29.11.10

lagniappe No.19




i'm not big on 
room fragrances,
but this one is different.


it's been my favorite (& only) for some time.

the fragrance is a blend of gardenia, tuberose and fig 
and is perfectly light, 
clean 
and reminiscent of the islands.

(plus, i like the looks of it)

i was happy to see that now there is a soap as well-



i think i found my holiday hostess present...






for some odd reason,
every time
 i
 attempt
to do my
holiday shopping
online

i get
side-tracked
 &
start looking
into
travel ideas...

(what do you think that means?)

i really enjoyed the
recent article in
lonny mag
called
"a tale of two cities"--

featuring
the two
locations
of
the hotel

  j.k. place.

i can't tell which i
would love more...
florence
or
capri?












last may 

el jeffe & i
had our own
tale of two cities

when we 
 travelled to the 
amalfi coast 
and
 the dreamy













where one man
 (a waiter named raffaele)
arrives promptly at
5:00 p.m. every evening
&
 lights

450 candles by hand

&
then

when all the guests have left
(el jeffe & i being last)

he gently extracts the remains of
each and every candle
so that their containers can be carefully washed and
new candles placed within –
ready for lighting the next day.

amazing.

******

then we were off to the
eternal city
and the
charming

villa laetitia --

a b&b owned by the fendi family









it was wacky & wonderful.


now back to shopping...


24.11.10

the right glass




it's too bad i'm not
 hosting
thanksgiving dinner
this year --

my new wine glasses just arrived from
and i couldn't be more thrilled
with them.

they're just the right size
&
being hand-blown,
each one is just a little bit
different from the next.


just like my ice,
(small cubes, please)

i'm very particular about which glass i use
for any given drink.

i prefer
saucers to flutes
for
champagne

&
for the hard stuff

feels the best


(although, for some reason, i always have the urge to throw it at the fireplace)

for an aperitif or after-dinner drink,
i particularly love the
tiny glasses
 el jeffe and i
got as a wedding present




and for a gimlet 
(of course for you, moor) 
our "star" glasses are the best --
another favorite
wedding present



for the everyday
&
everything in-between
my all-time 
favorite glassware is from

the glass is ultra-thin 
&
 from
 juice glass to highball,
i think they're perfect.

cb2 
has a less expensive version,
but they're heavier and
 don't have the same 
feel

cheers!


heaven on earth


 recently i got an e-mail from t-brain
entitled
"ohhhh look at this..."

(which often happens after she's flipped through her monthly vogue)

and the
link
stopped me
in
my
tracks

once
 a private estate owned by
celebrated italian director
now
a luxury hotel
in one of my favorite spots
in the
whole world -
positano, italy.

when zeffirelli's biographer,
david sweetman,
once travelled out
 to meet him,
he later recounted:

"eventually,
some ancient servant let me in,
and I was shown on to this opera set.
i've never seen anything like it.
it seemed, just possibly,
the most beautiful
place on earth."

i'd have to agree.

******
the grounds are spectacular
with breathtaking
views






&
the three-villa estate
is decorated much the
same way it was
when
the likes of
sir laurence olivier, maria callas &
elizabeth taylor


were guests. (she looks a little like my sister)



(i love the lobster fabric)


(and the chevron tiled floor)





the biggest suite -
named after zeffirelli himself,
is much as it was when he moved out...






i'm especially enchanted by
the bathrooms -

an old bread oven was
converted into a
shower



and the tilework
&
views
are
inspirational








******

el jeffe and i spent a
wonderful
fifteenth anniversary
 in positano
at 

maybe 
for or
twentieth?