Summer translates into ~ Little White Dress in NYC ~

Summer is FINALLY here!!!! There are two things I am looking forward to when good weather finally starts rolling into the city:  Dining al fresco and replacing the Little Black Dress with the Little White Dress.

People-watching, sipping a chilled drink with dinner, and enjoying a warm breeze in the ultimate summer wardrobe staple–nothing could sum up a better summer day or night!

I have picked my favorite Little White Dresses under $500 and paired each of them with the perfect al fresco dining restaurant in which to show them off in :)

Let's start off with a New York Classic, which also happens to be one of mom's favorite spots in the city :)

A NEW YORK CLASSIC
Restaurant: The Boathouse at Central Park, Fifth Avenue at East 72nd Street inside Central Park, 212-517-2233    

The Boathouse offers gorgeous floor-to-ceiling open lakeside views from the dining room, where you might see a flock of swans gliding across the water or a couple float by on a romantic gondola ride. The menu features refined American classics like golden jumbo lump crab cake with a creamy caper remoulade, sirloin steak Cobb salad, and huckleberry cheesecake.

What to wear:

Catherine Malandrino Deep V-Neck Silk Dress

$425
This floaty silk dress by Catherine Malandrino has an effortlessly graceful movement accented with an ornate, eye-catching cut-out detail along the hemline. Its timeless silhouette and breezy skirt is a winning match for this stunning venue.

WEST VILLAGE CHARM
Restaurant: Morandi, 211 Waverly Pl. (bet. 10th Street & Charles Street), 212-627-7575

Opened in 2007, this rustic Italian-style trattoria in is one of my favorite brunch and dinner spots. I love its wide sidewalk seating, which is dotted with a plethora of little wooden tables and chairs. The seafood is always fresh and I can spend hours there with a couple bottles of blush and good company. The bustling crowd comes for simple dishes like the hand-rolled spaghetti with lemon and Parmesan and the fritto misto di pesce, an assortment of delightfully fried seafood that feels like it arrived fresh from a fisherman’s daily catch.

What to wear:

DKNY – Stretch Cotton Poplin One Shoulder Eyelet Dress
$360.00
This flirty one-shouldered white cotton eyelet dress with the scalloped hem strikes the perfect balance between dressy and casual. You’ll be sure to turn heads in this tried-and-true summer classic.

DOWNTOWN DECADENCE
Restaurant: Imperial No. 9, 9 Crosby Street (near Grand Street), 212-389-0000

I am yet to pay Imperial No. 9 a visit but I have been hearing/reading good reviews about it so it's definitely on my short list. While technically not al fresco, dining in the glass-enclosed garden room of Sam Talbot’s latest restaurant in the new Mondrian Hotel makes you feel like you’re in an exclusive garden party tucked away in the backstreets of Soho. The lush flowerpots and glittering chandeliers, paired with the backdrop of the Manhattan night sky, is a magical formula. The inventive seafood-centric menu features dishes like fried oysters with sweet chow-chow relish, fluke crudo topped with a layer of frozen coconut milk, and king crab legs a la plancha.

What to wear:

Black Halo – Jagger Dress
$375.00
Look like a vision in white in this form-fitting cocktail dress by Black Halo. The strong shoulders bring out a downtown edge that is tempered by the sexy metallic gold lace panel on the back

BOWERY BOHO
Restaurant: Gemma, 335 Bowery at 3rd Street, 212-505-9100 First time I have visited Gemma was on my birthday thanks to my gourmet friend Ekin. This bustling, eclectic Italian brasserie at The Bowery Hotel is a casual but stylish spot located at the nexus that connects to Soho, Nolita, and the East Village. Expect standard Italian fare with crowd-pleasers like prosciutto and arugula pizza, strozzapreti with spicy sausage ragu, and meat-and-cheese boards. Parking is somewhat challenging on Sundays so I suggest you park on Spring and walk to Gemma if you are like me and drive everywhere :)

What to wear:

Ella Moss – Sequoia Embroidered Bib Dress
$158.00
This adorable little cotton gauze dress by Ella Moss has a peasant-inspired embroidered trim that would work with espadrille wedges or ballerina flats.

Food Trend Alert: Pinkies Up, It's Tea Time!

It is hard to believe that a beverage that's been around since, oh about 200 BC is the city's hottest "new" drink trend. Then again when we are talking about trends and the city, nothing really surprises me anymore.

Coffee drinkers beware, it's no longer all about the bean. Even though the resurgence of tea may seem bizarre, it's happening in a big way. Leave it to NYC to make the leafy brew seem exciting and fresh.

It's not about ordering the caffeine alternative at Starbucks, it's about tea partying at tea-exclusive joints or ordering from tea-specific menus.

 Yes, these places do exist!

Put on something proper and head to one of my tea-time picks for a trendy refreshment.

 If you have a particular blend, bag, or oasis to recommend, please do let me know :-)

Alice Tea's Cup (102 W. 73rd St., 212-799-3006) Taking a cue from Alice in Wonderland, this trio of joyful tea parlors indulges our inner child. You can play dress-up with the baskets full of tea attire and drink cup after cup while pretending to be lost in Alice's fictional fantasy land. So far I have only been to the one in UWS and I loved it!!! Their sanwiched and scones are to die for!!!

Nom Wah Tea Parlor (13 Doyers St., 212-967-6047) Chinatown is hands down one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city.This 90-year old Chinatown tea institution is newly back in business after a six month renovation. It may look like a hole in the wall, but the quality of tea inside is unparalleled. The Tang family has kept its 10 traditional Asian tea options intact but has added more "Western" flavors to its menu.

Russian Tea Room (157 W. 57th St., 212-581-7100) The Russian Imperial Ballet founded this tea room in 1927, and it still lives up to its imperial roots. Over the years, the Russian Tea Room has been the meeting place for businessman, politicians, actors, and Carnegie Hall performers. With that kind of crowd, there's definitely something special in the tea, right?

Tea & Sympathy (108 Greenwich Ave., 212-989-9735)  This British import (Anglophiles, march this way!) specializes in Earl Grey, English Breakfast, and Rosie Lee teas. Stock up on particularly English inventory — that includes house teas, an extensive collection of Union Jack memorabilia, teapots, mugs, British sweets, and chocolates.

Lady Mendl's Tea Salon (56 Irving Pl., 212-533-4466 ) Set in an inn on Irving Place, the Victorian design and ambiance lend itself to a very high tea afternoon. Enjoy a five-course tea sitting, complete with dainty finger foods and scones. It's not hard to see why Edith Wharton used to entertain guests here. I'm not making this stuff up.


McNulty's (109 Christopher St., 212-242-5351) Jars and jars of loose leaf tea are stacked in this West Village tea and coffee emporium. It feels very authentic (because it is!) and makes me feel as if I've actually traveled far and wide to get a hold of such exotic satchels of tea. It only helps that McNulty's employs the use of bins, chests, and scales that date back to the previous century — proof that tea drinking has been cool for a very long time.

Teany (90 Rivington St., 212-475-9190) Music artist Moby created this space as a haven for tea drinkers, vegans, and vegetarians alike. Pair these sensibilities with its cozy Lower East Side location, and it has all the elements for a great afternoon tea break. The minimalist design and mod tea pots with unmistakable "teany" logos are just a few of the ways in which the tea room reminds its drinkers that "Moby was here."

Vegan Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies and the Oscar Goes to...

Me, myself and I in the baking category....

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! YOU'RE FAR TOO KIND! :-) 

I used to bake a lot when I was a little girl and we are talking chocolate pound cake, banana bread, pizza dough from scratch, cookies, tarts you name it ladies and gentlemen and they used to turn out delicious as in so delicious that oh-my-god-I-want-to-inhale-this-whole-cake-in-under-5-seconds kind of delicious...

Then something happened and I stopped baking for some 10+ years or so and the next time I attempted to bake again was a DISASTER ( I tend to get distracted by shiny objects :-) ) so much so that the fire alarm went off and I ended up with burnt cookies in the oven and Fire Department at my door ( albeit those firefighters were super hot - I always welcome eye candy - but that's not my point today :-) )

So anyway, I am here today to give a shout out to a healthy  living / eating blog Oh She Glows that I have stumbled upon through a former FIT classmate & uber cool lady Mia's Blog Aesthetic Lounge. Thanks to Mia, I am now following Oh She Glows and yesterday I tried one her amazing recipes Itty Bitty Carrot Cake Cookies.

Take a look: no disaster this time :-) (phewww ) Simply delicious, light, vegan goodness MMMMMMM sooo good!

Ok, I am now off to brunch with friends then to the Oscars Party I go!

You can see the offical ballot on the photo above - I desperately need help filling it out!

So far I have Natalie Portman for leading actress, King's Speech for Best Picture and Inception for Cinematography!

I hope everyone has a GREAT Sunday!

Art Gallery much?

Yantra , 2010
mixed fabrics and sequins on canvas
64 x 63 in.

Trolling the streets of Chelsea on a cold, slushy, icy, rainy ( insert correct weather condition here ) on a Thursday night may not seem the ideal way to begin the evening, but I soon learned that wet, cold and open to anything is actually the optimal state for attending gallery openings.

Installation View
"Karma Cash & Carry" exhibition at Tyler Rollins Fine Art

Chelsea in the 20′s around 11th Avenue is packed with gallery spaces, and it’s remarkably easy to find openings on weekend nights usually on Thursdays between 6 and 9 p.m. Warm and cheerfully lit, these openings present the perfect escape-the-cold atmosphere, complete with free wine and the opportunity to culture yourself.

A long-time favorite of mine is Tyler Rollins Fine Art Gallery on 529 W 20th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues.

Installation View 2
"Karma Cash & Carry" exhibition at Tyler Rollins Fine Art

Their upcoming exhibit is Agus Suwage’s The End is Just Beginning is The End opening on March 3rd, opening reception on March 10th @ 6pm on, you guessed right, a Thursday of course.

I am looking forward to it since I have lately found myself very much attracted to contemporary art from emergent areas in the Southeast and Southwest Asia and I have a thing for skulls :-)

Beautiful Dead #2, 2010
oil, acrylic, and gold leaf on zinc
27 1/2 x 36 in. (70 x 92 cm)

So go ahead and do some gallery hopping for the sake of art if not for free wine, lively conversation and the satisfied feeling of having done something worth snobbishly slipping into conversation at the party you continue to when the galleries close at 9 :-)

Let’s face it, “wine at gallery openings” sounds so much better than “shots at Whiskey Tavern,” right?

mind drifts away...