I have an undeniable love affair with Parisian bistros. The charm, the classic menu, the pomp, the apero culture, le café au lait, the waiters who either love me or roll their eyes at me… j'adore tout! I cannot help but be pulled into this city and the vibrant energy it emits – the rich culture and the way that they just know how to live is envyable. And most of all, I adore how they eat! 

Craving an evening in Paris, I had to bring a taste of the experience to my little boîte à bijoux. A moment in a classic bistro with a few french staples that I cannot live too long without. Moules Frites, an uncomplicated green salad and bien sûr, mousse au chocolat.

Dessert and caviar is not something you often think about pairing. But hear me out. This dessert changed my life for the better and might just be one of the easiest ‘fancy’ end of the night bites to ever grace your table. If you are at all into dipping your fries into a milkshake or enjoy an olive oil ice cream, you have just been introduced to the perfect savory dessert creation. One scoop of this silky panna cotta with its bold briny pairing elicits an elegant salty/sweet balancing act, leaving one delighted and also a tiny bit perplexed. So beguiling, you simply have to go in for more as you try to figure out how on earth caviar and panna cotta work so well together. 

Movies have always been an important escape for me. A form of entertainment, expression and most recently, inspiration. So I tend to take my movie nights very seriously. I believe that my lists of favorites and my recommendations say a lot about who I am. Loved ones who are invited  (forced) to watch my favorite flicks with me are indoctrinated into a little personal club. A place that is weirdly vulnerable and that explains a lot about who I am and why I love what I love. Ultimately, the woman that I am today is because of a tiny starry-eyed girl who sat in front of the television watching Turner Classic Movies, idolizing Hollywood and the iconic starlets who danced across the silver screen. I am proud of who that imaginative girl has turned into. Still day dreaming and still obsessed with Old Hollywood, only now, I see these movies in a whole new light and I can finally host epic dinner parties and swanky cocktail soirées inspired by many of the tales and characters that I fell in love with decades ago. 

The New York Happy Meal. I adore the concept. It is peckish perfection. A better trio is rarely seen… fries, a caesar salad or burger and a dirty martini, what more could you crave on a random Thursday night? A solution to the hustle and bustle, an answer to a hard day at work, a distraction from the day-to-day. I am all in for this culinary trend. 10/10.

I often think about the love letters that Victorian women used to write to their friends. The passions and adoration expressed for a love that is so very different from that of a romantic partner but oh so vital. Having been single for what feels like a lifetime, I have found endless affection and companionship within my female friendships. The love of which has gotten me through wildly contrasting times, chapters of utter elation and blackened pools of sorrow. I have women in my life who have seen me through countless versions of myself (some of which we should all like to forget.) Women who I have laughed with until tears stream down our faces, cheeks sore from unbridled smiles. Women who have watched me grieve and who have picked me up when I could not do so for myself. It is the power and love of these women who I owe a depth of gratitude to, the reason I have grown into this version of myself. The version I am most proud of. And to celebrate them is such an effortless venture. So it seems only right that for Valentine’s day, I turn to the true loves of my life for an evening of much needed platonic romance and absolute effervescence. 

If by some wild chance, it is not obvious by now, the golden age of Hollywood and the films made during that era are not only a huge inspiration for me, but also a large part of who I am. I became enamored with Turner Classic Movies when I was in the second grade. The characters, the stories, the fashion and the starletts… I was love struck. That year, I styled my hair like Veronica Lake, blonde strands dramatically swept over one eye, my affect as mysterious as possible. I remember the school photographer trying to get me to push my hair out of my face for my school photo. I refused. What can I say, I have always been committed to the craft. 

All this to say, and reiterate, that the tales of Hollywood, the glitz and glamour of that world, is simply deeply ingrained in me. So when I set out to create my dinner parties and evenings as a whole, I am often inspired by favorite films, costumes, characters and settings from a bygone era. 

Delivery pizza. A classic, time honored tradition. And one that has luckily improved with artisan pizza joints and creative toppings that leave you wondering how you ever managed to enjoy pizza without truffle honey. But before we get into my current version of delivery, let us travel back and reflect, briefly, on the origins of pizza nights. For once upon a time, before endless delivery services existed, pizza delivery was basically the only delivery. Some 17 year old kid drove around with a light up box displaying a pizza company logo on the roof of a red Subaru hatchback and somehow managed to get to your house successfully without the aid of GPS all in hopes of some cash tips and a pizza of their own at the end of the night. It was a wild time. And it felt so very special. A movie, earlier in the day, carefully selected and rented from Hollywood Video, slices of greasy pepperoni pizza served on colorful melamine plates and a bowl of air-popped popcorn… nothing was better. It felt like such a treat. I loved pizza night.

Plainly put, I like things to be nice. I like to have a flower in a bud vase next to the kitchen sink so doing dishes feels a bit more pleasant. I like my living room to look nearly photo ready when I go to bed each night so I wake up to a pretty sunbathed space. I like my dressing room to feel as though I could be getting ready to attend the ballet at le Palais Garnier, or step out for opening night in the West End. And most importantly, I like to make my bed each morning – Pillows plumped and fluffed, arranged in a way befitting a European boutique hotel.

A Very Retro Christmas. With visions of shrimp trees and jello moulds, I invite you to enter the fanciful world of food art that was the 1970s. With eclectic color, endless dips and quirky skewers sculptures you are in for a Christmas red and crystal platter fever dream. Hold on to your reindeer!