Thursday, April 7, 2011

Animals in Odd Places...

When you think of chinchilla or python, luxurious coats and clutches come to mind. But how luxe would having these coveted prints and textures in unusual and unexpected places be? This fall, I am feeling out of the ordinary with the typical exotics and skins (not to mention furs!). Here are a few examples for inspiration!




How chic would these be against a modern minimalist's dining room table?

Snakeskin Printed Plates by Kiln Design Studio

$175-$300- vivre.com



Perfect for your ski lodge home's couch or bed, let it sit alone for the ultimate luxe spotlight

Genuine Chinchilla Pillow $395



An unexpected wallpaper texture, Alligator is no longer a skin for your grandmother's purses...

Alligator Skin Wallpaper $40 a bolt


Even though they aren't genuine lizard, these placemats will transform your formal dining room table into a sophiscated oasis...

Custom Order Only

Monday, April 4, 2011

How to Choose Stemware...

As if making sure that you are serving the correct wine with the right food pairing isn't enough to make any Trophy Wife's head spin, many of us forget the importance of using the correct stemware to compliment the drink itself. You would never serve truffled mashed potatoes in a mixing bowl, so why sell your pricey bottle of wine short in the improper glasses? I found this interesting article that just may prevent a dinner party faux pas....

"Choosing wine glasses, also known as stemware, to reflect both the best of the wine and your own personal taste is both fun and easy with a little knowledge. The shape, size and color of a wine glass can dramatically affect your perception of the wine that's contained in it.There is no “proper” way to serve wine. There are no “official” sizes, capacities, shapes or colors of wine glasses. Common sense and individual taste should be your guide.Wine’s appeal is not just its taste and smell, but also the visual aspect. The play of light on the wine, the “legs” and “tears’ on the inner wall when you swirl the wine and the way aromas are captured within the wine glass — and presented to your nose while drinking — are things to consider when choosing wine glasses.It stands to reason that a larger glass is required for wine at dinner than would be needed for a sip of sherry after.

Traditionally wine glasses with larger, broader bowls are used for bold red wines with bigger bouquets, and narrower wine glasses are used to concentrate the more delicate aromas of lighter white wines.Champagne is best served in a tall slender tulip glass. Visual enjoyment of the bubbles that differentiate a sparkling wine from a still wine is enhanced by the height. The once popular shorter version of the Champagne glass — whose design was reputed to be based on an particular aspect of Marie Antoinette's anatomy — is too likely to spill and doesn't present the rising bubbles to best advantage or prolong the chill like a tall wine glass will.If your budget, available cabinet space or desire for simplicity limit your wine glass and stemware collection to a single size, a number of producers have made all purpose designs. Most all-purpose wine glass designs are attractive and relatively inexpensive.

You may want to pick a design similar to what the California Wine Institute developed as an all-purpose wine glass. It is five and one half inches tall with a one and three quarter inch stem. Its clear, tulip-shaped bowl has a capacity of eight ounces.There is also an International Standards Organization (ISO) wine glass, but — like many of the wine glasses you might collect as souvenirs when tasting at wineries — it may be a better size for tasting wine — a little small for drinking wine.Riedel Crystal has developed a special tasting glass. The glass is made to have a small amount of wine poured into it, and then to be tipped on its side and rolled across a flat surface to coat its inside surface with wine. Watch out for spills! An elegant dinner party, where a different wine accompanies each course, is enhanced with a table setting that includes a wine glass for each wine. The glasses should be arranged in the order they are to be used and right to left. Wine is traditionally poured from the right, while food is served from the left.The food being served will dictate the choice of wine, but you will most likely begin with tall-stemmed hock glasses for whites and progress to wine goblets for reds then use a smaller glass for aperitifs. A matching water glass is an elegant touch. Be sure not to fill a wine glass too full, one third to one half full at the most. You want to leave room to capture the bouquet in the upper bowl as it rises from the swirled wine, and to allow the glass to be tilted — at approximately a forty-five degree angle — to evaluate and enjoy the color of the wine.The wine glass stem gives you something to hold onto without warming the wine with your body heat. If the wine happens to be served too cold, cupping the bowl in your hand is an easy way to quickly warm it up."

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Watching Toast Burn...



Toasters really don't have a place in a modern TWT's kitchen, beacause amid all of your stainless steel gadgets and electrics, it just looks out of place. But place one of Williams Sonoma's Magimix Vision Toasters $350 next to the eighteen-lever espresso maker, and it will look happy and very at home. It has four pre-programmed settings including Toast, Bagel, Reheat, and Defrost, and crumbs are never an issue because you can just slide out the base to sweep them up. Plus you can see how golden brown your whole wheat toast is, whether you like it half toasted or double toasted.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

How To Select Stationery


If you've recently attended a dinner party, weekend brunch date, or even just an evening that left such an impression that you feel like a technology thank you is inappropriate, you're probably right. Thank you's via email, text, or ecard, even though you are sending it with the right intentions, can be deemed cold and possibly even rude. Instead, try writing a personable letter to prove just how touched you were by the event. It's classy, tasteful, and shows your graciousness. I found a fantastic article in Allure about how to select the perfect stationery for your taste....here are some tips from William S. Miller, owner of stationery store the "Printery" located in Oyster Bay, New York.
-Know your options
With so many things to consider—color, font, borders, monograms, icons, envelopes—the choices can feel overwhelming, but the best way to get a sense of what you like is to comb through samples. What are you drawn to? Do you like brighter colors or pale paper? Simple fonts or something more elaborate? A century ago, there might have been rules about what personal papers should look like, but today, if it looks good, it is good, and your sensibility should be your guide.
·-Get a feel for it
Most people like the feel of heavy cotton paper with an eggshell, or smooth, finish. Twenty years ago, everyone ordered letter sheets, but today most people opt for correspondence cards, which are more versatile. They can accommodate a few lines of thanks or even a whole condolence note.
·-Color it in
When choosing colors, think about how the paper and the lettering will play off each other. A creamy off-white is the most basic—and conservative—choice for paper stock, but I love blues and greens, and we have a tobacco-colored paper that makes the ink on top really pop. Pale gray and silver is another sophisticated combination, as is pale green and copper, or orange and brown. (Make sure metallics don't look like tinfoil; you want them to just catch the light, not reflect it.) I also like a tone-on-tone effect, such as the one you get by pairing two shades of blue.
·-Consider your audience
If the stationery is for professional purposes, I think it's best to use your full name, since a potential client or employer may not recognize your initials. A monogram is both more personal and more old-fashioned. The most classic lettering styles are English Script, Shaded Roman, and a sans-serif Gothic—all three are timeless.
·Finishing touches
An envelope should have your return address printed on the flap, and I prefer full words to abbreviations. Use numerals unless the number is ten or less. And if you want them to feel really special, have the envelope lined with tissue in a shade that echoes the rest of your color scheme.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Need Inspiration For Dinner?



It's one thing to make dinner for SO, but it's another to make an impressive dinner for him that he talks about for days. And even though you're a TWT, it doesn't mean that you have to be a walking recipe book complete with interesting and tasty meals. Sometimes the hardest part of making a meal isn't the cooking for the planning or even the prep, but it's the idea. If you feel like you're always running out of ideas for meals and are tempted to eat the same things over and over again, (even if you get the same dish at a nice restaurant over and over again, it gets boring) it's time for some inspiration. I turn to TasteSpotting, a community for chefs and food bloggers alike to post pictures, recipes, tips, and instructions for any kind of food possibly imaginable. You won't believe how exciting cooking and preparing beautiful food can be.....


Friday, March 26, 2010

International Rolex Regetta!


If you are a lucky TWT who finds herself in the St. Thomas area this weekend, you simply must put on your topsiders and visit the 2010 International Rolex Regetta. Starting today and going until March 28th, the "Crown Jewel Of Carribbean Racing" is taking place at the St. Thomas Yacht Club. With 69 teams competiting in four divisions, and plenty of rum to go around, (Mount Gay Rum is one of the top sonsors) it's an event an TWT who loves yacht racing (or yachts in general) can't afford to miss. Another top sponsor of this annual event is official retailer of Rolex watches, A.H. Riise in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The winning team receives their own Rolex watches, and the prestigious title of winer of the 37th Annual Rolex Regetta. If you couldn't make it to St. Thomas for the event, watch live results at http://www.rolexcuupregetta.com/.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Springtime Inspiration

I can feel spring in the air already; it just smells like spring. It's almost as if Mother Earth knows the trauma it put us through during the winter (dry skin, brittle nails, static and flyaways, winter blues...) and now she's trying to remind us of how lucky we are to be alive. Kiss your boots, fur jackets, cashmere scarves, and ultra thick body lotions good bye.
This spring, I am feeling very inspired, and I feel very lucky to be a TWT because there is no better season to express femininity and fresh style.


Inspiration: Polka Dots
1.2.
1.Kate Spade $395
2.Anthropologie $148
1. Add Image2.
1. Stella McCartney $495
2. Tweezerman $15


Inspiration: Tasteful Floral Prints
1. 2.
1. Tory Burch $265
2. Dean and Deluca Petit Fours $50

1. 2.
1. Rene Caovilla $975
2. Neiman Marcus $32-$38

Inspiration: Something Delicate
1.2.
1. Jimmy Choo $795
2. Anthropologie $24
1.2.

1. Vosges Haut Chocolat $42
2. Laurence Dumont Vanille Monoi $50