A hearty thanks to The Manolo for letting me know that Betsey Johnson’s New York apartment was recently estate of the day over at Luxist. Had he not shared this link, I never would have had a chance to see into this Pepto Bismol world that is currently on the market for a cool $3.6 mil.
This is pretty much what I’d imagine Betsy Johnson’s living spaces looking like if you asked me to take a best guess at describing her digs.
I’d happily trade all my family gifted dinnerware and kitchen accouterments for the same pieces as designed by Jonathan Adler if I happened to have the excess dough lying about. Sorry mamman! Sorry dad! My most generous relatives can breathe a collective sigh of relief, however, as it turns out I’m just not solvent enough to replace my kitchenware at this time… no matter how wonderfully beautiful that Jonathan Adler pitcher is.
A few days ago, I wrote about the kitchen stuff you absolutely positively should not buy for the people on your holiday gifting list. But what about the kitchen stuff that is timeless, useful, and will be appreciated for years to come?
All of my other pots (and even some of my pans) have been put into semi-permanent retirement since I got my sweet sweet cast iron skillet. It makes a great pancake and makes wonderful sauces…all without the risk of sticking. Plus, they look fabulous hanging up on the wall if you happen to have a country kitchen thing going on.
(more…)
The Beard likes his counter space, and I like my cabinet space. Put us together, and you’re talking about a couple that doesn’t much care for pointless kitchen gadgets. What makes a kitchen gadget pointless? Think about gimmicky tools that only have one function and furthermore have a large countertop footprint. A truly beautiful kitchen is not cluttered up with silly gadgets or time saving devices that are nothing more than a waste of your time.
When the holidays roll around, thousands if not millions of people decide that there’s nothing their loved ones want more than the gadgets they saw in infomercials and on the discount shelves of their local supermarkets. Why this is, I cannot guess. The end result is that people who prefer that their kitchen tools perform multiple tasks have to grin and say things like, “Why, how thoughtful…I’m sure we’ll find somewhere to put it.”
Do yourself a favor and don’t saddle anyone on your holiday gift list with these:
At my house, we make an awesome pizza in this pizza cooker we like to call “an oven.” Fans of dedicated pizza cookers say that they make a better pizza faster, but the only place I could put something this unwieldy happens to be exactly where The Beard rolls out his homemade dough. And I love homemade dough too much to make that sacrifice.
(more…)