I’m not afraid to admit that I really dig L.A. – especially after a recent visit to Venice Beach. We stayed at the newly renovated Hotel Erwin, a block from the boardwalk with an incredible rooftop bar called High (perfect name for the ‘hood). Yes, Venice has the wacky, medical marijuana-induced boardwalk scene but it’s also got a super-hip main drag, Abbot Kinney. The mood at The Erwin fell somewhere in between.
Posted in Travel
Tagged california, hotels, L.A., Sweet Hotels, Travel, Venice Beach
Woo hoo! My latest piece for The New York Times travel section came out yesterday called: “New Energy in Palm Springs.” Here I am while reporting the piece, on a tour of amazing modernist homes. My story is about a resurgence in hipster culture in Palm Springs, a town mostly known for its golf and gay party scene. While I was there, I discovered an emergence of energy, thanks in part to the Coachella Music Festival bringing kids from L.A. to the area. Thanks for all my new peeps in P.S. for giving me the scoop.
Here are some other pieces I’ve written about Palm Springs.
Orange nails for the beach!
Kate Middleton at the Queen’s Jubilee looking way more elegant than Kim Kardashian in Alexander McQueen
Fantastic kale salad recipe for our dinner party this weekend and
Gjelina, the cool, Venice Beach restaurant that gave me the idea
Tucker is having a sale! (Obsessed right now with the NYC indie label’s silk blouses)
See you next week!
Okay, sure, there was some shopping, too. And eating. And celeb-sighting, as it turns out. (Octomom of all people! And man, does she look cra-zy in person!) But to truly appreciate Palm Springs you have to get out into the desert backcountry and get a handle on where exactly you are, which is pretty much the middle of nowhere. I discovered the desert brings with it a host of lure and atmosphere, even a smell, and an interesting peacefulness. Here are some highlights of my trip, which I wrote about in my latest piece for New York magazine Get Lost in the Desert in Palm Springs. Continue reading
Posted in Travel, Uncategorized, Writing
Tagged california, mid-century design, new york magazine, Palm Springs, Travel
I just had to share a few excerpts from an amazing travel story on Humboldt County, California from the Spring 2011 T magazine. Writer Wells Tower (great name!) peppered it with some hilarious observations and painted a picture of the area and culture so beautifully.
Phototgraph by Olaf Otto Becker
Love this:
On an alpine stretch of Route 299, heading into Trinity National Forest, plumes of fog rose from the hillsides, which resembled a sodden green carpet slung over a scalding radiator. Dark, confidential groves of Douglas fir and redwood crowded the little highway, emanating a kind of Narnian ominousness. A skeptical East Coast type by nature, I started having some newfound, Californian feelings about “the energy” of the forest.
And another … Continue reading
