Mama in Manhattan!











This is a bit overdue but I have been way too busy for my own good.
Mama came into town a couple of weeks ago and boy did we do it it.
Thursday night we hit the Standard for dinner with Fay, Justin and Olivia then Justin dragged us to 'some random Michael Jackson tribute party' that ended up being Philip Lim's party and it was hysterical! All the gang was there and mom met many cohorts of mine in various forms of inebriation. Then we hit the dane floor in honor of MJ before heading home at 1:30 am.

Friday we checked out the Jewish Museum on 5th Avenue and then the roof garden at the Met before lunch in the Trustees dining room (Thank Rod & PHJ!). That night we ate at home (love that doggy bag from the Standard!) and went to 9-5 on Broadway. I must admit I was going to support Dolly more than having an interest in the musical but we were both blown away. Well done Dolly! And it was a packed house.

Saturday we took the train to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. The train was a bad idea but the gardens and hot house were pretty extraordinary. We came home for a quick change and headed down to the Standard again (home away from home!) for drinks. I sent out a mass invite and people just dropped by for two hours at the bar and said hi. Then we toured the Highline before dinner in Meat Packing and then off to Marie's Crisis Cafe for a night of songs and small drinks!
We got way too tiddly and found our way home around midnight.

Sunday was brunch at Chez Lucienne and then off the the airport for mom.
What a trip! As always, an amazing one.

Glass House






Today Rod, Mary and I played hooky and took a day trip to New Canaan CT to tour Philip Johnson's Glass House.
What a treat!
We jumped in the Zip Car at 830 am and just made it to the visitors center by 945 (who knew there was traffic in Larchmont?).
Our guide was a dotty old bat who was giving us a Comme de Garcon's looking skirt with a Laura Ashley bonnet. Just what we were hoping for in Connecticut! She was a great guide and brought the house to life with her own quirky stories.

The house has only been open to the public for two years. Mr. Johnson died in 2005 (the same year his partner, David Whitney died) and it took two years to get the house ready for tours. The groups are very small, only 10 people, and it is closed in the winter.

I have to admit, I’m not a fan of mid-century modern
1. Because the term is way overused
2. I like my houses and my interiors vivid, Victorian and fun!

But I totally fell in love with Glass House. I love the idea of two people living in this box, sharing the world with their home. I love that Andy Warhol used to spend loads of time out there and that Merce Cunningham had a performance out near the heart shaped pond and afterwards all the guests watoosied on the patio. I love the Venetian looking folly where Philip would pile silk pillows on the floor and have friends come down and lounge. I love the spiral staircase sculpture in the woods that, if you climb it, there is a quote from Philip on the top that you have to swear not to repeat! I love the tiny circle pool that reminds me of jumping into a martini and I love the leather squares Johnson used as ceiling tiles in his bathroom that have aged to perfection.

It is more than just a home but a world, which he created and lived in with his partner for 60 years.

The art gallery was quite fun too. Our guide explained it as a rolodex turned on its side. She also described it like a carpet store when rugs are hung on huge panels and you push them left or right to see the next piece of art. His sculptural gallery was a bit too 70's for me- glass ceilings, brown brick floors and white painted brick walls. But it was interesting to see how he evolved as a designer.

Sorry my pictures aren’t up to par but the tour didn't let us take photos so when Batty Brook turned her head I snapped what I could.

ADDED BONUS- Annie Liebowitz was at the house during our tour shooting Phoebe Philo for Vogue. The Executive Director of Glass House enthusiastically told us that Annie was shooting the designer of C-Line. We couldn't figure out what she meant until we realized she meant Celine.
Well, you can't be schooled in everything I guess.
Enjoy!

Rod's Birthday Back in the Hamptons
















Its been a couple of years since I have been at Jamie's for Rod's annual birthday blowout. Last year we were all in Jersey for Rod's 40th and the year before I was cruising the coast of Spain with mama. So it was nice to get back to tradition and saddle up to the Jitney last Friday and head out early to beat the traffic (although as most people can notice, traffic has chilled since the financial world has slowed).
This year though I thought we got a little ripped off! July 4th has landed mid week for so long that usually our 'weekends' at Jamie's would be 4-5 day long affairs! This year we were in on Friday and out on Sunday- but hey, I will take what I can get of the paradise that is the Drake Estate.
Guest that weekend included:
PHJ in town from Jersey for Rod
Jamie and his darlin' man Shawn
Handsome Roman, friend of Shawn's
Tom Yurken from Texas, Moi
Jonathan and his new man Lawrence (who I adore!)

After a week in Paris I needed some major downtime so no wilding for me. I was in bed both nights at 11pm and up at 9. Thousands of praises are sent to Mother Nature for the glorious weather all weekend. We all got in much pool time and some lovely strolls through East Hampton. Marika and Yitka outdid themselves on dinner both nights- Steak on Friday and short ribs (for 25 people!) on Saturday. HIGHLIGHT- The massive stars and stripes cake that Marika made for the 4th!

Saturday evening we had an amusing adventure out to a home on the bay where the hosts were having a fundraiser for The Ronald McDonald House. You can see their view, which used to be of the ocean but is now of Christie Brinkley's new home. How rude!

Besides the food and of course the booze, there really isnt much more to report. We all just chilled out. Well, except for Ferris. He had a blast! Exploring the house, climbing his first trees and even taking his first dip! Wow, what chlorine does to the coat. Divine.....
Thanks again Mr. Drake for another splendid weekend in Concordia.

Fun with Chris and Rocky!










Since Frankie is in Paris for over a month the house was feeling a little lonely so when my friend Rocky was looking for a place to stay for a while I invited him up! With him comes his boyfriend (and my old friend) Chris. Since they moved in last week its been non stop fun fun fun!

Rocky and I hit up the Isabel and Ruben Toledo exhibit at FIT where Joey Arias almost popped his tuck when Rocky walked up! The next day Rocky made a divine pasta lunch that we ate on the terrace and that night we went to an event Patrick McDonald was hosting to showcase Kimberly McDonald's jewelry. Chris met us there and Robert Richard's was speechless when he met the boys and quickly gave them cards hoping they would sit for him soon. Patrick nicknamed Rocky Snidley Whiplash because of his moustache. Awww!

We then headed down to the Crush Magazine party where we had a couple of beers and hung out with the editors before heading home to watch Lady Bunny's dvd and where Chris found my old corset and gave it a whirl.

Last night Rocky and I went to The Standard's new restaurant for a tasting. YUM! Chris joined us later and found a new friend in a giant dog on the terrace. Then we came home and watched Diana Vreeland videos on Youtube. Divine...

Lets see what the weekend holds in store before I zizz off to Paris. Hold on tight!

CFDA 2009









Justin won! Wheeeee! It was the night we have been waiting for for three years. And Tim won menswear! Hooooorah!
But lets start from the beginning. I met up with Mary and headed to the Upper East for a swellegant cocktail party at Sir Alan Campbell's home for Lulu Guinness. She was celebrating 20 years in the business and the British Consulate threw her a little bash. The house was fun of kooky art and kookier outfits! HIGHLIGHT- when gathering our coats in the master bedroom we commented on the view and a lady said Prince Harry enjoyed the view too while he slept there several weeks ago. Gasp! Im in Harry's bedroom!!!

Then we headed downtown for a quiet dinner at Pastis. While dinning I got the text- I won.
Well so much for a quiet night! We wrapped up dinner and bid adieu before I met up with Fay and the gang at Calvin Klein's Highline party to celebrate. Justin took that huge bottle opener of an award everywhere! We saw Danny Devito. Man is so tiny he could of been mistaken as a cocktail table or garden gnome.

From there we zizzed over to the new Jane Hotel for the Rodarte party which was swinging. Daphne Guinness and the whole fashion flock was rip roaring drunk and out of control. It was highly amusing to watch! Papa didn't get too blotto since Im still on meds for the strep throat but managed to have a pretty hysterical night.

Around 3am we called it quits and we all headed home, I with a smile on my face, Fay with a cocktail in her hand and Justin with a big ole trophy and a newly fat wallet!

Hoorah Harry!










Been a busy bee and havent had a chance to post this but now that I am home with Strep (!) I am posting.

My gal Tangie Silva and I headed to Governors Island to cover the second annual Veuve Cliquot Polo Match at 10am and lord have mercy what a day it was! We floated back on a 5pm ferry swimming in champagne after spending the day with Prince Harry, Marc Jacobs, Kate Hudson and Madonut. But we had the most fun with Tony and Joy who were there too! Tony even got to meet the Prince.
I have to admit (as I have said many times) this was a highlight of my time in NYC (which is nearing 10 years now). The sun the champers, great friends and an amazing game all in the name of charity. Now that's top drawer!

Memorial Day at the Drake Estate











For some reason I can't recall, I was not in town last Memorial Day. Greek Easter perhaps? Regardless I missed my now annual trip to Jamie's East Hampton home. It's always the perfect kick off to the summer with much relaxing, constant amusement and endless champagne.

This year was no different. I brought Olivia with me (and we got one of the couple's rooms!) and we broke bread with Jamie, Larry, Theo, Rod and Chris, who drove up from Savannah for the weekend.
Friday evening was dinner en famille at home.

Saturday Olivia and I were up at 7:30 and in the pool at 8.
We then had a divine chicken curry lunch on the terrace followed by a visit from a golden horse!
Some of the boys went to the opening of the Hermes pop up shop and brought back amazing balloons we used for an impromptu photo shoot.
Later we gussied up for cocktails at a benefit in Bridgehampton for Miracle House. After cocktails we had an intimate dinner for 30 (!) at the house.
We all had a grand time meeting fun new people and boozing up entre nous. Rebecca Field was a guest and I told her I would never forget her feature in Popcorn Magazine in Atlanta with her platform sneakers that spelled "YO YO" on the soles. She was amazed I remembered that one. Can't get one past me!

Sunday morning Olivia and I slept in late, I got dolled up in a running outfit and then Chris and Rod took us in town for some shopping and to buy a NYT since I made the Style Section with Austin Scarlett. Hoorah!
Where does the running come in? They dropped me off a ways from the house and I ran back. I got something accomplished...
More pool side relaxing during the afternoon and then a low key dinner at a friends house that evening with 15 people.
We arrived home around 10:30 and all went to bed! Are we getting old? Olivia and I rented Auntie Mame on Netflix and watched it till we passed out. Divine.

Monday morning we woke at 10am and I was sick as a dog. Too much food/booze/entertainment? Not sure but I hardly slept. We finished Mame, packed our bags, had some down time at the pool and house, then packed up the car and tiddled back to town.

Thank you Mr. Drake for another swell weekend. Can't wait for 4th of July.

The Frick Spring Fling
















Last Monday was my first trip to the Frick's members only black tie ball. What a blast! It was a beautiful spring evening and the garden was open complete with jazz singer installed under a tree and a bar on the terrace. Inside the Winter Garden was in it's usual splendor and a big band was swinging in the ballroom.
What a civil affair. I realized that this whole craze for DJ's at society events is really the pits!
We heard DJ's every night and do you really want to hear Snoop Dog in Mr. Frick's home? There were some incredible dancers and we all gave it a whirl on the dance floor with lots of dips, spins and sways.
When the party wound down Linnea, Megan, Shawn and I headed to the Carlyle for a nightcap. Like we really needed one but the chips and snacks were a life saver. The poor waiter brought three trays.
Thank you Mr. Frick for building such a lovely collection and home!

Oh and was that Dolly Parton and Blossom Dearie in attendance?

Fay and Olivia's Second Annual Southern Excursion















Fay and Olivia made their second annual trip down to Hathaway for a weekend in the country. I picked them up Friday night and we headed back to Hathaway where they dropped their bags, hugged mama and promptly passed out. Saturday morning we were up early and headed out to the farm for a ride. The weather was hot and humid and the horses were not having it! We all had some issues with Zippy, Grulla, Skip and Guido but it ended up being a fun day. Our biggest mistake was taking them out in the hayfields which were three feet tall and thick with gorgeous hay. It was like asking me to walk down a street paved in fried chicken. Forget it. They were so busy eating, no matter how hard I kicked, yelled, prodded, Skip wasn’t moving and neither was Guido. We ended up having a nice time in the back fields and got some good canters in when back in the ring. But just like going out, getting the horses groomed, dressed and petted is usually more fun than the actual ride.

We dashed back home, did a costume change and headed over to Connie and Ben’s for James’ engagement party. I grew up with the Knight’s and when they moved up to the lake it gave us all a reason to get back in touch. Every Boxing Day the Knight's have a swinging party that I usually don’t remember. Kyle was highly amusing as always and she made the margarita’s waaay too strong so after two we were all a bit loopy. We chatted with the gang for a couple of hours and then headed back home for dinner and some down time.

Once home we opened a bottle of wine and had catch up time with mother in the living room while watching the sunset. It was so lovely. We then set the table for dinner, picked an arrangement for the table and opened another bottle and sat outside gossiping. We finally sat for dinner and dove into my favorite meal in the world- Cator Casserole- pasta, cream of mushroom, corn and ground beef baked to yummy goodness. After dinner we popped open the final bottle of wine, giggled around the table and passed out at 11pm. Full day and a perfect day!

On Mother’s Day we woke up late and presented mom with her gift- a phot album of our trip to the Cayman Islands. Her big present was her very own FaceBook page. I created it weeks ago, uploaded loads of photos, asked people to friend her and made status updates about the big surprise. But last week I had a comment on my wall from mom. Ends up she had created her own profile but the present was still a hit. She now uses the one I made for her and me and the girls showed her how to use it. Around 11am Pepe showed up with his two cute kids and we all took a cooler and headed to the boat. Marcus and Ellie were adorable, very well behaved and seemed to have a blast. By the end of the day Ellie wanted to spend the night. Dad let Marcus ‘drive’ the boat out to Cocktail Cove where we dropped anchor, popped open some beers and dove in the water. After talking about swimming the entire ride over, once Ellie stuck one toe in the water there was no way in hell she was getting in. Pepe and I took the plunge to show her it wasn’t that bad but she would have none of it. We all watched the rednecks come and go in their speed boats or broke down houseboats, ate a light and lovely meal made my the one and only Mama Sparks and soaked up some sun before having to head back to NYC. Once Marcus his nap time we headed home, packed everything up, lazily rolled into some civilian clothes and mother drove us to the airport. The girls have been wanting to try boiled peanuts since our last trip to Atlanta so mother swung into Pop’s where I ordered abag from a toothless, but angelic woman. As soon as the girls slurped one down they were over it and passed the bag back. Not their idea. An acquired salt taste I reckin! I ate half the bag on the way downtown and left the rest for dad to enjoy.

Check in was fine and all was calm until I attempted to sit with the girls and offer my seat to one helluva angry Asian chic. She about blew steam when I asked her to sit two seats behind us. It was so funny everyone turned around and looked at her. I asked loudly if she had her britches in a wad and the end of the world wasn’t upon us if she took the seat. So from three rows back she screamed that she did in fact want that seat so I kindly got up and moved and she crashed into her seat next to Fay and Olivia. Bad idea. They got up about 100 times during the flight to thoroughly piss her off and Fay wrestled her for the arm rest for two hours. Don’t mess with Tex!