Groupon Coupon: Uptown Living on a Downtown Budget

I love Groupon! The deals are amazing, covering categories as diverse as Food and Drink; Things to Do; Health and Fitness; Home Services; Goods; Travel and so much more. This morning, for instance, in ‘Beauty and Spas,’ Groupon has flagged twenty-two deals for me, all within easy walking distance. Were I willing to venture afield and leave the Upper East Side, there are a total of 2212 deals in that one category. But why leave my home-turf when the classy Warren Tricomi salon on Madison Avenue, known for topnotch stylists and colorists, is offering a shampoo, hair styling and blow-dry for $99 (a $250 value). Indeed, before leaving for Paris last year, I took advantage of that offer to have my hair styled by Angelique, a native born Parisian. Having spent many years trimming tresses at Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door on Fifth Avenue, she had recently packed her scissors and moved them to Warren Tricomi. Thanks to a Groupon coupon, I got a fabulous, fresh-'n'-flirty haircut from a French stylist at a fraction of what it would have cost me in Paris.

New York or Paris: I Love Buvette

Whenever I would start talking French restaurants, someone would invariably ask: Have you been to Buvette? Buvette had the buzz, there was no doubt about it, the consensus being that the food was excellent, the ambiance divine. Everyone said: It’s like being in Paris!

The Super-Star & the Sandwich: Cotillard & Tartinery

The 2015 Oscar buzz for Best Actress includes the award-winning Marion Cotillard as the depressed wife in Two Days, One Night. Having previously won an Oscar for her spellbinding performance as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose—only the second time an Oscar was awarded a woman for a non-English speaking performance—she’s up against stiff competition that includes Reese Witherspoon, Julianne Moore, Rosamund Pike, and Felicity Jones.

Cubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection

Cubism, one of the most radical and influential movements of the early twentieth century, attracted Mr. Lauder from an early age, when he fell in love with a painting by Léger. The stupendous collection he amassed—eighty paintings, drawings, collages and sculptures by four preeminent Cubist artists—is now, as he always intended, a promised gift to the museum.

The Odd Couple: Altun-Ha and Jacques Pepin

Unlike the Spanish forts dating from the sixteenth century or the British Colonial settlements, the ancient Mayan ruins at Altun-Ha in Belize, a country on the eastern coast of Latin America and bordered to the north by Mexico, date back thousands of years. Of course, the challenge for your trusty correspondent, someone desperately seeking Paris, will to unearth something that's très chic, something with a glint of French style.

Following the Maya: Cartier, Chanel et Moi

Sailing from the Port of Miami on Oceania’s newest luxury ship, the Riviera, we are following in the footsteps of the Maya, looking to explore the remnants of this ancient pre-Columbian culture, its temples and villages. This particular sailing, Mayan Mystique, will take us as far south as Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. Places with large indigenous Maya communities, many of whom still worship the gods of the ancient Maya. If not the ideal trip for someone desperately seeking Paris, it's of great interest nonetheless.

French FindsBarbara DonskyFebruary 1, 2015 Comments

Welcome to Levittown!

As many of you already know, I’ve been working on a memoir for the past two years, one now in the capable hands of my editor, Elizabeth Kracht of Kimberley Cameron & Associates, an agency dedicated to publishing 'high quality writing that makes a difference in the world.' Sounds good, no? However, in order to ready the manuscript for publication, it had to be cut down to size—cut down by thousands of words. Rather than leaving the words scattered on the cutting room floor, Liz suggested I blog some of the cut pieces.

Writing and MarketingBarbara DonskyJanuary 25, 2015 Comments

Je suis Charlie: Nous sommes Charlie

The thought Je suis Charlie races around in my synapses. It’s a cold rainy morning as I head for Albertine, the library at the French Consulate on Fifth Avenue. What I’m looking for is a novelby Michel Houellebecq, one of France’s most controversial and celebrated writers. It was his latest novel, “Submission,” a futurist vision about a clash of Western values with those of radical Islam, that was scheduled for publication the very day that cold-blooded terrorists massacred twelve people at the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

Haute Hippie: Haute Couture Meets La Bohème

The outfits from the 2015 Resort Wear Collection in the windows at Haute Hippie on Madison Avenue make me do a double-take. Straightaway, the word ‘Haute’ triggers thoughts of haute couture and of Coco Chanel--especially since I'm reading Rhonda Garelick’s incredibly well-researched and engaging biography: Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History.

Madame Cézanne and Lady M

The first time I laid eyes on Madame Cézanne --specifically, Madame Cézannein a Green Hat--I hardly knew what to make of her. Seated in an elegant chair, with a stylish green hat atop her head, she sat with lightly folded hands and tightly pursed lips. The more I studied her, the more I felt I was keeping her from far more urgent matters. Hurriedly, I moved on. When I heard the Metropolitan Museum of Art was mounting an exhibit devoted solely to her, it seemed a bit odd.

Cozy Bistro with High-End Prices: Le Charlot

Having lived most of my life in the rustic village of Oyster Bay Cove, its deep woods and winding lanes brightened only by patches of moonlight at night, I love being out and about in Manhattan after nightfall. Particularly during the darkest months of the year.

Maison Kayser: The Once Square, Now Hip UES

When there are no errands to be run or chores to be done, no appointments to be kept or parcels to be schlepped...what is it that you most like to do?

I’ll tell you what I like: I like to hang out in places where you can linger for an hour nursing a cup of coffee, doing little more than watching the passing scene. Preferably, places that open early and stay open late, with no reservation required. Growing up in Sherwood Park in southeast Yonkers—the most boring place in the world—the only exciting thing that ever happened was the opening of a diner on Yonkers Avenue. It was a classic All-American diner with a red neon sign, Formica counters wrapped in chrome, red leather booths with tabletop jukeboxes, and waitresses in black uniforms with pencils tucked behind their ears.

Très Chic Boutique: Niquea.D

New York is treasure trove of unforeseen pleasures and serendipitous surprises, not least of which is a chic boutique, Niquea.D on the Upper East Side. It seems that in this great city, all you need do is turn a corner to find a store you’ve never laid eyes on before or a bakery that's an offshoot of its Parisian parent. So it was with Niquea.D.

Brunch is Out? Try Late Lunch at The Mark

Brunch is out, over and done with, ran a heading in one of the morning papers. But there was little time to find out why the institution had fallen into disrepute, as we were running late for a matinee performance of Ayad Akhtar's Disgraced. the 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning play making its Broadway debut at the Lyceum Theater on West 45th Street. By the way, should you find yourself swamped with holiday parties this month, the play runs until Sunday, January 18. 2015. At any rate, that day, we decided to skip brunch, to skip lunch, and to opt for an early dinner. What we didn’t suspect was that the play, which takes place at a dinner party on the Upper East Side, would pack a wallop in a mere ninety minutes. No intermissions. Laced with sex, ambition and ethnicity, it grips you early and never lets you go. Intellectually engaging, it's a study of the unconscious prejudices of liberal New Yorkers. Enough to make you swear off dinner parties.

Matisse and Me

MoMA pulled out all the stops for its exhibition: “Matisse: The Cut-Outs.” And rightly so. Before reaching these shores, the exhibition had been at the Tate in London whereit drew 500,000 visitors, making it the museum’s most popular show ever. With high expectations, I step off the escalator on the sixth floor to find -- good news-- there's no line. A ticket-taker waves me in, warning me that taking photographs is strictly prohibited. This is when I learn that MoMA has a selection of on-line images available to journalists and bloggers with permission.

Toulouse-Lautrec: Belle Époque Paris

“The Paris of Toulouse-Lautrec: Prints and Posters,” the Museum of Modern Art’s first exhibition of the artist’s work in nearly thirty years, consists of nearly 100 works on paper drawn from the permanent collection. I hurry on down. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) had the bad luck of being born into an aristocratic family going through hard times. A family in which there had been a good deal of in-breeding. His parents were first cousins, and Henri -- the apple of his mother's eye-- was a sickly child who had the misfortune of breaking both of his legs in separate accidents one year apart. The fractures never healed properly and, when fully grown, Henri was four feet, eleven and would walk with a cane for the rest of his life.

Art in New YorkBarbara DonskyNovember 9, 2014 Comments

Morning at Bloomingdale’s: Miss Dior and Coco Chanel

Searching for beauty at Bloomingdale's, I meet Miss Dior and Coco Chanel. The day had started out damp and drizzly, and with nothing pressing on my agenda, I thought it would be fun to stop by Bloomie’s to check out what the designers were showing for fall. But before I could do that, I stopped at Pink Nail on Lexington for a manicure, knowing full well that no self-respecting sales person would pay any attention if I showed up with chipped nails. Flipping through a few fashion magazines while waiting for a manicurist, I learn that the must-have color for fall is burgundy. I’m in luck.

Dirty French on Ludlow Street

Dirty French on Ludlow Street is in the heart of the trendy Lower East Side. There was a time when few people sought out this part of the city, but that has changed over the last decade as it became a hotspot for developers and a rallying cry for residents miffed by the loss of authenticity. To say nothing ofthe increase in traffic and the contemporary buildings lording it over hundred year old tenements.

French Restaurants '15-16Barbara DonskyOctober 26, 2014 Comments

Meet Me in Paris...

Walking down Lexington Avenue, I catch a glimpse of Paris; namely, the Brasserie Orsay at 75th Street. With summer hanging on in New York, every last table on the terrace is occupied. Am I disappointed? Not in the least, as I'm no fan of sidewalk dining, at least not here in New York where one has to contend with horns honking, sirens shrieking, and that grimy NYC sanitation truck blocking the street.

'Albertine,' the New Girl in Town

There's a new girl in town. ‘Albertine,’ a bookshop, has opened at the French Embassy onFifth Avenue. The brainchild of the French Cultural Counselor, Antonin Baudry--himself the author of "Weapons of Mass Diplomacy"--the shop will carry both English and French books, thereby filling a gap left by the closing of the Librairie de France at Rockefeller Center in 2009, when they found they could no longer afford the escalating rent. Of course, by opening within the French Embassy, 'Albertine', who always was a clever girl, has side-stepped that issue.And it;s in my neighborhood. I walk over, passing one of the Embassy's neighbors on East 79th Street. Don'y you love the entrance-- the doorsand the cascading flowers?