At an early age, I learned from my mother that taste cannot be acquired. It doesn't matter how much money you throw at it, those without taste will simply never have taste. While these flourishes may seem gimmicky to some, I have to say from experience I have to agree with her. Cap-Ferrat is another super posh seaside commune of the Alpes-Maritimes region in southeastern France...
Read moreCoco in Wonderland
Princess Irene Galitzine of Russia popularized her version of the Palazzo Pant in the 1960s. Traditionally, these pants were wide-legged trousers made of silk or sturdy tapestry fabrics that were embellished with different types of embroidery and jewels, but her version of the pant were slim, flowing, and graphic...
Read moreWabi-Sabi
When Sarah and arrived in Monte Carlo, we quickly made mental note that we wanted to visit the Jardin Japonais de Monaco. When we arrived, we noticed that while the garden was designed to be a specific way, it couldn’t be more imperfect. The structures were not symmetrical, the gardens were off center, and there were lines and squares and cubes mixed with circles, ovals, and asymmetrical ponds...
Read moreL'été Sur la Mer
Generally speaking, I relax by watching films, surfing the net for art, furniture, or home decor, reading design books, drinking tea, washing my face with my 10-step Korean beauty process, waking up without an alarm and going to a late brunch with girlfriends in the West Village, working on my City Guides, taking long baths, and traveling to foreign lands. I guess you can say that I’ve been doing a number of those things to help me get rebalanced again on this trip...
Read moreChecking-In from Barolo
Just checking-in with a quick pit stop in Barolo, Italy. Barolo is a wine region in the northern part of the Piedmont countryside in Italy. You can see the town of Barolo in the background of the photo. Sarah and I decided to stop and explore a bit, run through the fields, and take some photos and videos...
Read moreIn the Mind of Dali
Ciao from Guarene!
I am really loving outfits that are cinched at the waist, slightly flared, and progress out into a full skirt. It gives an ultimately classic outfit such a modern feel. Oh, and I am also really loving anything stripe (and it's not just because I'm trotting around Italy and the South of France, where stripes are absolutely non-negotiable in the summertime)...
Read moreSweet like Cinnamon
It's like this room was just made for me. It's a room that demands attention. A room made for tea parties from a bygone era that has hand-painted wallpaper with images from the Orient. Seriously. Can this place get any better? Sarah and I arrived back at the castle after a trot around town; we were exploring the local village, taking pictures, and getting our to-go bottled Coca-Cola's that provided us some refuge from the scorching heat. We had made a tea date for 16h00, and we both wanted to change our outfits to reflect the party that we had in mind...
Read moreChecking-In from Guarene
This was my first time in Guarene, an area in the Province of Cunea in the Italian region of Piedmont country. As we've been on holiday, it has been an absolute pleasure to stay at Castello di Guarene. It's quite a lavish castle that was built at the turn of the eighteenth century and carries the original Baroque architecture that you find in the Piedmont region, as well as a luxurious spa, haute cuisine, and striking views of the surrounding villages!...
Read moreLa Dolce Vita
Italian film director Federico Fellini is one of the worlds most distinctive filmmakers following WWII. His style was influenced particularly by the Neorealist movement, where he developed his own methods mixing fantasy and baroque images with the ordinary realness of the world. Fellini was inspired by his dreams and he started recording them in notebooks in the 1960s. His dreams and the many events that made up his life were the raw material that were used for his films. Growing up in an Italy that was dominated by Mussolini and Pope Pius XII, Fellini's life was nothing short of interesting. He created the film La Dolce Vita, and it reminded me so much of my journey here in Italy...
Read moreBeauty and the Beast
Before our trip, Sarah sent me a number of Instagram photos of places that she wanted to pass through while we were in Europe. She found this ballroom randomly when she was stumbling down a rabbit hole of Italian hashtags and decided for the both of us that we would be going there to shoot. The Palace of Venaria is located in a town called Turin. We were leaving Lake Como and driving to the Asti wine region in Piedmont country, so it wasn't too far out of the way to stop by for lunch, a little history, and a new fleeting adventure!...
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