Dream Hotel

From Box to Brilliant

From the NY Times. A boxy apartment in Mumbai renovated and renewed by owner/designer Ashiesh Shah. Removing a total of nine walls gave him the opportunity to plan the space brilliantly with smart material choices. I dig his accessory and furniture collection as well.

Web Snob December 31st, 2010

Stiletto Jungle is showing the best ways to spend your Zappos.com gift cards, from $25 to $250.

Allie is Wired has the scoop on the new Khloe Kardashian & Lamar Odom reality show.

This Marni Satchel at Bag Snob is chic, summery looking and with its large size, is super functional.

The Lancome Artliner has a foam tip pen that is the easiest applicator Beauty Snob has ever used with liquid liners.

Coquette loves how the Louis Vuitton Speedy Bag is still trendy since it debuted in the 1930's!

Celebrate your New Years's with a Champagne Cocktail from The Jet Set Girls!

Second City Style interviewed designer Roland Mouret about his SS/11 collection and store opening in London.

Shopping and Infobought these amazingAlexander Wang black platform boots on sale for 50% off.

The Beauty Stop has a picture of the new sequined Chanel ad adorning the iconic Musée d’Orsay in Paris

What to Wear for New Year's Eve

Sequins and metallic may have no better event to shine than New Year's Eve. Here are a few of our picks:

The Plisse Metallic Drape dress by Halston Heritage would flatter a variety of shapes and is perfect for the girl in the middle of the dance floor. We've worn a couple of Halston Heritage dresses this year and both made us feel sexy with a 70's vibe. Reasonably priced at Cusp for $325.

If you're headed to a laid back house party (or maybe you're just more of a jeans and sequin tank girl) try this beaded number from Adam. The ruffle makes it more interesting than your other tanks and the racerback will show off your shoulders. Originally $425 but on sale for $159 at Bluefly.com.

Burlesque left its marked on fashion this season with black lace and dance-y frocks, which is how we picked the BCBG Max Azria Lace Bodice dress. It's available at SAKS for $378.

White walls and Floors

This is the Brooklyn home of designers/artist's Lyndsay Caleo and Fitzhugh Karol Photographed by Todd Selby. I love the collections of art and stuff, books, sculptures and whimsical objects against the white walls and floors, which allow their collections to be showcased. The sculpture above the mantel is by Fitzhugh Karol. It adds so much drama to the space, don't you think?! And that dog is a cute fluffy thing!!

Moroccan Dream, Hotel #2

Since I'm going to Morocco in spring and it's so damn cold here and the streets of NYC are full of icy brown sludge I thought it was befitting that my second hotel post reflect where my mind is currently at right now...warmer climates and exotic interiors! During my lodging research for my spring sabbatical I found a chic retreat located in Essaouira, Morocco called Dar Beida. This white structure from the 1960's era is located in an old port city in the west of Morocco. Designed and decorated by the British owners, they scoured local flea markets and Souks to fill the interiors with vintage objects and furniture resulting in a warm and eclectic atmosphere. Collections of skulls such as bird, dolphin, camel and cows found washed up on the Moroccan shores or collected from the desert, were arranged on the walls which create pattern and shadow. The owners added bulbous shaped fire places to most of the 4 bedrooms. But, now back to my day dream filled mind! The rooftop bedroom pictured just below which opens up onto a rooftop terrace is where I take retreat, sipping on, hmmmmm, well some yummy local drink of course, soaking in the warm sun light, catching the comforting breeze from the dry desert and enjoying the salty scent from the nearby shore. Spring just can't come fast enough!

5 Skin Care Questions on Mario Badescu

Thank you to Mario Badescu for asking us to answer five skin care questions on their website. See Hope's responses which were posted last week, or Anne's early this fall. The site is a great skincare resource, with many articles on the causes and treatment of acne, melasma, sun damage, anti-aging and more.

New Airline Fees

United and American announced new fare increases of $10 on one-way trips and $20 on roundtrips in response to rising fuel prices. Boooo! We're reasonable people; but it's frustrating considering the airlines have made billions on checked bag fees, exit rows fees, and more. The worst part is these fees don't show up on the fare price on most search engines, it's only on checkout that you'll see them. Our best advice is to book your tickets as early as possible- 21 days if you can- and grab a cheap seat as soon as you see it. Because it you go back later, chances are someone will have snatched it.

New MAC App Store

Apple is launching its new MAC App store on January 6th. You'll be able to get those nifty apps just as easily on your MacBook as you do on your iPhone or iPad. Better still is you can port them from one platform to another (iPod to desktop for instance) so you don't have to buy anything twice.

The Decorated Door

My last post got me thinking about how much fun it is to enhance a door with interesting hardware. It's so important not to skip these details that will add character to your entry. I like to keep door hardware simple by choosing understated shapes and designs such as these that I've picked out. Stick with one era when choosing your door accessories. Your door knob, hinges, door knocker, door bell and peep holes should all be of one style so it doesn't look like a "hodge podge welcome to my home" unless that's what your going for. Some of my favorite hardware stores are Liz's Antique Hardware in Los Angeles, Olde Good Things in NYC, and Crown City Hardware in Pasadena

Champagne Cocktails

While we don't usually promote the drinking of Champagne cocktails--because when you drink the good stuff, there's nothing you can do to make it better--these recipes from Moet + Chandon are tempting!

Winter Quiver
1 oz Skyy Infusions Cherry Vodka
½ oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
4 frozen Bing cherries
Splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Moet + Chandon Imperial Champagne

Gently muddle the Bing Cherries with Skyy Infusions Cherry Vodka in a mixing pint. Add ice, Maraschino Liqueur, and lemon juice and shake. Strain into a champagne flute and top with Moet + Chandon Imperial Champagne. Garnish with lemon zest.

Cherry Berry Delight
1 oz Skyy Infusions Cherry Vodka
2 tbsp raspberry preserves
4-5 frozen raspberries
Moet + Chandon Imperial Champagne

Gently muddle the raspberry preserves and frozen raspberries with Skyy Infusions Cherry Vodka in a mixing pint. Add ice and shake. Strain into two champagne flutes and top both glasses with Moet + Chandon Imperial Champagne. Garnish with lemon zest.

Wintery Ginger
Created by Alex Straus of Suite 700 at the Hotel Shangri-La in Los Angeles
1.5 oz. Skyy Infusions Ginger
Sliced fresh kiwi 
3 large slices of Anjou pear
Moet + Chandon Imperial Champagne   
Muddle kiwi and pear in a cocktail shaker. Add Skyy Infusions Ginger with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a champagne flute and top with Moet + Chandon Imperial Champagne. Garnish with a slice of kiwi.