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  1. Lessons from the pros: Wine

    November 29, 2011 by Audrey

    With the Holidays around the corner, wine selection is crucial, whether you’re hosting or simply bringing a bottle to a dinner party. I asked my friend, Delphine Evenchik, ISG certified Sommelier and Co-Owner of Vintage wine bar, and Time Restaurant, to give us her advice on the wine question.

    Holiday Season is a season of social activities, which wines would you recommend to have at home to be a good hostess for impromptu guests?
    I would recommend wines with more spicy flavors (vanilla, clove, cinnamon, caramel, toffee, fried fruit, etc…) and a bigger body. For white wines: Chardonnays from France or California, Muscadet or even Torrontes. For red wines: Malbec, Bordeaux, Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, Cotes du Rhone…

    Turkey, ham, Holiday desserts… what are the safest pairings?
    Wines aged in Oak barrels will have aromas and flavors of cinnamon, vanilla, licorice, nutmeg so that’s always a good pairing with Holiday food. Personally I will have on my table bottles of Rioja (Spain), Bordeaux (France), and Super-Tuscan (Italy). And for dessert, we wil drink some Montbazillac (France).

    What should a good guest bring to Holiday dinner invitations?
    I would bring a digestif liquor, or a dessert wine because most likely the host will have already picked the wine.

    When choosing a wine in the store, what are the 3 things that we should be looking for?
    Provenance, label, price.

    Any tricks to avoid next day headaches after drinking too much wine?
    No… unfortunately.

    If those words of advice triggered any more questions, feel free to put them in the comment section and I’ll make sure to ask Delphine.

    Category Eating & Drinking | Tags: , , , | No Comments

  2. That’s the way we do it

    November 25, 2011 by Audrey

    Another Thanksgiving in now behind us, as many are heading full speed toward Christmas via the long lines of Black Friday shopping.

    This year again, for what I believe is the 4th year, I spent Thanksgiving at my friend S’s. Most people have families to go to that day, some of us don’t. And then we create one. The Thanksgiving of the misfits, of the ones with no place to go, where the door is always open and the food always abundant. Truth is, many, after their family affairs, prefer to end their Turkey day with us.

    Someone confided yesterday “The food is better here.” No doubt the food is good. We have several home cooks (it’s a potluck-style Thanksgiving) and a professional Chef working the kitchen.

    Entertainment is provided during the entire day by an army of cats & dogs, plus a few board games: a live version of Words With Friends (oh wait, what? Scrabble was created in the 50ies?) and a, new to me and oh-so-hilarious, one: Apples-to-Apples.

    It was a warm & fuzzy day.

    “Thank you consequence
    Thank you thank you silence”
    - Alanis Morrissette

    Category Lifestyle | Tags: , , , , | No Comments

  3. On being thankful

    November 23, 2011 by Audrey

    Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. We do not celebrate Thanksgiving in France. I never felt close to that tradition of Family, Food and Frenzy shopping (well, on black Friday that is). For my first few years in the U.S. I bounced around, from family to family, and learned about Thanksgiving traditions.

    It’s never fun for me to crash a family event. My friends have shown a lot of generosity for inviting me over the years, but Thanksgiving really became meaningful to me when, a few years ago, I started celebrating it with my eclectic, wine-drinking, turkey-cooking family of friends.

    That’s when my favorite Thanksgiving tradition started making the most sense: counting our blessings.

    What you need to know is that being French, the whole idea of being thankful about something has been foreign to me for the longest time. We, French people, usually tend to look at the glass half empty and often forget to be thankful for whatever beverage is in there (well, unless it’s really good wine… Then… Maybe.)

    So, here we go… In this tumultuous end of 2011, I still find in my heart to be thankful. I’m thankful for my healthy, loud-yelling, tough-loving family; I’m thankful for my friends and the support they have shown throughout those times of insecurity; I’m thankful for being able to work a 12-hour day without (almost) ever feeling like I’m working; I’m thankful for the best roommate someone can have and all the baked goodies that come with it. Simply, I’m thankful to be alive and I’m thankful to be living.

    Enjoy your turkey tomorrow and all the good things that come with it (not just talking about cranberry sauce here…)

    Category Lifestyle | Tags: , , | No Comments

  4. Going Red

    November 20, 2011 by Audrey

    It is not anything new. The first time I went red was, totally coincidentally, when the Phillies won the World Series in 2008. I’m not THAT of a baseball fan. It just happened that way.

    From there, I have moved on to “redder” and “redder” until I found my perfect shade about a year ago. M. has been doing my hair for several year, at M’s on the Square. And she knew that a drastic change was not a good idea, despite my claims of wanting to “go red”. So we progressively added a little bit of this, a little bit of that, until we found my red.

    MY red has a mahogany base, and, depending on the light, purple undertones. Since I freshened it up this week, I can’t help myself but going green with my make-up: reddish bangs over blue-green eye shadow and black eye-liner. Fun.

    My natural hair color is on the darker side of brown, over the years I tried several different ways of spicing it up, not always successfully. They say blondes have more fun; this one made me cry. I’m definitely not a blonde inside. Big mistake.

    It’s fun to experiment with your hair. Just be sure to be able to trust your hairstylist with your life. And that the (bad hair) day you walk in there in a rage and yell “Chop it off!”, his/her answer will be: “Let’s talk this one through before I pull out the scissors.”

    What is the most drastic change you did to your hair? And how did you adapt to it?

    Category Looking pretty | Tags: , | No Comments

  5. The Little Red CK Coat

    November 16, 2011 by Audrey

    Once upon a time there was a weekend fashionista whom was hopelessly searching for the coat of her dreams. A warm, rich, red coat. A coat that says lady. That brings some color her winter days.

    One day, after turning the Internet up and down, spending countless hours on shopping sites and never finding the coat that will be dear to her heart, she opened her daily dose of RueLaLa… And there it was. Looking at her straight in the eyes: the little red CK coat.

    After a few days of hardly contained impatience, she finally opened the black & white box. Trembling with excitement (and a little bit of fear that it wouldn’t fit perfectly right), she ripped the plastic wrap and ran her fingers on the warm wool. Quality check: success (despite the under $100 price point).

    She put in on in a hurry, closed the buttons all the way up, cinched the belt around her waist. Size check: success.

    She looked at herself in the mirror. Everything was perfect: the length, just below the knee that will cover her more conservative garments; the color,  a rich raspberry red that complements her skin and hair tones; the collar (ah… the collar) that gives it its feminine edge. Style check: success.

    It was a not-so-cold night when she took the new coat out for it’s first official outing, but that’s when she found the best of all about that coat: the big huge collar brings not only style points, but is the perfect place to hide/protect the hand that holds the purse handle when trotting around Center City.

    That’s what I call a shopping home-run!

    Category Closet Talks | Tags: , , , | No Comments

  6. Holiday Shopping – Part 1

    November 13, 2011 by Audrey

    Yes, Holiday Season is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year… But what’s leading to it resembles more an obstacle race, with great shopping opportunities as a reward.

    I’m a spontaneous “gifter”. I love to get people unexpected presents. I love to see something and think, So&So would love that. And get it. And gift it. It’s the most rewarding feeling because it comes from a genuine place in the heart and it generally hits the spot. Bull-eye style.

    But Holiday gifting is another story. Something that requires planning, list making, budgeting… No room, whatsoever, is left for spontaneity… I don’t like it, but I can deal with that so, along the years, I developed a very strategical approach to the Holiday shopping. And, of course, my plan involves lists making…

    Please do not laugh.

    I created a spreadsheet where I keep track year after year of what I gifted people, as well as the gift value (that’s for the budgeting part). I start pulling out this master list around that time, mid-November, and look at last years gifts. How were they received? What was a hit? What was not? I look at my list and sort through who will I be “working” on getting something to? Who might be a last minute decision?

    Then comes the list making for the upcoming season. A blank slate as of November 13th… A list of names with empty cells in front of them, empty cells waiting to be filled with ideas and final purchases, recorded as a source of information for the upcoming years.

    This year my A-List is short. Mostly family members and very close friends. I’m counting 9 gifts to purchase. Total allowed budget: $300.00. Now, it’s time to look for inspiration: blogs, magazines, conversations… and start filling those blank cells with ideas and price tags. I call it shopping in spirit…

    This year is going to be different from the past few ones since I’m actually going to spend the Holidays in France, with my family. No shipping constraints for once. Maybe a little more room for being creative. However, not spending much time with people doesn’t help finding that perfect gift. No eavesdropping on a conversation and picking-up that my mother really likes this silk scarf she saw in a magazine… You have to go blind; and hope for the best.

    What are your tricks for good Holiday shopping? Are you a planner or a last-minuter? Do you set a budget or just go with the flow and just hope for the best?

    Category Lifestyle, Shopping | Tags: , , , , | No Comments

  7. All things Pumpkin

    November 10, 2011 by Audrey

    When I stopped by at my local Starbucks (please do not lynch me) this morning for a little Pumpkin Spice Latte treat, I noticed that the Holiday beverages were out: Egg Nog Lattes and other Peppermint Mochas and realized that pumpkin season is almost over… It’s more than time to pay a tribute to all things pumpkin!

    Pumpkin Spice Latte:
    Starbuck might have been the first one to launch this decadent drink but you can now find them pretty much in every coffee shop. I take mine “skinny”: skim milk, no whipped cream; because I’m a firm believer that less is more, and it’s plain delicious like that.

    Pumpkin Bread & Muffin:
    These sweet, moist and flavorful treats taste just like Fall to me and it’s a real challenge to limit myself to a couple servings per season.

    Pumpkin Beer:
    I had an opportunity to try Pumpkin beer this year at one of those Harvest Festival that kept my September weekends busy and it was delicious. Not being a beer connoisseur myself, I suggest you refer to The Ultimate Guide to Fall Pumpkin Beers for more details on which brewery does what and where. All I’ll say is “Try it!”

    Pumpkin Pie:
    This one comes a little later, and I generally try to wait until closer to Thanksgiving to give in…  Fall is definitely an obstacle to defined waist lines. Recipes will pop up all over the web very soon… I would actually love to hear about your favorites. I want to take one home with me and share the pumpkin pie love with my family in France.

    And everything else: pumpkin soup, pumpkin smoothies, pumpkin ice-cream… What am I missing?

    Category Eating & Drinking | Tags: , , , | No Comments

  8. Fall treat: Hot Apple Cider

    November 7, 2011 by Audrey

    To go with the temperature drop and the still clear blue sky, to match the changing foliage, to warm up our fingers, our chests and our souls, there is nothing like a nice cup of hot apple cider.

    Many coffee-shops around town will serve a delicious sweet virgin version that will give you the little kick needed on a crisp afternoon. My favorite is at one of my neighborhood coffee shops: Philadelphia Java Company.

    But, if you’re like me (with Normandy genes in your blood), Hot Apple Cider means something a little stronger than afternoon tea. I have to confess,  before moving to the United States, I was not aware of the existence of non-alcoholic cider… So I decided to go on a hunt for the best Hot Apple Cider (spiked version) in Philadelphia.

    My researches brought up a few places, two of them in the Art Museum area, which might make for an expedition this coming weekend: London Grill & Jack’s Firehouse. I also hear Varga Bar has a decent hot apple cider inspired cocktail on their menu, but I’m a purist, I’m going for the real thing.

    If you know of any place worth trying their Hot Apple Cider, please leave a comment. I’m also curious about at-home recipes, so don’t hesitate to share!

    Category Eating & Drinking | Tags: , , , , | No Comments

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