The chums will play… Our guys had a great time while we were in Egypt recently, and we just had a chance to finally share the two tribute videos they made using Simon’s single I Am Real. We couldn’t decide which one to post, so here are both!
In the first, Johan kind of does his own thing in the background, then decides he’s had enough…
In the second, François managed to get Johan to change clothes and be a proper backup dancer.
Which did you like the best?
RIBS
3 lbs spareribs, cut apart
1/2 pound sausage
1 small or 1/2 large red pepper
1 medium onion
1 Tbsp cajun spice blend (every well stocked kitchen needs this — either make your own or buy)
1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp sea salt
Olive oil as needed
Handful bay leaves
6 cups water
Heat oil in a large dutch oven or doufeu, and season ribs with spice blend. Sear individual ribs and set aside. Once ribs are seared, scrape pot to loosen bits, throw in flour, salt and cayenne to make a roux. Add a little more olive oil if it’s too dry. Once it’s looking nice and brown, add onion and pepper and sauté until onions are translucent. While that’s going, chop the sausage; then add to pot. Cook for a few minutes until the juices are flowing from the sausage and it’s looking cohesive. Finally, add the bay leaves, water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add ribs, reduce heat to medium/low, cover and simmer away. Come back in two hours…
POTATO SALAD
5 Idaho potatoes
2 hardboiled eggs
4 green onions
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Dressing:
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 heaping Tbsp whole grain mustard
—
Mayonnaise to taste
Chop and boil potatoes, drain and cool. Peel and chop eggs/onions. Combine, and drizzle with dressing. Toss. Finally, add mayonnaise to taste.
OLIVE & AVOCADO SALAD
Green Leafy lettuce
3 green onions
1 vine tomato
1 ripe avocado
2/3 c black olives, pitted
Chop and combine, then toss with another batch of the same dressing above (oil.vinegar.mustard, plus a teaspoon of minced garlic.)
Thanks to all who helped me on Reunion Day!
Marc Bouwer and Eric Wheeler for that amazing dress & accessories, Robert at United Nude for the fab shoes, Ray Griffiths for the jewelry, Patricia Longo on hair and makeup and Jenn Ramirez for her wonderful assistance. Here are a couple of pics Jenn snapped of the getting ready process, one with Patricia putting final touches together.
And one of me at the morning break, self-medicating with coffee. Plain latte, no sugar, whole milk with a water chaser. Yum.
Biggest thanks of all goes to my hubby Simon, who is my partner, my rock and my best friend.
After we finished taping, Simon and I grabbed Ramona and Sonja and headed to the Gawker Summer of Love party, where climbing five flights of stairs was a cakewalk compared to listening to the brunettes all day…
Simon and I were in Egypt for four nights, and kept very busy the whole time. It was exciting, and we’ll have more on that SOON, but we also took one day off on Friday to see some sights. Friday in Cairo is like Saturday in the US — it’s a six day work-week and Friday is the one day that most professionals take off. Retail, restaurants and tourist attractions are open. We hired a car and driver, and told him we wanted to see as much as humanly possible in one day! He sighed that everything would be very busy since it was Friday and all the locals would be out shopping and running around as well, but he would do his best. He certainly did, and here are the results:
Our business was in Giza, so we stayed at Le Meridian Pyramids, directly across the street from (you guessed it) the Great Pyramid of Giza. First thing Friday, we headed across to get a closer look.
There are 9 pyramids all in the same general area as well as the Sphinx. It would be a recipe for heat exhaustion to walk between them, so we rented a camel. In this pic, we’re on the camel while talking on the cell to the chums. As François and Johan love the movie Despicable Me, they knew all about the pyramids and when I told them where we were, F’s response was “O-M-G.” By the way, riding a camel tied up in a caravan for 30 minutes on TV = easy. Riding a camel freestyle through the desert like a horse = not so easy.
After running back to the hotel to freshen up, we headed to the Citadel. By the way, before traveling I found a lot of conflicting information on the internet regarding appropriate tourist dress, so here is my opinion. You need to be the most conservative when visiting religious sites (cover head, arms and legs.) Otherwise, it wasn’t necessary to cover the head but pulling long hair back is a good idea. I always felt comfortable when dressed as you see in the pics. Here I am in front of the Mosque of Muhammad inside the Citadel, and Simon is on the other side, overlooking Old Cairo. Also, a beautiful door inside the mosque. I was very hesitant to take photos indoors and of people, but the unwritten rule is that if you are invited to take photos, go right ahead.
Outside one of the Christian churches in the Coptic area – I like the juxtaposition of the old and the new with the church and the Metro station.
A mosaic in the courtyard outside the Hanging Church.
The stairs leading to the Hanging Church.
Next, we went to the Khan el Khalili, the marketplace, both to have the experience and to find a few souvenirs for the family.
Here’s Simon walking in the market.
Here I am making a deal for hats.
While going between the sights, we discussed with our driver whether it was smart to go to Tahrir Square. He gave us a very straight answer. On that particular Friday, not a good idea. A protest was happening that afternoon, and it was the day before the Anniversary of the Revolution of ’52. Anywhere outside the Square is fine on any given day, and Tahrir Square would have been OK on a weekday providing one is careful and respectful. On Friday, this is as close as we came — you can see tents in the distance, but in the foreground people are walking around normally.
Here’s a view of the Nile as the sun was setting.
Here’s the interior of Nile Maxim, the riverboat restaurant we chose for our last night in the city.
While cruising the Nile, I snapped a photo of a riverboat shopping center and had to smile at seeing Chili’s. There’s a Chili’s in Paris as well — they do get around…
Finally, a fellow diner took this pic of us after dinner. Completely worn out, we headed back to the hotel to pack and get ready to fly home.
That’s all we could fit into one day, but I have a feeling we’ll be back…
At Ramona’s dinner party, Simon wore a pink Thomas Pink shirt with a black Blanc de Chine blazer, and black Loris Diran trousers.
I wore a gray Walter Baker dress with a black lace overlay, and United Nude boots.
On the way into the Block Magazine shoot, I wore a red Tulle coat.
Underneath, a Mango cashmere tank top with gray cardigan, Vintage Revolution jeans and black United Nude bandage boots.
Want to see the finished pics? The Block has some of them on their website here.
Simon arrived, and he wore a jacket from a City Opera benefit, a yellow Thomas Pink shirt and Vintage Revolution jeans.
Finally, on the Love Boat, I wore a hot pink satin suit (sorry, don’t know the designer!) with Plein Sud boots. Simon wore trousers and a blue shirt by Epaulet NY and a Paul Stuart bowtie.
and
Update — the widget is being funny — if you cannot view the video click HERE to go view the same video on Bravo’s site.
Check out this clip of the launch of the Sony shop-in-shop within Willoughbys Camera, one of my favorite clients!
Our backyard looks so much different today than it did in November! And it’s not just the weather. With the help of Elaine Griffin, Harlem Flo and Home Goods, we gave it a big overhaul last week. More on that here from ShelterPop.
But back to November! For hot dog puppet theatre, I wore a Walter nautical jacket, Plein Sud tank, Vintage Revolution jeans and United Nude boots.
Simon wore a denim patchwork jacket with no label that he picked up at a City Opera benefit, and DL 1961 jeans.
For those interspersed interviews, I first wore Lipsy London with Gilt Groupe earrings…
Then continued the telenovela faces wearing Cavalli and earrings by Ray Griffiths…
In Simon’s interview, he wore Loris Diran with a Cavalli shirt.
At the New York Foundation for the Arts event, Simon wore a Diesel sweater and leather pants, and I wore a beaded dress by L.A.M.B.
At the dance lesson, I walked in wearing a coat by Tulle and bag by Linea Pelle.
Underneath, a t-shirt and cardigan by Mango, jeans by DL 1961 and necklace by Old Money. My moves may not have been fresh, but in this image who is right in time with the instructor???
Last but certainly not least, I wore Marc Bouwer for another interview. My hair was a bit limp as I had redone my keratin the day before and couldn’t put any product on it.
