Thursday, April 29, 2010

2010 will be the LAST year I don't own a smartphone

Mark my words. I will not go another year (after this one, seeing as I JUST got a new phone) without either a Blackberry or an iPhone. You're probably all thinking, "How could you not already HAVE one?!"

I know, people, I know.

It's just sad.

And as if I wasn't sad enough - I get the following message on my G-mail from none other than THE Paul Mass:

Paul: hey kelly...we launched MAC cosmetics mobile today...check out www.maccosmetics.com on your phone

To which I replied:

me: excuse me
is this spam??


and the conversation continued...

Paul: you use mac stuff, don't you?

me: haha yes - i am a MAC makeup artist
but this sounded like a spam message

Paul: no, its real

me: wow
that's great!
except i don't have a smart phone
:(
i have an old school, non-blackberry, non-iphone

Paul: still works
as long as you have web

me: ok
how do i get there
i mean i visit the MAC site like daily
but how do i get to whatever you created

Paul: get to the web on your phone
just go to maccosmetics.com

me: i can't go to the web on my phone!
that's my point

Paul: you should blog about it :) (which I'm obviously doing)
somewhere, buried in that old phone is the web somehwere

me: yes but i believe it charges me like a million dollars a second to transfer any kind of data -
and to be honest, i wouldn't even know how to get there

Paul: ok, just thought i'd mention it
you can also sort of see what it looks like on your comp
by going to http://m.maccosmetics.com and make the browser skinny

Well - let's just say that going to the website on my COMPUTER, and making the browser "skinny" is essentially the equivalent of going to Magnolia Bakery and getting a black coffee. If you're not gonna get the cupcake, why bother going? And if you don't have a smartphone, why bother with the super-cool app?

Siiigghhh.

Hence my needing a new phone.

Like, yesterday.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Giving tumblr a try

Not sure what I think yet about tumblr. I need more time to play with it. What are your thoughts?

Monday, April 19, 2010

Oh British design, Why are you so brilliant?

I'm kind of in love with the first shot on this blog. Perhaps it's because wall coverings are my number one design obsession. If I actually was able to put a nice one up on a wall some day, I think I'd have issues deciding on one pattern and one wall, because I want them all!
Even the baby room is cute. I mean, if baby rooms could look like THIS, then maybe one day I'd think about wanting one...maybe.

Sally Conran is the stylist/design mastermind behind these shots - though I must say I could care less about the food. I'm much more interested in the wall coverings. Ok, I know, enough already...

Saturday, April 10, 2010

It tastes and smells like Spring!

After our outing to the Trump SoHo opening, the boyfriend and I decided to celebrate our two-year anniversary with a proper night out. We had gone to New Paltz over the weekend to celebrate, but wanted to give it its due attention with a dinner at a real restaurant – eggplant fries at P&G’s in New Paltz was fun, but we needed to treat ourselves just a bit more. So we turned to an old standby which never disappoints: Cowgirl.

If you haven’t been to this adorable Tex-Mex joint in the West Village, you must. It’s not new, and it’s not even that trendy anymore, but it’s good. REALLY good. Everything I’ve ever eaten there has been delicious, and the atmosphere is so warm and friendly. When springtime hits, the patio tables fill up fast, which has already begun to happen. We got lucky and arrived just as a check was handed to a two-top, and were able to snag it for our romantic eat-outing.

There is nothing like sitting outdoors at a restaurant in Manhattan with good food, good company and good weather. The first time of the season that you get to do it, you remember all over again why spring makes you happy and how the city can make you happy. I’ve decided to do it more this year because of that feeling – one that I don’t think will ever get old.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Trumping through SoHo...or wherever that new hotel really is

For months and months and months – many of them – people have been abuzz about Trump SoHo, a new condo-hotel tower set open in the trendiest of Manhattan’s villages. Just what the luxury market has been waiting for – a building full of hotel rooms you can buy…that don’t have kitchens but are called “condos”…that you can only stay in for a small percentage of the year even though you “own” them…that you can’t sleep in for more than 28 consecutive days at a time despite your “ownership”…and that cost you more than a house in the Hamptons. And that isn't really in the city's trendiest of villages...I don't know whether the location really is SoHo, actually.

As silly as the concept may seem, and as little as they’ll talk about whether it’s going to work, sure enough the hotel had its soft-opening celebration on Tuesday night and the grand opening is coming this Friday (sadly, I will miss it as I’m en route to Phoenix as I type.)

Dan and I checked it out and I wore a cute and springy getup that I thought would be appropriate for the Wednesday evening soiree. Little did I know that black was the required color, or so it seemed from a scan of the all-too serious crowd. Women were decked in sexy LBD’s and there were Dan and I with our springy browns, corals and yellows.

Perhaps Donald Trump Jr. and his entourage was, but I certainly was not concerned.

So what was it like? There are touches that really enhance such as leather-lined elevators and calf-skin furniture (that apparently isn’t real, so don’t get too worked up.)

David Rockwell and his team surely created a sexy-chic environment in the lobby and Anthony DiGuiseppe helped out with other public spaces like the spa, which is yet to open. The rooms? I am under-whelmed. While the views of the river and downtown are nothing short of spectacular, the “living” spaces, as they essentially are meant to be inhabited by the very rich, for very short spans of time, and then rented to other very rich, are bland. The beds look comfy and luxe, but that’s about all the room has got. There isn’t a distinct theme or statement to be made with the design.

But maybe that’s what Rockwell wanted…understated. If so, he’s done it well. I’d like to know the quality of the fittings specified. To me, they looked rather standard – nothing over the top. And if they are high-quality furnishings, he surely doesn’t call attention to them. Maybe this is exactly how he wants people to react. After all, the very, very rich may not always know all that much about design, but they will know if something is cheap. And it certainly gives off no such air.

As I ponder it back and forth in my head I realize, yes, I am under-whelmed by its design elements. But I’m starting to think that was intentional and I think I have to give it another look…

Monday, April 5, 2010

Teary-eyed at my desk

This is why my boyfriend is the best.

(It is our two-year anniversary today and this is the e-mail I just opened.)

Dear Kelly,
Happy 2 year anniversary my love
Two years ago I saw a girl at a party who I thought was really pretty
and who I instantly felt attracted to - who knew that 2 years later
she would be the love of my life and the person I grow more and more
close to and never want to be without.
I love you so much, you are the best thing in my life and I feel so
lucky to be with you baby - I can't wait to do so many things together
Love,
Dan

Yes, you are allowed to throw up in your mouth at the mushiness of this. But if you are in a relationship (a good one) you know you're smiling inside.