A well-heeled giveaway: win your SoleMates!

August 11, 2010

LONDON AND EVERYWHERE- High heels have been making headlines in London this summer, thanks to Beyoncé stepping out for a browse of London boutiques in sky-high Lucite platforms (perhaps not to be outdone by Miley Cyrus teetering in seven-inch Louboutins in Madrid just weeks before?). And the tabloids were abuzz… (more)

Excavating the upper crust on Bond Street

July 23, 2010

LONDON, UK – OK, I know this sounds just a tad strange, but whenever I visit posher-than-posh Bond Street in London’s Mayfair neighborhood, I wonder what alien cultures might make of all the upper-crust hoopla. Someday, when civilization as we know it comes to an end, and extraterrestrial archeologists visit… (more)

Groovy fashions, sans lava lamps, at Ambiance on Haight

April 15, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO, USA – In the Summer of Love, Haight-Ashbury wasn’t exactly a neighborhood known for conspicuous consumption (other than of the herbal variety, of course). The hippies of the era eschewed commercial commodity fetishism in favor of tie-dye, bare feet, and flowers in their hair. Oh, what a difference… (more)

Salsa, with a side of steak, at Stevens Steak and Seafood House

April 5, 2010

LOS ANGELES, USA – A steakhouse in a post-industrial area of Los Angeles is probably the last place you’d think to look for the hottest salsa bands and dancers in town. But Stevens Steak and Seafood House, a restaurant-cum-banquet hall right off the 5 Freeway in Commerce (just southeast of… (more)

The best churros in China (and more) at crowded Nan Luo Gu Xiang

October 26, 2009

BEIJING, CHINA – Since I live just around the corner and since I’ve been bombarded with tales of its fabulousness, this weekend I decided it was time: I needed to check out Nan Luo Gu Xiang. (It’s a narrow, 700-year old hutong alleyway which has recently been converted into an… (more)

Be daunted (and delighted) at Daunt Books

June 10, 2009

LONDON, UK – In this age of Barnes & Noble, Borders, and the like, it is rare that I am truly “WOWed” by a bookstore. There are some that I really love, like Kramerbooks and Afterwords in Washington DC and The Elliot Bay Book Company in Seattle, but not too many… (more)

Souk it to me: shopping for spices and gold in Dubai

April 19, 2009

DUBAI, UAE – Among the glitz, glamour, and borderline absurdity of Dubai (think 1200+ store malls that feature manmade ski slopes, Olympic-sized ice rinks, and multi-floored aquariums, and hotels like the Atlantis that hold $20M opening night bashes with Fourth of July-worthy firework displays), you can still find a piece… (more)