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Halloween themes can get tricky the older you get and the more style, quite frankly, you have. Since I love an interactive dinner table I thought masks would be the easiest way to make it fun; a simple and an easy “costume” for guests. And so after pursuing all the generic options: animal ears, kitschy masquerade or an assortment of washed out celebrities, I decided to make my own collection instead. And what could be a more perfect tablescape accessory given all the fanfare?

Le petit Parker went to Le Valley.. In search of a pumpkin patch before the mid October crowds and yet another French dining experience this Fall with my Parkeet, my mother and I ventured to the Valley, little one in tow. I was pleasantly surprised that not many people had the same idea to come right on opening day to the pumpkin patch, eager to start the seasonal festivities. It was great to have most of the space to ourselves and first dibs of the patch. Parker had a great

As the story goes every September (now October too) we are doing our best to find Fall. It’s not easy no matter where you live, but particularly for those of us in warmer climates who still crave a chilly morning and that brisk air in the afternoon. Just as we found ourselves here, at this quaint trattoria in town searching for a breeze to cool down the big warm bowl of gnocchi I couldn’t help but order! Ice in my rose, à la piscine as they call it in France, attempting to fi

Think London pink meets Beverly Hills chic. Formerly known as The Montage Beverly Hills, is now The Maybourne. But regardless it’s a property worth visiting despite the brand or namesake. An impressive hotel with Mediterranean features commonly recreated in Southern California like the round arches, red tile and terra cotta exterior, I do find it odd that they imagined a British themed interior but whatever. Similar to the Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood, this property will

I may have just found new favorite restaurant; which in LA is near impossible for me because I’ve been almost everywhere over the last decade here and have garnered a well established set of places I love with absolutely no intention of budging on! But this new gem, called Violet , might just be the little bistro that could seeing as I found a way to not just go once, but now twice in the same week straight. Luckily it’s nearby and was as perfect for date night with my boys

No cries, just many new memories to make. Another one of my friends from LA has made the move east for a wonderful new adventure on another coast and I love that for her. But of course I like to celebrate everything in life and Samantha’s next chapter is most certainly worth commemorating. So I threw together a little something before she left so we could once again gather with cake, champagne and absolutely no tears because these napkins are too nice. And apparently summer

My favorite place in California, the charming town known for it’s fairytale-like cottages, European flair and magical alleyways. Did I forget to mention it’s by the sea? A seaside escape just two hours south of San Francisco. The sleepy small place with beautiful rugged beaches and Monterey cypress trees that stole my heart years ago on my first visit with my mother up the California coast. We ventured to so many beautiful spots but the most picturesque of course was here. Ca

Finally there’s an appropriate term for the underpinnings of my classic style! Encouraged by breezy beach sunsets, clambakes and chilled white wine, well planned dinner parties in the garden, an affinity for upscale SUV’s and poodle mix dogs, embodied by the emotionally and physically layered women portrayed in Nancy Meyer movies, alas, #CoastalGrandmother! And despite the clarity of the term one doesn’t have to be “coastal” or a “grandmother” to embrace the style mantra that

Well it’s the end of summer and just the start of celebrations for myself and family. August is jam packed with fun each year as it’s my 33rd birthday, 3rd wedding anniversary and 11th year living in Los Angeles. My whole life everything seems to start and end come the month of August, the height of summer and therefore quite a time for moi! So how does one celebrate their birthday with girlfriends, beyond the traditional birthday lunch? This year’s celebration with the ladie

Here we are again in deep summer, hopefully at the pinnacle of fun for everyone and more importantly close proximity to my 33rd birthday! I’ll admit it’s a privilege to be a Leo, born right in the midst of everyone’s general seasonal happiness so to speak. Everyone is ready to celebrate or traveling somewhere fabulous, making this time of year for me one that’s based less on reflection and perhaps more on indulgence? And this year’s gift guide is reflective of that as I splur

While we’re all quite familiar with the summer cocktail of cocktails, the aperol spritz, I was delighted to find a way to actually enjoy another one of Italy’s top spirits come summer in a more digestible way. Limoncello was first introduced to me at the end of long dinners while living in Italy in a strikingly strong shot format. Pungent to say the least! However, since then I’ve been loving my lemon infused French 75s (which I always order with ice in a wine glass) and I fi

Any Italian restaurant is likely to make you a cacio e peppe upon request, however, a spritz cocktail is not always guaranteed, at least not in Brentwood, Los Angeles! I’ve lived here my entire Los Angeles life, aside from a tiny stint in neighboring Santa Monica before bringing Arthur back. There are so very many reasons I love Brentwood but the fact that Italian restaurants completely overpower the dining game is just the icing on the cake, or shall I say truffle shavings o

Shop Italia

Ciao ciao, cin cin, we are spritz-ing in the Pacific Palisades! As you know my love for all things Italia have only grown stronger since living abroad in Verona and returning back with Arthur to Positano and Capri. As eager as I am to continue eating my way through Italy I am more than grateful for the chance to keep my Aperol infused spirits alive and well with yet another Italian restaurant that certainly tops the chart. Angelini is a well established eatery located farther

For many un-fun reasons this won’t be a big summer of travel for me so I am doing what I tend to do best, wanderlust from afar! Top 10 Italy Escape Photo credits // @italia_vivi @nicolecalogiuri @andiamoconnoi_ @bsvalentinaC No. 1 Verona A nd the ladies over at Bond and Grace , a female owned publishing house and art shop, seem to have the same idea here given their great love for traveling back in time in the very best of ways, transporting us through that of a classic st

Back t o the beach and back into that familiar feeling of summer again. What has always been my favorite season gets jumbled in LA given we are just so overprivileged with year round sunshine and so we forget to embrace the longer days and later sunsets until bam, it’s the 4th of July. A holiday I’ve come to get more excited about ever since the realization that I could swap a hot dog for a lobster roll. And so to mark the occasion a little trip to Shutters on the Beach, an e

Fun fact, we almost stayed at this chic little hotel reminiscent of Palm Beach in all it’s glory yet set in the Caribbean on the little French island of St. Barts . The only barrier being that the reservation was non-refundable, hence why we choose Villa Marie instead. And while I was very pleasantly surprised with our choice, I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t want to stay in this little pink boutique hotel again next time. Thus it was high priority for me to find any r

We came to St. Barts as an extension of our trip to Florida for a wedding , excited for a our first big getaway from Parker and eager to explore the buzzy island. We arrived on the little plane a bit shaken by the rainy weather and steep landing, but happy to find our hotel’s valet waiting for us with a big smile and bright personality, in addition to two substantial yellow striped umbrellas. As he drove us up and into the rolling hillsides that make up this teeny island

Shopping for St. Barts was extremely exciting given I wasn’t fully confident we’d make the trip. I’ve been wanting to visit this chic little island for so long and there were oh so many hoops we had to jump through to make it all happen from childcare for our bébé, to covid testing, to booking multiple flights and coordinating international travel for the first time in a few years; it was a lot! All the details on how to get there, here . (also feather dress pictured above,

I’ve been wanting to visit this chic little Caribbean island for years! Saint Barthélemy, commonly referred to as St. Barts, is a slice of fanciful heaven in the French West Indies, a territory of France known for being absolutely fabulous. Everyone speaks French and everyone working in hospitality is from France, essentially making St. Barts a tropical version of Saint Tropez. The island is small and exclusive, most likely because it can be challenging to get to {how to get