There’s a new kiosk at Columbus Circle Times Warner Center in NYC: Canine Caviar of Manhattan. Yes, the name caught Moi attention too, so I had to stop and check it out: Mignette might need something.

Not only are there the typical tres cher (very expensive) gourmet doggie dinners, treats, California Rolls (yes, you read that correctly) and sweet potato chews, but Canine Caviar also will make and deliver Doggie Gift Baskets to your favorite petite chien.

Canine Caviar says they are “holistic” and “perfect pet food with naturally preserved allergen free food.” This is their first stand-alone store, their website lists other retailers where their pet foods can be purchases, they also sell online.

the details

Moi tip: they also sell products for cats.

Friday I made a field trip to Chelsea to personally check-out the much hyped Limelight Marketplace: a former Episcopal church turned trendy and exclusive Gothic nightclub, now reincarnated as a bubble-gum bright and squeaky clean mini-mall whose doors are open to everyone. Calling themselves New York’s Festival of Shops, squeaky clean is definitely the image they’re trying to project.

All the PR is paying off: open just  a week, and Limelight was packed with trendy New Yorkers and tourists.

Limelight definitely has the cool factor: the developers kept many of the original architectural details: stained glass windows, swooping stone archways, dark and hidden stairways.

Glitzed and glammed up with chandeliers and glossy marble floors, there are still signs of newness: blue tape holding mirrors in place, workers crawling on the floor measuring and cutting, big smiles and greetings on all employees faces. Note to management: Needs more signage.

The shops are definitely fun and trendy and eclectic and small: I browsed outposts of Havianas (I was a little disappointed in Haviana’s booth: I’d heard they were there, and hoped they’d have the cool Haviana’s Bar like Galeries Lafayette in Paris, but no, same old flip flop display), Hunter Boots, Petrossian Caviar, Le Sportsac. The air was perfumed with scents from Soapology and Caswell Massey and The Avery Perfumes. And if you managed to avoid the many food booths, It’s Sugar will lure you in with their displays of retro candies and giant gummy bears and bins of brightly colored sweets.

Several jewelers represented local artists: Old Hollywood and Tina Tang. Baby gifts were well represented with Silly Souls and BookSmart. And Mignette and her doggie friends would find something to drool over at Sophie and Teddy’s Doggie Delight (they say they’re eco-friendly: no idea what they mean by that!). Zakka is a must-stop: unusual and retro Japanese gifts and artistan pieces including t-shirts and toys.

Even the famous J. Sisters is opening up a waxing salon! Brocade Home had 2 spots: a small booth on the ground floor (with no staff when we were there) and a hard to find larger store upstairs. They were open…but not really, we just took a brochure. They were too busy unpacking to talk. Maybe next time?

But are they buying or browsing? One vendor said the locals are gawking and the tourists are buying. We had one very excited middle-aged guy in grungy jeans and dark shades run up to us and tell us he used to stand outside the club trying to get past the bouncers and rope and gain admittance. Another story told to us in the food court was too yucky to retell: sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll!

There were several food specialty areas already opened, with more promised in the near future: everything from Baci Gelato to Miss Tea to MarieBelle Chocolates (3 shops: 1 on every level!) to Cupcake Stop to WannaHavaCookie (think whoopie pies in every flavor). More deliciousness awaited in the Gourmet Food Court: baguette sandwiches and cheeses and pastries and salads; Cana Winebar and Grimaldi pizza to open soon. Right now there are only take away food places: nowhere to sit and eat (other than the hot chocolate bar at the upper floor of MarieBelles 3 booths)  We were told a courtyard for eating is coming soon, but it’s not there yet. We actually walked over to nearby Chelsea Market afterward to grab a sitdown lunch at 202.

Is it worth a visit? Definitely: it’s a fun and bright shopping experience, and the perfect place to take visitors who are looking for something special to buy. And maybe a few things to buy just for Moi…

the details:

Moi Tip: From what we could see and were told by employees, Limelight is NOT handicap accessible; lots of metal staircases must be transversed to go above the main floor. We were told there is not an elevator.

…it was time to move in…

TBG, Mignette and I flew to Florida on a cold November morning to close on our new condo, and a couple days later, accept delivery of our scarily huge shipment of household soup-to-nuts that had been in storage up North for over 6 years. We brought a couple suitcases of summer clothes, and purchased a blow-up mattress to use until our shipment arrived. We had 10 days vacation to get organized and settled, before we had to return to Europe. As we landed at the Palm Beach airport, we waited at the baggage carousel for our new life to begin.

And waited, and waited. Moi bag did not arrive. As we prepared to head over to the claims department and try and track down my missing suitcase, TBG suddently realized he knew where the bag was: in the trunk of our car, parked at LaGuardia airport in New York City. Most of the bags had fit into our back seat, but my extra-large suitcase was stuffed into the trunk. Mignette was my carry-on. I had not one item of clothing, nor cosmetics, no books: nothing. (But TBG had both his carry-on and his suitcase, and his briefcase; even Mignette had everything she needed for the next 48 hours). Dilmena.

As usual, when faced with a dilemna, I took 2 steps:

1. go to Starbucks
2. throw money at the problem

So we drove into downtown Delray Beach, parked our rental in front of Starbucks on Atlantic Avenue, and TBG went inside while I waited outside with Mignette. And found immediately next door my new bff, Native Sun. Native Sun is a women’s boutique that carries every item needed to get by in Delray Beach Florida for the next 72 hours, except cosmetics. So while TBG was buying 2 frappucinos, Mignette and I were in the friendly hands of Christine and Kathy, and the pile next to the cash register was growing by the minute.

Typically, I don’t try clothes on. I prefer a slightly loose look, so I can usually eyeball for fit. And in a pinch, I’m a fast shopper. When TBG emerged with his hands full of foaming cold drinks, he quickly saw us through the huge picture window, and joined in the selection process. 30 minutes later, I had clothes to last the next few days, until I could get to Target and a mall and organize a slightly more extensive wardrobe.

To date, j’adore and still wear the outfits I bought on that first visit to Native Sun. But I have been back many many times. And so have my friends. And at Native Sun, we all buy.

The details:

No caffeine for Mignette! She loves to cuddle up to this Starbarks chew toy, and it even barks! We found it at dog-a-holics on Southport in Chicago. $14.99.

a decaf as big as me

Are you familiar with the Southport shopping area? There are some great boutiques (Krista K!) and restaurants  like local fave Ann Sather, where you can carb and sugar up on world-famous cinnamon rolls… and my personal fave, Anthropologie, where you can check out some Man Shops Globe finds. Yesterday I saw the beaded animals Keith shopped in South Africa. You can catch Keith Wednesdays on the Sundance channel at 9pm est or on the internet. Tonite he shops Turkey.

Moi’s DVR is set!