Law & Order in the City

One of the fun things about living here is you can literally turn a street corner and end up on set of some fab TV series! That happened to me last night. I suddenly found myself as one of many onlookers staring at Vince D'Onforio's blurry silhouette in a car scene. Gotta love it......

Traveling

Off to Grasse for 3 days for a product launch, then Paris. See you next week!

Summer Rental Roundup

As the May Memorial Day holiday looms on the timeline of New York events, everyone's thoughts turn to that joyous 3 month season called summer. However, unless you are lucky enough to either love the cold weather and skiing and go to NZ for 3 months, or own a farmhouse in Tuscany, or basically own holiday homes everywhere in the world as well as private jets, this May holiday can signal a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach as you decide how to negotiate a summer rental - preferably in the Hamptons.

Below are a couple of suggestions in case you either scored a Goldman's bonus this year or won the lottery or just want to splash your cash to impress friends:

EAST HAMPTON/ WAINSCOTT
Yours for the low price of $250k for the month of July! But who wouldn't want to stay in the most photographed house in the Hamptons! And if you can't own a place like this, at least pretend to your friends for a week that you do, as you casually drift off 'your' verandah with drink in hand and onto the golden sands with the Atlantic ocean lapping at your feet.

SAGAPONACK

Ok, so you don't have beach front access, but who cares when you have the divine pool to dive into? And what more do you need in a holiday house than an obscure tree root sculpture and a couple of frozen-in-time sheep keeping watch over the bonfire?

MONTAUK

Once the playground for dreadlocked surfies and those that couldn't afford the Hamptons, Montauk has taken off in a big way. This modern masterpiece sits on 4 acres overlooking the Atlantic. If you are tired of the classic Hamptons style architecture of wood shingles and small windows, this is the modernist's dream. But it comes with a price; $450k for the 3 month summer period.

BRIDGEHAMPTON

For those of you who have always wanted your very own windmill, look no further than this rental at Bridgehampton. With sweeping views of the ocean and a swimming pool and a windmill, you may very well decide to live at the beach for ever! $340 for summer.

images: (1)wsj, (5-8) curbed hamptons, (rest) sothebys

Hiking in the Hudson

Spectacular day last Sunday. The perfect day to climb to the top of Bull Hill!

Also known as Mt Taurus, this mountain overlooks the charming town of Coldspring, an hour out of Manhattan in the Hudson Valley. You take the train from Grand Central and follow the Hudson River all the way up. The river keeps going and you get off and walk to the bottom of the mountain. It was a little early in the season as the leaves weren't fully formed, but what an exhilarating way to spend a Sunday! Here are some visual moments along the trail:

Typical forest low down

Abandoned farmhouse

Some slimy creatures in an old well

Reservoir

Another abandoned something

 A swampy part

 The final ascent

View from peak over the Hudson toward the Catskills

On the other side looking over the Hudson River & Valley

 The slow descent

An old quarry

What the Wind Blew Where

I love these heartening real life stories. I'm sure you've all read and seen the devastation from the tornadoes that have been sweeping through the South. People have not only lost houses and family, but also every photo, journal, letter , etc. Imagine having no record of your life left. It's like that game we used to play, "If there was a fire in your house, what are the three things you would take with you?" Everyone always said photos. But in these storms, people literally had their hands full trying to hold onto something concrete to stop themselves from being blown up and away.

So it gave me a renewed hope in humanity when I read in this weekend's NY Times that a woman has started a Facebook page where people can post images of documents, photos etc that the storm dropped in their backyards from hundreds of miles away. Aptly named "Pictures and Documents found after the April 27, 2011 Tornadoes," the site now serves not only as a cyber lost and found pound, but also a meeting ground for strangers, a place where people offer condolences and a money raising hub.

The idea came to the initiator of the site when she found storm items in her garden. Apparently, already people from Alabama have been reunited with high school diplomas found in Mississippi, photos from Tennessee have made their way back from Alabama and a handmade quilt was even reunited with its owner. Photos are carefully pieced back together,  new friendships are blossoming and most importantly, storm survivors are getting a little piece of their dignity and lives back. As you so often hear in this country, "God Bless America." And this time, I really mean it.

images: all courtesy of the new york times