04 August, 2009

Weekending in NYC

One of the perks of Babe's job is, that when he's working in some fabulous city, his company will send me there for the weekend, if I so desire. In which case, they pay for my travel expenses and I pick a hotel grand enough to bleed Babe of the majority of his Starwood points.

This weekend I decided to join him in NYC and dragged him out of his digs at the W and over to the glorious St. Regis.

Since he put me in charge of making the reservation, I opted for the "deluxe" room with my own personal butler, natch...Unfortunately, for him, he had trouble getting out of Boston Friday which left me alone for hours with nothing to do on a rainy NYC evening other than visit the spa and order in room dining and cocktails...

Along for the trip? The usual suspects...

First thing Saturday morning we headed to BMOC's office in the city to pick up his suitcase, which had been dispatched from the W the day before. Item of importance? Antiperspirant. Seems my butler could only provide deodorant. "Turbo", as he is sometime affectionately called by his dad, and rightly so, requires the heavy stuff. Once this requisite business was taken care of it was off to Sarabeths for brunch...

Being on my best behavior during the afternoon, I kept a wide berth around my usual trouble inducing haunts, like Hermes and Ralph Lauren, and remembered a little too late that Belgian Shoes is closed on Saturdays. Read sheer disappointment on my face...

But, Babe did amuse me by allowing a "visit" to Van Cleef and Arpels where I graduated from wanting the Alhambra Vintage mother of pearl earrings and bracelet, to the earrings and two necklaces. And, much to my delight, I even left with a coveted VCA bag...

Contents? One bottle of Evian for Babe who is on the verge of pneumonia. Edgar took great pity on Babe, as he was practically comatose in the chair next to me, while I looped yards and yards of necklaces around my neck and gawked at myself in the mirror. But, a VCA bag still the same and a little extra spring in my walk back to the St. Regis...

After Babe recouped a little (while I headed out for some "unchaperoned" shopping) we headed off to Rai Rai Ken in the East Village for a bite to eat.

I had been dying to try this 12 seat restaurant, famous for homemade Ramen, after seeing a segment about it on Martha Stewart.

Per Martha's recommendation, it was Gyoza and Miso Ramen pour deux...

Forever leery of meat, I ate around the chicken...

At this point in the meal I was starting to feel the effects of all the sodium though and watched as my fingers and toes turned to snausages...

Topped off with a good dose of sugar at Crumbs on the way home and I practically desleeved my finger trying to get my ring off that night. But, all in all, a fabulous weekend with Babe.

The other disappointment besides a closed Belgian Shoes? One missing duo, traveling abroad. Next time M & m...

Kindness of a très tolerant and generous, with his hard earned Starwood points, Babe. Loved our weekend together Gorgie...

18 comments:

  1. O darn, would have loved to meet you!
    I am a stones throw from the city that never sleeps.
    Looks like a wonderful trip.
    pve

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  2. The four of us, next time for sure! An, outdoor cafe, a bottle of vino and a water bowl. It's a date...XXOO Allie

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  3. I am having trouble keeping up... weren't we just at the beach? Fo you have a magic carpet? Will you share it with me - I want to go to Morocco today? :)

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  4. You made it to two of my favorites-Sarabeth's and Crumbs! Glad you had a nice weekend.

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  5. Your hotel closet should be a CK Bradley ad!

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  6. What a perfect weekend. Even with the sausage fingers. I have the same issue with Japanese food. I find that drinking a 7up, ordinarily something I won't go near, helps. Love your photos. Love St. Regises too. The one in SF is fantastic, if you ever come out our way. Ditto Shanghai.

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  7. Dear Allie in Gtown,
    I am so disappointed BS was closed. I would have loved to have seen what you would have chosen. The Van Cleef and Arpels bag had my heart racing a bit. Maybe another post in the future of the unsupervised shopping excursion. At least you had some great eats and got to sport you Canforas. Thanks for sharing, Denise

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  8. So are Belgian Loafers as great and comfortable as many people seem to think? What is the best thing about them?

    And does the stock have a pretty good stock of shoes on hand? It would be frustrating to wait 6-12 months for delivery....

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  9. What a great get-a-way. It sounds and looked like a great vaca!

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  10. boo! i am so sad to have missed you. i know monty would have liked to visit too. we'll try again next time... hope you had fun!

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  11. Several things:

    Is that Babe lugging the suitcase? If so...oh Babe-y, Babe-y! Lucky you! ;-)

    Also, I'm thrilled to see those pink & green Belgians in the window which means they still have them. I did not see them on their website. Yay!

    That hotel room is fabulous. WOW. Next trip to NYC, sign me up for the Regis.

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  12. Yes, they are like wearing slippers out. This I know from first hand experience, on both accounts. And, the best thing about them, besides their obvious prep appeal and comfort? Hardly anyone else them...It's a roll of the dice as to when you'll get them. Could be within days, could be a year. Also, adding to the appeal...XXOO

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  13. I LOVE the dresses hanging in the closet, are they CK Bradley?

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  14. You are looking totally fab in the Tenley shirt!!
    Sarah

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  15. Crumbs is my favorite! You know you can have them shipped to you!

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  16. Allie....sorry that the Belgian boys were closed. You realize that as a result, you have a 375 credit-since you'd probably have pounded on a pair if they were open.

    Starwood Points...I had 800 thousand American Express points until two summers ago. LFG and I cruised around the carribean on them. I used to get Saks gift certificates with my AX points for LFG's mom.

    Looks like y'all had a superb time.

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  17. Lucky you! I need to plan another trip to the City asap! We should arrange to go at the same time, have a mini, preppy blog convention! I am love with Van Cleef as well and so want the mother of pearl Alhambra. I am thinking Partner's Card might be the perfect time to buy it in Dallas- 20% off goes a long way!

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