I'm dreaming of...

A romantic getaway in Paris.

The land of beautiful flowers,

pungent cheese,

thick, rich, whole-fat ice cream,

and the best macaroons in the world.

Why is New York in early December so miserable?

It's that limbo between fall and winter.

Guilty Pleasure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rFuhMvP9vM

Music video for "In the City" by Letron

Wonderfully trashy, and makes you want to dance in your room.

Enjoy!

*Photo from seanrobertentertainment.com

O Preen, Preen wherefore art thou Preen?

Preen by Justin Thronton and Thea Bregazzi is one of my latest obsessions.
It started when I spotted their signature power bandage dress at Blue & Cream in East Hampton last summer.

I was looking for a bandage dress that's not as 80's glamour as Hérve Léger, but still curve enhancing with an edgier kick to it. The Preen dress seemed like the best fit, so I headed to the dressing room.

Then, came the words of wisdom: "If you like this cut, you should try their diffusion line first."

In many cases, a designer label's diffusion line does not capture the spirit of the original (not just in a negative sense, but it is often marketed to a different clientele with a different taste). This is not so for Preen Line.

Preen Line is designed for the same British rocker-glam girl, but more budget friendly - which is never a bad thing!

Ultimately I ended up with the cotton Preen Line version of the black bandage dress.
A perfect alternative to the conventional cotton summer dress.

My Preen obsession has been more than a summer fling, and have been eyeing their Fall 2009 collection.

The only problem is that it's so hard to find Preen in Manhattan!

Despite the fact that the designers moved their collection from London to New York in 2007, not many stores carry Preen..

Am I doing a bad job looking, or are the buyers here just blind?

My current Preen (and Preen Line) haunts are Net-a-Porter.com and La Garçonne.com

Online shopping is fun, but it never beats the thrill of shuffling through racks of clothing..

Until I find my dearest Romeo here, I think I need to start planning a trip to the land of the Queen.

* All Photos from Style.com

Thanksgiving Feast

What better day to start a culinary fashion blog than a holiday dedicated to food?

A fourteen hour flight to Tokyo for a four-day weekend wasn't

exactly an option for me, so I decided to hold a Thanksgiving

dinner in New York - a sort of a 'refugee' dinner for college kids.

I'm not the best cook in the world, but my friend and her boyfriend came to the rescue. My friend, C, is an exceptional pastry chef and her boyfriend is an expert on all things food and wine.

My only responsibility was dessert, and was quite simple - just marinate some fresh strawberries in balsamic and sugar mixture, top it off with whipped heavy cream / mascarpone / ricotta mousse. I turned to La Maison du Chocolat on Madison for the champagne truffles. Hands down the best chocolate truffles in the city (in my opinion), and I don't think I'll even come close to its perfection.

The full menu:

Roasted pears with goat cheese, walnuts and balsamic reduction

Classic ratatouille

Caramelized yams with chopped walnuts

Truffled mashed potatoes

Risotto with porcini mushrooms and parmigiano reggiano

Roasted whole duck with cranberry orange sauce

Ricotta-mascarpone mousse with balsamic strawberries

Pumpkin pie with whipped cream

French-press coffee and champagne truffles

Photos of the dinner to follow...

That's a lot to digest...

Hopefully I still fit into my favorite skinnies.

Happy turkey [duck] day!