Open House

The month of May heralds spring and all things new. It also heralds the beginning of sticky beak time for those who love getting behind the closed doors of the 1% in this world! Between now and the end of July, houses and gardens from Manhattan to Maryland, will throw open their doors and gates to the 99% - for a fee. But don't be deterred by this. Now is the time to peek inside some magnificent architectural gems and wander through some dreamy gardens, in search of inspiration for your own little patch. And take heart in the fact that most of the fees charged for these tours are going to some worthy charity. Here are a few of the places I would love to visit.

Petra Island
Any one can visit Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water in Pennsylvania, but what about a residential home he designed on Petra Island? Originally designed in 1950 for the previous owners of the island, this house wasn't built until 2005, when it took 4 years to construct. The current owner, a rabid Wright fan, secured permission  from the Wright institute for the house to be built and it now stands exactly where it was originally intended. It even comes with a helipad!
putnamsecretgardentour.com

Greenwich Village, Manhattan

Who doesn't want to get inside all those glorious brownstones near me? Home to SJP of Sex and the City fame, amongst other celebs, this tour includes 7 houses including Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's former studio.

http://www.gvshp.org/_gvshp/events/tour-main.htm  

Connecticut

Who isn't a fan of designer Bunny Williams? She has written so many books and appears to have so many homes! But her passion is her Greek revival home in Connecticut, which she generously opens to the public once a year. It is surrounded by acres of wonderfully landscaped gardens. If you fall in love with it, you can buy her book. tradesecretsct.com 

New Jersey

It would appear the much maligned New Jersey has more to offer us than just that terrible show the Jersey Shore. For the first time, the historic Glynallan Castle will be open to the public this month. It is modelled after the English castle Compton Wynnyates, apparently a favorite of the British royal family, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

http://mansioninmay.org/ 

images: dans papers, flickr, nymag, flickr, mine, rural intelligence, trade secretsct, amazon, skylands, filming locations

Traveling

In Provence for a few days to eat, explore and relax. Staying at this heavenly place above! More pics upon my return.

image: pavillon galon

Traveling

Back in the beautiful Paris for a few days. Off to see the Louis Vuitton Marc Jacobs exhibition!

images: paris girl couture

Aspen

I went to Aspen Colorado for a few days, to do a site visit. All my Aussie ski friends have raved about this mountain town; the thick, white powder, the long ski runs, the apres-ski life, the beautiful Rocky mountains. I was excited to be going,  even if it was in spring and not winter.

Sitting at 10,000 feet, the town itself for me was hit and miss, like alot of American towns. It lacked the charm of a European ski village or even an Aussie one which offers the snow gums. But it is actually much more than a resort town. The city was founded in the late 1800s during the Colorado silver mining boom. It was named Aspen after the Aspen trees that cover the area (think silver birch to look at). Today, it is not only a celebrity hotbed in winter, but has a year-round population of over 6000 and offers a host of cultural activities including literary, dance and music festivals and is home to the famous Aspen Institute.

The beauty really begins when you get out of the town. It is breathtaking. The mountains are majestic and the air was crisp and clear and beautiful to inhale. People travel here from all over the world to hunt, hike and fly fish in summer. Even though spring had not broken everywhere in the valley, the sense of space and size and beauty  hit you every time you go around another wind on the road.

Ramp it Up!

I'm so excited. It's Ramps season! Yippee!

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, don't panic. I only became acquainted with Ramps last spring when I saw a gazillion people at the Union Square farmers market hovering over a teeny table full of green, leafy things. They are in fact wild leeks that have a very short early-spring season and grow from Georgia to Quebec. They have a very pungent onion smell and are wonderful sauteed with butter and mushrooms or eaten raw in salads. And they are so pretty! White bulbs, a dark purple stem and deep green, succulent leaves. Restaurants all over the city suddenly have salads and mains incorporating Ramps and you have to take advantage quickly because they disappear as fast as they came.

The only problem is because they are wild, you cannot replant them. The growing interest in wild and locally-foraged plants has led to environmentalists complaining that our over-indulgence of this delicious wild leek has damaged the local Ramp populations, which in turn could harm the environment. Ramps only grow in damp areas, usually close to running water, so they must have some natural purpose. But with the rate that farmers are harvesting them during spring, there is a concern that the natural patches are dying out. Quebec and areas of North Carolina and Tennessee have banned harvesting them. Here, closer to Manhattan, conservationists are urging farmers to harvest sustainably. The point is, Ramps have been a part of cooking here for the past 300 years. Let's make sure we have them for another 300. So enjoy them, but don't hoard them.

Jennifer May for the New York Times

Cinco de Mayo

It's Mexican Day here today. Well, to be more precise, the Mexicans - and everyone else for that matter - are celebrating Cinco de Mayo, a highly revered date on the Mexican calendar as it commemorates the unlikely defeat of the French army in Puebla, Mexico in 1862. This victory became a symbol of unity and identity for Mexicans. But the fact that this victory was short lived and the French captured Mexico City and installed Maximilian I as Emperor shortly thereafter, is not really spoken about! For today, it's all about nationwide fiestas, margaritas, mariachi bands on every corner, tacos and brightly colored sombreros.

Interestingly, south of the border Cinco de Mayo is not celebrated like it is in the US. Here, it has taken on a life of its own and become one gigantic national party. In Puebla, the festivities take on a more reflective and reverential perspective. And this year's celebration holds particular importance because it marks the 150th anniversary. Not to worry. In Manhattan, a city that is basically the Mexicans' third home after LA, everyone is happy there is a party in their honor. Given that so many Mexican immigrants - legal or illegal -  have basically brought up the next generation of Upper Eastsiders, and are responsible for every menial task possible in this city from washing restaurant plates to maintaining the perfectly manicured Hamptons' gardens, it only seems fitting that everyone stands by their side and celebrates in memory of this seemingly special day for them.  Pass me another margarita. Feliz Cinco de Mayo.

image: filmMattic

Lilac Time

It's lilac time in New York! I love this time of year as it heralds spring in full bloom, but it is so short. Bursts of purple appear all over the city - like above at my lovely Northern Spy Food Co. where the anesthetist and I have a yummy breakfast on the way out to the boat - and all over Central Park.

Lilac has different connotations for me. Before coming here, whenever I thought about lilac I thought of the color of old ladies' hair after a bad dye job, and the name alone conjured up moth balls and mustiness. I think it's because I never remember the flower being readily available in Sydney or Melbourne - although my lovely friend from my peartree house may tell me otherwise on that one!

But here, come spring, before the blue hydrangeas of summer appear, it's all about lilac and cherry blossom. The Union Square farmers market positively bulges with lilac. One florist specializes in lilac and he unloads from his enormous truck wonderful shades of purple, as eager shoppers wait restlessly. Imagine what his fields must look like! Heaven, So now, I love this flower and this color. I even have beautiful lilac-colored linen sheets form Libeco Lagae.

My new found love for this flower also led me to a very famous poem by Walt Whitman. He wrote it as an elegy on the death of Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated during the lilac season:

When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd,

And the great star early droop'd in the western sky in the night,

I mourn'd, and yet shall mourn with ever returning spring.....

The poem continues for another 16 verses so I will let you explore it on your own. In the meantime, don't forget to look out for this beautiful flower when it's springtime in your part of the world.

images: (1-3) mine, (4) libeco, (5-6) 29 blackstreet

Ladies Who Lunch

Duchess of Windsor and C.Z. Guest leaving La Cote Basque, NY 1962

Tony Palmieri, Conde Nast archive

I never 'do' lunch in Manhattan because I look after the international media, not the US media. But today I was invited to attend the New York Women in Communications Matrix 2012 Awards Luncheon. This organization is for female professionals in the NY metro area and its mission is to "empower women in all communications disciplines to reach their full potential". The Matrix Awards are held annually to honor women in all fields of communications whose outstanding contributions "change the world".

Now when I think of ladies who lunch in Manhattan, I think of C. Z. Guest, Babe Paley and Jackie O as they step out of the front doors of time-honored lunch spots such as Le Cote Basque, Le Cirque and La Grenouille, straight into the flashing bulbs of the then-famous social photographers. But the female power that was packed into the Waldorf Astoria ballroom today, was extraordinary. It was exhilarating, inspiring and exciting to be amongst some of the most notable women in communications today. Tyra Banks, Barbara Walters, Peggy Noonan and Katie Couric rubbed shoulders with Glenn Close, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Maria Cuomo Cole. Each woman was either being honored this year, a past recipient of the award or presenting the award to this year's nominee. Hearing these women and others speak, and learning about what they have achieved, made me suddenly realise the power of New York and the infinite possibilities it offers a woman if you have the drive and ambition.

Below are some of my "faves" from today and their remarkable achievements:

Maria Cuomo Cole: 
sister of Andrew Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York and daughter of a once governor of New York (the whole family was there today) has chaired HELP USA, the largest provider of services for the homeless, victims of domestic violence and war veterans, since 1992. She has produced several short films and public service announcements on the subject of domestic violence, gun violence and homelessness, was shortlisted for an Academy Award and had a premier at 2011 Sundance Festival. Her latest documentary, 'The Invisible War',  looks at sexual violence in the military.

Deputy Chief Theresa Shortell:
Only one of two women in the 40 top ranked NYPD officers, Deputy Chief Shortell is a tiny bundle of Bronx sass. Her resume reads like a NYPD TV program. She is currently the Commanding Officer of the Citywide Gang Division,  she has served on the Organized Crime Control Bureau, Special Victims Unit and the Narcotics Division to name a few. She became Glenn Close's mentor when Close was preparing for her role in the series, The Shield. When Close asked her what the hardest part of her job was, she replied, "Being a woman and not letting that get in the way."

Peggy Noonan:

Speechwriter for Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, Noonan is recognised as writing some of the most powerful American political speeches of the 20th century. For Reagan's address to the country after the space shuttle Challenger disaster, she wrote, "We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved good bye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God'.
Noonan has written loads of books, one about her time working with President Reagan called, "What I saw at the Revolution".  She is currently a columnist for the WSJ.

Tyra Banks:
Yes, I'm afraid she is leggy, buxom and beautiful in real life. And she has a personality and the smarts! Her show, "America's Next Top Model", is in its 19th season and is syndicated in over 100 countries. She won two Emmy's for her daily talk show "the Tyra Show", has more than 5 million followers on Twitter and more than 1 million facebook friends. She uses her power and reach to talk about body image empowerment and self esteem for young girls. Her own personal wake-up call; when the media slammed the size of her body in a swimsuit while shooting in Australia. She became every girl's pinup heroine when she walked onto her talk show in the same swimsuit and told all her critics to "Kiss my fat arse".

Katie Couric:

Veteran TV host and award winning journalist. She is also heavily supportive of various cancer groups. Her quips for the day; "I went into TV news at a time when many were trying to get the 'broads out of broadcasting", and, "Back then, 'harass' was a two-worded insult."

I walked away from this lunch realizing there is a very strong sorority amongst women across all fields and the opportunity to be inspired and guided by some extraordinary women. And as someone quoted today the words of Madeline Albright, "There is a special place in Hell for women who don't help other women."

images; vanity fair, zimbio, nywici, biography, makeup and beauty care, celebrity daily post

Spring in the 'Burbs

The weather was so glorious on the weekend, the Anesthetist and I decided to do some bike riding. we drove out to Larchmont, a pretty town full of French people on the Long Island Sound. It's only 45 minutes from Manhattan, but feels hours away. It's real suburbia with large houses, sprawling gardens, quiet streets, sea views and open parks. The architecture is very mixed. There's 'Psycho' houses but with colored paint, Americana with large flags, Tudor and the rest, all built around the 20's and 30's.

After the bike ride, we decided on a walk in a nearby marshlands conservancy and here I saw my first real, live, wild turkey. Like straight off the bottle of bourbon! It was huge! And quite beautiful.