An Ordinary Day...

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Maldives

Our last trip of 2016 was to the Maldives. Last year was one full of excursions, We traveled to Cameroon, Paris, Bali, Hawaii, New Orleans, New York, Chicago, Lake Tahoe, Atlanta, Napa, San Francisco, Dubai, and I must say Read more

Quote

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Do you enjoy yourself?

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New York City

Gigi and Friends-Red Rooster Harlem

Posted on by Gigi in Dining, My Life 4 Comments

Friday night I met up with my ski bunny friend Starla. She was a fabulous host and we had a memorable evening at Marcus Samuelsson‘s restaurant Red Rooster in Harlem. Amani and I started our trek deciding how to get from SoHo to the upper west side, of course she wanted to take the train and I wanted to take a cab. I still have not figured out how to get around with heels on etc. We were meeting Starla at 6:30 and of course everyone in New York must of been going somewhere, cabs were all taken. We were finally picked up by a renegade cab that negotiated a fee which was way to much according to Amani.

Red Rooster

Starla & Gigi at Red Rooster

I have always been a fan of Chef Marcus Samuelsson, one of my favorite cookbooks is The soul of a new cuisine: A discovery of the foods and flavors of Africa.  I ordered the coconut rice & curry peas which was delightful. Most of the menu is an interesting take of traditional soul food with the Samuelsson touch. Every table was taken. I wore  a red Prada dress I picked up last summer at the outlet. After dinner a couple of Starla’s friends joined us and we went downstairs to Ginny’s for drinks, dancing and good company.

“Cat” , Gigi, Starla & Judith aka “Fashion Crone”

“Cat” and fellow blogger Judith joined us for drinks and dancing downstairs at Ginny’s. Judith has a fabulous blog called Style Crone, she was in NYC for a fashion show, read more about it here. When she walked in with that pink hat on, I knew I found a new friend. After our evening was over our transportation back to Starla’s was graciously  assisted by “Cat” . BTW way the fellow that joined our picture, I have no clue who he is…

Gigi & Starla

Starla and I met at Jackson Hole last ski season and have become fast friends, already planning our 2013 ski trip to Aspen.

Gigi

Xoxo,

Gigi

 

 

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More-New York State of Mind

Posted on by Gigi in Travel 4 Comments

To be honest, when I was in New York a few weeks ago, I was distracted with a medical challenge I was dealing with. I really did not take advantage of all the interesting things that New York city offers, but now that my daughter Amani lives there I will have many more opportunities to visit again.

Gigi and Hubby at Mondrian SoHo

Reggie joined me on the weekend and we drove to D.C. for a wedding, of course, Amani took advantage of having access to a car for the day. I did very little shopping, (a sign of my state of mind) just 3 pairs of flats from Vince Camuto and a cute bootie from Topshop (btw Topshop will be opening in the Grove early 2013). I’m really not a flat shoe kind of girl, but a few hours of walking around in my heels on the street, made me a new convert.

Vince Camuto sparkle pewter flat

Vince Camuto flat

Vince Camuto flat

TopShop Bootie

Once I had my nice comfortable flats, I walked around and observed this non-stop busy city.

Doggy ordering

This little guy was staring at the menu as if he was going to be ordering something.

Shoegasm

I often have shoegasms…

Pure Food and Wine

Gigi at Pure Food and Wine

Had a delicious gourmet raw vegan dinner at Pure Food and Wine.

Kittens

I’m a sucker for kittens, especially orphans. This was a rescue operation on the street that was looking for foster moms.

Uncle Paul & Gigi

I was born in New Jersey, yes I am a Jersey girl. My Uncle Paul my father’s brother still lives in Paterson, New Jersey in the house that I spent the first five years of my life. He is 85 years young, lives alone and is doing fine. I was surprised at how familiar everything was considering it was so many years ago that I lived there.

Mondrian SoHo

Isola SoHo

We had breakfast at Isola before we departed for our four hour drive to D.C.. I love this greenhouse inspired space, beautiful place to stop and have a drink or tea at the bar. I’m looking forward to my next trip to the city, which will be in April.

Xoxo,

Gigi

 

 

 

 


New York State of Mind:Mondrian Hotel SoHo

Posted on by Gigi in Travel 8 Comments

Gigi Goes To New York

scene 1

LAX airport terminal, about 8:30PM, a healthy amount of people waiting to use the self-check in terminals and drop bags. GIGI, an attractive 40ish woman arrives with three bags. She is carrying a stuffed Tumi carry on, a roller backpack (mac book pro, ipad, nikon d7000) and her black Marc Jacobs Stam bag. She needs to check in the carry on but realizes if she waits in the line she will not make the flight, she has less than 30 minutes to get to the gate. She decides to go for it and forgo checking in her carry on bag. She is greeted by a TSA agent who is not happy.

TSA agent # 1

You have 3 items. You have to check one in.

Gigi

No, not really I’m going to put my purse in my backback, just getting out my ID and boarding pass, sir.

TSA agent #1

(rolls his eyes) and reluctantly lets her through

Gigi

(struggling with the roller backpack, now on her back,  Tumi carry on, purse, wearing a coat and a scarf now breaking out in a sweat–not cute. She is greeted by a long line of frustrated travelers waiting to be screened. She checks the time and realizes she is going to have to cut the line in order to make her flight.

Hi, excuse me, my flight is departing in 15 minutes. excuse me, thank you so much, excuse me, oh so sorry, excuse me.

TSA agent #2

(blank look on her face-it has been a long night)

Gigi

Hi, my flight is departing in 15 minutes, is there a way I could go to the front of the line? Please? My daughter is alone in New York and I have to get there so I can help her. I can’t miss this flight. PLEASE?

TSA agent #2

(motions to other TSA agent to let Gigi to the front of the line)

Gigi

Frantically takes out her plastic bag, mac book, removes coat,  scarf and shoes, loads up the plastic bins, gets x-rayed, retrieves her items, puts shoes in backpack and runs barefoot to the gate which of course is at the end of the terminal. She is the last person to board the flight. The flight is smooth and on time. She arrives and is transported to the hotel where she is dropped off, and is pleasantly surprised by this beautiful arched entry way .

Entry to the Mondrian Hotel

In the evening the tunnel was lit with white lights. The hotel has a vibrant blue decor.

Blue Lobby

Blue Lobby

The restaurant was my favorite space. I love the greenhouse concept combined with the pretty chandeliers.

The Restaurant

The Restaurant

Bar Area

Bar Area

Glass on Glass

Glass on Glass

Happy for an early check in.

Hotel Room

Hotel Room

Shower

Shower

My Bed

Bed

The blue theme was throughout the hotel. I wondered if I could do my own space in one color…

Hallway

Hallway                                           

Details

Details                                            

Gigi in New York

Gigi in New York

 

I will share more about my New York state of mind this week. Overall it was a nice trip, and I see why my daughter is happy to live in this fabulous city.

XOXO,

GIGI

 

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