Good Morning & Hello Friday!

• New favorite restaurant – ate there twice this week!! Kudos to Daniel Boulud for installing Le Gratin into McNally’s old Augustine space. The food, the scene, the staff, the room – all fantastic!! (#2 below).
• Also, raves for the Vuitton + Nike + Abloh experience at the Greenpoint Terminal Building (#1). If you’re in NYC, you must check it out this weekend (running thru 5/31).
• My recap video is at the end of the blog this week (#10) with a not-so-great update on my Green Card saga. Total screw-up by my immigration lawyer! Looks like I’ll be only traveling domestically for a good while longer. Send me recos for cool spots to hit up!!

And with that please scroll down for this week’s TOP 10. Enjoy!

1. 3 POP-UPS to CHECK OUt IF YOU’RE IN NYC this weekend!

I) Louis Vuitton + Nike “Air Force 1” by Virgil Abloh Experience: Til 5/31/22

• It’s a very elegant, ethereal installation. The 3D holograms, created for each of the 47 shoe models, are really cool. But the REAL highlight (for me) was the orange exterior and the sculpture created for the terminal warehouse. Make sure you also take some snaps of the ‘Dream Now’ orange water tower. FABULOUS!!
• And in terms of crowds, the line on Monday at 10 am, was minimal (altho I’d recommend getting your hands on a VIP pass for the weekend!).
• Note: None of the shoes are for sale. This is strictly an experience but it is FREE.
• Address: 73 West St, Greenpoint, Brooklyn

II) INDUSTRIALISM by Sized (L.A. Art and Design Platform): thru 5/28

• At Donna Karan’s West Village Urban Zen space (the former studio of her late husband, sculptor Stephan Weiss).
• The show is a knockout — as is the space. It makes you dream of how you could live in NYC if money were no object. If you do manage to go, make sure you head up the steep flight of steps to see the upstairs studio and gardens. Spectacular! Also, look for the Soto Sake Bottle (designed by Joe Doucet, one of the show’s curators).
• Address: 711 Greenwich Street

iii) SuperRare NFT Gallery: thru Aug. 28.

• I used to be so excited about NFT/crypto art when it was a hot topic on Clubhouse (remember how cool that was?). Now it just seems kind of lame but we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
• When I dropped by Saturday morning, while not bustling, there was a constant flow of youngish people checking out the video screen art throughout the two-story space.
• Address: 417 W. Broadway, Soho

2. New restaurant alert: Daniel Boulud’s Le Gratin. Super Cool Scene!!

• Daniel Boulud’s newest restaurant, Le Gratin, just opened in the former Augustine space in the Beekman Hotel. Boulud loved McNally’s original decor and only made minor tweaks to the already gorgeous space!
• I’ve eaten there twice this week. As usual, when it comes to hot new spots, my MO the first time around is to get there early and dine at the bar. And, it worked! On Tuesday, not only did I have a fabulous meal at the bar, I met the staff (many of whom, including the General Manager, were from the Great Jones Distillery Restaurant).
• On Thursday, I went again at a later hour and it was buzzing. Lots of downtowners, celebs, and semi-celebs (including Bill Bratton, former NYPD commissioner). AND this time Boulud was in the house, making the rounds at the tables!
• Le Gratin is without a doubt my favorite Boulud spot. It exudes a warm, casual vibe that I love! I feel absolutely at home here. The staff is wonderful, the food I’ve had thus far, has been stellar. I also met some fellow diners at the bar who live in the neighborhood. Last night, I met a table of super-cool Aussies who happen to be immigration lawyers and also live in the neighborhood. I am looking forward to many spontaneous dinners at the bar. As I said, I’ve eaten here twice already this week — that’s my strongest recommendation!

3. Are you following Ben Baller on Insta? He’s a great trend barometer esp. for LA

• I don’t recall exactly how I stumbled upon Ben Baller (real name: Ben Yang) but it was at some point during the pandemic. He was the first to make note of “smash and grabs” and the uptick in crime in the Melrose area near his store/showroom (and why he packs heat!).
• He has 1.5MM followers on instagram and besides his jewelry biz and his hobbies (cars and golf), most of his posts are about his family (wife and kids) and his friends. Recently, he did a special shout out to his mom (“the strongest Korean woman I know, she came to this country with $20, worked 80-hour weeks, was one of the first Korean business owners in LA county, who I got my hustle from…”).

4. 39.2MM people traveling this Memorial Day weekend. Most popular destination? Las Vegas!!

• Per Priceline, Vegas is #1, followed by Orlando, Chicago, New York and Miami.
• And according to the airline industry, air travel will be up 25% from last year.

5. Las Vegas wedding surge: 2022 easily surpassing 2019.

• While international travel is still down (7% vs. 20%), domestic couples getting hitched in Vegas outperformed any other year in recent memory.
• Also trending: bigger weddings with more flowers, cakes, parties, and champagne cocktails.
• And ‘Furbabies’ are playing a big role in the celebrations as well, e.g, FairyTail Pet Care, has been involved in over 1,500 weddings where they’ve provided transport, care, entertainment, and training for pets, from the rehearsal dinner to partaking in the ceremony and festivities.

6. Newest trend? Thrifted weddings!

• More than two-thirds of the Knot’s 15,000 users plan to incorporate eco-conscious touches, including secondhand decor while avoiding one-time use products.
• Demand for secondhand wedding dresses is at an all-time high, per Poshmark, the online reseller.
• Pinterest searches for thrifted weddings have tripled, doubled for ideas on how to reuse wedding dresses.
• Karla Welch, celebrity stylist, is collaborating with ThredUP, one of the largest global online thrifting platforms, to create more sustainable weddings for her clients.

That said, one in five millennials are still planning to buy a totally new outfit for a wedding in 2022. In the U.S. alone, 2.5 million ceremonies are predicted to take place before the end of the year. This equates to around 42 million new outfits that stand to be bought and only worn once. (Source: greenqueen.com)

7. Check out this skateboard DIOR FASHION SHOW from SEOUL (Definitely Not Thrifted!!)

• Dior’s first-ever show in Seoul was streamed live on Apr 30, 2022. NOTE: CLICK ON CC TO GET THE ENGLISH SUBTITLES.
• Models were replaced by ten female skateboarders showcasing their skills at Seoul’s Ewha Woman’s University. Ahead of their appearance on the skatepark-style set, members of this tight-knit community spoke about the experience, their supportive sense of solidarity, and the symbolism of the logo on their outfits.
• I LOVE the skater inspiration. Although it is odd to see luxury fashion houses co-opting streetstyle so wholeheartedly.
• Kudos to Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior’s first female creative director.

8. The nordic diet: I may not be able to travel to Scandinavia (still no green card) but I can definitely eat nordic-style!!

• Some people are comparing the Nordic diet to the Mediterranean diet in terms of health benefits.
• All the research indicates that it can help lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels (my health issues in a nutshell).

If this sounds appealing, here are a few tips to get started:

• Base your plate on vegetables — the Nordic plate is half vegetables, with the rest split between high-fiber carbs and quality protein.
• Make most of your grains whole. This provides more fiber and nutrients.
• Aim for three fish meals per week. Canned tuna and sardines are practical and affordable options if fresh or frozen aren’t options.
• Include fermented foods. This includes dairy (skyr, yogurt and kefir), bread (sourdough) and vegetables (pickles and sauerkraut).
• Get more physical activity in your day, both planned exercise and lifestyle activity, such as gardening or walking or bicycling as transportation. (Source: Seattle Times)

9. Why write about Art so often? First, I love it; second, the art world is a major economic generator!

1. I keep writing about the art scene because I want people to understand its financial clout and how influential and indicative it is of a city’s vibrancy and appeal. Tracking what’s going on in the art world is as important as staying up on what’s going on with real estate, the entertainment industry, the sports world, tourism/hospitality.
2. Cities, big and small, are recognizing the importance of art in driving tourism and associated businesses. People go out of their way to see public art. Studies continue to show that over 68% of tourism is driven by art, and cultural tourists spend nearly twice as much money as others when visiting a community (per Kevin Maynard, executive director of Quad City Arts in Illinois).
3. Miami is a key example of a city revitalized since 2002, when Art Basel Miami Beach first landed there. Marfa in Texas, likewise, has become a sizzling hot market with the Chinati Foundation and now the Marfa Invitational.
4. In Pittsburgh, the Andy Warhol Museum is spearheading the “Pop District,” a major new cultural and economic development project that will dramatically transform a six-block section of the North Shore. (Source: Pittsburgh Magazine)
5. Another city put on the map by cultural tourism is Bentonville. Thanks to Alice Walton, Bentonville is now home to the world-class Crystal Bridges and Momentary Museums. There’s also the 21C Museum Hotel. NOTE: Bentonville is a total knockout filled with cool restaurants and bars. People have no idea how fabulous it is until they land there! There’s even a new Art/Music Festival (Format) scheduled there this September. Some are claiming it will be the new Coachella. I looked into going but I’m not hearing too much buzz about it so we will see how it pans out.

10. Wrap Up Video (1:47)

And that’s it my friends. Wishing everyone a great Memorial Day Weekend. Next post will be dated JUNE 3RD!!! Can you believe it?