pink rickshaw

wine three: champagne

“We flyin' first class, up in the sky, poppin' champagne, livin’ my life…” – lyrics to “Glamorous” by Fergie

 

This time of year, champagne isn’t just for Fergie, Diddy, and those in first class. With New Year’s Eve on the horizon, now’s the time for everyone to indulge in a little of the bubbly. Often featured on New Year’s Eve and weddings, champagne represents the celebration of a new beginning and the anticipation of something great - a fitting role for one of the most coveted and expensive type of wine.

People often refer to all sparkling wines as champagne, but true champagnes are only produced in the Champagne region of France. Sparkling wine and champagne are both more expensive than typical table wines, because the process for producing champagne and sparkling wine is so involved. Our favorite bargain sparkling wine is NV Scharffenberger Brut, which is creamier than most sparkling wines.  If you really want to indulge in an expensive Champagne, consider Food and Wine Magazine contributor Lettie Teague’s recommendations for 10 Top Prestige Cuvees.

 

Champagne and sparkling wine can sometimes be bracingly acidic, so it is important to avoid pairing with sweet foods. Champagne pairs very nicely with Asian and salty flavors. For fruit combinations think Pretty Woman and go with tart strawberries. Don’t get too ambitious and add chocolate to the mix – you will only taste the tartness of the champagne and miss out on its lovely roundness. We like pairing champagne with salty prosciutto and loved this Bagel Chips with Ricotta, Chive Puree and Prosciutto recipe. If you still find champagne or sparkling wine to acidic, consider using champagne in a mixed drink.  The recipe for an Americana with its use of peaches and champagne is a nice sweeter alternative.

Whether you are ringing in the New Year at Time’s Square, a crowded party or in the comfort of your home, pop open a bottle of the bubbly and savor one of life’s greatest pleasures. Wherever you are, you deserve a fresh new start to what we hope is a year marked with much joy.

image source: gracemagazine.wordpress.com, foodandwine.com

-RW
 

4 minutes: lions and tigers and makeup. oh, my!

"Better to live one year as a tiger, than a hundred as a sheep."-Madonna

 

Tony, Tigger, Hobbes, and Mowgli--just a few of our striped friends. Tigers and humans have been tight since the beginning of time. In fact, this fascination with the big cats show up prominently in folklore and mythology. In Hinduism, the goddess Durga appears riding a tiger as a symbol of majesty and power. In Chinese mythology, it is believed that the tiger has magical powers and can take human form. Unfortunately, tigers may not just appear in myths, but soon become a myth to future generations.

Currently, some reports state that there are less than 2500 breeding wild tigers left in the world. In China alone, only 40 roam free in their natural habitat. (Only a hundred years ago, it was estimated there were 100,000 tigers around the world). What's happening? Namely, the reduction is due to habitat destruction and the large scale poaching of tiger skins and bones. The parts from tigers are sold in black markets for use in medicine (allegedly the bones and teeth are believed to provide the tiger's strength), decorations and even wine. In other words, humans. This is especially shocking considering the tiger was voted the world's favorite animal in an Animal Planet poll. This prompted the World Wildlife Federation to remind everyone "if people are voting tigers as their favorite animal, it means they recognize their importance, and hopefully the need to ensure their survival."

Organizations like Traffic are doing exactly that by working to prevent poaching. Traffic is the world's largest international wildlife trade monitoring network and aids in tiger conservation. China and India are also stepping in hoping to prevent the majestic animal from reaching extinction. India (the tiger is the country's national animal) has the world's largest population of wild tigers. In an effort to grow that population, the government of India launched Project Tiger back in the 1970's. It has had its share of controversy but has also been successful by almost tripling the wild Royal Bengal tigers. While poaching remains a huge issue, the country is also using retired army personnel to curtail poaching gangs.

Okay, so we can't all stop poaching gangs (I personally would be no good at it). But that did not stop Sylvie Chantecaille from wanting to raise awareness about the issue. The founder of the famed Chantecaille line of make-up (celeb fans include Madonna and Blake Lively) decided to dedicate a collection in her high end products to the beauty and brawn of the Bengal tiger after reading about the terrible poaching problem. The Le Tigre collection includes two compacts with images of tigers embossed into the powders and a face palette. The face palette includes a cheek color, highlighter, and four jungle-themed eye shadows—browns, coppers, and a green—along with two compacts (a face powder and a bronzer), a green eyeliner, and three shimmery lip glosses. The packaging has been switched from Chantecaille’s signature nickel casing to a cooper hue, similar to the color of a Bengal tiger. Along with awareness, five percent of the proceeds from the sale of the line will benefit Traffic. The collection is available at Eluxury, Bergdorf Goodman and Bliss.

So as a fashionable environmentalist, do something small in the fight for a big cause. Whether its purchasing a compact, "adopting" a tiger, or simply reading more about the issue; there's no doubt that the fascination with the majestic animal will continue. After all, as animal behaviorist Candy d'Sa said our fascination stems from somewhere, perhaps it is that "We can relate to the tiger, as it is fierce and commanding on the outside, but noble and discerning on the inside."

image source: chantecaille.com, bergdorfgoodman.com

-SD

oh my blog: global street fashion

"A fashion that does not reach the streets is not a fashion." -Coco Chanel

It is fascinating to see what real people wear. While much of fashion influence comes from styled outfits from magazines and runway looks, perhaps the most inspiring is how people just like us put together fantastic outfits each and every day (and without the help of a stylist). Enter the world of street style blogs. You could almost call it virtual people-watching. As Slate Magazine's Better Than a Park Bench put it, "The best of these sites capture the joys of people-watching and offer an experience that's more like lounging on a park bench than flipping through a fashion magazine."

Combine the social observation with great fashion and it's no surprise that street fashion sites are the fastest growing fashion related sites on the web. Thanks to quick digital photography, bloggers are creating hundreds of sites in cities around the globe dedicated to displaying fashion from trendy teenagers to distinguished gentlemen in suits and hats. Ordinary people, but often not so ordinary fashion. A few sites ask the subjects they photograph where they got some of their pieces or labels, but most often it is just images; making it fashion in its most purist form: no labels, no models, no advertising agenda. The looks above are from the fun site, streetstyl.es, which compiles the best of men and women's street wear from blogs around the world.

These sites not only provide great fashion ideas if you are looking for inspiration but beautiful photography and a glimpse into global lifestyles. From torn tights in Tokyo to plaids in Paris, a quick look at a handful of blogs around the world and it is interesting to see the commonalities yet uniqueness  of each city's chic pedestrians.

New York based The Sartorialist (created by former fashion insider Scott Schuman) is one of the most notable due to its large and affluent audience and focus on elegant looks. The website often features images from Schuman's visits around the world in addition to NYC street life. For example, his pictures above are from a trip to India and capture some street fashion in New Delhi. NYC and New Delhi are just the tip of the iceberg. Most pedestrian friendly cities have amazing street fashion blogs with vivid photographs. Lucky Magazine recently listed the best sites for global street style in their December issue. The list included:
1.  Copenhagen
2.  Tokyo
3.  London
4.  Berlin
5.  Paris
6.  Tel Aviv
7.  Buenos Aires
8.  Sao Paulo
9.  Manila
10. Everywhere

Other notable sites that PR loves in addition to The Sartorialist, are Leblogdebetty.com and Street Peeper. So strut your stuff when you're out in the streets. It is after all the ultimate runway and you never know who may be watching from the virtual park bench.

image source: Streetstyl.es images clockwise (streetpeeper.com, jakandjil.com/blog, leblogdebetty.com, manchesterlooks.blogspot.com), On the street in Delhi images from the sartorialist.blogspot.com)

-SD

football fiesta

 “A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall.” – Vince Lombardi

 

A little confession - warm and wooly sweaters and fabulous knee high boots aren’t the only things that have the PR gals pumped about fall. Believe it or not, we heart college football in a big way. While we may not claim to know all of the nuances of the game; the excitement, rivalry and full-on drama surrounding college football can be addictive and this season has certainly proved to be no exception. As alumni to members of the Big 12 Conference, the three-way tie in the Big 12 South resulted in many heated lunch debates over who really deserved to play in the Big 12 Championship game this weekend.

Obviously, Saturday is a huge day in college football with #1 Alabama playing in the SEC championship and #2 Oklahoma slated for the Big 12 Championship. A loss by either of these teams means that a team that didn’t win its own conference championship may have a shot at the national title. With so much at stake, a football party is an obvious must.

If you are throwing a football party of your own, we recommend lots of great finger foods and snacks to go with your football beverage of choice. No need for fuss here, salty, fried and indulgently good is the way to go. For vegetarian options, consider fried pickles, spicy sweet potato fries, and of course chili con queso (we like Emeril’s recipe, just nix the chili con carne). For meat options, try Cuban sandwiches, hot wings, and sliders (this can also be made veggie friendly by using Morning Star meal starters in lieu of ground beef).

  

Wolfgang Puck’s mini football cookies are perfect dessert options for the big game. We also loved this tasty caramel corn as a sweet snack that you can consume by the handfuls. If you want to send your guests home with some of their own caramel corn, pack it up in these football favor boxes that are available at your local Party City, as well as many other football worthy party decorations.

Saturday promises to be one exciting day in collegiate football and regardless of who wins the title games, with your school spirit in tow and great food and drinks on hand, your friends will have you ranked #1. 

image source: big12sports.com, wikipedia.org, partycity.com

-RW