This one is on my must go list. To read NY Times correspondent Gardiner Harris words, Reggie’s Camel Camp is one of few places to “recall the era of the maharajahs and their spirited bond with the British”. He tells tales of Reggie Singh, Camel Camp Osian’s proprietor, passing around free bottles of champagne at his decadent little hideaway nestled in the Indian dunes.

Located in Jodhpur, India, on one side of the dunes lie Osian temples and the other, mystic views of the Thar Desert of Rajasthan. This is truly a castle in the sand as it sports a pool, luxuriously fitted tents and even a camel racetrack. Talk about an oasis. As Reggie himself is the grandson of the Maharajah Ratan Singh of Jodhpur, he goes out of his way to make his guests feel like royalty. Explore the desert sands, local tribes and villages on camelback by day, sip champagne and smoke cigars in the Safari Bar with Reggie by night. Fit for James Bond, a visit from a swanky British spy and his glamorous gal wouldn’t be out of place in Reggie’s domain. I’m so there- in my mind anyway.

Being that this year’s tax day was not a pretty one, I’ll be packing my imaginary bag full of these goodies. So the Leica’s a bit out of my reach right about now but that crossbody bag is $49. Hmmm.

1. Vintage copy of A Passage to India. Ok so this is like $11,000 or something but it looks cool and this is my couch trip and I can fake buy if I want to.
2. Josie Maran’s SPF 40 Moisturizer- fantastic- my everyday moisturizer with great SPF protection and NO stinky smell, love this stuff.
3. Dolce Vita’s Bagley Gladiator Flat
4. Joie Julietta silk pants- a splurge but this is all pretend anyway so whatevs.
5. Anthropolgie’s Slubby Lace Up Dolman tee.
6. Block Shop’s Arrows Coral scarf.
7. Joy Gryson Crossbody Bag. Because it’s $49 and something here has got to be sensible.  Plus, this would look pretty good amongst the dunes, don’t you think?
8. Leica point and shoot.

So maybe I’m not actually jetting off to Jodhpur (not yet anyway) but I can certainly Couch Sip and dream of a night in Reggie’s Safari Bar. I’m thinking that this Champagne Cocktail recipe from Jerry Thomas’ 1862 The Bartender’s Guide: How To Mix Drinks or The Bon Vivant’s Companion is a perfect fit for this old world haunt.

First of all, I need to own this book. I can’t very well claim to be a member of the Bon Vivant club without owning the Bon Vivant’s Guide. How many times can I say Bon Vivant? Bon Vivant Bon Vivant Bon Vivant. Try it, it’s tough- much easier to type. But I digress, you can pick up a reprint via Amazon here, it’s chock full of old school 19th century fancy cocktail recipes.

This one is super simple.

You need:
Champagne
Chilled Champagne Flute
1 Sugar Cube
Small Bowl
3 Dashes of Angostura Bitters
Lemon Twist

How You Make It:
1. Soak the sugar cube in a bowl full of the bitters.
2. Pour champagne into chilled flute.
3. Drop the sugar cube in.
4. Garnish with the lemon twist.

Voilà- How easy is that! I think Reggie would approve, maybe one day I’ll find out. In the meantime, from my couch to yours- Cin Cin!

{Images: Camel Rider: Naina Redhu, Reggie’s Camel Camp: camelcamposian.com, Polaroid Sunset Shot: Bruce Miller, Champage Cocktail: Lucas Allen}

Related posts:

  

Amy Azzarito is a girl who knows how to mix it up. A former librarian, bookbinder, screenwriter, P.A., blogger and now managing editor of Design Sponge with degrees in library science, journalism and decorative arts, she’s a bit of a Renaissance woman. She can add author to the list as this past month she released Past & Present, an ode to 24 of her favorite moments in decorative arts history and the 24 DIY modern design projects inspired by them. Cool.

She not only writes about decorative arts in modern design trends, but she lives it. I spied her apartment in the Times this morning chock full of quirky little DIY trimmings and artful collections. I love her mix of the old and new and especially her thoughtful pops of pink throughout her charcoal home. She repurposed her bedside lamp from an antique chandelier, added super cool leather straps to her kitchen cabinets and created arches to add character to her IKEA bookshelves. I really love this home, it’s modern, eclectic and inventive. Read the Times feature on Amy here and Amy’s own post loaded with design details here.

I would pair this hot pink Puglian with this apartment:

2011 Kreos Castello Monaci Rosato: a delicious Italian rosé to match Amy’s ancestry and apartment, not to mention- it’s delicious. Imported by Frederick Wildman, this wine is a blend of mostly Negroamaro (90%) and Malvasia di Lecce. From the rosato region of Italy, this wine comes from the sunbaked clay and limestone Puglian earth and looks like an Italian summer sunset. It is fresh and clean with hints of crushed red berries and a bit of spice making it a great match for Middle Eastern food. $12.99. Cin Cin!

{Images by Bruce Buck for the NYTimes and Design Sponge}

Related posts:

  

Depeche Mode’s on tour, Jurassic Park opens this Friday in a one week 3D release and I spied this cd at Starbucks where everyone on the cover looks like they just walked out of my freshman dorm. Visions of girls in oversized flannel shirts flood my brain while Liz Phair, the Indigo Girls and the rest of those Lilith Fair ladies harmonize in my head and that damn Counting Crows song never stops playing. Ahh yes, the early/mid 90s.

And as for Jurassic Park’s re-release, do we really need it? Why yes, yes we do. This is one of those movies I can and have watched countless times. I don’t quite know what it is but I know Jeff Goldblum has something to do with it. He has the single best line in the movie. After narrowly escaping a terrifying T-Rex attack, he mutters, “Think they’ll have that on the tour?” Only Goldblum could make that line sing with such deliciously sly sarcasm. Yes, we need to see this in 3D. I’m there. What say you?

Related posts:

  

A few indulgences for my favorite season:

Anthropologie’s Poisson Paillette Peep-Toe flats. Because I know I will wear these every friggin’ day and I’m a sucker for anything metallic- the best neutral.

Springtime in Paris- ooh la la. A darling little mini globe of Paris so a girl can spin while she dreams. Perfect for the bebes’ room.

A cat-faced birdhouse- I love it.

Smadar Shani’s silver basket bags. This Israeli designer has a way with brushed silver and leather.

Trader Joe’s sells this Blason de Bourgogne rosé brut cremant for 12 bucks and it’s delicious. Fizzy, bright, rosy and like a mouthful of strawberries- you can’t go wrong.

I just ordered this book because who doesn’t want to eat where the pros go? Just another indulgence for my everlasting list making.

I’ve been looking for a great affordable gold cuff for this season. I love a constellation- sold.

I’d love to hear what’s on your wish list for spring.

Related posts:

  

Dear Spring, Are you really here? Please say yes. We are gearing up for our very first egg hunt with an outing to a local farm on Sunday. I can’t wait to see the bebes with the little spring farm animals. Should be a fun weekend and the forecast here calls for blue skies- we’ll see how it shakes out as Punxsutawney Phil was clearly trying to pull a fast one on us.

A Few Fun Easterly Things

-Thomson’s seersucker pin striped blazer with matching shorts at Pink Olive.
-Dad’s skinny minty tie, an Etsy find.
-My Peacekeeper’s “Paint Me Content” natural lipstick- this is the most flattering color for fair to medium skin-toned women. I pretty much wear this everyday. I originally found it at ABC Home and they have since sold out, available at the company’s website.
-Felt Easter baskets found at Whole Foods.
-Gigi’s ballet flats- another Etsy find.
-My go-to yucky stuff-free Tarte foundation with SPF 15 for the hopefully sunny weekend- love this stuff.
-Gigi’s Tulip Clips- aren’t these adorable- and spring appropriate. Hello Shisho.
-My Colorcycle Tote from Anthropologie. I love this thing. I throw diapers, wipes, pacis and my laptop in, and I’m good to go.
-My Punchy Pink Chewbeads for the teething bebes.
-Portrait of a spring lamb by Sharon Montrose at The Animal Print Shop- amazingly cute baby animal portraits- so adorable for a nursery.

What I’m Cooking for Easter Dinner: 

Yields: 2 servings

How You Make It:

Seared Sea Scallops
1. Over medium heat, add a small pat of Irish butter to the pan.
2. Add scallops (6-8 for 2 people), season with salt and pepper and quickly sear on both sides until browned, about 2 minutes tops.
3. Take off the heat and allow scallops to cook off heat for 5 minutes. They will cook through.
4. Add pan back to medium heat and throw in a splash of white wine with the juice of a lemon. Allow to come to a boil, take off the heat and drizzle over scallops.

Salted Arugula Salad
1. Throw a large handful of washed and dryed arugula into a mixing bowl.
2. Salt the leaves with a few pinches of sea salt and work through.
*The key to your salted salad- add the salt before the olive oil so that it will stick to the leaves. This little tip courtesy of famed Italian cookbook author, Marcella Hazan.
3. Add in a handful of pine nuts, sliced avocado and a few fresh mozzarella balls.
4. Season with fresh black pepper.
5. Squeeze the juice of a small lemon over the greens.
6. Drizzle olive oil to taste over the salad and toss.

Voila- a super easy and tasty meal.

If I’m super ambitious, I’ll make this for dessert, a Cornmeal-Almond Cake with Mascarpone and Strawberries- kind of perfect for Easter. Not exactly great for the calorie counting that I’ve been trying to do, but hey- it’s a holiday!

What I’m Sipping with Easter Dinner: 

Kermit Lynch’s 2009 Clos Ste. Magdeleine Cassis Blanc
Mostly Marsanne, this white tastes of the sea air as it is made literally on the coast of Southern France in Cassis- a perfect pairing with seafood. I visited the winery last summer, talk about La Belle Vie- Wowzers. This place is the stuff of dreams churning out the nectar of the Gods.

Cin Cin and Happy Easter! How will you celebrate this weekend?

Related posts:

  

I love the look of walnut and sheepskin together- warm and fuzzy while still modern.  Recreate the lok with Room and Board’s Soren lounge chair- a beautifully crafted nod to its mid century scissor-legged sisters and Ikea’s very affordable sheepskin. For a more affordable re-creation, look to craigslist for vintage mid century chairs. I scored a Cherner chair for $200 on NYC’s craigslist, a steal.

{Modern Chair Image: Rue Mag}

Related posts:

  

The world’s most famous milliner up close and personal in a new Phaidon photo book.

If you live on this planet you most likely caught a glimpse of this:

If you hadn’t heard of Philip Treacy, the milliner to the stars, before Princess Beatrice’s appearance at the Royal Wedding in 2011, you were made acutely aware of him at that moment. Say what you will about her fascinator- a fallopian fantasy, an ovarian odyssey- perhaps, but Treacy is an artist who has stayed true to his craft throughout his career. His work has been prevalent in the fashion world for decades but Will & Kate’s nuptials really pushed him into the forefront of the public eye.

And now we get a backstage pass into his millinery madness. Photographer Kevin Davies provides us with an exclusive look at Treacy’s life and work in a new photo book by Phaidon Press, Philip Treacy by Kevin Davies.

All this talk of Easter and bonnets has got me wishing I could don a Treacy fascinator come Easter morning. I’m not sure it would be the right choice for our trip to Ticonderoga Farms with the bebes but it would certainly make a statement.

A few Philip Treacy standouts suitable for a fancy Easter outing:

Treacy in his workshop. I love this photo.

{Images: Kevin Davies, AP}

Related posts:

  

Last up in my weeklong mini course in movie musical love, The Frug.

If you have not seen Fosse’s Frug, please treat yourself to this viewing. From Sweet Charity, this is true mastery at work- such a gem of a piece. If you love fashion and/or film, you will love this. Inspired by Fellini, you can clearly see the Italian auteur’s influence at hand. This is 60s mod fabulousness meets Fellini’s freaks. L.O.V.E.

Ok, so to roundup my top 5 (or 6) favorite movie musical numbers of all time, we have:

“There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This”- Sweet Charity
“Cool”- West Side Story
The Barn Dance- Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
The Studio Scene- Swing Time
The Gotta Dance Dream Sequence- Singin’ in the Rain
“The Rich Man’s Frug”- Sweet Charity

Your turn. Please share your favorite movie musical moments. I would LOVE to hear them. I hope you enjoyed movie musical week- thank you for playing!

Related posts:

  

My own little mini course in movie musical love. Inspired by my friend Terra who recently asked her fellow dancer friends what number or musical moment inspired them to become dancers, I thought I might roundup my top 5 moments in movie musical history. It was so hard, there are so many great, life-changing numbers- yes, I am a bit of a musical geek- and so many just wacky and hilarious ones that I love too, but I managed to muster up my top 5- I’ll post one a day throughout the week.

First off, Shirley MacLaine, Chita Rivera and Paula Kelly in the dynamic fireworks of a number, “There’s Got to Be Something Better Than This” from Sweet Charity. Talk about girl power. This number is such a wonderful combination of vulnerability, desperation, fearlessness and force. If you didn’t root for these women before this number, you do now.

If you haven’t seen Sweet Charity, do yourself a favor and sit yourself down for a viewing. A little dated sure, but this is one of Bob Fosse’s early film choreography gigs and it’s chock full of fantastically stylized numbers. Anyone with a creative soul would be inspired by his work in this movie. Gwen Verdon- Fosse’s muse, wife and the original Charity on Broadway- was passed over for the more Hollywood friendly MacLaine, which must have been tough to swallow as Verdon is an iconic trailblazer, but she was on set to coach MacLaine through the numbers. Not to take anything away from MacLaine, she is absolutely wonderful in the role.

Sweet Charity is an adaptation of Fellini’s, Nights of Cabiria (if you haven’t seen this one, run to your Netflix login page asap- talk about genius, here Fellini’s wife and muse, Giulietta Masina plays the Charity role, Cabiria) and you can really begin to see Fellini’s influence on Fosse as a choreographer and storyteller. All That Jazz is also an adaptation of 8 1/2. The Italian auteur’s influence continues through Fosse’s life’s work as we see him masterfully bring the ensemble players into the foreground the way Fellini did.

Ok enough already, just watch it. You won’t so much see Fellini’s influence in this particular number, but I’ll post another favorite later in the week from Charity, where it is unmistakeable. This one is just pure joy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Related posts:

  

Just try not to smile while watching Rita Hayworth. If there is one thing about this Hollywood starlet (and there are many) it’s that she is absolutely infectious. While she wasn’t the most polished of the movie musical dancing stars, she was one of the most fun to watch. She just has a blast (or at least looks like it) when she moves. She knows how to work it- using a subtle wink, a swish of her hair, and a flip of her dress for full effect. This is not a learned skill- you cannot teach this, you’ve either got it or you don’t- and it’s why she was a star.

This video mash up below kicks off my weeklong tribute to dance in movie musicals. I have often thought I was born in the wrong era. If I had my druthers, I would have been a child of MGM’s Golden Age of Movie Musicals dancing alongside the likes of Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. I would have been so thrilled to be the 3rd girl from the left in the Singin’ in the Rain dream sequence or any of that era’s musicals for that matter, they are so magical. I’ll be picking my 5 favorite dance numbers from Hollywood movies next week- stay tuned.

Meanwhile, here she is in all her redheaded glory in a movie musical mash up to the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive.  I’m kind of a purist when it comes to these things and like to see numbers as they were intended to be seen, but this one is just pure fun and brings Miss Hayworth’s awesome toe tapping to our attention. Not just a pretty face, Rita Hayworth’s got the three C’s: Charm, Chops and Charisma. Enjoy and Cin Cin!

{Image: Rita on the Rooftop}

Related posts: