An Interlude: Essaouira

We felt obliged to see at a little more than one place during a week-long stay in Morocco, so took the bus for a day trip to coastal Essaouira.



After navigating aggressive young men touting identical fish stalls, we settled on the one with attitude-- a more aggressive lobster whose claw gave one tout a sore finger. We put the naughty lobster on our lunch tray.


(Lobster with his friends: sea urchins, prawns, sea bass, and spider crab, a fresh-from-the-sea lunch I only dream about)

The spider crab does not want to die so I must wrestle it for the camera.



But they all end up, quickly, in messy piles. We did away with bread and fries, all that was needed were a few lemon slices.



And then afterwards, a vendor with a selection of happy cakes, aka space cakes! Did I mention that Jimi Hendrix was a much-documented Essaouira visitor? I wanted to buy Puss a selection of pastries for the bus trip back to Marrakesh, but alas that trip was not to be a Trip.


(Perched on a window in a fort, with Essaouira in the background. Photo credit: Puss M.)

Seafood, old medina, seagulls, happy cakes. It was too much exertion for one day.

Postcard from Marrakech #3: Food NYC versus RAK

We immediately noticed some differences between Marrakesh (airport code RAK) and NYC.

Whole Foods' onion displays are nothing like this!



Dean & Deluca doesn't have quite this selection of dried fruits and nuts (and woven rafia bags)!



And who serves snails like the guys at Jemaa al Fnaa!



But more importantly, why state am I in where it is ok to eat these snails?


(With new friends Rowan and Daniela, picking out tender pieces of antenna-extravagant snails, in a murky brown broth, from small shells, and somehow eating them)

If you can't beat them, then join them. So instead of lamenting the arrival of yet another tagine dish, we decided to create them, via tagine cooking school.


(Displaying our hard-earned side dishes--eggplant and peppers-- with the demanding Fatima scowling in the background)

Tagine overload?

Postcard from Marrakech #2: How to Ride a Camel

1. Watch with trepidation as camels approach the oasis where you are currently taking a little nap. Follow them with the corner of your eye, Oh my they are taller than I thought!



2. Gently touch camel with tip of finger. Notice that the front knees bend a different direction from the back knees, and that camel is not in a mood for any nonsense.



3. Get on camel. This is not easy--one must first straddle the camel, and half-leap onto the saddle. The camel then gets up only with much encouragement and much complaint. It is such an achievement that even the camel herder breaks out in a relieved smile.


(Puss on Jacques the camel, our guide amused)

4. Live out short-lived Lawrence of Arabia fantasies, as camels slowly circle oasis at a mile an hour, versus sprinting across the Sahara. Hey, we're beginners!



5. Take a break for the next five hours, in a lounge chair in front of a Berber tent.


(Asleep at Le Pause, pants Rag & Bone, jacket Y-3, Hermes cashmere scarf worn as a keffiyeh, boots Timberland)

(And after a little taste of the desert, a sudden desire to explore its solitude)

Postcard from Marrakech #1: Night and Day

Who says that medieval cities in North Africa don't know how to have fun? All you need is a few stiff drinks, a little kif, and a partner in crime.


(Puss planking in front of the Bab Doukkala mosque)


(Me creating graceful shapes with my body)

Is this trip becoming less Sheltering Sky and more Ab-Fab?

Of course even six hours away direct via Royal Air Maroc, the sun comes up eventually, and with a vengeance.


(Puss the morning after our arrival and the usual over-doing of the first night, at breakfast on the rooftop of our riad)

We came to Marrakech with no agenda, except to wander, recluse, and yes, to escape.

We found respite in a courtyard in a maze in an old city in a newer city in a desert in a place so far removed we looked at each other and said, Where are we?











Literally, Where are we? This crazy city has no street signs, no map, no visible landmarks, no rhyme or reason, and with a population that has somehow figured it all out leaving tourists like Puss and me to our own devices and doom.

Ya Habibi!

After a few drinks at a dinner party chez moi, Puss proposed we take a vacation and one destination suggested was Morocco. Goodness gracious that was Sunday, and today we depart. And what a fabulous 33rd birthday gift from a dear friend!

So goodbye everyone for a week, we are off to Marrakesh to haggle heavily for caftans and pointed slippers!

Coming Soon: Oh Dog!

And a toast to all those brave souls who say, Enough is enough, good-bye and good ridance to All That! My fabulous friend Pussie Mandu is joining the ranks of those of us who have decided the only people worth working for are ourselves, and destinies are best taken in our own hands. Oh, and by the way America, we are creating jobs for you!

So welcome to Oh Dog! Opening date: February 2012, in the dog-obsessed Warwick, New York.

When I came up to visit a few weeks ago the space was still a construction zone, but progressing rapidly.


(Puss in the middle of a work in progress)

There will be doggie apparel, specialty foods, and eventually, high-quality grooming. And the space is going to look fabulous-- a giant green astro-turf bone will anchor the floor, because what else do dogs obsess about other than bones?

The inspiration for all this is Amadeus, Pussie and Marcos' Cane Corso. Amadeus weighs just slightly less than I do, and enjoys little things like humping my knee, smelling my backside, and taking every opportunity to try to eat me when Pussie is not looking.

And of course Amadeus lives very well-- dinner is lightly cooked organic chicken breasts, with assorted vegetables in broth. Treats abound in the house, and toys (or parts of them) are everywhere. Dogs after all are the new children.


(Preparing dinner for the master of the house, Amadeus)


(Then it's gone in ten seconds)

From experience I can say that it's going to be a long, hard road ahead, but what price freedom?

Furry Friends

Hello to my newest pets: raccoon, mink, and sweet white fox. Hello winter, I'm ready!

Blake and Friends

Bless the beasts and the children! Dogs and kids love Blake, perhaps they sense a kindred soul. Dressing alike helps too.


(Blake and Asher, in winter jumpers)


(Blake and James, in RL polos and seersucker shorts)

And then there's me. Perhaps my scent, Santal 33 by Le Labo (other fans: Karl Lagerfeld, Simon Doonan) repels the innocent, but for some odd reason I don't get the hugs nor the the wet friendly noses.


(Me and Asher, cocktail party at Lia D's)

Well, kids will be kids. When they are old enough to join the adults' table, I will be more than happy to share my life lessons and some restaurant recommendations.


(Dinner at the Berger-Damle's, shirt Thom Browne, corduroy trousers Balenciaga, lozange Hermes, holding a Venezuelan cocktail 50% rum created by Yael B-D)

Gifts of Giving

Lady Gaga's "workshop" has taken over the fifth floor at Barney's, but my favorite windows continue to be that of Bergdorf. This year's theme is Carnival of the Animals.



This window has hundreds of types of paper, folded intricately to make life-size animals. Oh and of course there is the Rodarte dress, for $12,000.

A few blocks down the global flagship of Uniqlo has opened it's doors, and they lead to never-ending displays of surprisingly appealing clothing. Thank goodness that I am not in the middle of a cashmere drought.


(the escalator down to the entrance, a hundred customers every ten minutes, the Japanese conquer NYC)

In front of Uniqlo, taking a breather.


(orange wrap-around cashmere scarf Hermes, leather jacket provenance unknown, trousers Balenciaga, boots John Varvatos)

And then, my favorite things of course come in orange boxes tied with chocolate ribbon. Delish, oh and thank-you Blakey!

Tablescapes Et. Al.

A rare string of autumn evenings when my dance card was full:

1. Thanksgiving at "The Verley"



Menu: Roast turkey (brined), onions in cheese, brussel sprouts, green beans, pumpkin pie, walnut cake
Location: Greenwich Village
Guest List: Old New York/ Hermes/ Belgian Shoes/ my sister was the baby sitter for the Kennedys up in Hyannisport it was Ethel who was the bitch
Topics of conversation: The Kennedys, Broadway shows through the years, Occupy Wall Street

2. A date with Blake at Maharlika



Menu: "Filipino moderno", lechon kawali, arroz caldo, kare-kare, bangus, garlic fried rice
Location: East Village
Guest List: me and Blakey-poo
Topics of conversation: Don't you dare take a picture here you will annoy everyone and especially me! *click*

3. A family dinner at the Torres-Springers



Menu: Asian spiced braised short ribs, fried forbidden rice, wasabi mashed potatoes, banana challah bread pudding with dulce de leche sauce
Location: Park Slope, Brooklyn
Guest List: Yale, Yale, Yale
Topics of conversation: Potty training, ways to get pregnant, crazy college friends, Occupy Wall Street

And my lamb astrakhan hat. Tell me about the lambs, Clarisse.


(With Mali L. Photo credit: Blake)