Loving

Thursday Night Lights

Nothing like a little TV series addiction to get you through the cold NYC winter. Last winter John and I plowed through The Wire, which if you haven't seen it is about as good as TV can get. This winter I devoured Friday Night Lights.

Caron at the Radio Bar

I confessed this addiction to Caron Callahan of Standard Finery at the spring preview party we had with her. Didn't hear about it? You can join our mailing list on our homepage: www.castorandpolluxstore.com.

She upped the stakes by inviting us to watch real football: the Alabama-Texas College Football championship game last week. We headed up Hudson Street to old favorite, the Radio Bar with Caron and her fiance Sean (who cooks at Marlow & Sons). They are both serious Alabama fans. Sean was texting about the game with Caron's Mom, if that's not a moving story about a couple in love in this day and age what is? Texting your future Mother-in-Law about football. That is upping the stakes!

The game in action

Both are serious Alabama fans. Her father played football for the Crimson Tide and both Caron and Sean know a thing or two about football. I’m just learning the game so they were perfect companions to get me ready for the SuperBowl, I’m game for any event that involves a party with friends, food and drink!

Caron schooling me on football!

During halftime Caron spoke about her latest inspirations which have included lots of visits to the New York Public Library, some sneaky Samurais and other references that I can't disclose. I’m only imagining how beautiful this next collection will be given her last two. We’ll keep you posted about her designs and a bit of football in the meantime! And her Spring collection hits the store very soon, so we'll keep you posted on that as well.
See you soon.
xoxo,
Kerrilynn

Red Cross

Doctors without Borders

DO IT NOW.

Back in October we were lucky enough to have our intern, Alex, pop in the store for a bit of shopping when we collectively decided it would be wonderful to have her helping out once a week at C&P. And, were we ever right! She has been an enormous and lovely addition to the store and we are honored to have her as our first guest blogger. Following are her thoughts on the New Amsterdam Market. She was raving so much about it that I had to go down there and check it out myself. It did not disappoint. Unfortunately, they are closed till Spring but it is something to make your way to when the weather warms up!
xoxo,
Kerrilynn

Hello! In October I stopped by the New Amsterdam Market for the first time and have been raving about it ever since; I even had a conversation with a stranger in the Housing Works bookstore about the market! This modern farmer’s market offers a cornucopia of fresh local food and produce which culvitates a warm, friendly community.

I came to the market for a second time in November with two friends and we each braved the crowds to try all of the samples. During this market I sampled pumpkin bread with local honey, empire apples, foccacia, fresh milk, and cheeses from Saxelby. I also couldn’t stop eating the olive and walnut bread samples from Sullivan Street Bakery and the rye bread from Nordic Breads. Weaving through the rows, I came across the Sweet Deliverance stall selling goat cheese and roasted pear tarts, along with apple, pear and cranberry pies. The Bent Spoon was dishing out samples of pumpkin ice cream and a variety of their other inventive flavors. Talking to each farmer and owner enabled me to learn more about how and where each product is created, making the experience very personal.

             Please add it to your list of things to do when the weather gets a bit warmer as it is now closed for the winter months. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!

--Alex

Now that Christmas is over I'm finally getting a chance to post the Thanksgiving photos. Funny how time works. For Thanksgiving we spent the weekend at a wonderful home in Ghent, New York where we cooked, ate, stared into the fire and played some brutal rounds of spades. It was a perfect holiday, only to be followed by a perfect Christmas. I truly love this time of year, even with all of it's expectations and demands I still think it is magical. I hope you all enjoyed your time with friends and family. We're off to the Robert Frank show now to get inspired before it goes down on January 3rd. Don't miss it.

THANKSGIVING IN GHENT, NEW YORK

The lake on the property with tree reflection.

Corinna and Rory on a walk. As Rory said, "It looks a bit Miller's Crossing."

A preview of what's to come in the kitchen.

Chicken in the orchard.

The orchard next to the house.

Rory at Olana.

All photos by John von Pamer

I'm looking forward to posting more in the New Year. I have a goal of at least three posts a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and am looking into a new camera so I don't have to rely so heavily on John's gorgeous photos as he is in the process of launching his own blog! I can't wait to check in on that every day. Since I've had some time this weekend I've had a chance to delve into the world of blogging and it really is impressive. It's such an interesting format, I am really enjoying looking into everyone's ideas and thoughts. Hope you have a wonderful week filled with many more parties and evenings with friends. See you soon.

I read a couple toasts today that I liked. One has nothing to do with the holidays, the other does. I liked both and wanted to share them with you:

"Health to my body, wealth to my purse, Heaven to my soul and I wish you no worse."

and another from Ireland, a bit more holiday appropiate:

"May you be poor in misfortune this Christmas and rich in blessings, slow to make enemies, quick to make friends

and rich or poor, slow or quick, as happy as the New Year is long."

They're both Irish, they really know how to sum things up with so few words.

Here's wishing you and all your loved ones the best holiday ever!

A glimpse into how my mind works. A grouping of seemingly disparate items that upon closer inspection all add up to a life well lived. This is a listing of the little (and big) things that make your days more enjoyable because I believe luxury without necessity is boring and necessity without luxury is even more boring. These items are what I like to think of this as my gracious living “mash-up.”

A LIFE WELL LIVED

These two wrote the book on life well lived. An intriguing glimpse into their homes all from the comfort of your couch. A perfect gift for the fashion and home obsessed alike.

One of the best suggestions that I’ve ever taken from a friend many years ago when she told me I needed this in my life. I love you Miss Silvia. (Thank you, Ms. Weiss!)

By now the word is out about this magical wallet. But the fact is is that the rumors are true. It will change your life, it will make you more organized, it will bring beauty and functionaliy to your world. Enough said.

Fragrance is an obsession of mine and this is one of the classic products that should be in everyone’s bathroom. At $12 it’s a bargain but doesn’t smell that way.  (Stay tuned for more about the C&P fragrance that is in development right now.)

Rick was our neighbor but that’s not the reason for this entry. These make everything better. From Bloody Marys to marinating pork in the brine, you’ll be happy to have these in your fridge.

Any time it's snowing I know where I'm going. Angel's Share, a perfect Japanese bar in the East Village is great all the time but especially wonderful with snow falling outside. Just make sure you leave a seat at the bar for me, please.

See you next week, hope you have lovely one filled with lots of parties and fun.