Nikon D90 camera bags are now available for pre-order here, in brown, black, or leopard print.

The smell of freshly fried french fries from McDonalds are intoxicating. I don’t know what it is about their fries, maybe its the extra salt…the crispness..whatever…they are good. I don’t like burger king, and I’ll eat Wendy’s fries by default because I do love their Spicy Chicken Sandwich (#6), but McDonald’s fries are definitely my favorite.

I also enjoy their McFlurries and Chipotle Chicken snack wraps. Someone on twitter the other day unabashedly asked “WHY?” when I said I wanted a snack wrap, as if I’m not supposed to like them or eat them. I don’t get what the big deal is, they are fast, cheap, and easy to eat…and dare I say it? They are kind of tasty. Or maybe I wouldn’t really know because I eat them when I’m 1. starving and 2. have no time to use a knife and fork …and you know, when you’re hungry everything tastes good.

I had a small used truffle left over, and I’ve had this for over 2 weeks now so I knew I had to finish it off before the scent totally went away…so I decided to dust the rest onto some fries. Just two of my favorite things together. Forget fancy BS hors d’oeuvres for your next dinner party, just buy a bunch of fries and sprinkle truffles on them.

I’m on my second cup by now……




Black truffles shaved on toasted english muffins with butter and honey. This is probably the easiest post I’ll ever do in terms of food.

Has anyone read the review about Inception via NYTIMES? I hate to admit it but the review made some strong points about the movie, most of which were very critical. Oh well I still liked it!

A quick post on a different way to do breakfast…..can’t start it without eggs.

This may seem weird but I salt cured this piece of Toro Tuna (fatty tuna) for a breakfast meal (replacing smoked lox)…Salt curing meats like prosciutto, pastrami, etc is quite common but you can also cure and smoke fish (smoked salmon for example). Cured tuna isn’t as common but some chefs like to do it. I think cured Toro tastes 100x times better than smoked salmon. It doesn’t even taste like tuna anymore it starts to taste like some smoked ham or prosciutto, but more moist and fatty. It practically melts in your mouth. Also it only takes 24 hours to cure before hand. I used 2 cups salt, 1.5 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon of lime zest, and crushed peppercorns. At the end I also splashed a little less than 2 tablespoons of dry gin on the salt before wrapping everything up. I know too much tuna talk…this is my last post on it I swear!

Lime zest and peppercorns

Wrap everything up, make sure half the salt mixture rests on top and on the bottom of the tuna and don’t forget that small splash of gin. The gin should moisten the salt a bit. Secure the package and place it in the fridge.

After 24 hours……

Once it comes out of the fridge and you  wash off the salt, the tuna gets a little drier (from all the salt pulling the moisture out of the meat) and what you get is an intensified toro flavor with the buttery saltiness… I like to eat it right after I wash it and dry it with a paper towel but you can prolong this curing process by soaking the tuna in water, and then hanging it up to dry (like salami) for 1-2 weeks. Then the meat shrinks even more…but I prefer this stage when its salty but still soft.

I placed this piece in the fridge for 30 minutes before I cut it, same concept as putting a ball of mozzarella in the freezer so that when you go to grate it the cheese doesn’t collapse or fall apart completely. I highly suggest you try this (with TORO).

Eggs and potatoes (au gratin). Potatoes were prepared by slicing thin sheets shaped into a rectangle, I used a simple au gratin recipe, heavy cream, butter and some onions.  I didn’t use cheese for this gratin because the flavor is too strong and there are so many other “strong” flavors going on in the dish. I  used quail eggs because they are smaller and work better with this dish. This is not figure friendly, obviously.

Layer avocados in between…

On top of the eggs, avocado and potato, add the salt cured tuna.

If you can, add some sliced fresh truffles (I got this summer black truffle from Dean and Deluca for 40$, go to the cheese section towards the back and ask for it, they don’t display it)

Past and upcoming posts may be pretty light and quick (I don’t have much time to myself right now and I’m waiting on some custom zippers and snaps to arrive before I start sewing again). Thanks for reading anyway!

New in the shop.

Comments are close for this post only, don’t worry I’m not closing comments for good!

This bar is very unassuming, no transparent glass windows to peek inside a slick back lit bar interior..the signage on the restaurant says “gold flower restaurant”. I went while waiting for a movie (inception) because the normal show times were sold out, the cocktails were delicious.

Front window of the bar is completely blocked out with rows and rows of jars.

While the outside may look like a take-out joint this is what you’re greeted with on the inside.

It’s so dark inside, and these were some of the light sources permeating the space, each lamp is filled with a leaf with what seems to be water.

The bar is called “APOTHEKE”, jars have a medicinal design and feel.

As soon as I saw this Cilantro cocktail I had to get it. Cilantro = my favorite!

I didn’t snatch any “finds” at Barney’s. In fact I don’t even know why I went because I have absolutely no desire to buy new clothes. Oh wait.. I know why! I wanted to go to Fred’s (to eat), but the restaurant was under renovation. Fred’s has the most incredible french fries. It was kind of a big “fail” day… Everything was on sale which made me want to buy it less, and the unsold shoes from the past three consecutive seasons were all sloppily displayed and stacked on top of one another, made the current season shoes look like they were on sale too.. I quickly headed up to the “furniture and home” section on the 9th floor.

Plates by Piero Fornasetti. All the plates that have faces on them in this post are by him.

I liked these gimmicky soft chairs, they were sculpted into the shape of eggs and covered with printed fabrics.

Lovely little sculpted vases by Jonathan Adler.

I loved these two plates..

These hand candles are cool (I’ve seen them around in stores and on blogs) but I prefer the ones with the wicks attached to all of the finger tips, these ones (which are by DL&CO *if I remember correctly*) only have wicks attached to the index finger.

Banana salt & pepper shakers, by Mr. Adler.

I liked this onesie by Mark Fast, it wasn’t made with his signature knit technique but with spandex cutouts.

There is nothing that excites me more than the Alaia rack at Barneys (Actually there is but I said that for effect). He is just in a league of his own, he makes the best clothes, or at least I think so. The designs are detailed but minimal, nothing litters his designs without reason. They are just so incredibly well crafted and his technique cannot be copied easily, I think his clothes are worth buying because they are sustainable. They transcend trends and the quality is so high that you would never want to throw it away. I really can’t say that for many of the clothes I see (in terms of them being “worth it”, I get sick of everything so easily) but I can definitely say I’d never get sick of owning one of his designs.

I love the solid/transparent combo, in between the opaque knit there is a lighter knit which floats in between like a panel…if you examine the seams and turn the dress over you’ll notice how technically brilliant the dresses are.. in terms of the way everything is finished.

Compared to the “weird” clothes (CDG and etc) , these dresses look plain and boring, right? You’re probably thinking, why does one even care, they are boring dresses for rich people. I totally disagree. They look like sculptures. They don’t remind me of “normal clothes” at all. I love the way little beads were integrated into the sheer knit portion for a sparkle that isn’t so tacky. It was gorgeous under the light.

Beautiful pleated knits

I am not a fan of summer. I have seen way too many cut off shorts and display of skin on both sexes (yes I know that people wear less when it is hotter outside). I am sure summer season is a visual feast for men. Don’t get me wrong I am not a quaker– I just like to see people clothed. Its just a visual preference, regardless of the weather. I know it is very hot outside but I am still wearing jeans and my handy blazer. Yes I am “that” person who doesn’t dress appropriately for the weather. Anyway….

A figurine…..

How I feel when I am outside!!!

I picked up this candle a while ago in Paris (Marais district) and I didn’t even know it was a candle until I saw the wick? Just looked like
any normal porcelain figure to me!