Hide and Seek Wall Hooks

I like these.

Buy it here.

Bespoke Recycled Felt Cushions

Bespoke recycled (& Scrabble inspired!) felt cushions made from 100% recycled materials.

Buy it here

Carl Kleiner

Ikea Style from Stockholm artis Carl Kleiner. View more at his web page. If you enjoy these, you may also like Things Organized Neatly.

Cold Fish Ice Cube Tray

These would good in your glass...better swimming in your punch bowl. Buy them here. If you like these, you might like hip hopsicles too!

aviator chair

Inspired by WWII bomber planes, the aviation chair features riveted aluminum and ribbed leather to resemble a vintage bomber jacket. Found at Restoration Hardware.

21 Club

From the pages of Valley of the Dolls and scenes from Madmen, Sex in the City...the iconic New York '21' Club has been on my radar for some time. In celebration of my new job, we fell out of a cab to be greeted by the notorious cast-iron jockeys. Established in 1922 as a speakeasy, the venue has a sexy history full of celebrities, affluent regulars (which gifted the jockeys to represent the colors of the stables they owned) and serving every president since FDR, aside from George W. Bush. Come now, W, join the cool kids club? Few restaurants in New York City still hold dress codes, however, '21' Club requires a jacket and tie, as well those wearing jeans will not be permitted.

A doormen ushered us into the foyer where we requested a libation in the Bar Room, before taking our reservation upstairs. We settled in the corner and took in the walls and ceiling covered in antique toys. Two glasses of bubbly and a dish of wasabi peas, crostini and mixed nuts were placed before us by a warm, genuine cocktail waitress.

After finishing our bubbly, we allowed the host to lead us upstairs to the soft, pastel paintings of city streets. We tucked ourselves under the white linen table cloth and transitioned to cocktails, a vodka gimlet for myself. Pitch perfect. I decided to select my prix fixe from the Restaurant Week Menu, my company continued with the regular prix fixe.

For our starters, I had requested the grilled calamari- which was unfortunately no longer available. Our vibrant waiter noted that bay shrimp with fennel and cucumber had been implemented to satisfy. I agreed. My company chose the seared foie gras with warm polenta cake, smoked chanterelles, figs, walnuts and concord grape reduction. The foie gras would have been improved if it had been seared more lightly, but the concord reduction was quite excellent in its tart quality.

For our mains, we both selected the smoked Berkshire pork belly with honey vinaigrette, sweet potato and roasted poblano peppers- his plate with the edition of two chops. As well, we had a side of mushrooms, which were dominated by oyster and shitake varieties. The portions were surprisingly generous- I certainly did not make an attempt to finish my plate. I leaned to our waiter who was circling the dining room like a the prom queen--gay with laughter and jokes approaching an eyebrow raise, "Where is the restroom?"

"Come with me, dear. It's European style, we're going all the way downstairs." He took me right to the door, on his arm all the while. A detail, which both charmed (he gave me advice on scoring the leather soles of my heels) and a bit awkward. I was afraid to pee again after that. I mean...would I be expected to flag him down to escort me again?

The waiter wrapped the pork belly I didn't finish tightly for my Pug and asked to see a photo of him while we mulled over the Port list. I noted that the Scottish woman across the room couldn't take her eyes off our table (and her partner was gazing lovingly at her while she did it). What's with that? Perhaps my stunning Armani dress? I took a ruby, my company a tawny. For our finale, I requested the creme brulee with chocolate chip shortbread and my company left the cheese course in the hands of our waiter. The cheese selection was quite generous for one, the creme had clearly been over beaten. We conversed lightly with the couple adjacent- they were in town from Alabama. '21' Club is their must each time they come into Manhattan.

Image 1: NewYorkology, Images: 2-4 from my iPhone.

Lemongrass Grill- Financial District

Past the foggy eyed audience of drunks and man sunken over a microphone- slurring at the kareoke machine- is a long, green-lit dining room. Warm with spiced air, the tables were mostly empty.

Most beers were out of stock, and the waiter seemed to be pushing Chang beer pretty aggressively (cringe, that stuff tastes like licking someone's derriere). I sipped the Lemongrass margarita, which could have benefited from fresh lime juice.

For our mains, we chose the Chiang Mai Mee with chicken, coconut curry gravy, broccoli and dry shallots, as well the Sweet Basil with beef, pad bai ga brow sauteed with peppers, thai chili paste, onion and scallions. Both dishes were well spiced, generous in portion and quite filling. I find it difficult to find good Thai in New York City. I wouldn't say that Lemongrass is up to par with the quality found in Seattle, but it was decent.

Kiel Mead Key Rings.

Love these rings! Made from old keys, you can purchase them at Kiel Mead.

The Etch A Sketch iPad Case

Can we discuss how cool this Etch A Sketch iPad case is? Purchase at Headcase. If you like this, check out my other iPad focused posts.

Hong Kong PSi Tower by Michael Young

Great Brittan's Michael Young has designed a tower for Hong Kong with faceted surfaces that will change according to weather and lighting conditions.

The project is called PSi Tower and will house apartments, offices, a public outdoor space and an outdoor theater. To be constructed in the Wang Chai Cultural District, the plans will be unveiled in 100% Design Shanghai come November.


View more at Dezeen.

Hey New Yorkers! You've earned this!

Did anyone not survive? Besides a few cars and storefront windows? Anywho- there's the tee. Purchase at Skreened. Read more on the tornado (real deal, folks!) I recorded a short video of the storm passing through lower Manhattan from my apartment lobby:

They Draw and Cook

They Draw and Cook...Recipe Renderings by Artists and Illustrators

Loving this site... Loving this site...

Monsters

Monsters has been on my radar for a little while now. I'm liking this more recent trailer. A little less creepy than the first, but still brilliant.

Hanitape Pocket

I'd keep my change and cards in here!

Shuichi Nakano's "Searching for Paradise"

Artist Shuichi Nakano's "Searching for Paradise" paintings depict Godzilla-sized animals towering over the urban sprawl of Japan.

iRetrofone

This is a fantastic hand-cast iPhone dock made to resemble an old school rotary phone. View more at Steampunk Etsy.

Hybreed by Charlotte Kingsnorth

Hybreed is a collection of fat chairs from Charlotte Kingsnorth to be featured in Designerblock as a part of the London Design Festival. Kingsnorth covers reclaimed chairs in bulging upholstery to resemble the owner's obese features.

Mauren Brodbeck Photography

View more a Lumas.

Os Gémeos + Blu, Lisbon

Incredible street art from Os Gémeos + Blu in Lisbon. View more at Unurth.

The Heads of State

The Heads of State is a graphic art set from Philadelphia based Frank Sturges. View the entire set here.

Bubbles by Dream and Fly

Barcelona company Dream and Fly is in the process of developing a proposal for miniature hotel rooms to be placed in airports and train stations.

The rooms are to come in three sizes: simply (five square feet), single (seven square feet) and family (ten square feet).

Booking for the bubbles can be done either online or upon arrival in the stations. Read more at Dezeen.