lingering with fellow europeans in beverly hills

July 18, 2013July 18, 2013 | teamgloria

darlings

we write to you mid-sip of a freshly squeezed melange of fruits and vegetables – it’s been a delicious day but we’ve been quite frankly rushed off our (with lovely Work) size 9 doctor marten originals and completely forgot to post!

the fruits of lingering with europeans in cafes is most definitely paying off.

here’s another Record(you knew that was coming didn’t you?)

Talking of Post (in another Context) both william And george sent missives today.

We do adore a glimpse into the pastoral beach scenes of the garden-of-england and we do Hope william will be reporting from both the Oyster festival and Ladies Bowling.

Delicious.

cafes, galleries, purple blossoms and the column

May 16, 2013 | teamgloria

darlings

a few snapshots from today – another magical set-of-moments – revolving most deliciously around cafes, meetings-with-deeply-interesting-people, galleries, writing, more photographs and the purple blossom *looksvaguelytocamera* which must have a pretty name but we can’t recall it right now (do you know? you do? do tell!) which is covering los angeles with its inky fronds.

oh yes.

and we met one of our Artistic Heroes today – we interviewed David Fahey for next week’s column and *swooned* at seeing the originals of The Greats on the walls.

most Especially this one.

oh god.

the stories, darlings.

the Tales of photographers and travel and the Eye and the spirit and everything.

we are going to enjoy writing next week’s column.

what’s that?

oh.

you are delicious.

thank you for asking.

this week’s column?

An art supply store and a pie shop from the early 1970s.

you are Most Kind.

*wavingfromlosangeles*

a parisian cafe morning in manhattan #balthazar with @jennafain

December 20, 2012December 20, 2012 | teamgloria

quelle chic of a matin, darlings

as M. Sartre once wrote:

it is certain that the cafe by itself with its patrons, its tables, its booths, its mirrors, its light, its smoky atmosphere, and the sounds of voices, rattling saucers, and footsteps which fill it – the cafe is a fullness of being.

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and so it was at Balthazar this morning. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

and our breakfast companion was the glorious Jenna Fain who was Very Kind and agreed to join in with the anonymous/writer/parisian theme that we decided to embrace today.

what did we eat?

of course we’ll tell you – tartine, beurre and a Rather English pot of tea – oh, and marmalade, for us – a small pain au chocolat for her.
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Jenna is one to watch – most definitely – so much material – so many ideas – and a Very engaging Voice (of a generation) – we feel great things are Ahead. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

the cafe was suitably warm and yet Parisian in manner and dress and delightful frostiness of cheekbone and slim white linen apron and a glare at an unsuitable customer – we felt Most at Home. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

can’t you just picture the scene? OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

delightful.

and it’s only 10AM.

we spent time with a future voice of a generation – air-kissed with a former Hollywood Executive (who: cue to camera – came up to say hello to Us – ahem – shy yet engaging smile) and a Movie Star was in the corner, with friends.

delightful.

The new bohemians, vagabonds, flaneurs and other cafe dwellers.

November 9, 2012November 9, 2012 | teamgloria

Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic, or literary pursuits. In this context, Bohemians may be wanderers, adventurers, or vagabonds.

bohemians

since we’ve started to wind down our Life in nyc and prepare for LA (or a more bicoastal existence because, one never knows where the wind of paid work blow one’s soul…..it will be a Vast irony if we get a carte of green but Other countries fall harder in love with teamgloria’s first book ;)

……we have been thinking a great deal about those who do not go to a skyscraper every day.

And there are an increasing number of them.
Even in a skyscrapers dominant land like nyc.

We recall the day we lived through the first enforced Flight of the Creatives.

On a newspaper, back in the early 90s; we looked around and realized that Most if not All those who Wrote had now, slowly, been eased out of the new “open plan” desk areas and sent home.

The smokers went first.

Meeting rooms were now management areas and there were no dark corners of strange thought post-lunch hurried or languid conversations to be had.

some attempts were made to create group office rentals (and some are excellent ideas, like b*hive).

but the liberation of the laptop took Most into cafes and to walk the streets (in a non commercial sense)to think, plot and dream.

Voila

The emergence – once more – of cafe culture, the flaneur and the Bohemian.

And most are very attractive.

Delicious.

One could Almost be in 1920s Paris.

Or soho, yesterday.

We’ve been in both, recently. Naturally.

cherry blossom and cafes full of intellectuals reading Barthes and Heidegger – a springtime saturday tale in NYC

April 7, 2012April 7, 2012 | teamgloria

The cherry blossom is so lush and full that it hangs ponderously over manhattan today, at every street corner urban garden and runs wildly through central park.

So it was thus enveloped in fragrant flora that we tripped lightly to therapy (an American Cliche but actually So Helpful – now one tells the truth, or our nearest relationship to something akin to Real feelings, darlings).

And now – post-therapy – we are surrounded by piles of just-read-european-newspapers and mostly male intellectuals with slight shadow and furrowed brow reading roland Barthes and Heidegger.
you couldn’t make this up.

Before we moved to NY, we had a sojourn in Los Angeles (as you may have read in these pages before – ) and before that, spent a decade in London, during which time we did a Lot of research about Life in Manhattan through books and newspapers and films…………..and so we have no Idea whether we just happened to bring forth the Manhattan of our fevered imagination Or whether it really is as we dreamed .

The men-with-books.

The corporate-warrior-fit-female-executives.

Barista ‘dudes’ in artful italian denim and oh-so-casual-Converse.

Bright sunshine that requires shades at All Times.

The newbie-gaze-up-into-skyscrapers-in-awe-and-anticipation.

Used bookstores and students in vintage tweed.

Poets eating brioche.

Hedge funds are elsewhere. We don’t mix That Far downtown, darlings.

Our ‘beat’ (as they used to say in news-worthy-newsrooms) is here – the bit between Indochine and Gemma (bowery), Mercer (for noodles at Kelley Ping), newsagent-of-international-repute full of Italian fashion models (chaps) and blonde brits (writers of novels) on sullivan.

And then there’s that bit in the sniper fire of midtown where we earn the cash to travel and live and meet Very Interesting People.

But down here, on a saturday morning, after revelations in therapy and before taking-a-train to brooklyn for brunch – this is perfectly manhattan.

From 1986 or 72 or 91.

We imagine.

We didn’t live here then.

But this is Exactly how we thought it would be.

Therapy?

Oh.

Thanks for asking……..

Negotiating femininity; the thrill of participation in the swimming pool akin to the feeling part-of in london clubs back in the day; Corporate power structures and family of origin work.

You know

– exactly what you’d expect, in Manhattan.

We just didn’t know about the cherry blossom.

That has been the most delicious surprise.

Have a gorgeous day, darlings.

You deserve it.

sunday morning at the coffee shop

March 18, 2012March 21, 2012 | teamgloria

Mojo Coffee: 128 Charles St, Greenwich Village.

A good place to sit and look out of the window, perched high on a wooden stool, leaning against the painted columns, near the leafy green plants in large terracotta pots, eavesdropping on reiki and yoga teachers comparing notes while they sneak a shot of caffeine before class………

We’re still on european time.

Kinda antsy, as Americans might say.

So jumped out of bed before the sun came up, took a brisk walk into greenwich village and then suddenly realized our high-end corporate Warrior gym was not even open yet.

We need to swim.

How odd to be awake Before even the survival-of-the-fittest-joint opens its doors!

Quelle bizarre.

But not, we guess, that odd, for one living LaVieJetset, darlings.

And finding a new spot to be quiet and think and read and write to you, that opens at 7AM or earlier if the bakery delivery demands, on a Sunday In Manhattan is Most Delightful.

What will today bring?

Wherever you are in the world today, are you having a delicious sunday?

Do tell……….

day one: medical leave: surgery tomorrow

September 8, 2011 | teamgloria

as we left the skyscraper in manhattan where we work last night, we set the outgoing email message to tell news of our absence on medical leave until September 29th.

the office was empty.

we turned off the lights (we never use the overhead – we have aesthetic standards so we have beautiful lamps).

and took the lift/elevator to the ground floor. got the subway. and tried to release the last conversation: “you’re not seriously going to be offline?!”

yes.

it’s called medical leave for a reason.

we’re sick.

and tumours/tumors/Tobias and his sisters (and other bits of our body they’ve damaged) are going to be cut out.

and that will be painful.

and scary.

and we’ll take the time to heal.

so we said: Yes.

and left it at that.

if we’d spoken up before, we might not have had to learn this lesson the hard way. which would be surprising to people that know us in RL (we have a pretty forceful, albeit quite charming, personality ;)

sometimes the outsides don’t match the insides.

enfin. paris.

June 23, 2011 | teamgloria

on less than five hours sleep we ran out into the streets of paris on the wings of sagan, sartre and de beauvoir and with the insistent melodies of serge gainsbourg in our ears…………well, we thought we’d show tobias and his sisters la vie en rose before they, you know, have to leave us……it’s only polite.

what not to say #2.

June 21, 2011 | teamgloria

team gloria woke up to the sound of trains and just KNEW they were italian. and they were. but so horribly close to the hotel ;-)

after a deliciously simple breakfast and a cursory reading of the WSJ european edition (hmmm, the world of finance and big business seems to be heading for the hills, no?) we took a walk and found a beautiful church, a small row of shops – a cafe, a newsagent and a fruit stand – yes, we’re going to be there in a few moments enjoying some downtime before an afternoon and evening of (day job) work.

btw, what NOT to say #2: the amount of people who’ve emailed team gloria and said:

“they don’t think it’s serious if the surgery isn’t until september 9th”

have caused us to wrinkle up our noses in pain and shudder silently at the unthinking hurt they cause.

so we respond:

it was the first available surgery date.

and try to move on with our day in milano, darlings.

photographs later, we promise.