Bargain-Basement Manhattan!

Posted on August 13, 2011

If the Lenape Indians had known of the kind of bargain Dutch colonist Peter Minuit was negotiating when they exchanged the island of Manhattan for beads and trinkets in 1626, the deal would have never happened. Actually, if the natives could have envisioned their natural habitat one day turning into the concrete jungle Manhattan is today, Peter would have been lucky to have left the site without a spear through his head. Shorakkopoch Rock, situated in Inwood Hill Park was placed to mark the spot where this rip-off-of-a-deal happened. Although the Lenape Indians had no concept of private ownership, the story is that a transaction of beads and trinkets valuing 60 guilders or $35 in today’s currency (although I’m assuming probably less considering our economy is currently in the toilet) was made for the purchase of the entire island of Manhattan! Now who says Canal Street is the only place to get a good deal on expensive goods in New York City? I mean really, if Manhattan was that inexpensive then I could only imagine how easy it was to acquire the other boroughs of New York City. These early settlers must have gathered a slew of flag poles and simply shoved them into the soil of every spot they walked on!

Anyway, some believe that this transaction happened further south since Inwood was still largely wilderness back then however, Shorakkopoch Rock was placed to mark the spot near the river where this all went down. The literal translation of the word Shorakkopoch can either mean the wading place, the river’s edge or the place between the ridges. All I can say is that it is a stone’s throw away from the channel of water connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River and affords any visitor some great views of the Henry Hudson Bridge.


Mamma and the Biscuits took a stroll through Inwood Hill Park in search for this monument last Saturday morning. The park itself encompasses 196 acres of wilderness, hiking trails, parts of the Hudson River Bike Path and Indian caves that were discovered in the late 1800’s. Too bad the humidity levels were high and Tommy and I were eaten alive by those pesky mosquitoes otherwise we would have gone further into the park in search of some of those old Indian trails leading to the caves. Autumn is just around the corner and we’ll definitely return but for now, we did get a chance to have Mamma Biscuit lay claim on that rock. Manhattan has come a long way since 1626 but nothing is more monumental to this city than Mamma Biscuit’s arrival!

Enjoy!

Posted in NYC Life, Outdoor Life | Leave a comment

J’adore Dior

Posted on August 10, 2011

Move out of the way Charlize Theron and get lost Nicole Kidman because Mamma Biscuit is the fresh new face (albeit, a rather smooshed-in face) of the House of Dior. Our little puggie possesses the style, grace and attitude that makes her the true fashion Icon that she is today—and Dior has taken notice!

It has been a tumultuous year for Dior but now that they have gotten rid of that awful anti-Semite, John Galliano as head designer, Mamma Biscuit can finally agree to support the couture lifestyle they stand for and model their incredible clothing. At this point, Mamma’s fashion endeavors and incoming requests from designers are practically stretched to the limit. Between Marc Jacobs, Valentino and keeping up with the enormous responsibilities of being editor-in-chief of Dogue magazine (all while enjoying at least 23 hours of sleep every day) Mamma is left with very few slots to fill in her schedule—not until Dior came knocking on her door. Mamma responded with a wagging tail and a flapping tongue and agreed to be their new face! This sort of work ethic has kept our Lady of Biscuits in demand and on top of her game!

Nothing screams couture more than a pug wearing a giant structured bow made of water-colored satin and accented with a diamond clasp attached to a charcoal gray onesie with baby-pink piping. This Dior frock is beautifully modern yet classic and would definitely leave Rachel Zoe scrambling on the red carpet to redo any of her A-list clients. Our bitch is practically beaming in this red carpet number but take note paparazzi—she does not pose for any photographs or answer any interviewers’ questions without getting a soft-chew treat and a kiss on her forehead!

Here are a few dramatic outtakes of Mamma’s Dior photoshoot. Nothing tickles me more than to watch Mamma wreck havoc on a set as she runs off into the kitchen while dragging and stepping on a delicate satin bow with her paws just because she heard the sound of a pot hitting the burner on our stove top or reacting to the scent of an open refrigerator door! Nothing gets passed our little bitch and her discerning nose, nothing I tell you!


Enjoy

Posted in Fashion | 2 Comments

The curious case of Mamma Biscuit!

Posted on August 6, 2011

People are always amazed to learn how old Mamma Biscuit really is upon first meeting her. Despite the fact that her snout (or as I like to call it, her pug mask) has almost completely faded from black to a grayish-fawn, Mamma’s super small frame gives the outside world the illusion that she’s a puppy. No one ever expects me to say that she’s ten years old when asked of her age and when I do share that info with others, they gasp (sometimes while clutching the pearls around their neck) as if I have offended them in some way. I guess this is a good thing though—the canine fashion industry likes their models young and in Mamma’s case, her youthful look, svelte frame and her abnormally long tongue has made her the fashion icon and muse we all know and love today!

Tommy and I are always joking around about how we believe she is aging in reverse—becoming younger looking as the days pass! Just look at our Biscuit Lady in these photos. Forget the fact that the Lacoste bag that she’s sitting in looks like a snood around her neck, doesn’t she practically look like a little puppy girl? Seriously, not only does she look like a puppy but she’s also giving tenderness, wisdom and raw emotions in these portraits. Not bad for a point-and-shoot digital camera—who needs Annie Leibovitz anyway!

And here is Mamma and Pappa (Tommy) sharing a sunset moment (after the portraits above were taken) along the bay area in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Two of the most precious beings in my life!

Enjoy

Posted in Portraits | 3 Comments

That 70’s Pug!

Posted on August 2, 2011

That’s one hideous ceramic tile floor, isn’t it? Seriously, I have tried to get my mother to renovate her kitchen for years but she just won’t budge. The dark wood cabinets alone would make anyone whose mildly depressed want to commit suicide with a butter knife (I’m claustrophobic and I feel a shortness of breath just looking at them) but this floor is beyond dark, dank and dated—and that’s putting it lightly. Anyway, Mamma Biscuit had a sleep over at my moms’ house on Saturday night while we were off in Long Island celebrating a friends’ bridal shower. It was her first full night away from us and it felt really weird. Now I know what parents go through when they first leave their baby with a sitter overnight to go to a wedding or some function that doesn’t allow children. I’m not even going to pretend like I didn’t call my mom (twice) throughout the day to “check up” on our little gremlin—I know, I’m a helicopter parent looming over our little girl with my camera at all times so cut me some slack! Anyway, my mother really is the only person who can watch Mamma Biscuit when we are away. There is something about her cozy arms that makes our little gremlin yearn for her embrace. The feeling is also mutual because all I heard all week long (leading up to Saturday) was my mother’s excitement with the prospects of cuddling and sleeping with Mamma Biscuit. I know, how cute is that? Anyway, we are very happy to report that our Lady of Biscuits was very well behaved in our absence. She enjoyed long naps alongside my mother, the central air conditioning and the lovely Julio Iglesias tape (yes, I said cassette tape, not a CD) playing in the background as my mother toiled away in her kitchen (ugh, that damn 70’s kitchen) preparing various foods for dinner.

But back to these spectacular ceramic tiles from the 1970’s. I took these photos on Sunday afternoon while Tommy and I were having lunch with my mother. It’s not like I could just quickly stop by to pick up the Biscuit Lady and leave—afterall, my mom is from the south of Italy—to her a visit isn’t complete without being forced to inhale an entire tray of pasta soaked in tomato sauce paired with a gigantic loaf of olive bread to sop up the extra sauce. So there we were, eating all of this fantastic food while Mamma Biscuit stared at us with such focus and intensity—waiting for one of us to drop a crumb or a noodle on that backdrop of a ceramic floor. Let’s just say I gave her more than I would have normally to make up for exposing her to those damn tiles for more than 24 hours!

Enjoy

Posted in Just Because . . ., Oddities | 2 Comments

Christmas in July comes to an end!

Posted on July 30, 2011

Mamma and the Biscuits headed out to Adamstown, Pennsylvania last Saturday to participate in all of the Christmas in July specials. Don’t roll your eyes at me, it was a great way to beat the heat wave and our Amy Winhouse blues while still honoring this festive time of year. Route 272 from North to South in Adamstown is the “Antiques Capital of the United States of America” and I have to say, 1,000 + dealers on 7 miles of one road was enough to send our vintage holiday-appetite into overdrive. We spent the entire day on the hunt—scouring through antique markets, shops and centers looking for just the right holiday accents and accessories to add to our already overflowing collections—all on a budget of course. As you all know, we Biscuits take Christmas very seriously. It wasn’t enough for us to simply sit at home and watch QVC segments of hideous holiday wares and keepsakes inbetwix (yeah, I’ve always wanted to use that word) Mariah Carey’s jewelry, perfume and Contempo-Casual-clothing segments to celebrate this event. By the way, Mariah Carey was at her most delirious as she shuffled through her exhaustive segments the entire weekend-long. She abused and overused such words as moment, dahling, festive and love to describe some of the worst products I have ever seen on the market in my entire brief life! Anyway, what better way to conclude Christmas in July than to hit the markets while toting around our pug in a Lacoste bag? The good people of Adamstown simply adored our little gremlin peeking her head outside of her bag while Tommy and I were having intense discussions about Snow White drinking glasses and “Made in occupied Japan” holiday ornaments! So come along and check out what we scored in vintage holiday goods.

First on our list is this vintage box of four plastic ornaments from Jewelbrite. These diamond-shaped beauties were made in the 1950’s and have such great detailing. We practically have every shape imaginable but when I spotted this box on a table alongside a mountain of crappy holiday odds and ends made of resin, my heart skipped a beat. Almost all Jewelbrite ornaments are hollow in the center to allow space for some form of a holiday vignette and I just love how cheap the plastic holly, bells and reindeer look against those shiny silver lined walls. Nothing says Christmas better than shiny plastic!

Second on our list of finds is this fantastic Italian blown vintage ornament! I just love this little guy because I have no idea what he’s supposed to be. He looks like a cross between a busboy at a catering hall and a circus clown with a serious alcohol and cocaine problem—and what’s with his hat? Did he steal that hat from the travelocity gnome? We were terribly confused with this one but the quality, craft and price was so unbelievable that my heart skipped a second beat as I shoved it in my basket of goods before heading to the cash register!


Third on our list are these wonderful plastic deers and this hand-crafted Christmas gnome from the 1950’s. At this point, I couldn’t even begin to count how many plastic deers we have accumulated throughout the years but whenever I see them at the markets I always end up purchasing one or two—that’s how irresistible they are. Aren’t they just so charming to look at? We intend on placing them along with this flocked Christmas gnome in our growing paper village!

Fourth on our list is this amazing glass ball with bird ornament from the 1930’s. The detailing on this ornament is something to see in person. Christmas ornaments from this time period have such lovely coiled stainless steal springs that were usually wrapped around hand blown balls, sail boats and musical instruments among other objects for aesthetic texture! The flocked bird on this piece dangles delicately from a coil spring below the opening of the glass ball which makes this piece even more special. Just so you all know, Mamma paw-selected this baby herself—she has such great taste, doesn’t she?

Fifth on our list is this extremely old and extremely brittle, handmade Christmas gnome accent. When I first picked this flocked gnome up with my hands it nearly fell apart. Clearly, the condition of this did not dissuade me from purchasing it. I’m just so amazed at the types of materials used to create old holiday accents from the 1950’s. Those red holly balls are made of metal and the leaves are all cut from cardboard paper. The tree behind the little guy has plastic branches with white snow made of styrofoam. This is definitely a “handle with care” item but will fit perfectly on Mamma Biscuit’s Christmas tree! I just need to remember to place it high on our tree so that when Mamma Biscuit decides to run under the tree, she won’t mistaken it for a soft-chew treat!

Sixth on our list are these bristle-brush miniature Christmas trees and plastic holly trees. The red white and green pines are vintage from the 1950’s and have fantastic metal ornament ball accents. The holly plastic trees are vintage Department 56 and are pretty rare—I’ve never come across any trees like these—with sturdy and detailed gold medallion stands! All four trees will end up living in our paper village.

And last but not least, these cute and charming vintage tinsel star ornaments! Made from Stainless steel and metal balls with built in hooks, we just couldn’t resist!

Phew, that was a lot to share in one post. Oh well, Mamma Biscuit intended to go out with a bang at the end of Christmas in July. We hope that these ornaments and accents have gotten you excited for the upcoming holiday. Remember people, Christmas is only 148 days away—so get crackin’.

Enjoy

Posted in Holiday, Vintage | 2 Comments