone who weathered the slow-moving, but sneakily insidious Irene.


As you may have heard, Baz Luhrmann has just started filming an adaptation of one of my favorite books, The Great Gatsby. I have two problems with this:

1. He’s filming it in Australia. That’s just wrong.
2. It’s going to be in 3D. WHY? Do we really need to see the eyes of Dr. Eckleburg in 3D, I ask you? No, we do not.

Photo (c) Jen Ross

I was reading about this on one of my favorite gossip blogs, and they included a link to this amazing photographer’s site. On the site is a portfolio of Land’s End, a dilapidated, but once clearly gorgeous, house in Sands Point, Long Island that was purported* to be the inspiration for Tom and Daisy’s house in East Egg.

From a sales brochure (NOTE: Stanford White was not the architect)

The house was recently demolished because the current owner claims he couldn’t afford to maintain it (but reports suggest he’d planned to demolish and subdivide all along). This site has a ton of info about it with before/during/after photos. Also, check out Jen Ross’s post-demolition images on her blog. And here’s a link to a Today Show piece about the estate. So sad. Hand-painted wallpaper from 100 years ago and pink onyx bath fixtures…all gone (or probably sold).

Photo (c) Jen Ross

It makes me wistful for a time I wasn’t even born in. I guess that’s what good storytelling does to you. Even if it wasn’t Daisy’s house, Lands End still represents a time and place that is long gone. It makes me sad for the future of historic preservation in this country. And not to get all 9th grade English on you, but isn’t the demise of Lands End also a metaphor for Jay and Daisy and their beautiful, doomed lives? Please, Mr. Luhrmann, don’t screw this up.

* But according to this, it isn’t. But you’ve got to love all the drama!

Evacuation

Published on August 26, 2011 in New York City. 0 Comments

For those of you not following Hurricane Irene, which is heading this way, there’s a mandatory evacuation (NYC’s FIRST EVER) for low-level areas, which, oops, is where we live. So, as of right now, it looks like we’ll be heading out for safer parts tomorrow morning…stay safe everyone and no surfing!

Photo: Muncie Free Press

Missoni for Target

Published on August 24, 2011 in Shopping. 0 Comments

Yes? No? I kind of love this…although I’d like a bit more pink in there.

The whole Missoni collection will be available at Target starting September 13, so start your training now because you know you’re going to have to be in tip-top shape to fend off the hordes.

The kid stuff is pretty cute, but I’m not so crazy for most of it. I do like these and this. You?

Good luck and happy shopping.

Field Trip: Blue Hill Farm

Published on August 22, 2011 in Field Trips, New York City and Restaurants. 0 Comments



Last week, we headed up to Blue Hill Farm for a visit. If you go on the weekend, there’s all sorts of activities like egg collecting, gardening workshops, cooking classes and such, but because it was a spontaneous, weekday sort of thing, nothing in particular was going on up there except a bunch of kids hanging out at Farm Camp (how awesome would that be?). But we didn’t care because there were turkeys to look at, flowers to smell, the gift shop to peruse, greenhouses to investigate and cookies to eat.


The grounds are beautiful and there are also trails that take you to Pocantico River, as well as a view of the Hudson River from up the hill.



I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Barns. We were lucky enough to attend a wedding there a few years ago, and the food is amazing. They actually don’t have a set menu, but they present you with a list of 100 or so ingredients and you get a “farmer’s feast,” that is, whatever is fresh at the farm that day. Some of the current offerings include red jacket squash, mountain magic and sungold tomatoes, black raspberries and fairytale eggplants. It all sounds so colorful and delicious.

There’s also the café, which is where we enjoyed cookies and iced tea. I saw some nice looking open-faced tomato flatbread sandwiches and salads and fresh loaves of some seriously crusty onion bread.

The chef who was collecting these flowers told me that in addition to using them in salads and as garnishes, they also roll the flowers into sheets of fresh pasta. The repeated rolling stretches the bright petals out, so the pasta has this incredibly colorful abstract pattern woven into it. I love this idea. I imagine it would look something like this Sol Lewitt sculpture:

It’s hard to believe while we’re deep in the throes of August, but I’m starting to feel summer slipping away ever so slightly. I’m not sure I’m ready for fall just yet, but I am excited about all the delicious produce coming our way, getting back in the kitchen and actually being able to turn the oven on again. So, are you excited for fall or are you still clinging to these lazy days of summer?

G is Three!

Published on August 18, 2011 in Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts, Family, Kids and New York City. 4 Comments

My son just turned three. It’s very difficult to comprehend this, but as anyone with a child will tell you, “They grow up so fast.” And while it’s a cliché, it is quite true and not a little freakish. They start out as these little blobs, who lie around doing a whole lot of nothing and then in the blink of an eye, they’re walking, talking, and pulling your shirt up in public to slap your stomach and squeeze your love handles while singing, “Patty cake, patty cake, baker’s man.” I tell you; it’s shocking, the things they can do. Shocking…and ever so slightly horrifying.

But I wouldn’t trade this kid for anything. And that’s why, despite the stomach-pinching shenanigans, we threw him a party. But not just any party. A party with Big Toot. Big who? you may ask? Big Toot.

Who or what is Big Toot? Well, I’ll tell you. Big Toot (I can’t stop saying it) is, I believe, one of New York’s best kept secrets. And now I’m letting the toot out of the bag. Sorry. Big Toot is an adorable former Navy boat that’s been recommissioned as a pleasure cruiser for those wanting to enjoy the sights and sounds (and smells) of the Hudson River. And for a mere $10 for each adult (kids are FREE), you can cruise around the Statue of Liberty or Governor’s Island or, like we did once last fall, watch a sailing regatta from out on the water. The rides are about 50 minutes long, and they run on the weekends from May to October.


So due to the Big Toot factor, I decided that G’s party needed to have a classic red and blue nautical theme and subsequently lost my marbles accumulating and/or making all things seafaring. For the invitations, I used Paperless Post, which has gorgeous designs and you can customize your invitation, envelope and envelope liner. I used a design from Mr. Boddington’s Nephew in a navy envelope with the “Link” envelope liner in crimson. I love how when your guests click on the envelope, the invitation glides out of the envelope. Super-cool and very shipshape!

As for party supplies, I hit the jackpot at Target when I pounced upon the napkin of my dreams (red anchor *and* blue stripes = perfection) and some fantastic striped melamine bowls in the clearance section. (I also found these awesome acrylic glasses, but my mother forbade me to buy them. I’m still thinking about them. And look at these!)


I fashioned paper boat place holders, clipped miniature anchor-printed sails for cupcake toppers and created custom stickers. I also found some fantastic favor bags, which we stuffed with Toob boats, Lifesavers, Swedish fish, stickers and water gunssquirters). I knew things were spiraling out of control when I found myself recreating a “Happy Birthday” sign using the international maritime alphabet on the computer and contemplating buying fabric and sewing actual flags. Good thing I found a nautical-ish bunting at Target; stringing that $4 score up added another year or two to my life and (hopefully) convinced my husband that I’m not completely insane.

On the food tip, it wouldn’t be a nautical-themed party without Pepperidge Farm’s goldfish, of course (no, I didn’t even think about trying this). I even managed to find these, but then G put the kibosh on sandwiches and insisted on pizza, which was much easier anyway. We also had some appies including my hummus with carrots and chips, a lovely little watermelon bite thing (which I’ll do a separate post on even though it’s three ingredients), nuts, Prosecco, etc. — none of which I have photos of because I had to wait until we came back from the boat ride to put everything out, so all the guests were there and I didn’t have time to snap the food table (plus I got all self-conscious because most normal people, i.e., non-food bloggers, don’t take photos of the food at their children’s parties).

And then there were the cupcakes, made using Magnolia Bakery’s cupcake recipe and my chocolate frosting recipe with red and blue sprinkles.

And while I did go a little overboard (pun intended) with the preparation and planning, I have to say, it was really fun. I loved the coming up with the crafty elements and figuring out how to execute them, and, of course, the cooking and eating parts. And yes, we are all wearing navy and/or red. I even scored this fab anchor necklace at Forever 21.

Most importantly, my little monster had tons of fun with his buddies and really enjoyed his big day. Happy Birthday, G! We love you!