If you have followed me on this blog for the past few years, you know I have suggested you guys to pick up some limited edition artwork here and there. While art, like stock, is never a sure thing, but I always feel if you buy a blue chip artist's work, most likely it will increase in value while give you joy daily. Of course most of the blue chip artist starting prices typically is five to six figures and often they can command seven or even eight figure for masterpieces. I certainly don't have the budget for those one off pieces so I go for limited edition that are published by museums and charities by these artists.
Today, I went back to see the pieces I have recommended in my blog and did a search on the internet to see what they fetch today. Here's what I found:
On January 9, 2015 (so about year and a half ago), I recommended you guys to buy a limited edition Cindy Sherman tray from Sundance Institute. The run is limited to 500 pieces and sold at an affordable $150 a pop. Today, I found one on ebay sold on June 5, 2016 for $950! I also found it at an art gallery asking $1750!! Now how many asset classes out there command this kind of return?!
On September 22, 2014
(almost two years ago), I recommended you guys to buy a limited edition
print by Takashi Murakami whom is probably most famous for his
collaboration with Louis Vuitton. This print was sold on Yoox.com and
you have two options. One is called Contemplating Dark Matter and the
other is called Standing on the Bridge, Linking Space and Time. The run
was 125 pieces each at $585 a pop, which includes frame and matting
plus shipping. If any of you have custom frame a print before, you know
how expensive it is! A quick search yield someone on Ebay in Ireland
selling theirs for $950.
On December 23, 2012 (three and a half year ago), I recommended you guys to buy a limited edition Peter Doig print from Tate Modern called Two Faces and a Guitar. The run is limited to 500 pieces and sold at £350 a pop. Today it is being sold by an art gallery for £950. A listing on German Ebay sold for €800.
On December 26, 2012, (three and a half year ago), I recommended you guys to buy a limited edition print by fame photographer Mario Testino. I even give you a discount code to save you £250. I recommended the Kate Moss print as I believe it would be the more valuable among the selection. This print had a run of 175 pieces at £1200 a pop but with discount code, the price dropped to £950. This is by no mean pocket change especially back in 2012; one pound was worth about 50-60% more than dollar. Fast forward to January of 2015, one was sold for £7,500 at Phillips auction house.
Although not everything I recommended had gone up in value yet. Case and point, I recommended to buy Jeff Koon's Split Rocker plate for $475 on December 4, 2014. Unfortunately the edition is still not sold out so until it does, the value will remain the same if not somewhat lower on the secondary market.
Buying art is not always about investment. I always believe you have to love what you buy. But I do think if you stick with blue chip artists' limited edition artwork, you are likely to rip the rewards few years (or a decade) from now.
Just came back from St Regis at Princeville. Had a great time. The resort was quite nice although they really could use some improvements.... some simple, some not so simple.
This was my first time on Kauai. I've been to the Big Island and Oahu before so Hawaii is not foreign to me. However, many people said Kauai is the prettiest so of course I have to see it for myself. I have never stayed at St Regis hotel chain before although the lobby of St Regis in San Francisco is quite chic so my expectation was high. My understanding is that if one were to go to Kauai, St Regis was the place to stay. A close second would be the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa. Having stayed at both during this trip, I would say St Regis Princeville is definitely better than Grand Hyatt Kauai.
First, a little 411 about Princeville. It was named after Prince Albert Kamehameha when he paid a visit
at Hanalei Bay in 1860. This location is also used as the back drop
for Hollywood film South Pacific in 1958. You can actually see the
exact same trees in the movie that still exist today at St Regis
Princeville's beach. In addition, the legend has it that the song Puff
the Magic Dragon by Peter Yarrow and Leonard Lipton, was about Hanalei
Bay with red part of the mountain as dragon eyes and Na Molokama
mountain range as its spine. The mythical land called Honah Lee refers
to the town Hanalei, a stone throw from St Regis Princeville.
The pluses at St Regis Princeville: location, amenities, and the crowd.
St Regis Princeville is located at Hanalei Bay. Having stayed at places like Four Seasons Koh Samui, Amankila in Bali, Aman Sveti Stefan in Montenegro, etc. I would say the view of Hanalei Bay was the best. The reason is with places like Four Seasons Koh Samui or Amankila in Bali, you get palm trees and white sandy beaches (or in Amankila's case, black sand beach), but at Hanalei Bay, you get all that plus Na Molokama mountain in the background. Or shall I say icing on the cake! The view is tranquil yet majestic. Waking up daily to the view is just incredible.
There are lots to do around St Regis Princeville. Some of the onsite amenities include snorkeling, kayaking, and hiking. There are lots of coral reefs in the Hanalei Bay. I would say it's actually not too safe to do regular swimming as there are just too many corals around to do laps. If you like snorkeling, this is a very good place to be. There is a desk next to the beach where you can rent paddle boards, kayak, or snorkel gear. They charge by the hour (Four Seasons Koh Samui include these amenities in room rate... cough cough). The fish is not as abundant as Hanauma Bay in Oahu or Blue Lagoon in Bali. With that said, it's a lot more convenient to snorkel when your hotel room is few feet away. There are definitely more fish (interesting ones too) when compare to Four Seasons Koh Samui which also have onsite snorkeling. Some people saw turtles... I didn't unfortunately.
Another good amenity at St Regis Princeville is their Kauai Grill restaurant by Jean-Georges. Possibly the best lunch I ever had was at Jean-Georges in NYC so I had high expectations for Kauai Grill. I was not disappointed. My surf and turf entree was cooked to perfection. The maitre d' knew it was my birthday so they send a moist and delectable chocolate cake on the house for dessert. A perfect way to end the dinner. I would come back here again. By the way, they require you to wear long pants and dress shirt at this restaurant. Don't mind that as everyone was wearing t shirts and shorts.
Having spent a night at Grand Hyatt Kauai, I definitely prefer the St Regis crowd. There are less people at the St Regis for one. In addition, there are a lot less kids at St Regis as well. If you are on a honeymoon, I would definitely recommend St Regis Princeville over Grand Hyatt Kauai. If you have kids, then it's a toss up as Grand Hyatt Kauai has water slides which everyone likes.
The minuses at St Regis Princeville: physical plant, weather,
When comparing this resort to others ones such as Four Seasons Koh Samui, or Four Seasons Haulalai on Big Island, this St Regis just looked tired. The architecture had not been updated since the 80s and it showed. The finishes in guest rooms looked like something out of 80s/90s/ and 2000s and we are already halfway pass 2010s. Lounge chairs on the beach look like something right out of 1980s sitcom. I stayed at St Regis Ocean View Suite and the marble in the bathroom was green.... Alexis Carrington called and she wants those marble back! What Starwood Property really need to do is revamp this whole hotel. The location is magnificent but the physical plant is not. With that said, I have a feeling that Starwood is going to milk this property dry until Four Seasons finally put a resort on Kauai. Better yet, Starwood should sell this resort to Four Seasons as I'm sure Four Seasons will do a phenomenal job at this resort. I mean just look at what they did to the Four Seasons Lanai... it went from a tired 1980 resort not too long ago to a modern day rock star!
The weather is another ding against this resort. I was told summer is the drier months at this location and it rained every single day when I was there. Rain usually does not last long....sometimes ten minutes...sometimes thirty minutes. Only one day was more or less all day. You rarely see sky without any clouds. In fact, clouds typically linger around Na Molokama mountain range while Hanalei bay is usually fairly sunny. A bit odd but as long as the clouds don't interrupt my sunbathing, I'm fine with them. If you are planning to be here during the raining season, you may want to think twice.
If you are staying at the suite level, you will get a butler. What's great about St Regis butler service is that they will come and unpack and pack for you. For some people, that's a huge plus. In addition, they will iron your clothes. That's a big plus in my book although I'm in Hawaii so not exactly useful. Moreover, they will bring freshly brewed Kona coffee to you anytime you want. Most places when they say they serve Kona coffee, it just means Kona coffee is part of the blend. But not here. Your butler will bring 100% Kona coffee to you and it's heavenly! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Lastly, your butler can really enhance your cultural experience here on Kauai. The odd thing about this St Regis is that some of the staff are very friendly while others don't smile at you at all (somehow St Regis didn't train them right... but that's a different complaint). We had the fortune to have Robert as our butler. He's the head butler at this St Regis and I can see why. I honestly think that St Regis does not deserve to have him as their head butler. He's exceptionally wonderful and kind and dedicated to his job. If Four Seasons ever opens a resort on Kauai, Robert is the guy to train all your staff. He's worth every single penny and then some. Robert took time to explain to me about the culture and history of Kauai. He advised me where to go for a great authentic luau. He even planned a lei making session as well as Hawaiian dance session for me. I can honestly say besides the great view, Robert was the second best thing at St Regis.
I really enjoyed my time at St Regis Princeville. There are definitely cons to be had (mainly the dated facility while paying high prices). I'm crossing my fingers that next time when I return, I will see a beautifully remodeled resort. Until then, mahalo.
I was very excited to take JAL's first class Sky Suite. The route I took was from SFO (San Francisco) to HND (Haneda). It was a blissful 11 hour flight.
Unfortunately, I can't say that about their SFO private lounge area. The first class lounge is essentially a small room next to the business class lounge with a sliding door separating both areas. They basically have club chairs line up against walls and that's it. No amazing designs (which Japanese are known for) and food station is in the business lounge area with just typical nuts and soda. Going into the room made me feel depressed actually and I should feel opposite!
Luckily my seat on the airplane was fabulous! The brown leather seat is nice and wide (although not as wide as Cathay Pacific's) and there are plenty of storage compartments where you can store your hand bags and ipads. Normally your tray is stored in armrest. But this particular design, your tray is actually butt below your TV and can be slide to you when you want to use it. I actually don't like this design as I typically wear my seat belt at all times so when I want to use the tray table, I actually have to unbuckle myself to get the tray.... not end of the world but a slight negative with the design imo.
The amenity kit is from Loewe! Nothing extraordinary inside though... just your typical eye mask, refresh towel, brush, lip balm, etc. But the bag is cool and I love Loewe so a big plus for me! Oh, and you also get Shiseido products. I got travel size bottles of cleansing face wash, hydrating toner and total revitalizer
face cream. I actually like the face cream quite a bit. I need to go to my local mall to pick one up. You also get a set of PJ. I have to say, their PJ is the softest one when compare to British Airways and Cathay Pacific) although the top is thicker than the other airlines which may be a plus or minus depending on the person.
Food is good not great. For my dinner, they give you a nice jar of caviar which is tasty although the jar is smaller than the ones from Cathay. I thought sushi would be great on JAL. Well, not so much.... I'll just leave it at that. I had a lobster salad which was tasty. Fruit plate was nicely presented. For breakfast, I had Japanese breakfast which was good.
I usually don't sleep much on international flights regardless if I get lie flat seat or not. JAL give you option of soft mattress or hard mattress. I picked the soft one. I ended up sleeping for 4 hours which is very good for me.... so I definitely like their beds.
The bathroom is your typical airplane bathroom except they have that
water spray function you see on many Japanese toilets! A first I seen
on any airplane I've ever been on.
Overall, I have to say I'm very happy with my flight. I thought the service was very good, my seat was very good, and food was good. They can definitely improve with their SFO first class lounge situation and better sushi on board.
Calistoga Ranch is a luxury resort located in the upper Napa Valley. It's about hour and a half north of San Francisco. The resort is about 157 acres with lots of oak trees dotted around the property. If you like dry heat, this is a great place to be in the summer as temperature definitely gets up there. The property is divided into two areas. On one side is the resort. The other side is the residences. There is a river that cuts through the middle part of the property which basically divide up the property. I believe the residences part is essentially luxury timeshare.
Each home is outfitted exactly the same. The difference between each category is: location of the lodge, the size of the deck, and if you have an additional living room or not. What Calistoga Ranch doesn't say on their website/ brochure is that this resort is essentially a collection of trailers. Or what I jokingly call the most expensive trailer park in the world! The reason why it was built this way was because the town of Calistoga didn't want Auberge Resort to build a luxury resort there. To skirt around the rule, SB Architects devised an idea.... why don't we build whole bunch luxury trailers with decks! So town of Calistoga got out maneuvered and Calistoga Ranch was born. Because each trailer is exactly the same size with same finishes, the only way to have a different category of rooms is by the size of outdoor space and how many pods (trailers) you get. Deluxe Lodges get zero deck but they do have enclosed outdoor showers. Deluxe Hillside Lodges gets a deck. The One Bedroom Lodges gets two pods: one of them is a bedroom plus bathroom, the other one is a living room. The option above One Bedroom Lodges is One Bedroom Oak Creek Lodge which gives you a deck with an oak tree piercing through plus a bit more privacy. Then after that is 2 Bedroom Lodges. This gives you four pods: one bedroom with bath, one bedroom with bath, a kitchen, and a living room. The Estate Lodge, which essentially is their presidential suite, consist of everything 2 Bedroom Lodges have plus privacy. The estate lodge I stayed at was actually located at the very end of the resort so it was incredibly private with no one looking in. Simply put, I can live in my lodge for months on end because it's so fabulous. While I joke that this is the most expensive trailer park in the world, the finishes are topnotch and honestly, with decks and all, no one can tell you are sleeping in a trailer. SB Architects was very smart in their design and blended the outdoor and indoor spaces seamlessly.
The food at their restaurant was good. I thought the view was quite nice; nothing beats eating outdoor under moonlight next to a small lake. I had a facial at their luxurious spa. The facility was quite pretty and again, the architect blend the indoor and outdoor area really well. The resort also seems to have a very good wedding facility. There is a wine cave where you can have an indoor reception. You can also do it outdoors next to the small lake on a gentle hillside. In fact, while I was there, I saw a wedding next to the lake. It was quite pretty and I'm sure bride and the groom had a marvelous experience. If you are into hiking, then this is a good resort to do so. I believe there is two or three hiking trails inside the resort. There is also a large swimming pool next to the check in area with a bar. I didn't use that part of the facility but it did look nice from outside.
Overall it's a fantastic resort which I would have no problem of recommending it to my other high maintenance friends especially if they want to splurge and stay at the Estate Lodge. I look forward to coming back to this resort sometimes in the future.
It's that time of the year again. The last calls at various department/ online stores are in full force. So far, Saks, Bergdorf, and Barney's have hit the "up to 75% off" sale. Neiman, on the other hand, is still stuck at 55% off. But I'm pretty sure they will get in line soon enough! After all, one only have so much money to spend, and people are not likely to wait till Neiman to go Last Call before heading to other clothing stores to grab all the good deals.
First up, Bergdorf Goodman. Not much is left online and the perennial that's not really 75% off does apply to their online store. Case and point, Moncler is still only 50% off among what's left. But these days, only very few Moncler stuff ever goes on sale anyway and there is couple wintery looking jacket/ vest that smart buyers can pick up now for later usage. Most of the Saint Laurent stuff are not even close to 50% off with few exceptions here and there. But since Hedi left, this is the second to the last season you can pick up his work so buy what you can before it's too late. Valentino stuff are also slim picking and most are barely 50% off anyway. Honestly, I would say skip the Bergdorf website unless you have nothing better to do as the "in" brands is pretty much only 50% off if that with couple exceptions.
Next Saks. There is a Saks in SF so I went there to see what's up since nothing much is left online. I have to say in person, there are a lot of stuff. If you like Givenchy, they have a pretty decent selection. But as you Givenchy lovers know, everything is cut either super big or regular. You just never know. There are some camubutterly neoprene sweatshirts. I think they have all the sizes. If I didn't have the hoodie version already, I would have totally jump on them since they are 75% off. Yes, literally 75% off. Not up to. Saks really have the best selection in SF of the Last Call markdowns IMO. If you are in SF, you should definitely hit it up. Unfortunately I didn't see any accessories or shoes on sale at Saks. So that's the downside. What's left online in the men's section is pretty pathetic. No need to bother. They do have the late Starchitect Zaha Hadid Rim Vessels cups online for sale at 70% off in the home section! I believe the price is for a set of four. These will be a collectors item for sure since I don't think it's widely distributed. Plus the designer is dead so there isn't exactly going to be lots more of Zaha Hadid home stuff in the future (if any). There is also decent amount of Missoni Home stuff on sale. Some of them are only 30% off while others are 70% off. My suggestion is buy the 70% off stuff online and head to Gilt.com for other Missoni Home stuff. There is also a healthy selection of Alessi stuff. Alessi barely ever go on sale so this is pretty good.... although the markdown is only 30% off. Kinda lame.
The third one I would mention is Barney's New York. Honestly, there isn't much left online to buy. They do have a pretty decent selection of Valentino stuff on sale. Sadly it's 60% off not 75% off like Saks in person. In store they have the wolf version backpack here in SF on sale. Online you can find the dragon backpack on sale. I like them except I don't ever carry a backpack. I guess if you live in NYC, then this maybe a good buy for you. There really isn't much left in store. I saw a Gamme Bleu sports jacket that look like something out of circus (black and what stripe pattern). That was the only Gamme Bleu stuff left (and for good reason). Not a lot of shoes left either. One Valentino Camo hightop left. I think it's a size 10. Couple Christian Louboutin spikes shoes available if you are into Loubs. Speaking of Louboutin. On the ground floor, there is quite a few Louboutin card case/ wallet left. I didn't bother to see how much they are but I suspect probably around 60% off.
Who could forget MrPorter? Good thing about MrPorter is that not only they don't charge sales tax, they are up to 80% off too. So you can always find a good deal or two. Sadly what's left of their Valentino selection is only 40% off. Comparing that to Saks' 75% off, it's kinda a turn off. The best piece that's left is the Color-Block leather varsity jacket. But at 2k+ after 40% off, it's still quite an investment. There are still quite a bit of Balmain left. Most of the stuff are only 50% off so not terribly attractive at this point. I think their collaboration with H&M late last year probably turned off most of their loyal customers. I'm not surprised MrPorter still have plenty of Balmain left. Bottega Veneta are mostly 60% off. The selection is not great but it does have a panelled cotton jersey zip up hoodie left in size 46 and 48. I'm all about hoodies these days and at 60% off I think it's buyable. There is a pretty good selection of Saint Laurent stuff left. Discount range from 30% all the way to 70%. The 70% off stuff is mostly leopard print stuff. Think Peggy Bundy! LOL. I think the best piece left is the Camouflage print cotton field jacket at 50% off. There is one S and one L.
Lastly MatchesFashion is an interested place to buy from. Not least it is based in London and you can actually choose to pay for your stuff in English Pound. Unless you live under a rock, I'm sure you heard of Brexit. Along with Brits exiting EU, English Pound plunged about 10% against US dollar. It had since gained a percentage or two against dollar. So you can actually arbitrage the currency difference and gain more discount by paying for your stuff in English Pound! Typically Matches stuff are about 20% below suggested retail so even though most of the stuff are only 30-40% off, you are really getting about 50% off. If you added weak English Pound on top of that, you can get about additional 10% off advantage. The best piece in the sale category is the Bottega Veneta Quilted-Leather backpack at 949 pounds (retails for $3900 in USA). While that is definitely not cheap but it had already been marked down 70% off plus with the currency arbitrage, this presents an insane steal opportunity. Another very unique purchase opportunity is option to buy some discounted Gucci clothes from this season... some at 40% off! Gucci had a 30% off sale about a month ago and since then, no current season clothes have gone on sale either at Bergdorf, Saks, or Barney's.
There's definitely bargain to be had this season if you dig deep within stores/ websites. I'll be reviewing some of my favorite pieces for the fall/winter of this year soon. Until then, happy hunting.
Just got back from Aman Sveti Stefan. I have to say I'm a big fan of this Aman for several reasons.... Great service, Great food, and Great rooms.
Before heading there, my travel agent had said that several of her clients had not liked this particular Aman because they were bored. Combining that with the reviews on Tripadvisor, I was somewhat hesitant about going there. On the other hand, a friend of mine whom had done extensive travels throughout the world (over 100 countries by age of 40) had highly recommended this Aman as he said this resort was very unique among all Aman properties as it's an UNESCO World Heritage site. So reluctantly I decided to stay there for 3 nights and 4 days hoping this resort will live up to Aman standard.
I was pleasantly surprised. I wish I had stayed at least one more day if not two. Although honestly I can stay there for few extra months in my gorgeous suite.... This Aman is on an island right off the coast of Montenegro. The island is connected to the coast via a walkway so I guess it's really more like a peninsula than an island in my opinion. Anyway, this island originally was a fisherman's island. The legend has it that Pastrovici tribe robbed some sleeping Turks off a beach in Montenegro. They used the money to build this village in 1400s. By 1800s, the village had about 400 inhabitants. During the communist era, the island was converted into an upscale hotel. Famous visitors during this time included: Sophia Loren, Kirk Douglas, Elizabeth Taylor, and Princess Margaret. In 2006, Montenegro became an independent country. By this time, Sveti Stefan had fell into ruins as it had been neglected for awhile. In 2007, the new government invited international hotels for bids to reinvigorate Sveti Stefan and Aman won the bid and signed a 30 year lease with the government of Montenegro. Aman Sveti Stefan officially opened in 2009.
Most of the complaints on Tripadvisor had to do with service. People complaint that while the staffs are nice, but their English are poor thus lots of miscommunications happened. In typical Aman fashion, they like to hire locals as locals tend to stay at the hotel for extended period of time. Aman Sveti Stefan was no different. However, with that policy, I can see how the problems arise. While I find most of the staffs' English proficient, there were couple instances where things were not done correctly either because of miscommunication. But I think as time goes on, the staff there will get better and better. I would say they are 95% there so good enough for me.
While you would think most of the rooms on Sveti Stefan faces Adriatic Ocean to the West, in fact, only four rooms faces West. Most rooms face East with some facing South. Few rooms face North as that's where main dining facility is at. I stayed at the Adriatic Suite which was one category below the presidential suite (Sveti Stefan suite). This particular suite is one of the view rooms that have west facing windows. This room also has three different balconies with one facing Northwest which gets the sunset view whereas Sveti Stefan suite faces Southwest thus only gets sunrise view (and who gets up that early while on vacation anyway....). The second balcony has direct access to the adult pool on the west side of the island. The third balcony has two lounge chairs and is also quite private for sunbathing.
The Adriatic suite is actually two levels. The bottom level has a kitchen plus access to one of the four rooms that has a West facing window thus making this a perfect family suite if you are traveling with your kids or other family members. Outside the kitchen, there is a stair that leads to the upper level of the suite. The upper level consist of a living room, a dining room, a powder room, and a master bedroom with a generous sized bathroom. There are four access points to the Adriatic suite. One is via kitchen. The other three are through the balconies.
Aman Sveti Stefan actually consist of more than just rooms on the island; it also includes a villa on the mainland called Villa Milocer. This villa used to be the summer palace for Tito, the communist dictator. It has now been converted to 8 different suites. The first floor is consist of public areas such as a restaurant, a library, a reception hall, and a meeting room. Next to Villa Milocer (about 5 minutes walk), Aman constructed a series of spa buildings in the style of the Villa Milocer. This collection of buildings has a spa, a gym, and a indoor/outdoor pool. There are three different private beaches that Aman guests have access to (all of them rock beaches not sand). The best one, in front of the spa buildings, is called Queen's beach and is the most private one of all three beaches as public has no access to it. The second best one is called the King's beach and is in front of Villa Milocer. This one is not particularly private as there is public access road that cut across the private beach and Villa Milocer. So anyone walks pass the public road can see you. The most public beach is the one in front of Sveti Stefan called Sveti Stefan beach. If you are on the mainland facing the island, the right side of the beach is private and my understanding is public has access to it provide they are willing to pay a high premium. The left side of the beach is public. Thus what you see is you have gazillion people using the left side and maybe one or two people on the right side. Very weird and odd. On the island, there are three pools. One is inside the Sveti Stefan suite's terrace. This is the only room that has a private pool. The second one is called adult pool facing West. Gorgeous view of the Adriatic Sea but it's small and not very deep. The third one is right next to the main dining room. Part of it is actually inside the building and part outside. It's about twice as long as the adult pool.
On the island, there are four orthodox churches. One was actually where Novak Djokovic, arguably one of the best tennis player ever, got married. All the churches are quite small and the one that Novak got married in can perhaps fit 15 people at most. There aren't many original icon paintings inside the churches. I assume those had been moved to churches on the mainland or museums.
The main dining room (which has inside and outside seating) serves Montenegrin/ European food fare. There are a good selection of seafood (no surprise here). Another restaurant is located at the piazza which serves Italian food. Montenegrins actually make good Italian food as Montenegro used to be ruled by the Venetian Empire. The third option is at Villa Milocer on the mainland. I had a fish soup there once during lunch and was very surprised at how good the soup is. The soup has lots of complexity to it and is comparable to any one Michelin star restaurant. It's that good.
While I was at the resort, I signed up for two activities. One is to the Skadar Lake. This one is not to be missed as the lake is just stunning... especially when you pass through thousands of lily leaves to get to the center of the lake. There are tons of birds flying around. The water is also very clean. They have a mirror look to them. Hard to explain as you have to see it in person. The second activity was a trip to Kotor and Perast city. Both are located on a fjord. This fjord is unique as it was not made by glacier (like the ones in Norway) but by rain. Kotor is the bigger city of the two and has various architectural styles (think French and Italian) from different centuries. I wish I had more time to spend at both cities...very unique setting. One thing that is missing is cultural activities on the Aman activity menu. For example, when I was at Amanjiwo, I had a chance to listen to Buddhist monks chanting at a local temple. I would have loved to visit a local traditional Montenegrin home and experience Montenegro through Montenegrin eyes. To me that would be quite interesting. My understanding is the new general manager is planning more activities in near future.
Overall I would highly recommend this unique Aman property. This is one of the few Aman properties where each room is different. I feel as this resort ages, it'll get better. My understanding is that the general manager at Amanpulo had recently been reassigned to Aman Sveti Stefan. Given all the rave reviews I read of Amanpulo, I have no doubt in a year, people will be raving about Aman Sveti Stefan as well. I look forward to return to Aman Sveti Stefan again soon.
This is a review of British Airways first class from Heathrow to JFK. I would say the best part is probably playing with the window shades! LOL. But I digress. Let me start from the beginning.
At Heathrow airport, they separated the first class lounge from the business class lounge. The business class lounge is on the top floor of the airport. It's large and there are buffet areas where you can pick up food a la cafeteria style. I find this lounge typically packed with people. There is no sense of serenity for sure. Essentially not that different from the regular waiting area outside with the exception of buffet. Well, maybe I'm being harsh. The finishes is nicer than outside regular area but it has a hurdling cattle feel due to large number of people inside the lounge.
Luckily I flew first class this time. First class lounge is on the second floor, a floor below business class lounge. The area seems smaller but obviously a lot less people fly first too. The lounge was packed with right amount of people. It wasn't empty but certainly was not over crowded like the business class lounge. There are couple good things that differentiates first class lounge from the business class lounge. One, you can reserve a resting pod where you can take a shower, make phone calls, or take a nap. It's nice to have an amenities like this. However, the pods get booked up quite often so if you know you want a private pod, best reserve one well in advance. The other good thing is that there is a restaurant within the first class lounge. Everything on the menu is free.... well, sort of, since it's included in your ticket price. The food is actually not bad. I would say better than your run of the mill restaurant food but below Michelin star level. There is also free spa service right outside the first class lounge. I believe it is shared with the business class passengers. If you want to get a spa treatment, I would definitely put your name on the list before you enter the lounge as they seems to be very booked when I tried to get an appointment. I did managed to get one though.
Now to the airplane experience. I thought the seat was nice. Not as wide as Cathay Pacific's first class (that's a review for some other time) but finishes was nice. I thought the shape of night light was an elegant touch. There is a large private compartment to store one's jacket which I like. You can also put your shoes in the compartment. The electric window shade was probably the best part of the seat. Sounds dumb moving a window shade up and down. But since I never done that before on an airplane, I thought it was cool. I also like the lighting. They had a overhead blue light which makes the cabinet looks futuristic.
You get two giveaways from the first class. One, you get a set of pajamas. They are quite soft and great for lounging around. The top has a nice BA logo with the word First on it. The other amenity you get is a wash bag from the Refinery which is a grooming specialist brand based in London. The bag is actually pretty nice; it is made of canvas and leather. I can see me reusing the bag for future trips. Inside the bag there are: revitalizer moisturizer, eye gel, lip balm, deodorant stick and shave gel. I thought the deodorant stick was a nice touch as one doesn't typically get them in an airplane wash bags. In addition to these Refinery brand products, the bag also has a brush/comb, disposable razor, British Airways First branded pen, reusable toothbrush and travel size tube of Colgate toothpaste. I pretty much chucked most of these and only keep toothpaste and pen. You also get an eye mask and a pair of socks which again, I chucked as I never use them.
The airplane food was not bad. Not as good as the one I had at the first class lounge but they do have pretty decent selections. For example, you can choose to have dishes such as: duck confit terrine with pickled apple puree, carrot, celeriac and grain mustard salad and a beetroot jelly or/and chicken tikka masala with dal makhani and jeera pilau rice (don't ask me what's jeera pilau rice... I just assume it's a rice from jeera pilau region....but honestly, I think they just put that in to make the dish sounds fancy). Dessert selection includes: rhubarb and red currant tart with rhubarb compote or warm chocolate and hazelnut torte.
After dinner, they came and fluff up my seat and turn it into a bed by adding a quilted mattress (not really a mattress.... more like mattress topper) and a duvet. It's very civilized I must say. The mattress did make sleeping more comfortable for sure.
I thought the service was good. They were very friendly and when they found out it was my first time taking BA first class, they explained all the buttons to me. Having been on their business class many times, I have to say the service in first class is noticeably better.
Overall I enjoyed the experience very much. My understanding is that airlines such as Singapore airline or Etihad airline offers better hardware experience but since I never been on either airline before, I have no way to compare them. But from reading online reviews, I'm sure I'll enjoy those two airlines very much. I hope someday I get to try them!
Are you tire of the usual wood planks on your floor? I recently came across Jamie Beckwith's collection of floor tiles by Los Angeles based designer Windsor Smith and I have to say I'm in love with her flooring. Specifically the Hot to Trot wood tiles. It basically consists of interlocking I shapes and I find the pattern interesting and new. It really gives more depth to the once boring floor wood planks. Honestly I'm thinking to myself why didn't I think of this?
I always advise people buy the best paint you can afford as it'll save you time and money. For me, it's Benjamin Moore's Aura line. I love this line as it saves time and has wonderful coverage. For example, if you want to paint your dining room wall a shade of dark brown. First what you need to do after prepping the wall is prime the wall. After primer dries, then you need to put on minimally three coats and sometimes even four coats if you want to make sure everything comes out even. So minimally you are painting the exact same wall four times if not five. I don't know about you, but I don't have time to paint the same wall that many times!
Aura line is great because the paint includes primer so you don't have to prime the wall. Plus because paint is thick, you really only have to paint the same wall twice or in case of light color, maybe even one time with some touch ups here and there. This is a huge time saver for most people. On top of that, Aura paint contains zero VOC. VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compound. It's basically the smelly stuff you smell from freshly painted walls to new furniture. Personally I'm not big on paint fumes so I always use Aura line paint for my own home. Aura line paint cost more than typical paint one finds at home supply stores. But to me time is money. Unless you have nothing better to do, why would you want to paint the same wall over and over again to gain full coverage? Plus you have to use more paint with the cheap stuff. At the end of the day, you may need more cans of cheap paint which may ended up costing the same as Aura paint. For my time and money, I go with Aura paint every time.
According to the World's Best 50 Restaurant Guide, Gaggan restaurant came in at number 10. It is the brainchild of Kolkata-born Gaggan Anand. Surprisingly the restaurant is NOT in India but in Bangkok, Thailand. I suppose close enough. I, for one, isn't crazy about Indian food in general. I like some dishes but honestly not enough for me to volunteer to go to an Indian restaurant. However, I was very curious about Gaggan and knowing that I will be in Bangkok and that this restaurant is in top 10 of World's Best 50 Restaurant Guide list, I figure it should minimally be good if not great.
After the fabulous dinner I had there few weeks ago, let's just say if I live in Bangkok, I would come here every few months to eat! The food is that good! It's absolutely not to be missed when you come to Bangkok if you are a foodie. The prefixed menu started with bites such as "dew drop", "edible plastic spiced nuts", "foie gras sundae", etc. then the main entrees are compose of dishes called "magic mushroom", "story of fish called Kin-Medai", the obligatory "I want my Curry!!!", etc. Just symphony of specialized herbs that only master chefs like Gaggan can pull off. And of course you get three desserts to top of a looong list of dishes with ingredients like pistachio cake, sake ice cream, and grape snow.
I look forward to return to Gaggan in the future. I can't wait to see what new dishes he will have come up with when I come back next time.
Having stayed at several Four Seasons Hotels/ Resorts in the past, I have to give kudos to the Four Seasons Resort at Koh Samui for their service. This resort had given me better service than any other resort/ hotel I have ever been to. Case and point. When my bed was not as soft as it could be, the housekeeping team came right away to rectify the situation. When I took the house car to visit places recommend by their concierge, the head of housekeeping was waiting next to the car in the carport wondering if her team had made the bed soft enough to my satisfaction! I have never been to any hotel/resort where the head of housekeeping is so concern with my comfort and took the time to talk to me face to face to ensure her team had done a satisfactory job. The staff is really there to make sure everything is to your liking. I have to give credit to Jeff, the general manager at this Four Seasons Resort. The service standard is so high here that I don't think I'll ever encounter anything like it anywhere else in the future. And that's just a slice of the excellent service I received at this hotel. I can go on and on but enough of the service and let's talk about the resort.
The resort is on a lush hillside. I believe there are a total of 60 villas and 12 estate lodges. The estates lodges are basically houses with multiple bedrooms. The villas, on the other hand, are all basically one bedrooms. I believe there maybe couple family villa where there is two bedrooms but most are just one bedrooms. There are basically three categories of villas: duo standing, single standing, and single standing with a pool. The duo standing and single standing villas also have pools but they are more like dipping pool than swimming pools. There are three single standing villas with a swimming pool and all are walking distance to the beach. If your rooms are in the 900s then you can definitely walk to the beach from your villa. But this also means that you will hear noises from the beach where beach bar/ beach pool is located at. It's a trade off. The three freestanding villa with swimming pool is off to the quiet side of the beach. To access #908 and #909, you will have some small hill to climb. #910 is literally right on the beach but because it's all the way on the side, paradoxically, it's actually the most private one. To me, the worst one of the bunch is #908 as if you are walking to #909, you can actually see into #908's pool. Although I have to think that particular pathway is used seldomly. I had the pleasure to stay at both #909 and #910. While #909 is most private of the three, people staying in the Estate lodges can actually look into your pool from afar. However, because the way #910 is situated, even though you are more or less right on the beach, you can literally swim naked in the pool and no one can see that. My favorite villa is #910 as it has easy access to the beach and at the same time, the private pool is private when you are in it. I believe the layout for all the villas are the same and it's laid out beautifully. The only thing I wish they would change is the outdoor shower only spew out cold water so it's really more about washing chlorine off you than being an actual usable outdoor shower (unless you like taking cold showers).
The public area is quite nice. The newly renovated pool is huge. They serve food on the lounge next to the pool. There is also a restaurant called Pla Pla next to the pool. It's mostly continental food like burgers, pasta, and such. If you want Thai food, you have to go up to Thai Kitchen up in the high point of the resort. The Thai Kitchen can cook anything you want. I ordered some Thai food that was not on the menu and chef was able to make them easily. The Health Club is also on a high point so when you do your cardio on a machine, you have a beautiful view of Siam bay. There is also a boxing area where you can see the other side of the island. I would say Spa is their weakest point for me. I got a Thai massage which was good but what's not good about it is the long trek I had to make from the spa reception area to the massage room. You have to walk outside through jungle on a path that goes up and down. Normally I don't mind going up and down stairs to reach a destination but after I got a massage, I'm relaxed and the last thing I want to do is trek up and down stairs to go back to the reception area. When I complained, the receptionist said that they also do in villa treatments too. So that's what I would recommend, have them come to your villa.
The time I was there happened to be Easter so there were a lot of families in the resort. Luckily most of the kids are well behaved so I didn't hear a lot of nagging and crying sound. My guess is Four Seasons wants the family crowd. I believe there is also a kids play area right under the gym. I wouldn't necessarily dissuade honeymooners from going to this resort but do make sure you pick the time when kids are in school if you want to avoid them.
There are a lot of water sports activities you can do at the resort. There are plenty of two person boats, several paddle boards, two water bicycles, etc. Water is quite shallow overall until you pass the reefs. There is a resort owned barge pass the reefs where you can put on snorkeling gear. There are definitely fishes out there but I would say I saw more fishes at Hanauma Bay in Hawaii or Blue Lagoon in Bali. But this one is right at the resort which is definitely more convenient than the other two.
Couple precautions.... If you hate the sound of cicadas, then this is not the resort for you. The sound comes and go and sometimes can be very loud. To me that's just part of the nature as we are in a jungle but if that sound really bothers you, then you will have a miserable time if you come here. Also there are definitely mosquito at the resort. They do provide you with natural and regular sprays but I would suggest you bring your own as you may be allergic to their spray. And lastly, because Koh Samui is in a bay so don't expect waves. If you want waves, go to Phuket. The plus side of being in a bay is that chance of tsunami is very slim.
Overall I would highly recommend this resort to anyone especially if you are very particular about service standard. Again, I have never encounter such excellent service and don't expect to encounter that again until I return to this Four Seasons Resort.
It's hard to make new forms in furniture design. Just about everything had been done under the sun. Somehow Kara Mann, for Baker furniture, was able to come up with a new way to construct a console table. Her new wrap console table is a nice fresh take on a form that has been around forever. It doesn't hurt that her collection for Baker furniture can be had in 2-4 weeks time when industry average is 8-12 weeks for American made furniture and 16-22 weeks for European counterpart. I love the clean line of her wrap console. The correct gold tone is perfect to bring out the glamour in an interior without being tacky.
We've all seen typical fruit baskets. They are essentially a large bowl-shaped vessel. Aparentment decided to switch it up. Why not use a donut-shaped vessel instead? Hence we got a super clean and chic "fruit basket" without the usual generic bowl shape container. Clever. This Spanish made Marblelous Ring can be yours for $295. Not a bad price point.
Anyone in the interior design trade will tell you, it's all in the detail that makes a room luxurious. Whether it be natural crystal hand knobs on your kitchen cabinet, or the hand stitched lines on your sofa cushion. Those extra detail cost a bundle but it's those details that makes a room come alive. One of the small detail that people often forget is register cover. We all seen those boring air vents from Home Depot or Restoration Hardware. Yawn. Luckily Annie Kantor see the need and came up with some gorgeous register covers. They can be custom sized and come in various colors and finishes. They are definitely not the cheapest register cover out there but who's looking at the bill when your guests asking you where did you get that cool looking air vent?
If you are looking for a statement sink for a super modern home, look no further. Toto came up with this really cool wash basin called Luminist Round Vessel. It's made of semi-clear epoxy resin so not only you can light it up from underneath, but it's also very strong. Remember glass sinks? Those are so 1990s. Epoxy is the name of the game now. This sink will definitely drawn out oohs and ahhs from your guests.
Just got my latest Elle Decor. One of my favorite part of the magazine is to read the section called "What's Hot". Sometimes there's not much to see but more often than not, there is some cool stuff that I would like to put in one of my project!
Case and point, I really like the Ito Kish's Basilisa Geometric cocktail table. I think the shape looks very fresh and I like the juxtaposition of solid frame with rattan. This piece could have look rather heavy but with the table mostly wrapped in rattan, it looks like a perfect piece for your sun room or your house next to a beach. The price is also fairly affordable at $2,200 (for Elle Decor standard). Can be customized to other colors.
Now that we are in the first inning of markdowns, I'm going to break it down for ya!
Barney's New York arguably has the best sale as things are marked 40% off instead of 30-33.3%... although I have to say their online inventory controller had done a good job. Not much interesting items left.
I like the Thom Browne Rugby Stripe scarf. But it's made of 100% cotton so it's probably more of a spring thing than winter. $359.
I also like the Valentino Open sneakers. Only size 9,10, 10.5 left. It's essentially a slip on which is easy to wear especially at airport security! $439.
The oh so hard to come by Saint Laurent Paris moto jeans is actually on sale! This pair of jeans had been carried over for few seasons now. Amazing design. I remember when it first came out, it was gone in a nano seconds! Only size 28 left. $949.
I love me some leather especially from Valextra! This card case is a very good buy. The descriptions just said leather but it looks to me like lizard. The same card case in different leather is half the price so I have to assume this one is real lizard?! White is obviously not easy to keep clean and probably why they put this on sale. $239.
Matches Fashion sale isn't as good at 30% off (with few exception at 40% off). But perhaps selection is a tab bit better.
Tons of Bottega Veneta! But the rare star is the Intrecciato leather backpack. One rarely sees men's large BV leather goods go on sale. Crossing fingers this one drops to 50% off!! $1806.
Quite a bit of Saint Laurent Paris selection as well. My fav is the Zip-detail jersey sweatshirt. Available in M, L. Simple and clean design. $455.
I have to say this season I feel the designs are a bit underwhelming. Maybe I'll feel better about it once we go 50% off! LOL.
Took me awhile to recover from #HMBalmaination craziness. But I finally have the time to document my experience.
I knew it was going to be crazy. But I didn't realize it was going to be this crazy. After reading the disaster Hermes sample sale in NYC few weeks ago on Racked NY, I decided the smartest way to get something from this collection was to hire a line sitter. In the mean time, a friend of mine got in the press line in NYC and was suppose to go the night before the launch to pick up a thing or two. He had promised me to get a leather hoodie in L or leather jogger in L for me. I thought about cancelling my line sitter but thought I should just double down.
Around 3PM on November 4th Pacific time, I got a text from my friend saying the line is insane!!! I was like but I thought you were in VIP line! Are you sure you are not in the regular line for tomorrow? He assured me he was in the right line and that it was insane.
Then a little bit later, he texted me a picture of empty racks.... That was a bust. Well, at least I have the option of getting something online and thank god I did not cancel my line sitter.
I decided to go to my local H&M to see how long the line is. This was 8:30 Pacific time. I would say there were about 30 people in line. I was getting a little bit nervous. I thought about calling my line sitter to come early as she was suppose to come around 1AM to wait inline on my behalf. I also thought about maybe I should get in line now and wait for her to show up at 1AM. But then I thought maybe I'm getting too carry away and this is kinda crazy. So I just figure the ones there are die hard ones and I doubt more will show up until maybe 3 or 4AM. So I didn't bother to call my line sitter.
Come 5AM November 5th, I tried desperately to get online to buy a piece of the collaboration. I had my ipad, iphone, iMac refreshing like crazy.... It just wasn't happening. I was not able to get online at all for well over 45 minutes. Few friends told me they were able to get online and that pretty much men's stuff were all wiped out. Ok, two chips are down and I still have one....
I went to H&M around 6:30AM as I know most likely bracelets will be handed out around 7 and I want to be there to get the bracelet on my wrist than to have my line sitter wearing my bracelet. So when I got there, I realized that I was like 100 people back from the front door. I knew it was going to be an uphill battle to get anything from then on. But since I already spent the money to have a line sitter waiting, I might as well wait.
By 7AM, they started to give out bracelets. My time slot was 9:45AM. The lady behind me kept on saying "it's all dudes in front of us". She was absolutely correct, it was like 95% dudes and 5% girls so I knew men's stuff would most likely be gone by the time I got in.
Finally my time slot was let in at 9:45AM. I was exhausted having wait in line since 6:30 and obviously up since 4AM to try to get online to buy. I think I may have gotten 2-3 hours of sleep. I was the last third or fourth person in my group and they had all of us in a single file line so by the time I got to the men's section, there were several black tank tops, few henley, and couple long sleeve t-shirts left. I was pretty irked by then as there really wasn't anything I wanted to buy. But of course I purchased few obligated items since I didn't come all the way to here to leave empty handed. So I got a tank top, couple small blue leather bags for gifts, couple sunglasses. And for the ladies section, there were plenty of selection except the most desirable beaded items.
I got home and checked Ebay...of course all the East Coast stuff are already posted online for sale. I was annoyed to say the least and knowing that the closest I'll get to buy that black leather jacket I want is to either buy the real thing and not eat for several month or pay an Ebay reseller.
November 6th, I read on Racked SF the night before that they will be selling the clothes on the mannequin on the first come first serve basis. I thought this will be my only chance to get something. I knew the mall wasn't going to open until 10AM so I figure I'll go there around 9:30AM and see if I can find a way to get to H&M first. I got to the parking lot and went straight across the street. The door was open to several elevators (which goes to the theater/ spa level). I guess some people want to use spa early so the backside of the mall is actually open to allow people to go to the spa. I thought I was pretty smart to get into the building early. But by the time I got to H&M, there were already 15 people in front of me!!!! Ok... let's see what will be left by the time I get to the front counter.... Then by 10AM, mall door opened and a group of people rushed to H&M. They were all shocked to see us waiting in line!!! They thought they were the first ones!
Of course by the time I got to the front counter, there were only one henley left which I could have gotten yesterday. I decided to buy it anyway as I couldn't leave empty handed!!!!
Feeling dejected, I thought I would never get my hand on the pieces I want. Then by 4:00PM, I decided to pay up on Ebay for the black leather jacket I really wanted. The seller had zero feedback and actually lives in Oakland. He/she also had several other men's pieces. There were very few people bidding on the jacket and I ended up winning. I guess people just didn't like to buy from sellers with zero feedback. I figured I could either pay with paypal or in person so I would be protected. I tried to pay with paypal and Ebay informs me that I need to get in contact with the seller as that option somehow wasn't working (and seller indicated that he/she takes Paypal). I never encounter that before. So I message the seller and told him/her the paypal thing isn't working and I'm happy to come to Oakland to pay in cash or meet up in SF. Never heard a single peep from the seller.
In the same afternoon around 4:45PM, a friend of mine messaged me saying she saw a black leather jacket at the Stonestown H&M!!! I was like excuse me?!!!! She put it on hold for me and let's just say I never got to Stonestown that fast!!! This particular H&M does not carry Balmain so must be someone who bought it at Powell and decided to return. I was very surprised to see it though as he/she could have easily doubled his/her money on Ebay or Craigslist and I'm sure he/she was there waiting in line around 8:30PM the night before launch. Anyway, I'm not complaining! So glad I didn't ended up buying from Ebay (a week later and seller still has not messaged me so I sure ain't gonna contact the seller). While the jacket is a tad tight on my arms, I'm soooo thrill to have it. It was my most wanted item from this collection. I'm sooo lucky to get it. Hope you are as lucky as me!
If only I have the money to buy this beautiful tea set.... Georg Jensen has partnered up with Marc Newson to produce a limited edition tea set.... ten total. You know one of these sets will ended up in MOMA and the other one at Victoria & Albert Museum. Given that a Modigliani painting just sold for $170,000,000, what's a mere $125,000? I'm sure these are pennies for those 0.001%. If I were in their shoes, buying this tea set is a no brainer.
