A Guide to Attainable Luxury

 

A Wild & Wacky Last Minute Holiday

December 10, 2012 | posted by Molly
 
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I had this wild & wacky idea this morning when I found out that Hollywood will pretty much be shutting down from December 21-January 7th (!!!). We’re already going to be on the east coast, so why not take off for Europe for a few days before coming back to LaLaland? I am rarely never spontaneous with a European holiday, so whether or not I pull this off remains to be seen. But, it’s making me positively glow to think about the possibilities! Often the best part of travel is the daydreaming and planning, dontcha think? Here are some favorite “deals” I’ve found so far. Care to join me in the search?

A chateau in Paris? What could be better? The Saint James on sale Jetsetter on 12/12.

Well, a “townhouse” in London of course. The Royal Park winter promotion is £189/night for a double room including breakfast.

Or I could live out my fantasy of a holiday in the English countryside. The Cotswolds House Hotel & Spa at 20% off thru Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Or perhaps hole up in an Irish castle. Lough Eske Castle offering 3 night for the price of 2.

Or delight in a tale of two cities…magical Verona and Firenze, Italy. Though maybe not the best “deal” out there, this offer from the Salviatino Collection certainly looks delightful.

The NoMad Hotel

August 26, 2012 | posted by Molly
 
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Our taxi rounded the corner on to Broadway and I was filled once again with that excitement you only get from the pulsing city that is classic New York. The setting? The new NoMad Hotel, located north of Madison Square Park (NoMad neighborhood) and it’s become my new favorite.

I snapped this as we pulled up. Notice the smart dressed man walking by—the perfect Sartorialist moment.

Blue and Chocolate will never get old to me. Remember who else had blue walls? One of my other faves—The Nines in Portland.

How great is this gallery wall?? I love how the height lines up on every picture—so very Domino magazine, as my sister-in-law noted. R.I.P. Domino. It’s one of those touches that seems so obvious, yet so hard to pull off when you try it yourself. French designer Jacques Garcia did the interiors. Read more about his inspiration here.

Being that we were only here two nights, I booked a standard room, which was plenty big with a gorgeous European style bath. I also scored a deal for $225/night on Jetsetter. That is an AMAZING deal in New York no matter where you are staying. It also has the Mr. & Mrs. Smith seal of approval (and you know how I feel about that). Even without the Jetsetter deal, prices are great in August.

After a quick freshen up from the plane, we headed down to the hotel restaurant to meet my hubby’s two sisters, who both live in NYC. We had barely been seated when our awesome waitress recommended her favorite cocktails.

Two Badminton Cups please.

This is the bread for the table and it is even better than it looks. Fresh from the oven. Crusty on the outside; soft on the inside.

Dave no doubt giving his sister a hard time as only a big brother can do. Anneke loves food like me—check out her food blog and very impressive videos here.

We started the meal with a snack of radishes. With butter and salt, of course. So very French.The white around the radishes is butter, hardened like chocolate on a strawberry. I will be trying this at home.

I won’t bore you with photos of every single thing we ate, but let’s just say it was all exceptionally good. It would have to be to house Obama’s fundraiser last month for $40,000/plate, right?! My only gripe was that the portions are incredibly small. The above is the Broccoli entrée (with lemon, cheddar, bacon). Is your eyebrow raising too? When we questioned it, the waitress broke it down, explaining every single nuance of this complicated dish. Though it was as good as she described, I could have eaten two more of these. Luckily, we only ordered this to share as a side. If you are going to leave full, expect to order something from every part of the menu. My recommendations? The Bone Marrow (to start) the Steak, and Eggplant entrées.

The next morning we said our goodbyes to New York over breakfast in the Atrium. It was so delicious—I highly recommend even if you aren’t staying in the hotel. And, yes, the portions were much bigger than dinner. Try the sausage, egg and cheese English muffin. They make the sausage in house.

As I sipped my coffee, I looked up through the glass pyramid roof and watched the rain come down. I happen to love when it rains on the day I’m leaving. Apropos, I think. As if the city is also sad I’m leaving. But, I’ll return when the air is cool and the days are short. Thanks for an awesome birthday, New York! Until next time…

NoMad Hotel. 1170 Broadway (at 28th Street), New York City, NY 10001. 212-796-1500

10 Links I Loved This Week

March 10, 2012 | posted by Molly
 
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1. Jetsetter is having a huge Paris in Springtime sale. If you are planning a trip to the city of lights, check out their deals!

2. Carrie Bradshaw’s New York City  brownstone is back on the market for $9.65 million.  I keep hoping my husband will come home and say, “I got it” ala Mr. Big. I’ll keep dreaming…

3. My favorite boutique hotel specialists Mr. & Mrs. Smith curated a collection on Artspace. If they like it, guaranteed I will like it!

4. Handsome Coffee opened in downtown LA. I can’t wait to get my caffeine on!

5. I am obsessed with this DIY Chanel drip tee from one of my favorite blogs, The Londoner.

6. Jeremy Piven is in negotiations to star in the 10 episode drama “Mr. Selfridge,” chronicling the life of his famous London department store. Directed by Jon Jones of  ”Downton Abbey” fame for UK network ITV, it can’t get on the air fast enough for me!

7. The boulder dropped at LACMA today or in formal terms Levitated Mass by artist Michael Heizer. At 340 tons, it’s the largest megalith moved since ancient times. Pretty cool, huh?!

8. ink.sack, Michael Voltaggio’s sandwich shop is now open an extended Tuesday-Sunday, giving you a chance to grab one of his creations all weekend long.

9. Fares to Los Angeles went on sale. Come see me!

10. My friends went to Zach Braff’s new London play “All New People,”  and loved it. Get your tickets here for this limited run.

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