The Premium Life

New York City neighborhoods have gone through more facelifts than Joan Rivers and David Hallesehoff combined. And many New Yorkers protest, (yes I consider myself a new Yorker after living here for over a decade), that if one more Starbucks or Tasty Delight (non-fat non-flavor yogurt) shop opens up, our unique city will resemble a suburban strip mall.

We must support the small mom and pop stores to keep our city…well, New York City. And that is exactly what I did. When my boyfriend and I were having a sweet craving a few nights ago, ironically, we bundled up to venture out for a pint of cold creamy Haggen Dazs. However, I quickly suggested an alternative, “hey, let’s try the new ice cream shop on the corner—it just opened…. I think it’s called Holy Cow.”

As we entered, a fresh baked doughnut aroma wafted over us and I knew my suggestion was already more thrilling than the local bodega.

The young girl Kate (or should I refer to her as the ice cream expert) was sweet and had a sense of humor. She was patient as we started sampling a number of the choices and she was proud of all the different flavors. After sampling Black Hotel bottom pie, coffee mud pie, and chocolate chip peanut butter yogurt…we were sold!

(I know ice cream store etiquette is usually one or two samples tops, but it wasn’t exactly a hot summer day, so we took some liberties!)

She packed up two helpings for us… one ice cream and one frozen yogurt. In the short time we were there, I learned the history of the shop and about the owner’s long time passion for making homemade doughnuts and creating original ice cream flavors.

It was on our way out that the doughnuts caught Travis’ attention and stopped him in his sweet tooth tracks.

There was an array of doughnuts dressed in every topping combination you could imagine from chocolate glazed with peanut butter chips to butterscotch with fruit loops.

Oh My.

“What is your favorite?” we drooled.

“Caramel dipped coconut.”

Yes please.

Against all odds and seemingly, all logic, Holy Cow opened in the dead of winter. But as any ice-cream lover knows, there is no special season for ice-cream, only special shops that satisfy your cravings any time of the year.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that it is New York Fashion Week! Yep, that’s why all of your favorite hotspots have been taken over by gorgeous, Amazonian women who shouldn’t be drinking that champagne because they’re only 17! Guys…you’re also not supposed to FEED THE MODELS. Come on now – do I have to smack your hands?

I’ve had the pleasure of covering NYFW, backstage, for MAC Cosmetics, Phyto Haircare and Creative Nail Design. So far I have only been backstage for a few shows because my day job takes priority (unemployment is sooooo 2009), but I did make it to Malandrino today and here’s a short beauty blip for Fall/Winter 2010:
Lots of leather! Don’t put those leggings, motorcycle jackets and skirts away just yet. Leather is still going to be BIG next year and it’s even creeping onto the nails. How, you ask? The theme of Catherine Malandrino’s presentation was Mongolian Nomads. There was a lot of fur and beautifully textured leather. The hair was swept up into a tree formation and the eyes were really exotic – MEOW – so Catherine wanted a nail that picked up on the story of the nomad in Mongolia and to pick up on an element of the fabric in her beauty statement – enter the Bark Manicure.

CND’s fearless and fierce Style Director, Jan Arnold, laid down one coat of Dark Ruby, which is a rich, luminous, dark ruby color, followed by a coat of Copper Shimmer – the minerality washes out and lightens the ruby hue – it was then topped off with one coat of SuperMatte Top Coat. Before the polish was dry, Jan took a round, flat makeup applicator pad and lightly dabbed the top of the nail to texturize the polish and give it a beautifully treated, leather-like appearance.

There ya have it – leather is still IN and the look for Fall extends all the way to the fingertips!

A few months ago I walked into the office on a Monday morning to find a very chipper coworker at my desk (I wanted to punch her in the face).

“So a friend of mine from high school just got hired as the Wine Director for Danny Meyer’s new restaurant in the Gramercy Park Hotel. I’m going to the opening! You should write this place up!”

“Danny Meyer is HUGE,” I replied. “What’s the name of his new place?”

“Maialino — can’t wait to tell you all about it!”

Of course I felt a twinge of jealousy, knowing that she was going to the opening of this restaurant — I knew it would be a hit, even in bitter NYC. My boyfriend lives across the street from the Gramercy Park Hotel so I figured I’d make a cameo appearance soon enough. I tried to tell him all about it, but couldn’t remember the name (or how to pronounce it). A few days after the opening we decided to be lazy fools, crossed the street and ventured into Danny Meyer’s first shot at Italian goodness, Maialino, a Roman-style trattoria.

We immediately snagged seats at the bar and began reading the wine list — it’s written, chalkboard-style, above the bar. I’m not a huge lover of Italian wines so I ordered a Soave and the boy stuck with some version of Pinot Noir (perhaps it was a Pinot Noir, I just don’t remember – blame it on the al-al-al-al-alcohol). I caught a glimpse of my coworker’s friend, Wine Director Stephen Mancini, and contemplated asking him for some help with the whites, but I didn’t want my actions reported back to the office. After all, what happens if I call out – uh *cough* SICK. I decided to remain anonymous. (I’m really not as big of a lush as I make myself sound). The wine list is pretty extensive, the all-Italian list features 85 bottles; 18 of those selections are available both by the glass and quartino. The restaurant currently offers six Italian beers all by the bottle – including my fave, Peroni!

The long, walnut bar (which is where we always end up) backs up to three windows, overlooking the famed Gramercy Park (watch out for Julia Roberts). The tables, chairs and barstools are custom-designed walnut, adding to the rustic, Italian feel. The wood-planked floors are made from reclaimed, locally found oak and the blue and white checked tablecloths drape over the tables, adding to the homey atmosphere. In the center of the restaurant is Maialino’s cucina, featuring a salumi, cheese and antipasto station on one side; with a coffee, dessert and bread station on the other.

The Executive Chef, Nick Anderer, hails from Gramercy Tavern.  This is his first Top Chef spot! Though his menu has been awarded two stars by the New York Times and has been hailed from coast-to-coast, I’m not exactly blown away. We went there for brunch a few weeks ago and I had to order three (very altered) meals in order to fill my finicky stomach. I felt like I was in a commercial where the couple goes out to eat dinner AGAIN after their meals at the newest hotspot restaurant – the portions couldn’t stuff a rabbit. I’m a freak when it comes to food, so pay no attention to my dislike of goat cheese, red meat, egg yolks, the other white meat, fish of all kinds, milky substances and dessert. Read more »

Lil Jon at Premium Lifestyle Group Table at Sky Suite at Sundance Film Festival 2010

After a short hiatus and several months of travelling(Mexico, Miami, LA and other fun destinations) we are back with a vengeance and happy to report on our great success at the recent Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.  Premium Lifestyle Group was invited to participate as the event concierge and sponsor for the Sky Suite at The Sky Lodge.

The Sky Suite was arguably the best attended, and certainly the coolest gifting lounge at Sundance. The three day event was expertly organized by our good friends at Talent Resources and the result was an overwhelming success for everyone involved. Premium shared the stage with several other fabulous companies and provided fabulous “swag” for all the celebrities who visited the Sky Suite.

We were fortunate enough to have the folks at Corona donate 16 limited edition Corona Burton snow boards that we gifted to some of the top celebrities that visited the Sky Suite. In addition, we decided to contribute to a worthy cause by having all of the celebrities sign one of the snow boards. Celebrities such as Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart, Khloe Kardashian, Aaron Rodgers, Danny Masterson, Jordy Masterson, Kate Mara, Malin Akerman, Pauly Shore, John Forte, Tom Arnold, Appolonia, Lil Jon, David Wells, John Goessling, Wilmer Valderrama and many others were kind enough to sign the snow board.

We then packaged the autographed snow board with a 3 month complimentary membership to our service and are in the process of auctioning the package at charitybuzz.com. All of the proceeds we receive from the snow board will be donated to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund for Haiti.  You can check out the auction and bid for yourself here.

Once all the gifting was done for the day, we returned to the Sky Suite at night to party at special parties that were sponsored by our  good friend Matt Goldstein at The Eldridge and Gold Bar in NYC. The DJ’s were rocking, the booze was flowing and everybody got down and dirty dancing to the beats.

All in all, Sundance 2010 was a fabulous experience for all and we cant wait to do it again next year! For those who want to see all the photos from the sky suite we invite you to view them here.

Stay tuned for more adventures,reviews and news from The Premium Life!