Thank you for being a friend...

Sadly the great Bea Arthur passed away on Saturday.

Bea Arthur was a great actress and comedienne. I was and still am a big fan of the Golden Girls and, her one of a kind portrayal of Dorothy Zbornak (great last name). I always used to watch the show with my mum, who absolutely loved the show and secretly thought she was a bit like Blanche - but that's another story. Dorothy was always my favourite.

As it turned out I share similarities with Dorothy. She was tall, with a voice that was "as deep as a pot hole..". A midget for a mother (I'm 5ft9 & my mum is 5ft) and a sarcastic wit that would not quit (she even played Larry Davids mother!) But alas the similarities end there. (thank god- who would want Stan as an ex husband)

Those were the days when we would watch the escapades of these four women, who would share stories and wise cracks over a midnight cheesecake binge (you wouldn't see a bunch of 20 or 30 yrs old's doing that) and to this day I still don't have a clue what a Lanai is!

The Golden Girls were the template, before Sex & the City (click here to see Bea play Carrie) and Desperate Housewives (Marc Cherry was actually a writer on GG).

So I leave you with some of Bea Arthur's favourite bits of her best loved character.

" and the card attached would say, thank you for being a friend.."

Bite of the big apple

I came, I saw, I am completely knackered!!

My Easter weekend in New York was short, but I managed to squeeze as much in as I possible. Hence, why my tootsies are barking with pain as I type this...

Taken from the Top of the Rock

To my surprise I did not shop as much as I normally do in L.A, even though I was armed with a fist full of cash & my credit card. It's not the same when there isn't much difference between the Pound and the Dollar. There was no feeling of satisfaction knowing you are getting a bargain for you're Pound.

American Apparel was on hand to sort me out with some much needed basics. I wanted to pop in and check out the newly open Topshop. However the queue was ridonkulous, as it went round the block.

Now weather wise, it was not what I hoped. It rained pretty much all day Saturday, Sunday was sunny but freezing and Monday (my birthday & last day) was perfect. I'm a trooper and have seen worse days, so stuck it out. With my walking pizza tour on Saturday (yes in the rain) and hanging out in Brooklyn, Staten Island and NYC on Sunday.

Pizza @ Lombardi's

Since it was also my birthday, I had only one thing on my mind..CAKE! Cupcakes to be exact. So it was my mission to find some yummy cupcakes with the perfect frosting. Now prior to my trip I narrowed the field down to 2 bakery's. The obvious Magnolia Bakery and Billy's Bakery.

And the winner is.... Billy's Bakery!

Billy's cupcakes

I tried one vanilla and chocolate cupcake at both establishments. The Magnolia Bakery looked like a sweat shop inside, complete with a factory staff line up, frosting cases of cupcakes. The frosting was too sweet - probably to take your mind off how terrible the cake was. You'd be better off buying cupcakes from the supermarket.

Then there's Billy's Bakery. The shop was small and quaint. Despite the queue outside (this was at 10.30pm) we didn't have to wait long. But it gave me and my buddy enough time to survey the treats on offer. The interior of the shop was much like grandma's kitchen and had a very home cooked, small town feel, with only 4 staff working behind the counter. Even the packaging is cute!


We sat outside the bakery and dove into our cupcakes...Pure Heaven! Seriously the cake was soft and moist and the butter cream frosting was soft and luscious and plentiful. So much so that me and my friend went back on Sunday, after eating at the Empire Diner (had a great cheeseburger), to get more!

You can take a look at my photo's from my trip here and FYI I did rock my leather jacket!

Leather me up..

So while catching up on The Satorialist I came across Black Leather NYC, which was ironic.
Why? you ask..

photos by The Satorialist

Well, since the weather in London has been very Spring like, (click here to view Spring photo's on Left & Write) I have been rockin' my old trusty black leather jacket everywhere. I love it so much. I was hoping to rock it out in NYC this weekend and was planning to get it dry cleaned before I go, as it needs ermm.. some freshening up... But the guy tried to charge me £40 and couldn't guarantee it would return in the same condition! I told him I'd think about.

So there I was, last night watching Corden & Horne, thinking I couldn't wear my jacket. Then the Superman & Spiderman sketch came on - Febreeze - genius!

I'm not ashamed to admit that I have now Febreezed the lining of my leather jacket and will be rocking the hell out of it this weekend. I will however, get it dryed cleaned, when my regular dry cleaner and family friend, returns from Singapore.

In the meantime I will be looking cool like the Fonz this weekend... Eyyyy

Ruby Slippers

So while catching up on my fav celeb website Just Jared, I saw this cute picture of Jessica Alba and her little chubba bubba, Honor Warren. While Honor's outfit my be on the plain side, the shoes are totally rad! Seriously, she is rocking those baby ruby shoes. I think being soo cute doesn't hurt either.

Halle Berry's little Nahla may have some competition..