January 2007

January 24th 2007
Palm Beach via Florence

Hi Girls,

RSVP to emily@ilovehollywould.com

January 15th 2007
Florence, Italy

Valentine’s Day may be a month away, but love is already in the air.  The word from Palm Beach is that not one, not two, but three new romances have blossomed ever since our HOLLYWOULD Whitehall party Thanksgiving weekend at the Flagler Museum.  It’s no surprise as the combination of swaying palms, a moonlit ocean, strong drinks and 50 Cent are always a recipe for frivolous romance, but according to our Palm Beach store manager Emily, these new couples are head-over-HOLLYWOULD-heels in love.  Oh la la.

This comes as no surprise to me because True Love & HOLLYWOULD have been linked a time or two before, with at least one wedding as a result of an introduction that took place at one of our legendary NYC keggers.  However, if for some reason you haven’t yet found true love at one of our infamous soirees, fear not.  February is full of HOLLYWOULD shin-digs that are sure to get your mojo running, but you’ll have to stay tuned & register as a HOLLYWOULD VIP to find out when & where…

January 12th 2007
New York City

I guess we always want what we can’t have. 

When I was in 3^rd grade there was a 6^th grade girl at my school who wore headgear and a back brace.  I used to stare at her in awe and wish I could be exactly like her because to me, anyone who got to wear that much chrome was fabulously futuristic.  One day I saw my older sister, Robin, talking to her and couldn’t believe she actually knew my idol.  I asked Robin why the girl got to wear so much shiny metal, and she told me it was because she had “Scoliosis”.  I had never heard of scoliosis before, but that day I decided I wanted it.

A few weeks later Robin and I went to the doctor’s office for our yearly physical exam.  When my mom suggested the nurse check Robin for scoliosis, I chimed in that I thought I might have it too.  Unfortunately despite my efforts to weirdly arch my spine, I was sadly found scoliosis-free.  Robin, however, was diagnosed with a slight case of curvature, and I began dreaming of her back brace that she would let me borrow so I could play Time Traveling Robot alone in my bedroom.  You know, like any cool kid.  By this point I had also made myself a nice rack of headgear using a reconfigured wire hanger, so I was one step away from living the dream. 

Unfortunately Robin grew out of her scoliosis before she could get the back brace, and I still haven’t forgiven her. 

Lucky for you, our gorgeous Cruise 2007 Collection is now available online, which means you don’t have to suffer any longer.  It isn’t exactly back braces & headgear, but you can still wear it to play Time Traveling Robot alone in your bedroom.  You know, like any cool chick.

January 9th 2007
New York City

Ever since New Year’s Eve there has been something in the air that says 2007 is going to be a fantastic year.  This sunny perspective might have something to do with our unseasonably warm 65 degree weather here in NYC, but I’m chalking it up to the fact that for some reason things just are going to be fabulous.

My first weekend of the New Year began with a lovely dinner with the girls on Friday night at Sant Ambroeus, which is one of my favorite restaurants in NYC due to the fact that they have fresh gelato, Bellini’s, and an ambiance that screams Harry’s Bar, Venice.  As usual, our dinner conversation touched on all of the intellectual topics of the day, such as the eerie relationship between Lance Armstrong & Matthew McConaughey, how stunning Katie Holmes’ hair looks lately, and the effects of Global Warming on winter fashion.  Such strenuous mental gymnastics left me exhausted, and I was fast asleep by 11pm.

Saturday, however, was a different story.  My partner in crime for the evening was Jen Bell, and we had both decided it was a good idea to meet up for a quick cocktail at the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis before heading over to The Four Seasons, where we were attending a dinner hosted by the New York Film Critic’s Circle to celebrate the movie United 93’s nomination for Best Picture of the Year.  I know it’s très gauche of me to admit that I went to a free dinner to celebrate a movie I haven’t seen, but the truth is that I really & truly only have time to see movies on airplanes, and for obvious reasons, United 93 isn’t the type of movie that will ever make it to the theater in the sky.  However, I really do want to see it and have heard it’s amazing, and luckily the DVD hits stores today so we can all go out and buy it.

At The Four Seasons we ran into Annie Churchill and cell-phone-summoned Fabian Basabe to meet us, and after a few hours of delicious food & way too many drinks, decided to head downtown to a high-class joint called The Hog Pit.  From there we headed to The Gramercy, where we ran into the dashingly handsome Kiliaen van Rensselaer, who Fabian & Jen smartly decided would make a much better babysitter for me for the evening than they would.  Somehow from The Gramercy we ended up at Soho House and then Double Seven, where at 2am I ran into HOLLYWOULD’s favorite Financial Controller Fiona Bora living it up in style.  Kiliaen and I shared a few cocktails with Fiona and then decided that despite the fact that it was nearly 3am, we should probably hit one last spot, The Beatrice Inn.  Only in NYC (and maybe Ibiza) can you find a spot packed to the hilt at the wee hours of the morning, but when we left The Beatrice at 4am, the crowd was still swinging from the rafters.

Needless to say, my Sunday was spent between church & convalescing and I’m finally recovering today, just in time to head back to Italy.  However, before I go I'll be heading down to HOLLYWOULD to pick up my new Cruise 2007 wardrobe, which I highly recommend buying before sizes dissappear!  xoxoHolly

January 5th 2007
New York City

I can’t believe it’s 2007.  My New Year’s Eve was spent the most perfect way possible, which was to have dinner with a small group at a friend’s home in Soho, ringing in the New Year with great food, great champagne, and great company (see photos right).  The next day I woke up feeling the pain from a bit too much of the champs, but nevertheless decided to head to the gym to begin my New Year’s plan of working out at least 5 times/week.  Of course, I decided the best way to enforce my new work-out plan would be to sign up for an overpriced gym membership, thereby forcing me to exercise out of the sheer guilt of lavish spending.  Well girls, it’s Friday and the last time I saw my new overpriced gym was the day I signed up.  Next year I’m signing up for Slackers Anonymous instead.

In other news our most recent HOLLYWOULD celebrity sighting was at our Palm Beach store, with Rod Stewart and gorgeous wife Penny Lancaster.  When our store manager called to tell us the news, the first thing I had to know was, “Was Rod’s hair done?”  Not surprisingly, the answer was “yes”, and Rod was sporting his usual hair-sprayed spikes for morning of shopping with the wifey.  The next thing I had to know was whether or not Rod was wearing black leather pants, which really would have been a fabulously out-of-place rock’n’roll statement on Palm Beach’s uber-preppy Worth Avenue.  Unfortunately it was reported that Rod was in fact not wearing leather at all, but had instead chosen a linen ensemble in a neutral palate, à la P. Diddy.  As much as I still love Rod, I wish he didn’t dress like P. Diddy.  Hopefully he’ll read this and decide to dust off the old zebra leggings, sleeveless half-shirts, dangle earrings & sweatbands for his next trip to HOLLYWOULD.  Please.  We love you Rod & Penny!