En route to Losinj, I was able to stay one night pre and post trip in London. 35 hours is not alot of time. Here are my suggestions to make the most of your short time. Click here to read the piece on House of Coco.
ELENA:)
I can’t believe its’ been a month since I was in New York. Time definitely flies by…
I checked into the Q&A Residential Hotel on the Saturday evening to be welcomed to one of the largest hotel suites I have ever stayed in the city. The last time I stayed in the quiet financial district area was 5 years ago, so I was curious to see how the area changed. That night, I settled in by walking around the area – the subway and the huge Duane Reade was across the street. I can’t sing the praises of free strong Wi-Fi and fridge that could hold my Invo Coconut Water for the Sunday morning shoot.
Read my article for RESIDENT Magazine on Q&A Residential Hotel here.
Sunday morning, I had a great time with Bianca Bruno and Nicky Styles (editor from The Trend’n Female) shooting a how-to braiding guide complete with Victoria Hair clip on extensions. I’ve never had extensions before so I was quite curious to see how well they would blend into my own hair. It turned out perfect! They were not heavy at all and easy to take out at the end of the day.
Stay tuned for the How-To Braid guide in BELLA LA and BELLA NYC coming out soon.
After the video shoot, we met up with some friends and had brunch at Gentilly, a new spot in the West Village. I had a great tofu scramble and got schooled on three different ways on how to drink rose courtesy of Maison Marcel. It was great reuniting with Caitlyn from Tease Tea and picking up my favourite Earl Grey tea. My plans fell through for Burger & Lobster that night as well as my attempt to have chicken wings at Pok Pok – so I’ll have to put that on the list for next time.
The next two days were FULL of meetings:
I surprised myself not taking a cab even once! Google Maps is my new favorite friend. The biggest surprise of Monday was meeting Britney Spears’ first tour manager tied with being asked to write a pro Trump article for a magazine for $200 later that night.
Tuesday’s meetings were scheduled back-to-back and being caught in the rain was an unwelcomed surprise. I stopped by CINER to check out some new fashion jewelry and visit the lovely ladies. My friend, Lexicon of Style introduced me to a café called Culture Espresso that had cute wallpaper and fabulous décor. Rare for Midtown. Tuesday night ended by meeting Susan Mallery, NY Times #1 Best–Seller who was launching a romance novel entitled, Best of My Love.
I had two impromptu meetings on Wednesday, pre flight home. I had the pleasure of visiting the beautiful shared working space of Neuehouse. I loved the Restoration Hardware meets NYPL vibe. Such an inspiring space. I grabbed a quick lunch with a friend at Back Forty West before heading back to the hotel to grab my luggage and a package that had arrived in the nick of time before my Luxury Car Ride swept me off to LGA.
ELENA:)
ps: To find out what the package was… scroll to my next post.
The Love List Lounge has heard nothing but accolades from it’s attendants. YAY! All that hard work and prep definitely paid off. Here is the coverage so far…
Louboutins and Love, Esther Santer
Lexicon of Style, Alexandra Dieck
Thank you all for spreading the love – can’t wait to invite you to my next event!
ELENA:)
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I’m actually enjoying catching up on old TV episodes and sleeping. I have finally finished the Lili St. Cyr biography I have been reading as well (read all about it in a future post).
Back in NYC, I teamed up with my friends from Flytographer to shoot in the streets of Soho. This time, the fabulous Mayleen was behind the camera and we had a lot of fun. She schooled me all about Miami, shooting notable clients and how to be fearless in a “coat that looks like a shag bear that didn’t stand a chance.” Here are some shots with hair and makeup by Bianca and Anthony. As you can see, I’m a fan of the profile shot;)
ELENA:)
I can’t believe that there is 5 days until Christmas!!!
I used the last of my vacation time to venture off to NYC in early December and I thought you might want to know a little about my adventures. This is a short summary with more details to follow!
TUESDAY: Checked into The Renwick, (a cool new boutique hotel on east 40th in between Park and Lex) and went to visit my friend Nizim from Labeling Men and had dinner at Bill’s Food & Drink on 54th. Bill’s Food and Drink is one of Chef John Delucie’s restaurant. Bedford & Co is his latest venture at the Renwick which is slated to open very very soon! (Comment: Actually it’s not going to open until spring 2016) Things to note – my room had a lovely floral arrangement from Uprooted Flower Truck (NYC’s first flower truck) to brighten my stay and I got to snack on some yummy ginger people made by Sweets by Olivia (which only lasted a night!).
WEDNESDAY: Hair and makeup with Anthony and Bianca for a Flytographer shoot in Soho. I got to wear my new Christmas/Birthday present to myself, a Proenza Schouler cashmere coat which I love. (More photos in a future post). Uber was crashed when I needed to rush to an important meeting at the Surrey Hotel but I managed to get there eventually after walking 20 blocks in heels and paying $30 for car service. Sheesh. Dinner at Marta with a friend from BluBird Vancouver.
THURSDAY: A breakfast meeting at Le Pain Quotidien followed by an amazing tour of Ciner manufacturing (future post coming up) was on the schedule. In the evening, I surprised the creative fashion illustrator Elaine Biss at her French Connection event. After, I got to meet Alexis Bittar at his holiday meet and greet. Then finally, to my trainers delight, I got to eat a chicken burger at Fuku.
FRIDAY: A breakfast meeting at The Smith (I totally recommend) and a stop in with Editor-In -Chief, Courtenay C. Hall from Bella New York Magazine. I made a pit stop at Century 21 of course and had a few moments uptown to take some photos of beautiful Bergdorf window displays before heading downtown to dinner at Hundred Acres.
SATURDAY: A stop into Creeds Collective Pop Up Shop which was conveniently located across the street from the brunch spot Santina under the High Line. I managed to pick up some salt water taffy from Salty Road from Brooklyn. With an hour to spare to leave to airport, I went to & Other Stories new 5th avenue spot and bought a pair of booties.
ELENA:)