A Hip Trip to NYC for Less

We just returned from a fabulous trip to NYC, which included a four-night stay at the new Thompson LES hotel in trendy Lower East Side, and dinner at famed Toronto chef Susur Lee’s new NYC restaurant SHANG. And the whole trip was surprisingly affordable!

Here’s the breakdown:
-$250 roundtrip flight on Virgin America (love the glossy white seats!)
-$166 per night for a King Studio Suite at Thompson LES, including a $100 dining credit at SHANG.

Studio King Suite at the Thompson LES

Foie gras with scallion pancakes at SHANG.

With a little persistence (in finding the lowest air fare) and a brush of luck, we were able to book a Memorial Day-weekend vacation to New York that cost much less than expected. We were fortunate to run into a promotion that Thompson LES was running in the month of March, which allowed us to stay at a trendy luxury hotel for less than the cost of most bargain hotel rooms in New York City. Score! Also, because we were guests at the hotel, we were able to check out the "members and guests-only" bar Above Allen.

Molton Brown Naran Ji Fine Liquid Hand Wash

Stylish boutique hotels are perfect sources of inspiration for personal home décor, and you’re not likely to find neon-colored hand soap with cute animals on the bottle in the bathrooms of said hotels. I fell in love with Molton Brown’s Naran Ji hand wash in the lobby bathroom at the Kelly Wearstler-designed Maison 140 in Beverly Hills. The scent is amazingly good (orange blossom-y and mildly citrusy), and comparing it to the average drugstore liquid soap in terms of perfumes, it is like a Chanel eau de parfum versus bathroom cologne. At $25, it may be a hefty price for hand soap, but it’s a small price to pay in terms of upgrading your home environment. Plus, it just looks so elegant and pretty sitting next to the sink. If you have moved on from dorm-room décor to Domino-mag (RIP) chic, it’s time to upgrade your hand wash as well. It’s all in the details, as they say. (Thanks T+T+B for the gift!)

CB2 Store Opening in Los Angeles

Trig Desk, CB2

CB2, Crate & Barrel's modern offshoot, has finally arrived in Los Angeles! Affordable-modern-home furnishings enthusiasts in LA are rejoicing as we speak, myself included. For the last two years or so, I've been resigned to pouring over the pages of its catalogue at home, not being able to have the immediate gratification of physically inspecting the items in person. Oh, and my slight aversion to shipping charges also stood in the way between CB2 goodies and me. We did manage, however, to procure two pieces in our apartment: the "big dipper arc lamp" which was shipped (my boyfriend is not as averse to shipping charges as I am), and the "trig desk" which I scored through Craigslist ($99 in brand-new condition and assembled!). I will be checking out the LA store soon, and will try to take some photos to post here.