I left my heart in NY

Thankfully, we didn't get grounded by weather, and my New York trip was wonderful! Once we were there, it was a complete whirlwind. Alarm Will Sound's performance was exhilirating, and was (positively) reviewed in the NY Times.

A highlight was David LaChapelle's show called Awakened, at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in Chelsea. The subjects are floating in water, but look like they're floating up to heaven. Rapturous!

On our way to the Matthew Marks Gallery, we stumbled upon Comme des Garcon. The store entry, with the egg-shaped glass door that pivots is almost better than the clothes.

The biggest bummer - stealing a line from Jonathan Adler - was visiting the Royalton, designed by Phillipe Starck (who knows when) which desperately needs a facelift. The drab grey paint, the uncomfortable chairs, some had old white slipcovers, some had metal pointed sides waiting to stab you as you sat. The walls had lit horns coming out of the dark wood walls. We kept quoting that SNL skit which involves the European couple whose names are Nuni & Nuni, and they're home is so avant-garde, it's hard to tell what furniture does what.

Last time I was in NY, I stayed at the Hudson, designed by Kelly Wearstler. The main areas are pretty, but the rooms were cramped & lacking luxury. This time, I skipped the hip factor & went for comfort, which I'm glad I did. We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park, which was cozy - just a few hundred rooms, amazing beds - & the staff is ready at any moment to get whatever you want. I needed a heating pad in the middle of the night & they had it. They brought the LA Times every morning, even the room service food was delicious. One night we came back to our room & a CD was playing - Barbra Streisand, haha, but a box of truffles & a bottle of champagne on ice were sitting out for us, with a card congratulating us on celebrating a late anniversary. Nice touch. It wouldn't have happened at the Hudson.

The design was beautiful too. I couldn't get enough of the traditional-print fabric lining the walls, chandeliers running down the hallways, the polished marble floors.