Frequent Flyer - 2010 edition

Aside from my hometowns -- New York, NY and New Canaan, CT -- here is my 2010 in cities:

Cairo, EGYPT*
Luxor, EGYPT
Aswan, EGYPT
Wilkes-Barre, PA
Nashville, TN*
Lake Placid, NY
Lenox, MA
Berlin, GERMANY
Paris, FRANCE
Bay Head, NJ
Nantucket, MA
Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC
Cesky Krumlow, CZECH REPUBLIC
Zwettl, AUSTRIA
Durnstein, AUSTRIA
Vienna, AUSTRIA
Portland, ME
Lake Wales, FL
Atlanta, GA
Santa Monica, CA

One or more nights were spent at each location. Cities marked with * were visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.

This was an outstanding year... Prague to Vienna by bicycle was one of my all-time favorite trips, Egypt was exotic, chaotic, and fascinating, and I can't believe it took me a decade(!) to return to lovely Los Angeles.

I feel so lucky that I'm able to go and see so much of world. My 2010 trips were a blast -- here's to more globetrotting in 2011...

Happy New Year!

Christmas Card

Here's our 2010 Christmas card in all its festive glory (click to enlarge):The illustration is by the super talented Patricia Van Essche at PVE Design.

This is the 4th year PVE has drawn our card -- we're huge fans of her work! She always does such a great job, and we're so pleased with how the '10 card turned out.

Happy Christmas!

Gone Fishin'

So Cal sunset:

Lavish Recap

Last weekend I went down to Atlanta for Lavish! -- the first ever 'unconference' experience for lifestyle social networkers. It was a hugely successful event with hundreds of bloggers/tweeters, dozens of speakers, and lots and lots of creative energy.

Having never been to a blogging conference before I had no idea what to expect. I was a little scared going in... I wondered if the people I 'talked to' on twitter would recognize me, I wondered if my fellow attendees would be nice, and I wondered if this giant group would have anything in common. In the end, all was cool -- turns out I look just like the pic on my twitter account so my virtual buds spotted me, every single person was warm and friendly (really!), and we all had so much to talk about - from shoes to computers and everything in between.

The conference was the brainchild of Shameeka Ayers (aka The Broke Socialite). Shameeka told me my site was the first ever blog she'd read after seeing the article on me in the New York Times. She's been following me since, and I was so flattered when she asked me to come and speak at Lavish.

Here were are together at the opening night cocktail party:Shameeka is one impressive lady, and all her hard work all paid off -- this was a star-studded, well-organized, dynamic weekend. She gets a big bravo from me.

I was asked to speak on 'Tradition & Blogging' -- basically about how one can be 'old school' when using new media. I was on a panel with Lesley Graham of Homemade Grits. Between her Southern Belle thing and my Preppy New England thing we've got tradition in the blog world all covered.

Here I am with Lesley after our presentation:Lesley and I gave powerpoints, did a Q & A, and were all official and business-like. It was a new experience for me, but I really enjoyed it and would definitely do more speaking/panels in the future.

Here's a peek at some of the Lavish action....

Jeralyn Gerba of Daily Candy giving her keynote address:
Oma Blaise Ford from Better Homes & Gardens, Jillian St Charles from HGTV.com, and Julie Holloway talking about fostering great relationships between design bloggers & traditional media:
My stylish room at The Mansion on Peachtree -- that bed was soooooo comfortable:Some highlights...

I loved meeting Amid Privilege (a refined, elegant, whip-smart woman) and Design Blahg (as hilarious as her site is, she's 100x better in person), and I really enjoyed hearing Grace Bonney from DesignSponge give her inside tips/tricks of the trade.

Lara from La Plates was there and made custom pretty plates with the Lavish logo for the cupcakes and champagne closing ceremony. She can put your monogram, your name, your logo, your company, your colors, your whatever on a plate.

Also, La Plates can double as Mickey ears:Bottom line: I had a ton of fun and I met so many bright, creative bloggers. I can't wait for Lavish 2.0 in '11.

Lavish Presentation

I'm hard at work on my presentation for this weekend's big blogger bonanza in Atlanta, GA -- Lavish:I'm speaking on the 'Blogging & Tradition' panel on Saturday afternoon. I hope to see/meet many of you there.

I'll be posting from Atlanta this weekend with the inside scoop on this giant lifestyle blogging powwow, but for now it's back to my PowerPoint...

'New York Parties' breakfast at J. McLaughlin

This morning I went to J. McLaughlin's Carnegie Hill boutique for a breakfast celebrating Jamee Gregory's new book 'New York Parties: Private Views'.

The yummy breakfast -- I went straight for that hot chocolate with whipped cream:
There was a queue of well-dressed women waiting for Jamee to sign their copy of New York Parties. Here's the author signing mine:I loved the way Jamee's outfit matched the coral liner pages of her book.

I haven't read the book yet, but here's what W magazine has to say about it: "With her latest book, Gregory, a philanthropist, seasoned entertainer, and contributing editor at Elle Decor, delivers a deeper look into the spectacular homes she visited in her first book New York Apartments: Private Views by capturing them while at their most spectacular - when filled with elegant flower arrangements, soft lighting, the aromas of good food, and the conversation of friends."

J. McLaughlin's store was recently remodeled. It looks fabulous -- like an elegant drawing room in a townhouse. Ladies clothing and accessories downstairs:
And menswear upstairs:
I found these fabulous tartan trousers with embroidered skulls - an updated, holiday version of critter pants:Think I can convince Chappy to wear those to a Christmas party this season?

A cute surprise from the goodie bag -- a grosgrain ribbon Christmas tree ornament:For more information on Jamee's book, click here.

For more information on J. McLaughlin's stores, click here.

Monty Monday - Portraits by Jade Albert

Here are a sampling of the excellent professional portraits taken of Monty last month. All pics are by Jade Albert from her Charming Tales event.

Monty, a bit confused by his prop:
Getting the hang of the little chair and looking elegant in profile:
Monty, sitting pretty:
Lying down on the job:
Snapped in the middle of enjoying a yummy reward treat:
Monty, giving me the stink eye for making him pose with Albert the adorable Yorkie:
Monty, giving Albert a dirty look for stealing the spotlight:There were a number of these 'Monty glaring at Albert' photos... perhaps because Monty is an only dog he's not used to the company?

A real winner -- both boys looking happy and handsome:Look out Tyson Beckford, Monty Morris is poised to become the next male supermodel...