Recently in “Food”

Opened daily from 6:30AM to 11:30 (except Tuesdays), Juliana's new truck is stocked with Mary Schoenlein's fabulous breakfast treats ...... scones, muffins, bagels frittata's, spinach pies, & mini-sandwiches ..... plus a variety of hot & cold coffee & tea specialities, and more!!!

"Pulled-up" less than a month, Mary's Mobile is a huge success!!! 

I didn't know Coach has added a new merchandise category ...... ice cream!!!!! They have partnered with Van Leeuwen, the hip artisan ice cream truck entrepreneurs, and designed several yummie traveling "billboards" to advertise their Poppy Collection. The "accessorated" trucks are very chic, roaming around NYC giving out free cones!!!! Coach's signature flavor is a blend of vanilla ice cream with Morello cherries and Michel Cluizel chocolate (a bit Cherry Garcia!!) ....... but, the other traditional Van Leeuwen flavors are available too!!!

 

Had dinner last night with the E-I-C, at our favorite haunt The Silver Star  (not terribly chic, but great hamburgers!) ....... we go there to "muse & amuse," chatter about the "accessories & accessorations" of our lives ........ we talk about everything!!! 

We were discussing our upcoming trips to Europe and I was telling him about the fabulous "jelly serving spoons" I had found at a design/hardware store in Paris. I mentioned that I was going to stop in Paris to pick up a bunch more and did he want one or two!!! I realized how silly this sounded.... going to Paris for $8.00 spoons .... why not just make a quick stop at Gracious Home??? But, of course, there are no jelly spoons at Gracious Home or anywhere else.... this sublime spoon has disappeared, if it ever existed!!!!! 

I'm hoping that by putting the spoon's picture into the world, possibly some "tabletop guru" will see it, realize just how fabulous it is and make a new "jelly spoon," that will be available closer to home!!!!  It really is an amazing "accessoration"!!!!

This incredible, unique and inspired site specific installation was created by Texas Collective OKAY MOUNTAIN and was commissioned by Arthouse. "Arthouse at the Jones Center is a non-profit, non-collecting, contemporary art space located in downtown Austin, Texas, whose mission is to create meaningful opportunities to investigate and experience the art of our time through exhibitions, programs, and commissions of new work." 

The best description of the piece is by the artists who created it ........"Mixing absurdist humor with a fascination, with consumer culture, the Austin-based collective OKAY MOUNTAIN presents CORNER STORE, a fully immersive micro-convenience store that serves as a tongue-in-cheek critique of the art fair environment. Based on the eclectic and quirky independently-owed convenience marts found throughout Texas and the greater southwest region, the store offers fairgoers a variety of handmade products at "convenient" prices, thereby providing a memorable rest stop on the hours-long journey of the art fair trail."

Everything in the "mart" is a work of art, fabricated by the 11 artists living in Austin, Boston, and Chicago, that make up the collective. From the magazines that are for sale......the coffee machine, the frankfurter case, the pickle dispenser, and the ice machine......the cash register....as well as all the bags of chips & cookies, candy bars, and packs of cigarettes....and the various cans of food, boxes of detergent, and condom packages......the "building" and everything inside was created by the artists and is for sale!!! Creating the store and its contents to scale in Texas, trucking it to Florida, and then re-installing it in Miami in two days, was a monumental task!!!!

I think that my absolute favorite pieces are ........ the "stuffed" ash tray in front of the store .... the telephone outside  ...... the door with the lost dog poster ....... and the printed newspaper insert advertising all of the contents of the store!!!!  BUT, most of all, I wish I could bring the whole thing back to NYC ....... and install it in my backyard and invite everyone to do their Christmas shopping at the ultimate "pop-up" store ...... Arthouse's Corner Store!!!!