lagniappe No.19

i'm not big on 

room fragrances,

but this one is different.

alora isola --

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

le sirenuse

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...

happy thanksgiving!

via

the right glass

it's too bad i'm not

 hosting

thanksgiving dinner

this year --

my new wine glasses just arrived from

john derian

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

heavy crystal

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

h groome

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

tre villa --

once
 a private estate owned by

celebrated italian director

franco zeffirelli

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 

le sirenuse

maybe 

tre ville

for or

twentieth?

photos