Aveda Day

I would venture to guess that it is definitely midwinter. You see what I did there?

We've had a number of days near freezing, and the past week has been below freezing. Yesterday it went all the way up to 42F/5C and people were wearing sweaters and jackets. I was hot in mine. I went out to get some more substantial winter gloves than the ones I have now. The current cold snap blew in last night with winds that rounded the corner and shook the house - and my bed with me in it.


Ralph Lauren - no surprise there, as I am a proper RL girl. Eye-catching gold buttons (I love buttons don't you know?) with cuffs of finest suede. But the lining is not thick enough to keep my fingers from aching and the sensitive nerve in my left ring finger from shooting pains when the temps go below a certain point.
By the way, that's my flannel winter sheet set underneath. Honestly, the preparation you need to live in these cold places! I have never needed to own so many types of clothing and textiles as I do now.




Ugg - definite surprise there and probably the last brand I ever imagined owning. I hate their skanky boots (with a passion) but I spent an hour evaluating hundreds of gloves and these came out on top with the padded cashmere lining and a little extra space above each fingertip creates a bubble of warmth. I love how buttery soft the leather is, and found out it's because they are deerskin. Wow.
One question, though: When do Australians need to wear gloves?

So today it was a frigid 21F/-6C and I ventured out to get a haircut - it had gone totally wild.
Normally my Aveda is in SoHo between Prince and Houston streets, but it's being renovated, so the staff are camping out at the Aveda Institute in Greenwich Village, only a few blocks over. The place is huge at 4,000 square feet, with high ceilings, saturated with light, with stations well-spaced out. The decor is like Thai Arizona, with cacti and succulents scattered about on shelves and in clusters on the floor, and many forms of antique Thai wood carvings hanging from the ceiling, mirrors and decorative pieces on various wall areas, some marble lotus bowls on the reception desk, and even golden temple bells in the window.

What I love about Aveda is ... everything. Sometimes, you really get what you pay for.

1. You arrive and change into a luxurious silky black kimono.
   
2. Once you're in the chair, the first thing your stylist does is give an honest to goodness shoulder, neck and upper arm massage. (I always have tense shoulders.)
   
3. Earrings, rings, and watch go into a little olive wood bowl.
4. The assistant washes your hair and gives a scalp massage, and whatever specialized treatment you need (I had a moisture infusion).
5. Back in your seat, you have a cup of herbal tea.
6. Your stylist offers a choice of aromatherapy oils for another little head massage.
7. A cape goes on over the kimono, THEN you get a haircut...
8. ...and a rinse, so you don't have to wash it when you get home.
9. Right around the time the stylist brings out the blowdryer, balms and pomades, another assistant comes round with a hot towel for your hands, and some enriching lotion for a hearty hand massage.
10. A final brush down for stray hairs and you're off.

I try to limit this to once every two months, but for under $100 it is so worth it. And surprisingly, costs only a little more than the salon where we used to live in The Woodlands. Slight comfort there.

Despite the subarctic temperatures (and the annoying wet eyes and runny nose they give me), I went on a little walking adventure. I took the subway from Greenwich Village to Chinatown and went to a little dim sum place near the dental office where I used to work ;)

I had 3 types of steamed dumpling: duck, shrimp and chive, and crab. They were quite pretty too, and one set was green. It was only after I'd eaten them - inhaled them rather - that I realized I had forgotten to take a photo for you.

I like the condiments they provided: one dish of ground onion, garlic and ginger, another of vinegar and chili oil, and another of dried shredded smoked duck in chili oil. I mixed them together and slathered it all over my dumplings :)

Then I decided to try tiny fried whitefish seasoned with salt, onion, and chili - you know, what the Chinese takeaways usually sprinkle on fried chicken wings or fried squid. The whitefish were absolutely tiny with little black specks for eyes.

On the way to Canal Street for the train home, I walked through Federal Plaza, which you are familiar with from previous photos. I took in the quietness around City Hall, the courthouses, and the federal and municipal buildings in the dark and cold.


First hasty shot without flash



Took more time to frame the shot and used flash (but couldn't wait to get my gloves back on)

Which one do you prefer?

P.S. It may snow Thursday, and temps are set to drop further, with the high on Friday at 14F (-10C). How can it be colder than it is now???

Frick and Friends

I know, I have about 3 memes to catch up with in the next few days!  :)

At the beginning of the week, it rained, which turned to sleet, which turned to wet snow.  

It stuck a little bit.

It would not have been nice if the wet roads had frozen, but at the most it settled, became slushy.  By Wednesday all was reduced to a falling mist which obscured the tops of buildings.  On Thursday, the sun was laser bright.

But today there was a snowstorm that had the city scrambling to salt the roads.  Like clockwork, half the neighborhood was out shoveling driveways and scraping the sidewalks because the snow turned to sleet which is fast becoming freezing rain as darkness falls.  Ooh, I think I just saw some winter lightning, yep, and there's the thunder.

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Thursday, the day of falling mist, I went into town to meet fellow blogger Rick (oh he of Palm Springs fame) for breakfast at the Waldorf-Astoria, which is the done thing, like tea at the Ritz.

A couple of jetsetters are we, to meet twice in the same year in two different world cities.  I enjoy this tradition and hope it continues.

Eggs Benedict seems to be the dish of choice for breakfast, but as I was not very hungry I had a bagel instead and now regret that decision because I am not likely to go back anytime soon.

The Waldorf-Astoria is one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever seen.  Like the city of New York, it is full of Art Deco detail (the present incarnation of the W-A having been opened in 1931), so much that my eyes were overwhelmed and I would have taken photos of the corners of everything if I hadn't felt so self conscious about it.

The Waldorf-Astoria looms over St Bartholomew's 

So I made do with a quick shot of one of the elevator doors

...And a view of the Park Avenue (exterior) lobby.  The Main (interior) lobby was more like the heart:  darker and warmer, with an ezquisite central clock flanked by the Peacock Alley restaurant.

After breakfast, I wandered into St Bartholomew's for the midday Holy Eucharist but left before it started because the only people in there were two Polish women gossiping behind me, a businessman who went to the front to pray for a few minutes, and the permanent fixtures, a handful of snoring bums installed at the ends of the pews.  I suppose it would have been unchristian of the ladies at reception to turn them away.

Feeling unusually discouraged by the quietness I skipped the free Baroque Christmas concert too and re-emerged into the light of day to start my trek uptown.

This is when I like New York City - along the great Avenues - when I have my great impressionistic moments.  Looks like I'm more of a city girl than I'd thought.

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I had told Rick I might visit the Frick Collection, and I was true to my word.  I walked 20 blocks uptown on Park Avenue and then cut across to Fifth, which took about half an hour and soon found myself at this neat little mansion/museum, former home of steel magnate Henry Clay Frick (protege of Andrew Carnegie).

Of all sources outside the collection's website, my longtime subscription The New York Social Diary has perhaps the best pictures of the interior along with a great deal of enlightening social column-style gossip on Mr Frick and his circle.

The Frick is one of the best private collections in America, containing lots of Renaissance bronze sculptures, a few pieces bequeathed by his contemporary John D Rockefeller, a number of Old Masters and medieval Italian panels, some works by Vermeer, Constable, and others I recognized as in:  "Oh, wow! I didn't know this was here."

I also greatly appreciated the small jewel-like Boucher Room (see NYSD), like a tiny and perfect ballroom: candy-toned Boucher wall panels and little Louis XV mechanical tables, complete with 17th century creaking parquet floor shipped from France.

Frick was not a great fan of James McNeill Whistler, yet these musically-themed pieces were perhaps my favorite pieces in the collection.  On a musical theme, L to R:

1 - Harmony in Pink and Grey:  Portrait of Lady Meux, 1881-82

2 - Arrangement in Brown and Black:  Portrait of Miss Rosa Corder, 1876-78

3 - Symphony in Flesh Colour and Pink:  Portrait of Mrs Frances Leyland, 1872-73

4 - Arrangement in Black and Gold:  Comte Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac, 1891-92

Mr Frick's collection perfectly mirrors his simple personal tastes.  There is little violence, mostly serenity.  According to the video presentation in the Music Room, after a particularly harrowing day, Mr Frick might stroll through the darkened halls to his Gallery, turn on the light, and sit for an hour or more on one couch and then another, absorbing beauty into his soul.

Brrrrr

My nose is cold all the time, I feel like a dog.  My fingers and toes fare little better.  I'm wearing three layers and long socks.

Since these frigid temperatures took hold last weekend, cold air has been streaming through the air-conditioning unit in the living room window.  (It should have a cover.)  Somehow my roomie claims this has never been a problem before (!).  I am not into hermetically sealed houses and am usually the one that keeps a window cracked open in winter to allow oxygenation, but when you have the radiator next to the window at full heat and the room is still cold, then something needs to be done.

Thankfully my room is the warmest, in fact a little too warm, but I do think that the bowl of water on my radiator contributes to the general comfort of my room.  It is attached to the living room, so I leave the doors open in the day so that some heat can flow into the living room.  But I suspect it's too scared to come out.

In the summer, you cannot possibly conceive of winter's coldness, so even if only 2 of 5 rooms have functioning radiators you assume they are going to spread their warmth comfortably around the house, as long as the windows are closed.  No such luck...

I know this is an old house, but surely winterproofing is not too much to ask, since the landladies only live downstairs and they can't be all cold round the edges.  This reminds me of growing up in our old house in London, which was draughty through the original leaded window panes.  Memories of my mother plastered against radiators, yet she always hung up on double glazing telemarketers.  We were all for authenticity, back then.

Then we moved to Texas, leaving behind our turn of the century Tudor style house.  We moved into a cozy modern townhouse, followed by a fairly luxurious new colonial style home with nary a draught, well finished in every corner.  Needless to say, my standards went up.

I like original features, but I think from now on I should choose new constructions...or at least very well refurbished old places rather than merely maintained ones.  Comfort AND authenticity in one place.

End of Rant.

I have another thing to whine about, but that's for later.

I've made my bed really cosy, redraping the swagged voile to completely enclose the top and sides, like a room within a room.

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By the way, this week I applied to a couple of cool jobs in another major city south of NYC.  It had been my original intention to job hunt up and down the eastern seaboard while staying with my cousin, using NYC as a base but setting a time limit on my sojourn here.  However, when I was forced to find my own accommodations this changed slightly and I focused only on the local area.  Now that the economy has worsened and I haven't heard back from anyone, it's back to plan A:  expand the search and go wherever the job is rather than forcing it out of just one place.

Time for me to go off and meet my friend Denise for a pizza dinner followed by dessert in the comfort of her home.  It's on the Upper West Side so I need plenty of time to get there, especially on a weekend.

Winter Prep

But first, it was Veteran's Day today, honoring those who have dedicated their lives to serving their country:


WWI Memorial at Central Park

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I had the strangest thought as I was opening my eyes this morning: maybe I should boil the frankfurter before frying it.

You see, last week I made what I call "white" pasta: olive oil, black pepper, chili flakes, minced garlic, romano cheese, capers...but I had no prosciutto di Parma on hand, so made do with sliced, fried beef franks. It was really delicious too! Who knew?

Hence the thought this morning. It's nearly time to make pasta in a red sauce and I want to use hot dogs again. They are more affordable than prosciutto but also the last time I bought prosciutto, I packed it sideways in my jute shopping bag. Five days later I picked the bag up to go shopping again, noticed it was unusually heavy, and found the prosciutto tucked in the corner! So annoyed I was!

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View from the kitchen window now that the leaves are thinning out

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Winter is coming apace. Granted, we're still above 10C (50F) and properly sunny, but I don't want to be caught short when frozen water starts falling from the sky.

My friend Chris and I met up on Sunday just for the sake of meeting up. I love how my Houston friends are so simple that way; he had called from work a few days before because he realized he hadn't spoken to me in a week and a half (well, I was out of town...). That is a true friend, you don't have to make an appointment to chat on the phone, and you can arrange impromptu visits.

We had some decent cheeseburgers at the Good Burger Co. off Union Square - just the right size and not too tall to wrap my teeth around. I had the works: cheese, onions, crispy fresh pickle, grilled tomato, mayo, and ketchup on an honest, medium-well-done burger patty. The soft bun was extremely unobtrusive, serving merely as a vehicle to get the fillings into your mouth, rather than the usual hindrance.
The fries were apparently baked not fried, but they were so good I didn't notice the difference. Conclusion: The Good Burger Co. makes good burgers.

Since we always fail at catching the movies we want to see, we have given up on that and were going to randomly walk around until Chris said, "Olivia, I need to get some winter boots!" I said, "So do I!" and as we were just across the Square from DSW Shoe warehouse, I dragged him in and taught him how to choose snow boots. Being Texan, he had no idea. And I only know from buying them a few times in Canada during Christmas visits.

Then he helped me to choose mine. I have never gone shoe shopping with anyone other than me, myself or my mother; certainly not a male friend, but it was fun. If I hadn't had the encouragement or the criticism, perhaps I would have walked out with no boots again, just as I did last month. It was funny though, at the first boot I reached for (a wool-lined dark green suede knee length boot by Merrell) Chris emitted a firm, "No", so I withdrew my hand and retorted, "How very dare you!" But then I got used to the input and ended up with a waterproof suede (seems to be the only thing out there these days) by Sporto with warm and fluffy cuffs. The soles are something to be reckoned with, having tread facing forwards and backwards, like tiny rubber ice picks.

I also bought an awesome pair of leather and waterproofed canvas chukka boots by Timberland because the sneakers I bought in summer are not waterproof or windproof, which in colder weather translates into "leaky and drafty"! The Timberlands almost look bomb proof. Chukkas are similar to the boots worn by British forces in the desert during WWII. Don't worry, I did try on a sexy pair of knee-high brown suede 3-inch heeled pointy boots, except they had no price and were sitting in a clearance box with a worryingly high price tag.



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Ooh I didn't tell you, before I went to Canada, my little chest of drawers finally arrived:



Isn't it cute? Target has free shipping, therefore I love Target.

You guys, look at the boots and look at my dresser...!

I seem to be an odd mix of utility and romanticism, tomboy and sophisticate. I guess that is what comes of being an only child, you have to be everything to both parents...Help dad in the garage, help mum in the kitchen. Play with cars and electronics in my pink bedroom. Study science, study art. Nearly get recruited to the Navy at 18, study at Christies at 25, still want to do both at 31.
It is sometimes a balance; always a conflict.
Who am I???????????

Warm heart cold hands

Freeeeeezzzzzzinggggggg this weekend in London.
The sort of cold that makes your face freeze and your toes fall off. No, I exaggerate, but they certainly get halfway there.

But I still went out. Brrrrrr.

Saturday afternoon was spent with friends where I met my new "nephew". I am one of a trio of aunties, the other two being Amy and Pandy. Of course, his real aunty was there too with her partner.

He is 4 weeks old. I couldn't meet him on his public debut at one week, since I was sick. He's tiny and wee and cute now, so imagine what he was like then!



He is perfect! I could hear him breathing! His hands are gorgeous, his eyes are gorgeous, even the little whorl of hair on the back of his head....! His little busy mouth...his grasping hands...He tucks in his little froggie legs and moulds himself to you. OK, I will shut up now.

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On Sunday, I bundled up and went out with a bunch of fun friends to the Winter Wonderland Christmas fair at Hyde Park. There was a ferris wheel, a bandstand, a haunted house, a toboggan slope, and virtual pod rides (flights?) from Bee Movie and The Snowman.










There were also stalls selling crafts, but most importantly, FOOD. This weather makes me ravenously hungry at regular intervals. There were pancakes and waffles, Pimms, mulled wine, sausage and sauerkraut, hot dogs, a whole pig on a flaming spit (couldn't get a photo between the cooks)....the mini pancakes were a treat with hot chocolate sauce. The German burgers and hot dogs were nice too. I got a bite of those off one of my friends.

But after a while my fingers went numb (inside my fleece lined suede gloves) and my toes were numb (despite wearing two socks and woolly insoles with my boots). So I parted with the group as they set off for the ice rink (yes, ICE) at the Tower of London. I wish I could have, but I was suffering. The cold has also given me a headache. When I got into the train, my toes started burning, and I hate when that happens.

I simply cannot wear enough to keep me warm, but I was so bundled up, I am sure I would have bounced and rolled if I had fallen.

What did you all do this weekend?

Um, what was I supposed to blog about?

This past week at work has been hectic because businesses like to get things done in the last quarter, before Christmas.

It gets dark by 3.30pm now, so you've barely digested lunch when you look out the window and it's pitch black! About 7 hours of daylight.

I met up with some friends the other evening at Waxy O'Connors, a maze-like pub in Soho. I've always heard about it, but never visited. The key feature is a tree in the middle, around which is wrapped the stairs to the lower level.

Would you believe I was asked for my ID by the bouncer at the door? I made some noises of disbelief and slight offense, so while I was digging for my wallet (thank GOODNESS I still walk with my Texas driver's license), he asked me how old I was. I said "30". "Never!" he said, shaking his head. Now, if I didn't carry my license with me, what else would I use? My passport? Can't walk around with that every day...

The 10 of us (or so) gathered in the Church Bar here.

We made a giant pile of bags and coats in the centre of the room and just mingled. It was like the UN, with people from all over the world (7 countries represented), but I still call them the Aussies because they're the ones who arrange all the outings.

Waxy's is very popular, so although it was fascinating to look at, speaking was a challenge. The meetup last week was more chilled as we were in a pub with no music to shout over. But thanks to the smoking ban, it is a pleasure to leave a bar or a pub smelling as fresh as you did when you went in. No red, burning eyes either.

Any ideas for my next blog?

Snowbound

Yesterday, all of England was blanketed in snow. Up to 10cm in some places. Not many children went to school - so they threw snowballs and went sledding. Today there was more snow oop north, but the south has mostly melted.

The transport system was paralysed: crews worked overnight to clear the snow off the rails because tube trains won't run if they cannot make contact with the electricity, but still many tubes struggled to pull out.

London lost £100million yesterday in business owing to the snow and people not being able to get in to work.

They stayed home and spent the day sending photos in to the news to be shown during the weather bulletins. There were photos of snowmen, snow robots, snow dogs, snow bears. Who knew that people who rarely see the stuff could get so creative with it?

It wasn't that cold yesterday, so even though the snow stayed in most areas, I could have gone out without being so muffled up. The ground became wet overnight, and today it's so much colder. My toes aren't warm at all.

We talk about global warming and how we will all melt, but I am watching a program about the Supervolcano, in this instance at Yellowstone. I have blogged about this before, right here.
Planet earth is due a major eruption. If it happens, the world will plunge into a mini Ice Age.

You can't win either way.

Anyway, I'm off out of town this weekend for Diva's b-day party and not looking forward to wearing party clothes in this weather...It's more acceptable to go to a dinner in Canada wearing a polar neck, than to go to a club in the UK.

P.S. If anyone can improve on that grammatically lame last sentence, please do.

P.S.2 Sorry to say, I have yet another headache today.