Detour

We decided not to go north and went east over the weekend.  Serendipity took us to Cazenovia, NY instead of Canada, and we ended up at The Brewster Inn.  Cazenovia is a really charming little lake town and The Brewster Inn is pleasingly quirky and very comfy.  Benjamin Brewster who built the place in 1890 made a killing with Standard Oil.  J.D. Rockefeller was a colleague, friend and even a pallbearer at his funeral.  After Brewster, it changed hands a few times over the years and has been an inn for the last sixty.  Our dinner overlooking the lake in one of the three dining rooms was exceptional.  The chef, who has been there for over twenty years, is still winning awards.  The staff were terrific and lots of them have been at the inn for 30+ years.  It felt a bit like we were in a Wes Anderson film.  In a world where it is faster, harder, bigger, better, it was so nice to find a place that is slower, softer, smaller and the best for a relaxing and unique stay.

Late 19th c. stock certificate issued to Benjamin Brewster with a value of $818,000.00.  Maturity value $1,335,355,525,000.00

"The principle of art is to pause, not bypass"  -Jerzy Kosinski

We always take some time to stop and smell the art when we travel.  If you take the time to pause, there are interesting surprises in unlikely places.  

 Fine nineteenth century oil portraits of early owners of The Aurora Inn in the front parlour and reception area of the inn.

We stopped for a drink at the Lincklaen House Hotel in Cazenovia.  There is a wonderful series of oil paintings in the tavern from the forties by Merrill Bailey (1909-1981), an accomplished local artist. The booths, tables and panelling have decades of carvings by tavern patrons.

Connie's Diner in Waterloo opened in 1963 and the ceramic mosaic landscapes are from the early sixties.

Happy New Year from Upstate New York

Wishing everyone a year filled with love and laughs, good friends and good times, good health and gratitude.  Thank you for all of your support and friendship during 2014 and I look forward to a new year, new shop, seeing old and making new friends....... and some exciting new adventures.

Rich and I are taking a break from my break and enjoying our traditional Upstate NY new year's trip.  After 10 wonderful courses last night at a newly renovated and reopened Kreb's restaurant in Skaneateles, we are relaxing and recovering in Aurora NY at the Aurora Inn.  If you have a chance to make it to Skaneateles, you should definitely check out the new look and delicious menu at the 115 year old Krebs.  The historic Sherwood Inn is another great spot for lodging, libations and comforting old school food.  A walk or drive to check out some amazing residential architecture is an afternoon well spent in both towns.

Table Manners

I came across a copy of Tiffany's Table Manners for Teenagers the other day.  During my tenure at Tiffany in NYC, it was always a classic and popular holiday gift.  It was originally published in 1961 and is perhaps even more relevant today for children of all ages.  Have you been out for dinner lately?

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing all of our friends and family south of the border a Happy Thanksgiving.  Watching the Macy's parade right now and thinking of New York City.  If you decided not to cook on Thursday November 30, 1899, this is what was being offered up at the Plaza.  One of the many esoteric delicacies was Coquille of terrapin, Baltimore style.  You could also have it Maryland, Philadelphia or Plaza style.  Turtle.  Enjoy your turkeys!

Michael Thomas Update

Thanks to everyone who has been in touch over the past couple of months to inquire about a new store opening, ask about art and merchandise, or just to say hello.  It's hard to believe that it has already been almost three months since we left Port Hope.  We are really enjoying our new city and our new home and have been actively on the lookout for a space for Michael Thomas, Hamilton.  While we haven't secured a space yet, we have narrowed the search and hope to report back soon with a new address.  If you would like to keep up on what's happening, please enter your email address to sign up for updates and notices of current postings.  While we aren't adding any product postings until we have a storefront, we will be posting things that we hope are of interest to you.  With a little extra leisure time on our hands, when not working on our home or searching for a space, there have been some interesting discoveries.  I have shared a few over the last couple of months and here is another from this past week to check out.

"Finding Vivian Maier" is a fascinating documentary about Vivian Maier who was a nanny and a street photographer.  After she died in 2009, items in her storage facility were auctioned off to settle unpaid bills.  She left boxes and boxes of undeveloped negatives that were purchased by the maker of the documentary, John Maloof.  What he discovered is extraordinary, and the film reads like a cross between "Gray Gardens" and the doc. on N.Y. Times photographer Bill Cunningham.  If you click on the link below, it will take you to a P.B.S. page where you can download the whole documentary.

http://tvo.org/program/200915/finding-vivian-maier

The Ambitious City

I came across this video and found it beautifully done, moving and worth a share.  It speaks to the heart here in the "Ambitious City".