December 1, 2013

A Winter’s Day in NYC

I had a chance to go up to New York last week, mainly to pick up the print which J. Pocker was framing for me (more about that next week!), and to see some friends, one of whom was in the city from Chicago.

I met my friend who works at Scalamandré for lunch at the D&D building, and then had a chance to look at some of Scalamandré’s new offerings, which are gorgeous! I loved this cut velvet zebra print!

And this zebra print in either brown or black print on linen!

This is the pattern in the curtain at the Metropolitan Opera, except the repeat’s been scaled down from the original 125 inches!

And I loved the wallpapers, too!

Who could resist this cheeky monkey,

or this cute panda?

I was amazed by this woven ikat piece! It looks blurry, but it’s no!

From Scalamandré, we hopped in the car, and took a road trip to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where Andrea Brooke has opened the most fabulous store called Grace & Favor, British Design in Brooklyn.

The shop was terrific and had a great selection of objects selected specifically to be unique to G&F. Seriously, how could I possibly resist this?

Andrea works with English artisans to specially create pieces for her.

I loved the woolen pieces from the Cotswolds where my family spent a summer. She had these great pillows in wonderful menswear fabrics, as well as some beautiful throws.

I’ve raved about some of the terrific English wallpapers, and Andrea had the walls papered with some great papers that you can order through her. This paper looks like steel files, this one like a wall of books, and these lovely green birds have a subtle, but glam golden shine to them!

The day was capped off by a great dinner with friends, including fellow bloggers, Reggie Darling and Emily Evans Eerdmans, as well as frequent blog commenter, Magnaverde, and my friend Jonathan, who helps run his family’s company, Rosselli. Emily’s just finished writing the definitive book on Mario Buatta. image

At Reggie’s suggestion, we went Keen’s, one of the oldest steakhouses in New York. It’s filled with artworks, many rooms and thousands of pipes which line the ceiling. Reggie writes about it here.

Dinner was a lively affair, and the conversation never stopped for a second. There were connections between each of us that ensured a wide range of topics, lots of laughs and loads of affection!The food was old-fashioned, but delicious! Keen’s has no need for fancy infusions, foams or any of that culinary nonsense. They do steaks and chops and the like, and they do them well. It’s food your father would have eaten and it’s fantastic! The place was packed on a rainy Tuesday evening. It was such a fun day, until, literally, the last 15 minutes, when I looked at my watch at 9:50 and realized that I had to catch a 10:05 train! Luckily, we were close to Penn Station and the train was late, but much panic ensued in the intervening 15 minutes!

Thanks to everyone who helped make it a memorable day! I will treasure the memory of a day spent with friends!

16 comments:

  1. Hi Meg,
    That sounds like the absolutely most perfect day!! Love how the antique print turned out--have been waiting for the update. And I NEED THE SCALAMANDRE CUT VELVET ZEBRA FABRIC!!! It would make the most glorious pillows. Price point--I bet it is atmospheric.Thanks for bringing me along.
    Mary

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  2. Dear Meg,
    It was such fun to see you at our confab at Keens! Thanks so much for the treats, and humoring my not so subtle hints that I'd love to receive them. We polished off the marvelous caramels within 24 hours, and we made a dent in the delicious bourbon and fig jam over the long weekend. I thought of you each time I reached for them! Fondly, Reggie

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    1. Brilliant to see you as well! I am glad you liked the comestibles! I had fun making them for you! And thank you again for everything!

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  3. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at Keens some years ago. Director Ron Howard and his family were at the next table.

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  4. Dear Meg,
    How great to see Reggie and Emily in New York and to visit Scalamandre. I met Emily here in Kansas City at a book signing for her last book on Madeleine Castaing!
    xoxo
    Karena
    The Arts by Karena

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  5. what a fun filled day and I prefer old fashioned food myself. I'll have to look this place up when I'm in NY next (in 2 weeks actually)

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  6. I am unsubscribing.. goodbye! I just can't stomach when you posted this & had the nerve to talk about panicing over missing a train.. when a lighting technician for the Rockerfeller tree & a woman who should be singing at Carnegie Hall & as well as so many others  were injured or killed... it just seems so insensitive I can't bear it... there is no way you did not know this horrific event occured at time of this posting....

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    1. Just to let you know that I wrote this post on Saturday to post on Sunday. So I didn't know about the train crash in NY when I wrote it. It's sad, but I don't think that I was being insensitive.

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  7. sounds like a grand time was had by all + love the wallpaper + zebra fabric. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

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  8. I see the zebra velvet on a banquette a la "El Morroco"

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  9. Ooh, now I'm lusting after cut velvet zebra fabric and it's all your fault! I love the gray and green bird wallpaper in your friend's shop. Did you happen to note who the manufacturer of that one was?

    Keens sounds fabulous and looks so cozy in the photos. That would be right up my husband's alley, and I'll have to seek it out next time we make it to NYC.

    Also, Anonymous Unsubscriber needs to get over herself. People are injured and dying somewhere in the world at every moment. Who knows but that tomorrow, we might be next? That's PRECISELY why we need to live each day to the fullest and squeeze all the beauty, joy and wonder out of our lives that we can. What a waste of life it would be to sit glued to CNN, obsessing about one tragedy after the next, none of which we can control anyway, while other people enjoy exploring unique shops, dinner with friends, and having trains to catch? Is it insensitive of me to mention that I need to drive somewhere when someone else just had a car accident? Ridiculous!

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  10. Sorry I missed you in NYC - I was enjoying the sun in Arizona! Love the post. Must try Keen's.
    Wen

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