Watch Hill, Rhode Island

Ocean House, Watch Hill by Alexander Farnham

Ah! Summer at the beach! Last Saturday we crammed the kids in the car and headed for Watch Hill, Rhode Island - a little over an hours drive. You know how kids are - they all get along for about 3/4 of the trip and then it turns ugly ;-) But soon we arrived - no blood had been shed. We paid our $20 for parking - OUCH! and headed for the dunes, and the beautiful sands of the beach at Watch Hill.
THIS is what summer in New England is all about!

My girl's walking through the dunes to the beach.

How's this for a summer house?


Or this one!


Olympia Tea Room - Carousel - Beach - Dunes


Watch Hill Light House

Sunset, Watch Hill

Love the beach? An 1800s home on Cape Cod.

Paris - La Ville-lumière!

It's been one year since I married my wonderful husband and I can't help but think back on our honeymoon in Paris - the City of Light, the city of love. We rented an apartment online with Isabelle's Apartments and chose a place in the 5th arrondissement near La Sorbonne University called "Moliere". In the month of July the sun is up until 10pm. We walked the streets, sat in cafes, drank wine and truly enjoyed ourselves. I spent three years in Paris in my 20s and the city was as magical as I remembered it. Even my French returned to me and seemed to float effortlessly from my lips - especially after a glass or two of Bordeaux!


"Moliere" Apartment near the Sorbonne University

Clapton Live!

Had a date with my husband last night and saw Eric Clapton live at the Mohegan Sun Casino. The man once referred to as "God" (don't mean to offend anyone here) played for two and a half hours and I must admit he and his band were incredible. I have also recently read his biography and in between, above and around all the sex and drugs, is the rock and roll. He is a man obsessed with music and hearing him play for the first time just blew me away. He is, the real deal.

(Clapton 1970s)

(With Patty Boyd Harrison Clapton)

Meow, meow, meow, meow...

A few months ago we went to the farmer's market for some fresh vegetables. Little did I know my husband was a sucker for stray cats . Consequently, we brought home more than fresh vegetables that day. Malnourished with a scratched eye, we didn't have the heart to rush "Penny" to the vet to get her fixed, and after a few all night excursions (who knew she was a floosie), she found herself in the "family way". We, of course, were in denial. Perhaps she had swallowed a grapefruit! I scoured the internet reading up on the signs of impending labor. Not necessary in the end. As she snuggled up to me at midnight one night, she was panting with her mouth wide open and seemed to be experiencing some "discomfort". (I never have figured out why they use this word to describe labor pain - no offense but some man must have coined the term.) In the next two hours I stayed by Penny and saw her through the delivery of four kittens. The whole experience seemed very familiar. (I have three kittens, I mean kids.) My husband slept through most of it - yes, definitely experiencing deja vu now.... ;-) They are just a week old, still cannot walk and have barely opened their eyes. Thought I'd just let you have a peek!

The day we found Penny at the market!

Restaurant Design!

Many of you out there are into home design but I wonder what your thoughts are when it comes to restaurant interiors. A friend of mine, Chef Jesus Seoane, has just taken over the kitchen at this fabulous new restaurant, Barça, in Hartford, Connecticut. It's located in a renovated factory space turned design center with residential loft apartments that are absolutely gorgeous. (I know, I've had the tour!) Let's face it, Hartford is not a bustling metropolis à la New York, San Fran, or even Baltimore, (BTW, I love Baltimore), and restaurant design is usually limited to small store front type spaces. Additionally, Hartford has it's share of urban issues and launching any business here, especially a restaurant, is a leap of faith. Fortunately, developer Carlos Mouta, an area real estate mogul/restaurateur has hedged his bets on Hartford! Did I mention the food is fab!

Chef Jesus Seoane


Paella for one - yum!

Another creative Connecticut restaurant: Still River Cafe in Eastford, CT

"You like me, you really like me!"

Sorry, I couldn't resist doing an impersonation of Sally Field's famous 1985 Oscar acceptance speech for "Places in the Heart". What all this is really about is receiving the "I (Heart) Your Blog" award from Laura over at World in a Pan. She is lucky enough to live in my favorite city, Paris, and shares with her readers one incredible meal after another. I have a mind to jump on a plane and crash one of her many dinner parties. I'd bring a bottle of wine of course. Pictured below is Laura's latest tour de force - a birthday celebratory dinner for her friend Martine. Definitely wish I was there!
The lovely Laura

Slow cooked Leg of Lamb with garlic and Potatoes en-robe-de-champ

A Chateau Haut Bergey 1989 with French Cheeses

Raspberry Macaron Cake

Additionally, I am to name 7 of my favorite blogs. Of course there are many but I've chosen an assortment that I check in on regularly despite my busy (read: crazy) days.
#1 - Heather Clawson of Habitually Chic. She lives in my other favorite city, New York, and I live vicariously through her day to day adventures in the Interior Design world. Here she is (on the right) with Mrs. Blandings in a little Kansas City get-together.

#2 - Laura at Fifi Flowers Design Decor. She resides in sunny Califor-NIA and is the most prolific painter I've ever seen, producing one charming work after another, inspired by exotic, worldly locals & chic interiors. She also makes beautiful note cards, bookmarks and such at her etsy shop. I believe this drawing is a self portrait.

#3 - Melissa at The Lil Bee. Another who calls NYC home. Like myself, she is an event planner, although she works for herself (yes, I'm jealous), and always has something fab and fun to read about - like her recent trip to Miami!

#4 - Julia at Hooked on Houses. I'm an old house enthusiast and Julia is a connoisseur of all things "house", including real estate, architecture, decorating, celebrity homes, etc. She has a huge following and recently hosted a now famous house tour that was a great success.

#5 - Robin at Bird-In-The-Hand. Robin is my best friend but this in no way makes me bias toward my appreciation of her blog. She always has something fun and insightful to talk about and has loyal followers across the blogosphere. Here she is below, featured as a major installation at MOMA!

#6 - Heather at Beauty That Moves. Heather is another Connecticut blogger that I've had the pleasure of meeting. She creates beautiful bags and accessories which she sells at a local farmer's market as well as at her etsy shop. Her blog features her simple but beautiful lifestyle as a mother to a young daughter. Reading her posts with all their beautiful photos is like a trip back home.

#7 - Meghan & Maureen at Two Ladies in Waiting. What can I say about these two? Again I've had the pleasure of meeting them. They live in the same historic Hartford, Connecticut building as Bird-In-The-Hand. They are loads of fun - in written word and in person - are madly in love with each other, obsessed with their dog Boddington (who happens to own a collar styled by Heather, above), big wine aficionados and very vocal about their politics, opinions and the like, Meghan being the most outspoken and outlandish (read: troublemaker). Their posts always make me laugh. Below is Boddington attempting a little cross-dressing I assume.

If Only I Could Cook!

A part of my sales & marketing job includes doing promotional cooking segments on the local television morning news programs. This usually entails getting up very early in the morning, schlepping various ingredients and accoutrements to a television studio, and finally whipping something up live on the air while making chatty small talk with a weatherman. I can't say I enjoy it and am always extremely relieved when it is over. I never tell anyone (not even my mother) that "I'm going to be on TV" because I'm hoping no one I know recognizes me, especially with the rear view mirror make-up job I'm usually wearing.

All this aside, I've come to depend on the ever reliable Crab Cake recipe (below). It's got enough ingredients to look like I'm actually cooking something. I can throw it all into one bowl. And it cooks up after a few minutes in a pan, just in time for the perky morning anchor to say, "Yum!" Thought I'd share it with all of you and who knows...if I learn to cook...

CRAB CAKES

1 lb. Jumbo Lump Crabmeat

1 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs

1 Tbsp. Parsley

2 Tbsp. Mayonnaise

1 tsp. Dijon Mustard

1 Whole Egg, beaten

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 tsp. Tabasco Sauce

Butter for Pan

Directions: Drain crabmeat of all excess liquid and place in a bowl. Add breadcrumbs and toss to distribute evenly. Add remaining ingredients to crabmeat mixture. Mix gently to combine all ingredients. Divide evenly into six portions and form into balls. Flatten slightly to 1” thick - but do not make perfectly flat. Place portioned crab cakes on a non-stick saute pan, slightly oiled with butter. Cook on first side approx. 3 minutes on medium heat, flip and finish cooking until outside is a golden brown. Place crab cakes on plate & garnish with lemon & tartar sauce. Enjoy!

A little more about me...

Anne Johnston Albert Relaunches "Martin"

(Anne Johnston Albert in Harper's Bazaar)

Over the years I have lived many lives, each chapter totally different than the one that came before. People have come and gone from my life, not making them any less valuable or dear to my heart, but what comes with the ebb and flow of a life that has traveled down long and winding road. (Sounds like a bad James Taylor song.) I have recently reconnected with an old friend of mine - Anne Johnston (now Albert). We met as models in Milan, Italy - she just 17 and me not much older, although I thought I was so mature at the time. We both spent many years in Europe but both ended up in New York City, eventually living on opposite sides of Thompson Street in Greenwich Village. She was a wonderful friend in many ways, understanding what it was to live the life of a model, not all of it being particularly glamorous. But the thing that stuck with me - long after we had lost touch - was a period of six weeks in 1991. Anne was staying with me while in between apartments. I had just turned 30, retired from modeling, and been left by my husband - who had left a post-it note on my the kitchen table and gotten on a plane for London. (Long story I'm reserving for my life as a stand-up comic.) Anne was there for me - sharing my studio apartment, encouraging me to get out of bed in the morning and forcing me to push in my pull-out couch that I had been laying in more or less for weeks. She included me in her social life, letting me be third wheel while on dates with her boyfriend, encouraged me to eat three meals a day and put me on the path to healing. At the time I felt like she had saved my life. So enough about me...!
Several years ago before her daughters were born, Anne launched a clothing line named "Martin" (after her husband) out of a tiny store front in the East Village. She was the new trendy designer for the likes of director Sofia Coppola, model Gisele Bundchen and actress Sarah Jessica Parker. Her clothes were shown in Harpers Bazaar, Elle Magazine and British Vogue. A few years ago Anne and her husband decided to leave the big city to raise their two daughters in the country. Life with young children took precedent over trying to run a fashion business. Meanwhile, I had been searching for Anne - googling her name to death, trying to track down anyone who might know her whereabouts, when I emailed an old childhood friend of Anne's who is still in the New York fashion industry as editor at Lucky Magazine. Within a day I had a message from Anne in my inbox! We have plans to get together as we are now both living in the country, just an hour apart! Additionally, Anne is relaunching her own cottage industry, Martin from her country home. The fashion savvy of Manhattan can now breathe a sigh of relief...and me too, as little pieces of my life come full circle.

Model Gisele Bundchen in British Vogue wearing Martin

Gisele & Sofia Coppola in Martin

A favorite for Sarah Jessica Parker - US Magazine

Martin showing it's East Village Roots


Martin Redux!


Elle Magazine:"I make what I feel like wearing; clothes that look special and make you feel sexy, no matter what the trends are" - Anne

Gwyneth Bashing!

Am I missing something? Is Gwyneth Paltrow hated in international circles? The other day I commented on a fun post over at Habitually Chic. She usually blogs about fabulous design but this time posted a video of an upcoming PBS special called "Spain...On the Road Again" that will be airing this September. It's a travel and food show with world renowned Chef Mario Batali, food writer Mark Bittman, Spanish actress Claudia Bassols & Gwyneth - basically one big road trip around Spain, eating and drinking their way across the country. My immediate reaction..."D*mn, that looks like fun. I wanna go too!" Admittedly, I did comment that Gwyneth would probably survive the whole adventure without gaining an ounce, but I had my backside in mind more than hers. What took me by surprise though, were the comments from our fellow bloggers:

Anonymous: I loathe that woman but, yes, she does actually speak quite decent Spanish. Which of course makes me hate her even more!

Tracy: She is insufferable. Anyone who refers to non-celebs as "pedestrians" should be shot.

CHG: Yes there is something she cannot do....ACT.

Anonymous: Gwyneth Paltrow seems like every rich, pretty, popular, private- school girl I grew up with. They annoyed me then, and annoy me now.

Then I (Marie Louise) said: All this Gwyneth bashing! I actually think she is fabulous. She is an unconventional beauty who has made it in an industry without getting a boob job and keeps her private family life private. She is a strong, successful woman and personally I admire her.

anikasophia: The Gwyenth bashing is legitimate; there are right ways and wrong ways to 'be' an expat, and she ain't got it - a total snob. When I think of the brilliant Americans through the years who are lucky enough to live across the continent, I do not think of this little brat. I love most PBS programing, but I will most likely avoid watching this show because of her.

CHG: Marie Louise, "a strong successful women"?? No dear, Angelina Jolie is a strong successful woman. her range as an actress is infinitely better. She's active on behalf of children's causes and has waived most royalties and has them donated to worthy charities, has a career, children and is outspoken on issues about women and a number of other serious matters that plague our world today. If you are a movie goer I would be astounded if you think she deserved an Oscar for her performance instead of Cate Blanchette. That was a sham. Her performance in every film is exactly the same. Sharon Stone once said "Miss Paltrow breathes more rarified air than the rest of us". I know you must be a sweet prson Marie Louise, just misguided. :-)

Is it me? Or are there some angry people out there carrying around some left-over high school baggage? Like Gwyneth, I too was (once) married to a Brit and living in England. Was I also the "wrong" kind of "ex-pat"? Am I truly "misguided"?

Gwyneth & her mother, actress Blythe Danner

With her children, Apple & Moses