BEST BRUNCH in Brooklyn

For the second installment of our brunch series, I asked my cousin Mary Therese, amazing artist and native New Yorker, for favorite brunch spots in her borough of Brooklyn. When she's not collaborating on creating Broadway props, museum exhibits and movie backdrops with her partner in love and art, John of Jerard Studio, MT does mural and faux painting for many restaurants. She's also a great cook herself, so I knew she'd have wonderful suggestions for Style Maniac readers. Here's MT's top picks (along with some of her comments) for Best Brunch in Brooklyn:

Brooklyn Heights: Jack the Horse Tavern.
Carroll Gardens:  Lilla, new but really delicious; and Alma for both the food and great views of the city.  [Read the New York Times review of Alma here.]

Cobble Hill:  Bocca Lupo, my friend Jeff's place (No brunch at his new one, Strong Place on Court Street, but the best oysters in town, I swear).   
Park Slope: Stone Park Cafe [shown above].

Have a favorite brunch spot in Brooklyn or your home town? Add it in the comments below.  Next month:  Brunch at Home.Source URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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A LOVELY BRUNCH: Camparis on Crete

The first in a mini-series of warm and wonderful brunch places around the world.  This one's pure fantasy for me, as I've never had a Campari, never been to Crete and it is after all a Tuesday.  But I trust the Barefoot Contessa, and her Campari Orange Spritzer recipe, suitable for daytime; and the recommendations of the stylish Eleni from My Paradissi, who calls Crete home.  Imagine coffee on that terrace, followed by a leisurely all-day picnic on the shores of Triopetra Beach.  Or spend the day at Pagopoieion (Ice Factory) in Heraklion, where a brunch can easily extend to an afternoon and evening of food, music and mingling with friends.  Shall we all book a flight right now?

Have a favorite brunch spot you'd like to share?  Please email me (click on Contact in the sidebar).  Your selection and site link may appear in a future post.  Next month:  Best Brunch in Brooklyn.

Top photo from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics.  Terrace photo, Marie Claire Maison;  Triopetra Beach photo courtesy Eleni, both via My Paradissi.Source URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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A PARIS REVERIE

Daydreaming of Paris in winter, soft sepia-toned scenes and a suitcase of satins; leisurely lunches in tobacco-stained bistros and long strolls along the snowy Seine .... Oh, who am I kidding?  I'd be wrapped in polar fleece, Goretex and shearling, scurrying from one warm haven to another, just as I am here.  Still, as I tromp through the gritty aftermath of several storms in my city, postcard-pretty pictures dance in my head and I think:  If it has to be winter, why not winter in Paris?

How about you ... what escapes fill your daydreams?

Paris photo via Pinterest.  Original source, fittingly enough: Reverie Daydream.  Suitcase via Design Elements.Source URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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A DREAMY ESCAPE

Snow came again to my Northeast city last night.  As bitter winds slap ice-encrusted branches against my office window I dream of jetting off to a secluded cove, wiggling my toes in soft pink sand edged by turquoise waters and sipping a frothy colada while a balmy breeze rustles my hair. Oh how lovely it would be ...

Thank you to the wonderful Roni Polisar and Rebecca Withers of the Smithsonian's Hirshorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, who in mere moments helped me identify this photo.  It's one of photographer Christian Chaize's series on Praia Piquinia, a  slice of heaven on the coast of Portugal. Source URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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READER POSTCARD: Le Galion, St. Martin

"My favorite beach: Le Galion, down the road from the Butterfly Farm in St Martin. Perfect turquoise waters and the most delicious coladas from a surfside hut."
--Sandra Mannon, via the Style Maniac Facebook Page

Ahh, yet another fabulous beach suggestions from Style Maniac's smart, fun and stylish readers! Thank you. And congratulations to Sandra, newly elected president of a wonderful alumnae group, the Penn State Professional Women's Network of Philadelphia.


Image via TropicalnetSource URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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GEOGRAPHY by CAT STUDIO

Perhaps you noticed these images from the sidebar of the blog this summer.  They're actually from Cat Studio's  Geography Collection of pillows, glasses and towels depicting regions, states and countries.  A cute way to bring a bit of your vacation back home, don't you think?

p.s. Check out the sidebar for lots of other goodies: a live update of recent Comments; the Style Files archive of previous features; links to some of my favorite blogs; Subscription options; and a Followers button where you can get post updates, join a group of smart, stylish & fun readers and show your support of Style Maniac at the same time--something I very much appreciate!Source URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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SIESTA KEY

THE BEACH:  Siesta Key, FL Oh, yes, the water sparkles aqua and seafoam on this island on Florida's West Coast.  But it's the dazzling white quartz, never-ever-gets-hot sand that completely captivates me.

THE BOOK: Travels With Alice by Calvin Trillin  Trillin's tales of travel, food and family have delighted me for decades.  Worth re-reading every summer.

THE LOOK:  The atmosphere of the entire Siesta Key Village rates a mention here.  Just love the laid-back vibe, beach stores and kitschy touches like a neon-signed outdoor laundry and friendly giant lobster.

LET'S {not} COOK:  When my parents, who live in nearby Sarasota, come to Siesta Key they head to Turtles for the Grouper sandwiches and views of the Intercoastal Waterway.  Now they'll also be frequenting the colorful new Pita Shack, just opened by their good friends.  And the last time I visited my dad couldn't resist heading to Big Olaf's after we saw a little boy pass by with a towering tie-dyed swirl of Superman Ice Cream.  We gave it a try and guess what that crazy concoction of colors tastes like?  Vanilla.

Top photo via BeachHunter.net  All other photos by Doreen Creede. Source URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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READER POSTCARD: Long Sands Beach, Maine

Introducing our first "Reader Postcard" suggesting fabulous beach destinations.  Thank you, Susie, for sharing this sublime spot. Looks like our travel lists will be getting very very long ...

"I love Long Sands Beach in York, Maine. It's quiet, convenient, large, and entirely consumed by every high tide--which means that the sand is packed down and not blowing all over the place!"
--Susie Riley via the Style Maniac Facebook Page

"Long Sands Twilight" photo courtesy AJ Messier.  For more amazing photos check out his website  AJ Messier.comSource URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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EL PESCADERO

Isn't it lovely when one wonderful find leads to another?  Back in April I asked Style Maniac's readers to recommend their favorite artists. Carrie from Style Statement shared her favorite, Patricia Larsen, and I instantly fell in love with Patricia's work, which I featured in this Online Art Show.  While perusing her website, www.patricialarsen.com, I came across Patricia's amazing home on the coast of Mexico and just had to feature this magical, mystical place where the desert meets the sea.

THE BEACH:  El Pescadero, South Baja, Mexico
While surfers flock to El Pescadero's Playa San Pedrito for its world-class waves, artist Patricia Larsen loves the colors. "The desert stretches for miles like scratchy linen, while the Pacific Ocean changes from icy turquoise to waxy gray.  The sky often has a hazy light which filters all the colors of the hills and mountain in the distance."

THE BOOK:  Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen 

THE LOOK: Spare, relaxed, rustic and natural in both decor and dress.

LET'S COOK:  "I love to cook fish on an open fire, often Ahi Tuna with papaya salsa; and make simple no-fuss tacos" says Patricia.  "I usually make up recipes as I go along, but find a lot of inspiration in Donna Hay's cookbooks and magazines."

Okay, when can we all come visit?

Beach collage & patio photo by Patricia Larsen.  Book and outfit photos by Janaki Larsen.  Interior photo by Klee Larsen.Source URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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WISH WE WERE THERE

So many beaches, so little time ... so I'm extending our "The Beach, The Book, The Look, Let's Cook" theme into August ... and including more of your great picks. Style Maniac's readers have already recommended 19 wonderful summer books.  Now I'd like to know:  What is your favorite beach?

We've had a great response to this question on the Style Maniac Facebook Page. I hope you'll join all the style fanatics and send in your very own virtual postcard.  It's easy: just add your favorite beach (with a brief description of why you love it) to the Comments section below.  Your choice may be highlighted in a future post.  And we'll all enjoy discovering new beach destinations.

Mmmm, I can smell the coconut suntan oil already ...

Image by Sarah Lee via The GuardianSource URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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THE FLORIDA KEYS

 

My niece Kelly, age 15, enjoyed a wonderful Florida Keys vacation with her parents and sister earlier this year.  For this post she created a fashion look, then chose a book and option not to cook should she visit again; and I found an adorable cottage and colorful accessories that would be perfect for a longer stay.


THE BEACH: Bahia Honda State Park, FL Beaches in the Keys are more like hidden pockets of sand awaiting discovery.  But oh that aqua water! (Image via virtualtourist.com)


THE BOOK: Heartbreakers by Meg Cohen 

THE LOOK:  Cute and colorful for both decor and dress. The cottage look we snagged from a spread in Coastal Living magazine.  (For the real interior and more details click here.)  Indoor/outdoor pillows from Style Maniac fave Trina Turk.


LET'S {not} COOK: Instead Kelly chose to head out for the Lobster Pizza at Marker 88, Islamorada Florida.

For another cute beach outfit by Kelly check out this post from last summer.
Source URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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BOOKS & BOOKS

Now here's a bookstore built for a Style Maniac: fresh, inviting modern interior; well-edited selection of new fiction, local authors and stylish coffee table books (many of which have been or will be featured on this blog); a helpful staff, robust events calendar and charming children's section--plus locations near some wonderful beaches.  The newest branch of Books & Books (pictured above) opened on Main Street in Westhampton Beach earlier this month; other locations can be found in Bal Harbour, Miami, Coral Gables and Grand Cayman.

Photos by Doreen CreedeSource URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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WESTHAMPTON BEACH

THE BEACH:  Westhampton Beach, NY  Many people think of The Hamptons as celebrity-centric and somewhat surreal.  But the Hamptons I know, thanks to my husband's family, is all about casual, low-key living:  Mornings spent on a deck overlooking a sliver of the bay, steaming coffee in hand and The New York Times at your feet.  Afternoons on the uncrowded beach just over the dunes, where the water gleams in ribbons of sapphire and jade.  Evening cocktails followed by a meal everyone helps assemble--something simple, uncomplicated and very very good.

THE BOOK:  Jaws by Peter Benchley  A visit to Westhampton cannot go by without a reminiscence of the year this classic tale literally swept the beach.

THE LOOK (fashion):  The cover-up is a bit of a fantasy given its price point, but the wide-brimmed, crushable/moldable white Scala hat and silver Cobian flipflops are two of my beach essentials.  THE LOOK (decor): Though the porch and dining room images above come from a stylist's imagination, they capture the relaxed, eclectic ambiance I associate with Long Island's East End ... and they'd fit perfectly inside one of the charming shingled fisherman's cottages that thankfully still survive.

LET'S COOK: Kitchen Express by Mark Bittman  Suggestions more than recipes, none longer than a paragraph, all that can be put on the table in 20 minutes or less, leaving lots of time to enjoy a spectacular sunset, animated conversation and the distant sound of crashing waves as dusk turns into night.

For more on Westhampton Beach & summer style join Style Maniac's Facebook Page and follow @thestylemaniac on Twitter.

Photos 1 & 6 of Westhampton Beach by Doreen Creede.  Jaws image via MoviePoster.com.  For details on THE LOOK (fashion) go here (thanks, Kelly, for your help finding the chic tunic and bikini).  Porch pic from La Plage collection, RalphLaurenHome.com.  Dining room  from archive issue of InStyle magazine.  Books available through Style Maniac's Amazon Boutique. Source URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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RAMBLE ON

"Real travel requires a maximum of unscheduled wandering, for there is no other way of discovering surprises and marvels, which, as I see it, is the only good reason for not staying at home.”  - Alan Watts
Quote discovered on Brave New Traveler.  Image via The Bottom of the Ironing Basket.Source URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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ON THE WAY TO CAPE MAY

Okay, really on the way home from Cape May to Philly's western suburbs ... or just a charming way to spend a Sunday in a delightful small town: Ardmore's new Clover Market offers upscale vintage finds in a relaxed outdoor setting. A nice variety of vendors sell everything from refurbished antiques to boldly patterned pillows (I particularly liked those from Chairloom, photo 3).  And if you just can't leave the beach, one of the Market's vendors, Trove Decor (top two photos), also shows their wares in Cape May itself at West End Garage.

Catch the last Clover Market of the season this Sunday, June 20th. To find out more about the market and Fall dates, visit the Clover Market blog. 

Photos by Doreen Creede
Source URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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WHAT WOULD KATE SPADE WEAR IN NEW YORK?

Given how much a website can convey a brand's personality, it's amazing how dull and downright unattractive many online shopping experiences can be.  Not so Kate Spade.com, a site so charming and fun I check it even when I'm not in the market for pretty baubles (my only peeve: music, which I don't care to have blaring at me from any site).  It just so happens that Kate & Co. also traveled to cities and shores this season. Here's her wardrobe suggestions for a New York City weekend (check back for tropical attire).
Images via katespade.comSource URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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I LIKE NEW YORK IN JUNE ... HOW ABOUT YOU?

UPTOWN: Central Park on a glorious spring day ... the dramatic view from the terrace after a concert at Lincoln Center ... Patricia Field's fun and glamorous Sex & The City 2 windows at Bergdorf Goodman ... the bar at Jean Georges Vongerichten's new mouth-watering and surprisingly affordable restaurant at The Mark Hotel.  DOWNTOWN: The style maniacal yellow doors at The Standard Hotel ... the sublime High Line and views of the Hudson River ... brunch at charming Cafe Gitane in the Meatpacking District.

Mark Bar photo by Julie Glassberg via The New York Times. Cafe Gitane photo by Katie Sokoler via The Gothamist.  All other photos by Doreen Creede.Source URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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FROM CITY TO SHORE

Perhaps you've noticed:  each month I choose a theme for Style Maniac, around which all the blog posts, most of the Facebook entries and many of the Twitter musings revolve.  Usually the theme pops into my head weeks before and the only challenge is to edit ideas down to a manageable amount.  But this month I found myself stumped.  Should I celebrate the staycation fun of summer in a city?  Or do I escape to the balmy breezes of days at the shore?  And then two unexpected invitations arose in one week that made it click:  why not do both? And so this month on Style Maniac we travel From City to Shore, with stops at some wonderful small towns in between. The car's decorated, The Avett Brothers and Frank croon on the radio ... won't you join us for the ride?
Video discovered on Some Teachers Are Cool.  (Thank you, Christy!) For more of  The Avett Brothers amazing music click here .  VW Bug photo via Kris' Color Stripes. Nantucket Beach House via CountryLiving.com.Source URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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SPRING GIFT GUIDE: Gifts for Grads

Oh The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss at your local bookstore and here.  Yellow patent leather passport case and luggage tags by Baekgaard.Source URL: https://thesoap-box.blogspot.com/search/label/travel
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