Category — Man About Town

The past 6 weeks we’ve hosted 5 different sets of overnight guests. Our guests use the guest bathroom, aka TBG’s bathroom. Other than checking to see that it’s clean and fully stocked, I pretty much never go in there. But after the 4th guest commented on the jars of salt scrub TBG has in there (the 5th guest was a 10 year old boy and I’m guessing not alot of scrubbing took place in there) I decided to actually go inspect his shower and sink.

I was with TBG this August in Charleston when we ate at Hyman’s Seafood Restaurant. As they don’t take reservations – and the food is worth the wait – we spent alot of time browsing the Hyman’s Gift Shop, and TBG found the wet bar and started sampling the Holy City Sea Salts. In the end, he purchased 2 jars of the sea salts: Eucalyptus and Lavender. Holy City Salt Scrub leaves your skin feeling clean and soft and moist and smelling wonderful!

Made with all natural ingredients:

• Dead Seas Salt
•  Other Sea Salts
• Coconut Oil
• Grape Seed Oil
• Other Essential Oils

Holy City Sea Salts come in a range of scents:

• coconut
• vanilla lavender
• Ed Hardy
• French Lavender
• chamomille

(I remember sampling something citrusy, but not sure which one that is.)

If you’re not in Charleston any time soon, you can purchase Holy City Sea Salts online at www.holycityskinproducts.com or at 888.456.0382. About $20. Each jar comes with a wooden spoon. Warning: the jars are glass, not my favorite for the shower.

Lucky for me my shower is broken and I’m showering everday in TBG’s bathroom…and using up his supply of Holy Sea Salt Scrub.

The reminder email just landed in my inbox: Fathers Day Brunch hosted at my sister’s, pool-side. No time to procrastinate: I needed a Fathers Day gift for my 81 year old father; who tends to toss all gifts on the end of the couch, and ignore them, denying he received any gifts. A quick exchange of emails with the Queen Mum, and Dad’s gift is ordered and in the mail. Check below what Dad’s getting!

Are you looking for gift ideas for the Dad’s in your life? Here are a 5 tested, sure-thing Dad-pleasers:

[Read more →]

Tis the season: no, not Christmas: we have 112 days left until Santa visits. I’m talking countdown to kick-off! Notre Dame’s football season kicks-off tomorrow against Purdue. Which means today TBG and Moi (and Mignette, of course) are prepping for tailgate season.

This year the family has 3 freshmen at ND, so the tailgate is going to be infinitely bigger. And TBG is stepping his game up by upgrading from Popeye’s chicken to grilling brats, burgers and franks. [Read more →]

One of the joys of summer is being able to go barefoot. I don’t run, but my son, my nephew and Omaha bff J are all runners. So usually I’m hearing about 5 mile runs, mini-marathons, blisters, shin splints and all the other daily runners’ chatter.

The latest runners’ chatter: last week my son little M bought a pair of rubber running socks by Vibram FiveFingers. Designed for all types of sports including running, watersports, yoga, and gym workouts these “barefoot” workout shoes are designed to protect and strengthen the foot while enhancing performance. They look strange: like tight rubber toe socks. But they have extra padding on the bottom. He’s run in them several times already and says his feet and shins feel great, but his calf muscles are sore from the different running position.

My nephew warns that barefoot shoes can be very problematic on concrete, and podiatrists aren’t recommending them. He tells me the barefoot running kick started by the book Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. It documents a Mexican tribe of amazing runners that only run in their bare feet and sandals. The book’s author Christopher McDougall makes the case that we are all built to run barefoot, so we should all start doing it. My nephew also says that some experts say running shoes are unnatural and lead to more injuries than they help prevent.

Omaha bff J is checking into women’s styles and colors. What’s your verdict?

Vibram $85 – $110 at shoe and athletic stores, or online at www.vibramfivefingers.com. Assorted mens and womens styles and colors.

Moi comment: Why don’t they call them FiveToes??? fyi: He also bought a pair of 5-toe socks to go with the FiveFinger shoes, I guess to keep his feet warm in the colder months.

Fathers Day is less than 2 weeks away: June 20. These gifts have been personally field-tested by TBG and have earned the very hard to come by TBG smile of approval. One of these is bound to please a father on your list!

For the sports fan:

Cufflinks made by Tokens & Icons from authentic souvenirs of his favorite sports team or stadium: I bought TBG authentic football cufflinks from Roslyn,  276 Columbus in NYC; Spare Parts, 2947 Broadway in Chicago carries similar styles (attn Cubs fans!) But online shoppers can also find them at Uncommon Goods or Cufflinks.com. Expect to pay $130 to $150+. I’ve seen styles made from Notre Dame stadium seats, Cubs game balls, Tokens & Icons also carries pens made from Yankee stadium seats, Dodgers seat bottle openers, Boston Garden floor bottle openers, hockey arena pens and cufflinks (sorry, no Blackhawks: yet!) and lots more.

For the sharp dresser:

Living in rainy or snowy climates is not easy for the guy who always likes to look sharp. Check out Swims:  These classic, classy shoe rubbers easily pull-on over shoes and protect them from the weather. Traditional black is available, but why not step it up a notch with orange or yellow? He’ll love looking good and being practical at the same time. These stylish rubbers are made in Norway of a unique stretchy rubber (similar to diver’s suits) and slip on easily over shoes. We bought TBG’s at Allen Edmonds on Michigan Ave in Chicago, but you can also buy them at Bloomies or Nieman Marcus, or at amazon.com. Around $95 – $125.

For the camera or electronics buff:

These handy camera accessories are practical, inexpensive, and useful: a sure homerun. TBG is a huge camera buff, and has bags and cabinets of high-priced accessories. But accessories are usually heavy and bulky, so not always practical to carry on a long walk, a bike ride, or an outing to the park or zoo. Check these gadgets out. I bought TBG’s online at delight.com

Bottle cap tripod: this tiny tripod screws easily onto a pop or water bottle (better filled so it doesn’t tip over) to provide some distance and stability for your subject: no more stretching your arm as far as possible to try include yourself and that great spot in your shot! About $9.50

Powercup On-the-Go Power Supply Cup: Cameras don’t work well when the battery is dead. Same for mobile phones. Traveling buy car requires multiple adapters and accessories to charge the iPhone, Blackberry, camera, and baby bottle heater. What’s a guy to do? This clever latte-cup shaped adapter plugs into the car’s cigarette lighter and rests in the cup holder. Brilliant: it charges both 120 volt and USB ports. Around $32.50.

For the gourmand:

Wine or chocolates: decisions decisions. Why not combine both with these decadent chocolate covered wine grapes: grapes infused with wine and coated in dark rich chocolate from chocolateur Bissingers? Indulge him! $16 plus shipping.

And what is TBG getting the Fathers’ Day? Shhhh, I’ll never tell. But I will share a shopping tip: I’ve been shopping Mantiques from Treasures by the Antiques Diva!

Moi son M sent me an email with this title a couple weeks ago (surely you didn’t think it was his mom who could work such crafty magic!) And in honor of Earth Day here’s my going green tip:

Apparently this woman and her son have a recycling fashion business: she takes your old castoff sweaters and reknits them into something fabulous. Who knew? (I think the son’s job is to update the website : ).

At $30 per reknit it seems to be working: Reknit limits to only 30 orders per month, and sold out early in April. After all he only has one mom.

This is a brand-new venture, just getting started in January. In the past few months his mom has reknit new sweaters, hats, scarves and socks. You can even vote on what next months’ reknit will be: baby bib, thong (I don’t want to know), sweatbands and dog sweaters. I can see Mignette wearing one of Moi old reknit Christmas sweaters: how cool is that?

Moi note: don’t you just love mother / son collaborations? Reknit is my new fave, I love the upcoming CookieBar by Dorie Greenspan and son Josh. Do you have any mother / son collaborations to share?

TBG tried. He really did. He meant well. He really did. But he blew it. He really did.

For a romantic Valentines Day / holiday weekend, TBG booked us at a charming farmhouse lodge in Vermont for 5 nights of relaxation, and days of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the Green Mountain Forest.

Except TBG forgot to read the fine print:

• no tv. fyi: we have 3 DVRs in our 4 room NYC apartment
• no cell phone reception
• no internet
• full-size bed: TBG was a college 230lb middle linebacker: Moi and Mignette are sleeping in shifts

Does he know who he’s married to? Not to mention, he was planning to do alot of school work, and for that he needs an internet connection.

I am a TV/internet addict, but I’m not totally dependent. If this was 3 days, 2 nights, no problem. Or if we were away on a desert island or Paris or Buenos Airies, we’d be happy and busy: we went to Thailand for 3 weeks and never saw a TV or computer. But TBG’s plan was an hour or 2 a day skiing or hiking – the most he can do since his recent 6 knee surgeries and quintuple bypass – and the rest of the days in the farmhouse, me reading, watching TV or relaxing, him in front of his laptop pounding out papers and researching articles. Fortunately I was warned: TBG gave me a printout of the confirmation email with driving instructions, and I immediately honed in on: cell phone coverage ends before you reach the lodge. So I had TBG email and find out what else wouldn’t be available.

No worries, there’s a cafe with wifi only 5 miles away.

Moi Note: Quelle surprise, I threw money at the problem. Thank you iTunes: we are watching episodes of 24, Damages and The Deep End that I missed while I was in India and downloaded to my laptop before we left : which I hadn’t planned to bring.  When TBG had his surgeries, I bought him The Godfather DVD collection, which we’d never seen. Finally have time to watch that. Packed another surgery gift, Star Wars Trilogy for TBG. Plus my Kindle is fully loaded. And it is a charming, rustic loft with a working fireplace and cathedral ceilings. And electricity.

Good thing TBG’s cute! btw, it is a fabulous, romantic getaway.

ps: I’m writing this post in our home away from home, Seasoned Books aka Sandy’s in Rochester. I have to type fast. They close at 6pm.

I wasn’t always a pen-atic: I acquired my recent pen fetish from TBG. I think collecting pens is a very typical male obsession: as they climb the corporate ladder, whipping out important or unusual pens to sign the business document is a status symbol. TBG started his pen collection over 30 years ago, inspired by an antique crystal and wood inkwell and pen holder he inherited from his grandmother.  Over the years he’s acquired gorgeous, expensive and unusual pens (new, vintage and antique) and out of necessity, cases, stands and holders to display and store these pens.

Having a spouse with a pen obsession or other mantique passion is very desirable to antique, flea and vintage market lovers like Moi:

• he’s always willing to accompany me to a market or shop as he has his own interest to track down
• when I’m browsing alone I can keep an eye out for the perfect gift
• he totally gets why some things cost what they cost
• he understands that something “similar” won’t do: I can spend years tracking down the exact thing that I want

Over the years I’ve gifted TBG with pens, cases and other accessories to support his collection (and to prove that I was thinking about him while I’m off traveling on my own, such as the flower frog to hold pens on TBG’s desk).

It’s also lucky to have friends who are on similar hunts! I recently visited bff The Antiques Diva in Berlin, and of course we spent much of my visit exploring the antique markets of Berlin. I’d been to Berlin several times before with TBG, and was eager to revisit with a shopping list in mind. And one of the items on my list was a gift for TBG. Fortunately for me, the AD is married to The Wine Guy, and TWG is also an avid pen collector (who discovered several years ago he could research and buy antique and vintage pens on French ebay). So one of the first steps on my mission was to consult TWG for advise as to the perfect German pen to gift TBG.

TWG knew the exact pen to track down: a Pelikan pen, and to complete the gift, a Pelikan pen holder. Pelikan is a German brand, so the perfect souvenir gift. TWG also happens to be close friends with The Pelikan Pen Guy! He even could recommend which market was most likely to offer the pen, and gave Moi guidelines on style, price and condition.

TWG’s Pelikan Pen shopping guidelines included:

• pen should be manufactured around 1950′s
• buy from a pen specialist, not just a stall with pens
• a fountain pen is interesting but roller more practical
• spend time writing with the pen to be sure the ink flows smoothly, the pen feels good in the hand
• preferably the classic cigar-shaped pen
• spend no more than 50€
• look for the Pelikan display case: again not more than 50€
• accompanying filled ink jar and nibs would be interesting (if I went for the fountain pen)
• try the flea market Straße des 17. Juni
  

So with our Pelikan pen mission clearly outlined (plus a shopping strategy of our own) the Antiques Diva and I headed toward Straße des 17. Juni.

What do you think of our find? TBG loves it!

Just when I thought I’d seen it all…Sippin Seat…beer designed especially for your tail. Now the ushers will have to check inside the seat cushions!

$29.99 at www.homewetbar.com

You can’t make this stuff up! Please don’t get me one for Christmas. But my bil J…hmmm.

This weekend we drove up to Vermont to join the throngs of leaf peepers…TBG is a rabid photographer, and this was a by week for ND…and I scored a good last-minute deal at the Equinox Resort in Manchester…loved the cuddly Frette terry robes.

We spent most of the weekend parked on the side of picturesque country roads, each setting looking like a calendar photo or postcard, while TBG shifted between his 3 cameras and happily found each perfect photo op…tumbling down barns, covered bridges, pumpkin fields, fabulous fall folliage.

my fave pic...but not TBG's

We stopped at pretty much any place with the word sugar: sugar house, sugar shak, sugar n spice. We bought maple syrup, fresh hot sugared cider donuts, hot spiced cider, spiced cookies, pumpkins, gourds, mums, indian corn and lots of Christmas gifts…sorry, can’t reveal any secrets yet!

We did not stop at the dozens of outlet stores or antiques shops lining route 7a in Manchester and heading up route 100 to Killington…except one. For TBG. We stopped at his country gentleman fashion mecca: Orvis.

We stopped at the Orvis flagship store. We shopped the Orvis outlet store. We scoured the Orvis tent sale. If you’re not familiar with Orvis, let me explain TBG is very familiar with the stores on 5th Ave in NYC and Michigan Ave in Chicago: this should give you a clue that this store is aspirational. For the guy who aspires to the gracious country lifestyle…and is willing to pay for it. btw… they do have ladies and home and doggie fashions also, not my style; I curled up on the huge leather couch by a crackling fire and checked my emails and twitter and facebook while TBG filled his shopping sac. If you like to browse, fly fishing rods, hunting rifles and knives, canoes and paddles…and all the clothes and accessories to go with them. For a price.

Orvis rhinohide canvas khakis

TBG’s shopping recommendation:
I’m told they’re very comfy, very rugged, and improve with age. They have faux-leather trim, are pre-washed, and come in neutral colors like cement and olive. And are on sale now for $59.

Who knew?