Lunch at DKNY

My favorite lunch spot was written up in the New York Social Diary this week. When I started working at Ralph Lauren 4 years ago, everyone would ask me if I wanted to grab lunch at DKNY. I was so confused until I finally asked... Lunch at DKNY? Like the clothing store? To my delight, I learned that there is a small organic cafe called Blanche's upstairs in the Madison Ave DKNY store. I'm addicted ever since. The food is so fresh and the wraps/salads are like no other. My favorites are the veggie burger salad and the blue cheese tuna wrap. They toast the wraps until they are perfectly crispy, yet soft, and they are SO delicious. They also have the best olives I've ever had, supposedly Moroccan. I highly recommend stopping in for lunch or a fresh squeezed juice. This place rocks!

Blanche's Cafe
655 Madison Avenue @ DKNY
646-919-4634
(cash only)

Spigolo

1561 Second Ave + 81st St
212-744-1100
Italian

BITES:
Baked Littleneck Clams with bagna cauda butter
Shaved Celery Salad with gorgonzola, pecans, cider vinaigrette
Sheep Milk Ricotta Gnocchi with pancetta & radicchio
Scallops special
Banana/Peanut Butter Dessert

SIPS:
Try their dessert wine. If you get lucky, you may get one on the house.

Wild Horses

The instructor of my conditioning class always cools down to this cover of Wild Horses by Alicia Keys and Adam Levine. It's so great, wanted to share!

Vintage Cola

How much fun are these vintage coke cans?



Courtesy of The Dieline

Team Serena

It seems my grandpa is on Team Serena. We are watching his first episode of Gossip Girl and his comments on Blair are... "That one's a bitch" and "She's got a fat ass" ... Sorry B!

Schiller’s Liquor Bar

131 Rivington St + Norfolk St
212-260-4555
French, Irish/English, Southern/Soul

BITES:
Schiller's Nachos with chorizo, refried beans, salsa, jalapeno
French Onion Soup
Tunaburger
Macaroni & Cheese

Alexa, Not Only London Loves You

My recent style obsession is Alexa Chung. Quirky and adorable. She grew up in England, and her father is a Chinese graphic designer. As a teen (she's an 83 baby too) she modeled for teen magazines and various ads including Urban Outfitters. Nowadays, she hosts It's On with Alexa Chung for MTV and supposedly lives in BK with her boyfriend of 2 years, Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys. L O V E her.

Dads in Short Shorts

Growing up in the 80's, I think we all experienced our dads wearing shorts that were, well, a little too short. I may be inspired to dig up some evidence of David rocking the dukes. Someone started this blog and it's a perfect laugh for a Friday morning: Dads in Short Shorts

As Real As It Gets

A fellow designer sent me this yesterday and it's brilliant! It's a Photoshop ad done for software-asli.com which means "original software," hence the original Photoshop. So clever.

Back to Work

As tradition goes, Fashion Week ended with the Ralph Lauren Spring 2010 Runway Show. In an ode to work wear, Ralph Lauren transformed the runway into a 1940's prairie. Take a front row seat... watch the video, discover the looks, explore the trends and go behind the scenes at the show.



“I believe in the resilient spirit of America. Hard times seem to sharpen our capacity for idealism and our optimism that tomorrow will be a better day. I am inspired by the character of the worker, the farmer, the pioneer women of the prairies living authentically through challenging times. I have always admired the honesty of their work wear – the weathered jean, the sturdy overall, the jean jacket, the faded blue work shirt, the naïve print of a floral dress. I sense that same spirit and resourcefulness in the world today. It has inspired my Spring 2010 Collection, a reinterpretation of the purity of a timeless grace for a new today.”
--Ralph Lauren

The Smith

55 Third Ave + 11th St
212-420-9800
American Nouveau

BITES:
Hot Potato Chips
Mac + Cheese
Mediterranean Salad
Ahi Tuna Salad
Vegetable Bibimbap
Pot of Mussels
RIP - The Cod

Happy First Day of Fall!

(we're falling!)

The Beautiful Life

It's that time of year again... you can taste fall in the air, the tents are buzzing at Bryant Park, and all of our favorite tv shows are back. Today is the Ralph Lauren Runway Show for Spring 2010, which means tonight is the infamous all-nighter. Twice a year my team works through the night to put the show/collection online. Stay tuned for details of the show this week...

So with a few hours to spare, I've been catching up on the start of fall tv. Today I watched the premiere of "The Beautiful Life." It's Mischa Barton's comeback show after The OC, and it features a bunch of young models learning the insecurities and competition of the high-fashion world. It's clearly a CW show, but I really enjoyed it... good-looking cast, drama, deceit, blooming romance. I hope they keep it up.

Update to my post: The show was canceled after only 2 episodes :(

Amazing Wedding Cakes

Is anyone else addicted to this show? The theme cakes are fun, but my favorite are the beautiful classic wedding cakes. Ever since they featured "The Cake Atelier" with Lauri Ditunno and Ruth Drennan, I am OBSESSED with their wedding cakes. They are truly a work of art. Since the showed aired, they've gone their separate ways and started Cake Alchemy and Ruth Drennan Cakes. Check out some of these amazing cakes and tell me you aren't in love.


Courtesy of Cake Alchemy


Courtesy of Ruth Drennan Cakes

Anyways, these ladies really inspired me. I've put this at the top of my "Things to do/learn/accomplish in my life" list. As soon as I gather enough time off, I am heading to the Institute of Culinary Education for "Techniques of Cake Decorating" and "Gum Paste Flowers" classes. Who knows, maybe you'll see me on Amazing Wedding Cakes someday.

Jennifer Aniston

There are so many reasons why I love Jennifer Aniston. Lately, here's a few...

• She can pull off a black mini like no one else... and her legs are perfect (see Conan clip)
  
• She wants to open a Mexican restaurant in NY. ¡Buen provecho!
• I have this dream of opening my own flower shop and in her new movie Love Happens, she plays a quirky Seattle florist :)
• She has the best hair
• She never loses that down to earth, sweet personality
• If she has kids, she's going to be the cutest mom... ever.
  

Here's a clip of JA on Conan this week...

Boy Meets Girl

Once upon a time, my pink birthday shoes were feeling very lonely in the closet. Along came this pair of sparkly blue amazingness and they lived happily ever after. THE END

Thank you Fashion's Night Out.

Philippe

33 E. 60th St + Madison Ave
212-644-8885
Chinese

BITES:
Crispy Seaweed
Chicken Satays
Salt + Pepper Calamari
Green Prawns
Beijing Chicken
Beef with Oyster Sauce

SIPS:
Peartini

SPOTTED:
Jeremy Piven + entourage (no, not that entourage) dining across from us

Mar-a-Lago Key Lime Pie

Serves 8

Graham Cracker Crust:

3/4 pound graham crackers

4 Tbsp. granulated sugar

2 sticks melted butter

1/4 tsp. sea salt

Filling:

4 egg yolks

1 can (14 ounces) condensed milk

2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice

1 lime , grated zest

Topping:

1 cup heavy or whipping cream , chilled

2 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

To make graham cracker crust: Preheat the oven to 325°.

Break up the graham crackers, place in a food processor and process to crumbs. Add the melted butter, sugar and salt and pulse until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan, forming an even layer on the bottom, sides and edge. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the crust to cool. 

To make filling: While the crust is resting, in an electric mixer with the wire whisk attachment, whip the egg yolks and lime zest at high speed until fluffy, or 5 to 6 minutes. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue to whip until thick, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add the lime juice until incorporated.

Pour the mixture into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, or until the filling has just set. Cool on a wire rack, and then refrigerate for 20 minutes.

To make topping: Whip the cream, confectioners' sugar and vanilla until nearly stiff. Evenly spread the whipped cream on top of the pie, and place in the freezer for 20 minutes prior to serving.

Oprah's Favorite Turkey Burger

This recipe is from Donald Trump's Mar-a-lago, and Oprah says this is the best turkey burger you'll ever taste.

Serves 6

1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

3 Granny Smith apples , peeled and diced

1/8 cup canola oil

4 pounds ground turkey breast

2 Tbsp. salt

2 Tbsp. black pepper

2 tsp. Tabasco® chipotle pepper sauce

1 lemon , juiced and grated zest

1/2 bunch parsley , finely chopped

1/4 cup Major Grey's Chutney , pureed

Sauté the scallions, celery and apples in the canola oil until tender. Let cool.

Place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add sautéed items and the remaining ingredients. Shape into eight 8-ounce burgers. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Season the turkey burgers with salt and pepper. Place on a preheated, lightly oiled grill. Grill each side for 7 minutes until meat is thoroughly cooked. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Serve with a side of Mar-a-Lago Pear Chutney and your favorite toasted bread, pita or hamburger roll.

Fashion We(a)k

I wish Fashion week was more exciting for me. Four years working for one of the top designers in the world and I've yet to see our show live, and no other shows for that matter. While Lauren Conrad and Rachel Zoe put on their best, I'm prepping for our all-nighter so the world can experience the show and collection online. This is not to say that I don't salivate at the site of gorgeous clothing, and so this year I'm taking Fashion We(e)k head on.
Goal: See at least one live show! Now... who wants to invite me?

NYmag recently ran a teaser where they asked designers to give them one word that represented their new collection. I don't know about you, but I'm kind of excited.

HUNG

I can't help but smile (and rewind) every time I see the opening for Hung.
Big fan of the show too.