We interrupt our "What I did this summer" program for a brief news flash:
Sarah Gavlak on assignment, New York City!
It's finally a sunny day in New York! The sun is shining after so much miserable rain- not to mention Irene's visit. I'm sitting in one of my favorite places in the West Village: Sant Ambroeus on Perry Street and West 4th. They have THE BEST coffee and the West Village location always has the best celebrity sightings. In fact, as I am writing this, the photographer Bruce Weber walks in sporting his signature handkerchief on his head. The last time I was here, enjoying lunch with the brilliant artist Fred Tomaselli, we sat next to Matthew Weinstein and the silver fox from Mad Men who plays Roger Sterling. It was very exciting. On another day I sat next to Kate Hudson, who was having a lovely time with a few girlfriends. She was super friendly and we spoke for a few minutes. About what, I don't really remember...
I truly love this place, especially their old school script font with its Salmon pink and gold color scheme that looks like something out of the Sixties. From the perfect foam on top of the cappuccino to the little cookies, everything is done so correctly. The biscotti's delicate almond flavors and light dusting of cinnamon and chocolate make you feel like you're really in Europe. I usually have a soft boiled egg with toasted sunflower seed bread. Heavenly! It's the breakfast I'm having this morning and also had after seeing the Alexander McQueen exhibition at The Met this summer. I went to the McQueen show with my dear friend Fabienne Stephan, who snapped this picture of me holding up the Sant Ambroeus menu. Little did I know that later in the day I'd be meeting the brilliant costume curator, Andrew Bolton, who was also a weekend houseguest at Jane Holzer's that weekend. The McQueen show was so moving. I was seduced, thrilled and left a bit depressed by the heavy sadness of this creative genius taking his own life only a year before, making the show that much more poignant. I nearly burst into sobs, right there in the gift shop, when I saw the years of his life in the catalogue: 1969 – 2010. We were the same age, 41.
I could go on and on writing these sorts of observations, but who knew that being a blogger takes up so much time?! Bloggers do, I'm sure! It really takes effort to communicate the quotidian minutia, daily rituals, and observations in splendid detail as one moves around the most exciting cities in the world. If only technology could progress to where everything I think would magically end up on my iPad. I'm sure some computer scientists at MIT are developing this now as I write. But then again, would I give up sitting at my favorite cafe, typing away, drinking too many cappuccinos, observing the comings and goings of celebrities and mere mortals such as myself? Probably not...