Did you queue up your Mothers Day flowers and brunch? I won't have the pleasure of spending this Sunday with my Mum, but I did send her tea, French hand cream and some other treats. Happy Mothers Day to all the mummies reading!
Where do I begin? We spent the lion's share of our Asia trip in Japan. Touching down in Osaka, Kobe (yes, the beef is incredible), Kyoto, Shimizu, Yokohama and Tokyo, we were able to take in a quite a bit of geography. It's difficult to give so many cities all the words they deserve in one compact post, ergo I have decided to share more photos than I would typically include.
Impressions Snapshot
People
In brief: beautiful, poised and playful. While wandering miles throughout Shimizu, with Mt. Fuji making appearances as the clouds passed, a man approached us and asked if he could walk with us on his way home. He explained that he wished to practice speaking English. We obliged and learned that he was a mechanic, had only left Japan once in his life (honeymoon in Thailand 20 years ago) and his son is in college.
The kiddos were incredibly friendly. Everywhere we ventured, they enthusiastically waved from buses and sidewalks. Return waves were eagerly accepted.
Culture
Everything in Japan makes sense. The way things are executed is incredibly considerate and practical. It makes me want to take America by the shoulders and shake her until she takes notice. For example, we learned that trash is burned and converted to the material that is used to pave the roads. While on the topic of refuse, we noticed that garbage cans were non-existent. People are accustomed to carrying their own plastic bag to collect their trash throughout the day and dispose of it at home.
Cats are everywhere and respected. This detail brought to light the constant theme of cats in Haruki Murakami novels (my favorite author). One evening, in Osaka, we were walking in the dark when we realized we were surrounded by cats lurking in the shadows. Watching us. It was a bit amusing and slightly terrifying.
Toilets are refined. Would you like a heated seat or a particular music genre played? This is possible.
Style
A few things resonate with me in terms of fashion. To begin, it appeared that all students wore uniforms. There were few options to express individual identity outside of key chains dangling from backpacks.
As well, it came as a surprise (to me) that women were out-and-about in full geisha styling. I assumed that this custom was something that happened some time ago, and perhaps, for tourist interactions. However, on multiple occasions, we saw geishas in Kyoto. Wikipedia (my knowledge authority) confirmed that geishas are going strong in this particular region.
Will you be putting on a large hat or a bright bow tie this weekend? We're still dancing around a few venues to watch the race and raise a mint julep. I'm mostly looking forward to some quality time with friends and family!
I've been sitting on this post for some time. Not entirely sure how to approach it, I danced around a few ideas and concluded I should begin with the foreshadow found in a text message.
Before boarding the longest flight of my life (twenty-six hours between JFK, Vancouver, Hong Kong and finally Shanghai), I had reached out to a friend that had visited China a fews years prior. After detailing a handful of spots to add to our list, she punctuated her text with, "I hope you have a better time than we did."
I'd like to think we did, but I must admit navigating through Beijing and Tianjin as a Westerner was difficult. Although hospitality desks provide print-outs of round-trip directions with English and Chinese translations, there is quite a bit that happens between those moments. If you and I ever sit down with a bottle of wine, I'll share my story of the longest cab ride of my life. The six hour adventure involved four different drivers, scenes from the film Babel, three police men, one hotel desk attendant, a desperate call to a tour guide from the previous day's excursion, a barage of honking/flashing lights and no seat belts in the back.
The things that resonate with me most may seem a bit silly, but I'm the type of person that walks into a pharmacy or bodega to see how people live. The products or tools that are at the core of every day living tell a story. Train stations are particularly transparent, as they strip down to basic needs.
In China, hot water fountains are installed rather than cool water. Folks refill bottles of tea and make instant soups.
ATMs are scarce (quite literally a challenge to locate) and cash was king. We walked a few miles before we stumbled upon a bank and were able to withdraw some local currency.
Eastern toilets. It wasn't my first rodeo, but I somehow forgot that these are a thing and was grateful I had napkins from my morning trip to the cafe on hand. I learned to carry hand sanitizer and paper with me every where.
Also notable, you are expected to sit in the front seat of a cab. This came as quite a surprise to me as I'm accustomed to the plastic barricades in New York cabs. Apparently, stranger danger isn't a thing in China.
Living a stone's throw from Manhattan's Chinatown, we are well versed in authentic Chinese food. Oddly, our favorite meal was dim sum in the Hong Kong airport. I have to say there was a consistency to the traditional dishes we tried to what you can find in New York. The one surprise we encountered was the popularity of live scorpion skewers (and many other types of critters) at Wangfujing.
The tour guide that brought us to the Great Wall, Ming Tomb and a Jade house was the only person we encountered that spoke English. We shared many hours in traffic with him and he spent a good portion of this time telling us about his daughter,"It's better to have a girl I think, you don't have to take on the expense of bringing another family member into your home." As well, he explained the challenge of becoming a home owner and the government's involvement in the process. Most surprising to me, he went into intimate detail about population control and his positive opinion of the practice. He was humble, kind and we are ever grateful that he gave us his cell phone number, as mentioned above, he acted as an interpreter between us and a cab driver the next day.
My apologies for the gap in my posts. I had an amazing birthday in Texas and I am ready to hunker down in the city after a long string of travels. More on that later.
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As my fellow Everlane #fangirls know, the Street Shoe was recently debuted in a handful of cities for private viewings and limited sales. I had the pleasure of attending the event in Manhattan's Lower East Side neighborhood:
Crafted by hand in Italy, the structure and design is flawlessly contemporary and urbane. The soles are ultralight and slightly buoyant. Drawn to the suede style in beige, I sized-up 1/2 size, which fits like a glove. I was a bit worried about the white soles coupled with the New York streets, but the treads provide a nice buffer. I'm impressed with the overall comfort (worn with ankle socks).
The Street Shoe will set you back $150 and will be available at Everlane dot com on 1 May. Act quickly, stock is quite limited. View the official Street Shoe Preview here.
We're flying to Texas tomorrow morning to celebrate my birthday (April Fools Day...no joke!) and Pilgrim's this coming Sunday. I packed my camera and look forward to sharing our dog-friendly finds with fellow pup lovers next week. Be in the status quo via Twitter and Instagram:)
It's the second week of Spring and slated to snow in New York tomorrow. So there's that. What are you up to this weekend? We don't have anything in particular planned, but are thinking of checking out Sleep No More. I'm pumped to pack my bags and head to Texas next week to celebrate my birthday with some warm weather and BBQ.
Charleston doesn't need me to sing its praises. It's a destination that has been on my radar for some time. My parents lived there before I was born, I spent some time in South Carolina as a child and knew I needed to experience it as an adult. We decided to book a trip with our Pug, Pilgrim, this past winter. A week before shipping out, I called the B&B to confirm our reservation, which evolved into a thirty-minute conversation with the keeper. She tipped me off on the local gossip, which restaurants to book reservations and dog-friendly venues.
As the title of this post suggests, I'm going to focus on the pup-friendly highlights. We touched down in the morning and decided to explore the massive outdoor Charleston Farmer's Market ahead of our afternoon check-in time. Peppered with dogs and doting pup parents, it became clear that Charleston is a dog town. Faces would genuinely light-up when they saw Pilgrim, lots of rubs were delivered and one girl went as far as to request a selfie with our little ham bone.
Lodging
We booked a room at the Cabell House, which I was devastated to learn had been sold and we were one of the last visitors to stay. The keeper, Randi, is in a word: amazing. I could have spoken with her all night, every night. I considered asking her to adopt us at one point. Born and bred in Charleston, she hailed from one of the original families. She showed us where the wine was and mentioned that the first floor porch is where everyone collects in the evening for a drink. She fawned over Pilgrim and when we bumped into her at Husk, she said she was heading home and would cuddle him back at the house while we were out.
At the suggestion of Randi, we drove out to the Magnolia Plantation. We were told the venue welcomes pups to roam with you throughout the grounds and donates a portion of their profits to the dog-focused charities. Although we weren't their for the spring bloom, the plantation's beauty was stunning.
As it turns out, Magnolia is considered one of the most dog-friendly destinations in the country. Pilgrim had the time of his life sniffing out the peacocks, donkeys and swamps.
I could write a novel about the amazing meals we sat down to in Charleston, but Poogan's Porch resonates with me for its story and experience with Pilgrim. Named after Poogan, a dog whose ghost is rumored to linger, the Low Country menu and casual atmosphere were lovely and comforting.
When our trip came to an end, I wasn't ready to head home to New York. Which is an odd, unfamiliar feeling for me. I'm hoping to return soon. Between now and then, I've mastered the art of crafting pimento cheese and I'm indulging myself in episodes of Southern Charm.
We're home from toasty warm Florida. It's the first day of Spring. New York apparently did not receive the memo. It's dumping snow outside.
What are you up to this weekend? Beyond potentially making snow angels our terrace, we don't have any specific goals, but I'm looking forward to reading Amy Poehler's YES PLEASE and going for a few jogs while listening to my favorite podcasts.
The Cut published their 4th video in the One hundred Years of Beauty series depicting popular styling of Korean women and the mid-century split to DPRK and The Republic of Korea. Given that North Korea is trapped in time in terms of fashion and technology trends, I find it surprising that North Korean styles change as much as they do. What do you think? I'm loving the vibrant lips throughout!
We're headed to Florida this weekend for some much needed heat! I could not be more ready to transition into Spring. After a surprise 64 degrees in Manhattan yesterday, it was back to the 30 degree range today. It felt amazing to pack maxi dresses, sandals and nothing heavier than a jean jacket this afternoon. What are you up to this weekend?
Our annual ski trip to Vermont involves good friends and our pups. Last year, we stayed at the Paw House Inn, which is great, if you don't mind kenneling your dog (I do), your dog requires structure and you don't mind and driving 25 minutes to the slopes. This year, we decided to look for a place closer to Killington mountain and found the Chalet Killington.
Dog-friendly is an understatement at Chalet. As we opened the doors to stomp the snow off our boots and check-in, we were welcomed by a chorus of barks. Nearly a dozen dogs were bounding around, lounging near the fireplace and accepting belly rubs.
To boot, we learned that the staff will happily walk your dog a few times a day while you're skiing. If your pup has separation anxiety, they welcome them to hang out at reception to greet guests.
The common areas and rooms are quite lived-in and the shower is best described as feeling as though a helicopter is landing around you, but there is something undeniably amazing about the comfort of letting your dog do its dog thing amongst other pup-loving people.
A Mexican restaurant inside Chalet which doubles as complimentary breakfast joint in the mornings. Guests have the option to grab a quick cup of coffee and bagel or request a full breakfast of eggs, hash, bacon and sausage.
If you're not too tuckered out at the end of the day, apres ski favorites Wobbly Barn and Pickle Barrel are a stone's throw away. We walked across the street for ribs the first night and decided to take advantage of the free shuttles to dinner the few nights that were particularly chilly.
We punctuated the evenings with the bottles of wine and the pup crew around the fire.
Also notable:
Outdoor heated pool & hot tub
Complimentary ski storage & slope side shuttle
Last week, I opened my inbox to find an email from Petra at Everlane. Ahead of the launch of the online retailer's first ever women's pant, select members were invited to the SoHo workshop to interact with the products and enjoy light refreshments.
The trousers are available in two styles: slouchy and slim. Crafted from ultra light wool and lyrca, the Slim Trouser features stretch in both directions for a polished look and ease of mobility. The Slouchy Trouser has less give and hip-flattering pleats.
Above: Petra with slouchy pant to the left, slim pant to the right
Petra took her time in explaining the intricacies of both cuts and how they are designed to wear with the body. She suggests sizing-up for the slouchy pant, to allow the pleats to lay neatly across your hips.
The design features single darts above the pockets for a more contoured derierre. Fitted throughout the leg and finished slits at the ankle, the pant will pair with pumps beautifully for a crisp professional look.
Structured with two darts at the back pockets and wider legs, the pant will pay compliments to your favorite pair of loafers, but can also be dressed up with heels. Although Petra suggested I size up for an accented slouch, I found that my actual size was more flattering for my figure. She agreed and even suggested that I may consider sizing down based on my narrow hips.
Above: Myself in the Slim Trouser.
*Please excuse my pile of winter layers dominating the photo, there was a sloshy six inches of snow layering Manhattan the day I visited the showroom*
I loved both cuts, but I found myself having a stronger connection with the slim fit (likely because I already own similar styles). What do you think? The pants are now available on Everlane dot com and with one-hour delivery via Everlane Now for those located in Manhattan.
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